Consumerist
Your Health
Posts Tagged “
Companies
”
Your Health
scam artists
TicketsMyWay: Sell Tickets You Don't Have, Keep Money, Threaten Customers, Profit!
A reader sent in the following tip about a Vegas-based ticket broker:
There is a company by the name of Ticketsmyway.com (Event Tickets LLC) that has the scam of the century running. Their operations run like this.More »
- Advertise tickets slightly cheaper than Stubhub and other sites.
- Consumers place an order online for tickets often months in advance
- Credit cards are charged full amount immediately
- Customers are told to check status of order online
- Orders always show as "processing"
- As date of event gets closer, customer starts calling to find out Status of shipping
- 1-2 days before event, customer are told tickets are "no longer available"
- Phone rep says a refund can only be requested online
- Terms of Use online say any refund request is considered a "cancellation" and customer is charged 45% of the purchase price
Even though company cannot produce tickets, customers lose 45% of their entire purchase price.
google
The 10 Most Reputable Companies In The U.S.
The Research Institute has compiled a list of the most reputable companies in the U.S., "calculated by averaging perceptions of trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling obtained from a representative sample of 100 local respondents who were familiar with the company." (Then they do some statistical stuff to it.) Coming in at #1 is Google, which we think is remarkable considering how much data the company has managed to collect over the past several years, and continues to collect with new record-keeping initiatives like Google Health. More »
cable
25 Reasons Why Cable Technicians Hate You
It is no secret that we dole out criticism of the cable companies, perhaps, on a daily basis. We thought it might be fair and equitable to learn what cable technicians hate about the customers. We found out about this post written by a cable tech who isn't afraid to let it fly, "And every once in a while, we get the one customer, and we just fucking hate you," says "InstallerTechJeff" on Cable Rant Forums. The 25 reasons, inside... More »
update
Cablevision responded to our post chastising their attempt to force customer to upgrade to digital service by pointing to an unrelated FCC mandate. Cablevision admits that there is no connection between their unilateral business decision to cut channels and the FCC-mandated transition to digital television, but their statement leaves several questions unanswered. Read Cablevision's statement and our response, after the jump.
More »
Cablevision Claims They Are Not Lying Liars, But Mysteries Remain
Cablevision responded to our post chastising their attempt to force customer to upgrade to digital service by pointing to an unrelated FCC mandate. Cablevision admits that there is no connection between their unilateral business decision to cut channels and the FCC-mandated transition to digital television, but their statement leaves several questions unanswered. Read Cablevision's statement and our response, after the jump.
More »
banking
Wachovia Opens Bank Account Without Permission, Starts Charging Fees
John can't understand how Wachovia charged his startup $12 in fees for failing to maintain a minimum balance when his company never opened an account with Wachovia in the first place. Apparently, his former bank manager decamped to Wachovia and, without his permission, opened a new account "to ensure certain money rates," whatever that means. John isn't mad, and the bank manager agreed to close the account, but John is a little worried because a collections agency has started calling and the account now lists $24.05 in fees. More »
exclusive
Cablevision Blatantly Lies To Subscribers As The FCC Twiddles Its Thumbs
Update: Cablevision responds.
Cablevision is lying to customers by claiming that the FCC will require all subscribers to upgrade to digital cable boxes in 2009. Digital cable boxes cost $6.50 per month, plus an extra $10.95 for digital service. Cablevision recently sent a letter to all boxless subscribers threatening to cut several channels unless they forked out a bundle of extra cash for digital service. When one of our family member called for an explanation, Cablevision shirked responsibility and placed the blame squarely on some crazy new FCC mandate. We called shenanigans and decided to call back and record our chats with several customer service representatives. Inside, the recordings of Cablevision lies and the FCC's flaccid response.
More »
5:15 PM on Sat Apr 19 2008
By Carey
14,184 views,
69 comments
Latest by n/a: both of these cablevision representatives are dumb and have no idea what they are talking about, I am a sales rep for cablevision, and they are moving analog channels to digital to clear up bandwith so we can add more more »
Blockbuster has offered to buy Circuit City for a little over $1 billion, with the goal of creating "a chain that could sell portable devices and entertainment for them, much like Apple Inc.'s stores." [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
backlash
Creative Backs Down, Reinstates Spurned Developer
Creative Labs heard your chest-beating across the internet and decided to reinstate spurned developer Daniel_K less than a week after booting him from their forums. Unlike Creative, Daniel_K issued drivers that allowed Creative sound cards to work properly under Vista, and even enabled previously crippled features. The drivers were downloaded over 100,000 times. The company thanked the developer by accusing him of "enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, [in] effect, stealing our goods." Even though he has been reinstated, Daniel_K is still pissed. More »
backlash
Creative Sparks Customer Revolt When It Tries To Silence Third-Party Programmer
Creative's executive team will be coming in to quite a mess Monday morning, thanks to its VP of Screw Ups, Phil O'Shaughnessy. Friday morning, he posted a warning on the Creative customer forums that told programmer Daniel_K to stop writing his own drivers for their X-Fi sound cards. The cards still won't work on Vista over a year after the OS was released, because Creative hasn't released drivers for them—but by Mr. O'Shaughnessy's account, Daniel_K is "stealing" from Creative by making the cards work. Then the weekend happened. More »
disputes
Credit Card Expert Disputes Erroneous Charge, Frustration Ensues
Georgetown law professor and Credit Slips blogger Adam Levitin is having trouble disputing an erroneous $176.96 charge on his Citibank Amex card from PACER, the federal court's online docket system, which he accesses for free. The professor is a consumer credit expert and should have no problem understanding and fixing the error, right? Fat chance. More »
product safety
Senate Votes For Safer Products, Approves Consumer Product Safety Commission Overhaul
The Senate finally voted last week to send the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needed funds, staff, and powers. The overdue reform bill passed with bipartisan support on a 79-13 vote. More »
good companies
Canon's Customer Service Is Helpful, Painless
A reader writes in to commend Canon for their efficient and—brace yourselves—helpful customer service: "I was on the phone less than two minutes beginning to end." Among the surprises: the customer service department was based in the U.S., he was called back when a rep was available instead of being abandoned in an endless hold loop, the people he spoke with seemed motivated to help him, and the Canon rep had enough autonomy and intelligence to come up with an alternative solution when the original problem couldn't be solved. More »
Wired is assembling a list of where each senator stands on the issue of granting immunity to phone companies who participated in wiretapping—which could be decided as early as today. The list includes phone numbers so you can call if you don't see a response for your senator. [Wired]
the war on terror
Senate On Verge Of Agreeing To Immunity For Wiretapping Phone Companies
Yesterday, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee "reached a tentative agreement... with the Bush administration that would give telephone carriers legal immunity for any role they played in the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program." The senators who have been reviewing classified documents related to the phone companies' participation in the program are now saying that they believe the companies "acted in good faith" and "that they should not be punished through civil litigation for their roles." More »
how to
Make Credit Card Companies Your Bitch
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity reminds us that savvy consumers can take advantage of credit card companies hellbent on turning a profit. Most credit card companies will go to great lengths to keep their customers happily spending away. Use these tips to make them cater to your every financial desire: More »
analog to digital
FCC Takes Action To Prevent Cable Companies From Dropping Digital Broadcast Networks From Analog Cable
In 2009, broadcast channels are going to switch over to digital, freeing up a large swath of bandwidth that will be sold to the highest bidder. At that point, says the FCC, cable companies were going to drop broadcast networks from analog cable. More »
nonstop flight to the blogosphere
