For many people, health insurance premiums take a sizable bite out of their paychecks. Which would be somewhat tolerable if insurance companies did anything to ease the process of actually receiving medical care. Heck, most of us would tolerate the pricey payments if insurers just did the bare minimum of what they are supposed to do and didn’t put up roadblocks to getting the proper care. And yet that simple concept appears to be too complicated for some insurance providers to grasp. [More]
Californians Rush To Buy Before Amazon Starts Collecting Sales Tax
By September 5, 2012
Starting September 15, Amazon.com will start collecting sales tax on purchases made by residents of California. So with the clock counting down, a number of shoppers in the state are buying what they can in the next week and a half. [More]
Someone Out There Really Hates This PetSmart Store
By September 4, 2012
Just like most major retailers, PetSmart has been the subject of more than a few complaints. But though some of you may have wanted to do so, no Consumerist readers have taken out their PetSmart-related anger with the assistance of their car — and a baseball bat. [More]
If You're Going To Leave Your House Vacant, Don't Be Surprised To Find Kids Partying There
By September 4, 2012
Like bloodhounds on the scent — or maybe more like pigs sniffing for truffles — industrious teens will find places to get drunk and do other things they have seen in movies. And with a large number of houses sitting vacant while awaiting sale or foreclosure, it’s a partier’s market out there. [More]
Wells Fargo Pushes Pause On Foreclosure As Petition Nears 150,000 Signatures
By August 28, 2012
Yesterday, we told you about the California woman who was trying to save the house she’d inherited when her mother passed away, but who claims she is facing foreclosure because the bank refuses to deal with anyone other than her late mom. Since then, more than 120,000 additional people have signed the daughter’s petition and the attention has moved Wells Fargo to put things on hold for a moment. [More]
Why Do California State Employees Need $423K Worth Of iPads?
By August 27, 2012
In retail and food service, the iPad has become the pricey accessory of choice for point of sale systems. But various state agencies in California are now having to explain why they spent piles of cash on the popular tablet computers. [More]
Wells Fargo Won't Talk To Me Because I'm Not My Dead Mother
By August 27, 2012
A woman in California says she she just wants to take over the mortgage for the family house she inherited when her mom passed away, but instead she’s facing eviction because the folks at Wells Fargo will only speak to her dead mother. [More]
California Asks Residents To Rat Out Neighbors With Out-Of-State Car Registrations
By August 16, 2012
When you move to California from another state, the law only provides you a few weeks to register your car in California. But between the dread of dealing with bureaucrats and the state’s high registration fees, some drivers are perfectly content with just keeping those out-of-state tags on their vehicles. But authorities in California are asking residents — and have made it very easy — to rat on their neighbors for no updating their registrations. [More]
Squatters Push Goodwill's Good Will To Limit With Rooftop Camp
By August 10, 2012
Goodwill stores are well regarded as a place to pick up clothes and other items on the cheap, but a group of squatters in California seemed to think Goodwill’s good will extended to free rooftop living. [More]
Mystery Denny's Diner Pays Tab For Everyone In Restaurant
By August 8, 2012
Everyone loves a free lunch, especially when there are no strings attached. Just ask the 60 or so diners at a California Denny’s who were treated to gratis grub by a mystery woman who decided to pay for everyone’s meals. [More]
Nevada Continues To Reign Supreme In Latest Unemployment Numbers
By July 30, 2012
Since the bottom dropped out of the housing market a few years ago, and even as most other locales have begun to claw their way out of the pits, Nevada and California have continued to churn out huge unemployment numbers. And the latest stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows no real reversal in that trend. [More]
L.A. Sues U.S. Bank For Letting Foreclosures Fall Into Disrepair
By July 17, 2012
When a lender forecloses on a home, it becomes responsible for keeping the property safe and reasonably kept-up. But officials in Los Angeles has accused U.S. Bank of ignoring hundreds of foreclosures as they fall into disrepair and/or become taken over by squatters and street gangs. [More]
Restaurant Gets Around Foie Gras Ban By “Gifting” It To Customers
By July 16, 2012
The list of clever end runs around California’s recent ban on the sale of foie gras continues to grow. First it was the restaurant that claimed exemption from the law because it’s in a national park. Now comes an eatery that says the ban doesn’t stop a business from giving foie gras away to customers. [More]
San Francisco Restaurant Flips The Bird To California Foie Gras Ban
By July 10, 2012
Earlier this month, California’s ban on foie gras kicked in, leaving fans of duck/goose liver wondering where they would get their next fix. Now one restaurant in San Francisco says it will sell foie gras because it isn’t beholden to California state laws. [More]
DMV Errors Force Drivers To Hit Road Without Registrations
By June 29, 2012
Someone needs to have a chat with the IT person for the California Dept. of Motor Vehicles. Since February, the DMV has had to issue at least 16 public apologies regarding technical difficulties. And for the last week, many drivers have been unable to renew their registrations on the DMV website, forcing people to either go without using their cars or to hit the road illegally in unregistered vehicles. [More]
California Lawmakers Move Forward With Homeowner Bill of Rights
By June 28, 2012
California is one of the many states hit in the gut by the collapse of the housing market, with at least a million homes already lost to foreclosure and about half as many struggling homeowners simultaneously trying to stave off foreclosure while jumping through hoop after hoop in the hopes of getting a mortgage modification. Yesterday, pending legislation that could help these homeowners came one step closer to being a reality. [More]
Why Am I Being Charged Sales Tax On A XBOX Live Subscription?
By June 27, 2012
Victor found a great deal on an XBOX Live 12-month subscription card from Buy.com, but was surprised to see that the company charged him sales tax. No other online vendors that he tried charge sales tax on the cards––which are, after all, more of an intangible item, akin to a gift card. [More]
Gay Lowe’s Customer Accuses Employees Of Making Slurs, Threats Of Violence
By June 26, 2012
A man in California says that what should have been the simple exchange of a leaf blower at his local Lowe’s store instead blew up into an incident that involved a Lowe’s staffer allegedly using anti-gay slurs and threatening the customer and his partner with physical violence. [More]
