Consumerist
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menu labeling
CA's Menu-Labeling Law Inspires Restaurants To Cut Calories
California's law requiring that chain restaurants post calorie counts for their foods took effect earlier this month. It's already producing results, as two chains, Macaroni Grill and Denny's, are reexamining and revising their offerings.
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Just one word: Plastics
Consumer Advocate/Plastics Industry Showdown In California
Ten years ago, Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports and owner of Consumerist) warned us all about the potential danger from bisphenol A (BPA) leeching from plastic containers into our food. It's only in recent years that municipalities got around to banning the chemical—at least in containers designed for use by infants and small children. More » -
debacles
Lawsuit Calls Infamous KFC Chicken Giveaway A "Bait And Switch"
TMZ.com is reporting that chicken lovers have become disillusioned with KFC and are suing over the Oprah-endorsed Kentucky Grilled Chicken giveaway that went so horribly wrong last month. More » -
cancel the account
Gold's Gym "Misplaces" Serviceman's Deployment Letter, Keeps Billing For Membership
Gold's Gym in Oxnard, California won't stop billing Molly's brother for membership, even though both he and his mother have repeatedly sent the gym copies of his deployment orders to Afghanistan. Two months later, the gym claims that it has "misplaced" the deployment orders, and is still billing for services Molly's brother can't use. More » -
lawsuits
Bank of America Wins Right To Seize Social Security Benefits To Pay Overdraft Fees
The California Supreme Court has effectively reversed a 2004 San Francisco trial court decision that ordered BofA to pay $284.4 million in damages to more than 1.1 million customers. The California Supreme Court ruled that banks can tap Social Security benefits in bank accounts to cover bounced-check fees, a practice consumer advocates say is abusive because Federal law prohibits Social Security benefits from being seized to pay a debt. California law apparently doesn't consider overdraft fees to be debt, so the fee party will be allowed to rock on indefinitely.
[USAToday]
(Photo:The Cornballer) -
Did you use a credit card at a Sports Authority store in California between April 30, 2007 and April 30, 2008? If so, you're eligible for a class-action settlement. At that time, the store required customers to give their zip codes during all credit card transactions. A customer filed suit because he believed this was an invasion of his privacy. Class members receive a $20 voucher to The Sports Authority. (via Slickdeals - Thanks, Toland!)
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rescission
California To Fight Health Insurance Rescissions?
The LA Times is reporting that California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will reveal new regulations aimed at stopping a controversial health insurance practice in which customers with costly illnesses are retroactively dropped. More » -
fines
Blockbuster Busted For Overcharging Customers, Must Pay $300k
What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you're Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what's displayed on the product, at least in California. More » -
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Did you know that in California, if you ask the Subway sandwich mechanic (or whatever they're called) to toast your sandwich, you'll be charged a sales tax, whereas if you go untoasted you won't? Crazy! Thomas Hawk says you should always order your coffee to go at California restaurants, even if you plan on drinking it there, to avoid a similar crazy tax. [Thomas Hawk] (Thanks to Glenn!)
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The Onion Is Killing Their West Coast Print Editions "Unfortunately, despite healthy readership in both Los Angeles and San Francisco (readership has actually risen despite our reduction in copies in recent months) the advertising in both cities has been abysmal," CEO Steve Hannah said in a memo. [Gothamist]
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weights and measures
Is Kohl's Systemically Overcharging Customers?
Don't walk out of Kohl's without first double-checking your receipt. The store apparently has a penchant for overcharging customers, according to the Sacramento County Department of Weights and Measures, which fined the chain $2,000 for repeatedly failing surprise inspections. CBS sent an enterprising reporter to see how long it would take for them to uncover a pricing discrepancy of their own. Almost immediately, they found a woman who was charged $64.99 for a pair of shoes marked $59.99. More » -
cease & desist
Abercrombie & Fitch Threatens To Sue Merchants In Hollister, California For Trademark Infringement
Taking a page out of Monster Cable's playbook, Abercrombie & Fitch has threatened to sue merchants in Hollister, California who sell clothes bearing their town's name. A&F claims that local merchants putting "Hollister" on their clothes will confuse notoriously inept surfers who can't distinguish between a town and A&F's Hollister Co. line. So what happens if the locals defy the upscale bully? According to David Cupps, Abercrombie's general counsel and harasser-in-chief, "If they try, they would get a call and much more." More » -
If you recently bought organic brown eggs from a Costco, Safeway, or Pack 'n' Save in California or Nevada, you should check to make sure they're not part of yet another salmonella recall. [MSNBC] (Photo: Bonzo McGrue)
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food safety
Judge To Growers: Pasteurize Your Almonds
Finally, you can nosh on delicious almonds safe in the knowledge that they're pasteurized and salmonella free. A federal judge this week tossed out a lawsuit aimed at blocking new rules from the Department of Agriculture requiring growers to pasteurize their almonds. Growers are now whining that U.S. consumers area about to get hooked on raw yet dangerously delicious European almonds. More » -
Fox News reports that there are now bread lines in Southern California. Still no word yet on the reappearance of tin can fires. [Fox News]
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nifty
Pizzeria Employees Wear T-Shirts With Quotes From Nasty Yelp Reviews
Here's a little bit of brilliance — a pizzeria in San Francisco has taken quotes from nasty 1 star reviews on Yelp! and make them into t-shirts for their employees to wear. We love this. More » -
privacy
Korbel Sues To Force Comcast To Reveal Identities Of Anonymous Critics
The Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat says that Korbel Champagne Cellars will ask a Sonoma County judge to force Comcast to reveal the names of anonymous Craigslist posters who criticized the company. More » -
video games
California's Anti-Violence Video Game Law Thrown Out
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a 2005 California law that prohibited the sale or rental of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional, saying that the "lawmakers failed to produce evidence that violent video games cause psychological or neurological harm to children," and that there were other ways to deal with access to violent games, including the current voluntary rating system, public campaigns to educate parents, and parental controls. More »
california
New York, 10:56 PM
Sun Nov 22
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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