Consumerist
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falsies
Tony Roma Corporate Responds To Shrinking Beer Complaint
Tony Roma corporate sent Alex the following response to his complaint over being sold a 16 oz beer and getting a 14 oz beer instead: More »
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falsies
Tony Roma's, Where 16oz = 14oz
UPDATE: Tony Roma Corporate Responds To Shrinking Beer Complaint
Alex and his friend went to Tony Roma's, a casual dining place known for its ribs, and got a little twinge in their torso when they realized that the "16 ounce" beer they were served came in a 14 ounce glass. The glass was just as tall as a normal glass, but it had a thicker bottom, making it hold less. These glasses are known as "falsies." The friends might not have noticed the difference except that Alex's buddy got his beer served in a normal glass and Alex got the thick-bottomed one. They conducted experiments involving pouring water between the different glasses and concluded that yes, Alex got 2 ounces less. When they complained, the manager said, "who said we served pints?" and said it was policy to only serve beer in 14 ounce glasses, and soda in 16 ounce glasses. Which might have been ok, except when the waiter first took their order, he specifically asked whether they would like 16 ounces or 23 ounces. 16 is not 14. Alex's letter, inside... More »
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uhaul
Despite Class Action Lawsuit, U-Haul's $50 Reservation Guarantee Is Still Completely Meaningless
Reader Greg wants to warn all of you not to expect too much from U-Haul and their so-called $50 guarantee. When he showed up to collect his reserved truck, he found himself waiting in line with another customer who'd reserved the same type of truck. When he overheard the employee telling her they were out of trucks, he knew that his day was going to go rapidly downhill.
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Costa Mesa may follow L.A.'s lead and sue Time Warner Cable for shoddy service, too. [Broadcast Newsroom]
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crime
Crazy Multi-million Dollar Shoplifting Ring Busted In California
The San Jose police have busted a multi-million dollar shoplifting ring that was paying gangs of shoplifters to collect razor blades, Oil of Olay, Pepcid AC and other products that they would then repackage and sell all over the US — and in some cases the products ended up being sold right back to the chains from which they were shoplifted. More » -
lawsuits
Class Action Certified In Suit Against Citibank Over IPod Mini Promotion
When Citibank offered free 4 GB iPod Minis to new customers in 2004 and 2005, the product was retailing for $249, and Citibank indirectly acknowledged the value of the product by saying they'd substitute an mp3 player of "equal or greater value" if there were fulfillment problems. There weren't, but by the time Citibank got around to passing out the iPod Mini, it had dropped in price and a new 6 GB version was now on the market for $249. Citibank chose to take the savings and distribute the now cheaper 4-gig versions. Now there's a class action lawsuit against Citibank in California, where it seems all class actions are born. You can read the ruling for the certification here (PDF). More » -
lawsuits
Los Angeles To Sue Time Warner Cable For Sucking
Today, the city of Los Angeles plans to give a little gift to Time Warner Cable—a lawsuit! From the LA Times:
More »The 25-page lawsuit, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, claims the company violated its franchise agreement with the city by having subscribers spend hours on hold with customer service representatives and allowing excessive repair work delays.
"Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles residents were ripped off," Delgadillo said in a statement. "Time Warner must be held accountable for its promises."
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sad
Countrywide Is About To Foreclose On Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon, former sweepstakes pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick, has defaulted on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home, says the AP. Mr. McMahon's house has been on the market for two years, but is located so close to Britney Spears' house that he's having trouble selling it. More » -
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recession watch
New Houses Are Now "Buy One Get One Free" In San Diego
Michael Crews Development has a proposition for you. If you buy one of his $1.6 million-and-up, 2-acre estate homes in the San Pasqual Valley, he'll toss in a four-bedroom row home for free! More » -
overreaction
Manager Photographs Teenagers And Says They Are Banned From The Apple Store For Life
Whatever you do, don't download any fun 3rd party programs to the iPhones at the University Avenue Apple store in Palo Alto, California. You may be detained for 2 1/2 hours, then photographed and told that other Apple stores will be " on the lookout" for you. More » -
Dr. Housing Bubble tells the tumultuous story of one two bedroom 1 bath 825 square foot home in Santa Ana, California. The little house sold for $88,000 in 1988 and had skyrocketed in "value" all the way up to $505,000 when it was sold in 2006. The 90 year old house is current on the market for $177,495. [Dr. Housing Bubble]
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mortgage meltdown
Jose Canseco Makes "Mathematical Decision" To Let Mansion Go Into Foreclosure
Was ex-American League MVP and admitted steroid abuser Jose Canseco too busy counting the money from his Major League Baseball tell-all books to remember to pay his mortgage? Nope. When the California market tanked, Canseco made "a mathematical decision" to walk away from his mortgage, says the Wall Street Journal. More » -
health
Big Insurance Companies Settle In Broker Kickback Case
MetLife, Prudential and Unum Insurance have settled with the San Diego DA's office over their alleged payments in the hundreds of thousands to an insurance broker to send business their way. Universal Life Resources (ULR) was contracted to get the best insurance value for life, disability, and health insurance by large businesses for their employees. Instead, the suit claims, ULR got payments to funnel business to the insurers. The settlement calls for the insurers to pay a total of $1.1 million, which will fund more public enforcement of fair competition cases. More » -
id theft
Fake Credit Card Reader Found At California Grocery Store Linked To Thefts
A small California grocery store chain and its customers have fallen prey to some tech savvy ID thieves, says KPIX in San Francisco. A card reader was secretly replaced with a unit that skimmed card numbers at the Los Gatos Lunardi's — an increasing common scam that targets stores and gas stations where customers can swipe their own credit cards. The theft was discovered when the grocery store called to report that one of their readers had been switched. More » -
data breach
LendingTree Data Breach: Former Employees Were Sharing Passwords With Unapproved Lenders
LendingTree announced today that several former employees are suspected of sharing passwords with lenders that were not approved by LendingTree, and that this may have exposed customer data including: name, address, e-mail address, phone number, Social Security number, income and employment information. More » -
followups
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway: More » -
tragic
Hey, Thanks For The Bed Bugs!
Sarah is experiencing every traveler's worst nightmare. Bed bugs!I just started reading The Consumerist. I did a search on bedbugs to see if you had any posts, and then thought I'd tell you my own story after reading about the people who found bedbugs in a Santa Monica hotel. In August of last year, I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica.
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subprime meltdown
Life In A Subprime Ghost Town: Not Paying The Mortgage Feels "Great!"
We've been hearing tales of suburban McGhost-Towns that were submerged by a tidal wave of foreclosures at the height of the subprime meltdown and are now just sitting there, the lawns turning brown one by one. More »
california
New York, 12:56 PM
Mon Nov 23
8 posts in the last 24 hours
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