We’ve written before — most recently about JCPenney — about retailers who mark up the original price of an item in order to make the “sale” price look better than it is. Some may say this is harmless marketing, as the retailer is going to charge that price regardless. Others say it’s a deliberately deceptive act intended to lure consumers into thinking they are getting a deal. [More]
Court Says California Cities & Counties Can Ban Pot Shops
By May 7, 2013
If you live in California and were envisioning a storefront marijuana shop on every corner, stop dreaming. The California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that cities and counties will have the power to just say no to medical marijuana dispensaries, which makes it unlikely that storefront pot shops will become the next Starbucks. [More]
Travel Insurer Knows Which Question To Ask Doctor In Order To Deny Claim
By April 23, 2013
When you’re buying a non-refundable plane ticket, it can be very tempting to fork over the few extra dollars to pay for travel insurance so that you’ll be able to get your money back in the case of an emergency like a medical crisis. But as easy as it is to click on that box and sign up for the plan, the insurance companies don’t always make it easy when it comes time to file a claim. [More]
Woman Hit With Traffic Ticket For Car She’d Sold To CarMax Months Earlier
By April 19, 2013
When you sell your car to a used-car operation like CarMax, you’d assume that anything that occurs with that vehicle after that point is not your problem. But a California woman says she was charged with running through a tollbooth in car she’d handed off to CarMax months earlier. [More]
City Says Woman Used 214,000 Gallons Of Water, All While Being Out Of Town For A Month
By March 21, 2013
A California woman who had never paid more than $60 for her monthly water service was recently hit with a staggering $2,659 water bill, but the utility provider insists nothing is wrong with her meter. [More]
Would You Risk A $200 Ticket To Save $2 In Bridge Tolls?
By March 14, 2013
When authorities in the San Francisco area enacted congestion-based pricing on the Bay Bridge, charging higher rates before 10 a.m., they didn’t imagine that so many people would risk up to $200 in fines just to save two dollars at the toll plaza. [More]
Better Business Bureau Gives Boot To Southern California Chapter Over Pay-To-Play System
By March 12, 2013
You may remember how the Better Business Bureau took a lot of heat in 2010 when it inexplicably gave an “A-” rating to a bogus business named “Hamas,” as in the terrorist group, because it paid a $425 membership fee. Now, nearly three years on, the chapter responsible for that cock-up and others is no longer part of the BBB. [More]
Get My Daughter A Full-Time Job And I’ll Give You 500 Bucks
By March 5, 2013
Sorry, that’s not a direct offer from Consumerist: we don’t have daughters, or $500. A 36-year-old Southern California woman who has spent the last decade and a half as her mother’s caregiver after a car crash is looking for a job now that her mother is well enough to live alone. Her mother has put up a $500 reward to anyone who is able to get her a job. [More]
Bank Of America Explains Why It Never Assumed Title To Squatter-Filled Foreclosure
By February 26, 2013
Yesterday, we told you about the California man who said he lost his house to foreclosure but who is being held responsible for the squatters who have moved into his former house because Bank of America has yet to assume the title to the property. Today, we bring you the bank’s side of the story. [More]
Foreclosed-Upon Homeowner On The Hook For Squatters Because BofA Won’t Assume Title To House
By February 25, 2013
Why Were 13,000 Boxes Of Girl Scout Cookies Sent To A Landfill?
By February 19, 2013
It’s currently that most wonderful time of the year: Girl Scout cookies are available for sale from your friendly local Girl Scouts…well, or your co-worker who has a daughter. Last year, though, a video camera caught workers crushing cases of Girl Scout cookies to render them inedible before dispatching them to the landfill. [More]
Hospital Sends Lab Test Results For 10 Patients To Random Stranger
By February 11, 2013
Even in this era of over-sharing and supposed transparency, most people don’t want their medical files shared with anyone who doesn’t absolutely need to see them. But all it takes is one person to not pay attention when stuffing envelopes for private medical documents to be shared with the world. [More]
Should Used Car Sellers Have To Repair Recalled Cars Before Selling Them?
By February 5, 2013
According to a 2011 survey, there were 2.7 million used vehicles available for purchase that had at least one un-repaired safety recall. Now, California lawmakers want to require used-car sellers to make those repairs before the vehicles can be sold. [More]
Ambitious Thief Walks Out Of Costco With 24 Bottles Of Motor Oil Wrapped Around His Body
By February 4, 2013
If you’re going to shoplift from a warehouse store, you might as well do it in bulk, right? At least that seemed to be the thinking of one California man, who used bungee cords to secure 24 bottles of motor oil to his body and then headed for the doors. [More]
Couple Paying Mortgage On Fire-Ravaged Home Because FEMA Rules Won’t Let Them Rebuild
By January 28, 2013
Last August, a family in California came home to find their house on fire. Five months later, they live in a rented house down the street while still paying their mortgage and flood insurance, but the house isn’t being rebuilt because there is no way they could afford to meet new FEMA flood zone standards. [More]
Is A Guarantee Really A Guarantee If It’s A “Gurantee”?
By January 25, 2013
The operators of a company that claims, for an up-front fee of $395 and monthly payments of $395, it can keep foreclosed-upon folks in their homes for several more months may be confused about the meaning, and spelling, of the word “guarantee.” [More]
Californians Paying 115% More For AT&T Landline Service Than They Did Before Deregulation
By January 18, 2013
Supporters of removing price caps on utility services claim that deregulation will ultimately result in lower prices and more competition. But a new report claims that when California ditched pricing regulations on landline phone service, it only led to huge bill increases for AT&T customers. [More]
Southern California To Finally Get Dunkin’ Donuts… In 2015
By January 16, 2013
For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, Dunkin’ Donuts has been a part of the fast food landscape for decades. Meanwhile, to many folks in sunny Southern California, Dunkin’ was something you occasionally had while on a business trip to New Jersey. But that is going to change in the not-terribly-distant future. [More]
