• kicking ass, saving money

    Reader Saves $230 On Cable And Phone Bills By Rocking The Cancellation Threat

    Here's how Stephanie saved $230 on her cable and phone bills after following the tips in "3 Ways To Lower Your Out Of Control Cable, Internet And Phone Bills" More »

    8:53 PM on Mon Nov 17 2008
    By Ben Popken
    10,005 views, 39 comments

  • Threatening To Cancel Comcast Saves Man $238.92 Per Year

    David used the classic Threaten To Cancel method to save big time on his cable bill, $238.92 per year. Better yet, he did it in the face of Comcast trying to raise his bill. Granted, it was by less than a dollar. But why pay more if you don't have to? Here's how he did it. More »

    1:59 PM on Wed Sep 24 2008
    By Ben Popken
    19,001 views, 69 comments

    Most discussed dragonfire81: My advice to people who do this is to make sure the company sticks to their promises. I used to work more »

  • credit cards

    2008 Consumer Action Credit Card Survey Declares Credit Cards 'Really !@$% Evil!'

    Credit cards are so much worse than you thought, according to the 2008 Consumer Action credit card survey. Creditors have carte blanche to do pretty much whatever they want, including randomly changing terms, conditions, and rates, even to cardholders with perfect payment histories and pristine credit scores. More »

    7:45 PM on Sun Jul 27 2008
    By Carey
    8,047 views, 62 comments

    Latest by HarmonyHizanyous: Its unfortunate but true, CC companies can change the terms including APR or credit limits an any time for any more »

  • early termination fees

    Verizon Settles Early Termination Fee Lawsuit For $21 Million

    Verizon has agreed to pay $21 million in a California class action lawsuit brought over early termination fees. The plaintiffs alleged that the fees violated California state laws. Next case: Sprint, which Californians are suing for the same reason.

    Verizon Wireless Suit Settlement Puts Sprint At Risk [Dow Jones]
    (Photo: Ben Popken)

    8:34 AM on Thu Jul 10 2008
    By Ben Popken
    3,984 views, 6 comments

  • consumer action

    Ben Popken's Consumer Satisfaction Reader's Digest Article Online

    My Reader's Digest article on getting consumer satisfaction is up online. It's chock-full of tips for being a savvy consumer, illustrated with real world success stories you first read on this site, stories like Mona "Hammer Granny" Shaw, Lona "I have a situation that you are going to fix for me today" Nicholle, Anne "Give me a reason to stick around" Braswell, and the little old lady WaMu hit with 20 overdraft fees. I break down techniques like Town Crier, Executive Email Carpet Bomb, Threaten to cancel, Dictate the Options, and Calling the Executive Suite as escalated customer service problem solving options when traditional methods fail. Check it out!

    Satisfaction Guaranteed: The guerrilla guide to getting what you paid for (without getting arrested) [Reader's Digest]

    11:13 AM on Mon Apr 21 2008
    By Ben Popken
    1,843 views, 25 comments

    Latest by Spooty: @MayorBee: I'd never heard that before, and couldn't Google anything up about it. Have any references for that? more »

  • features

    Interview With Ron Burley, Customer Service Avenger

    "There's only one leverage any consumer has with a company. And that's financial." So says Ron Burley, author of UNSCREWED: The Consumer's Guide To Getting What You Paid For. I got to interview Ron Burley to plumb his brain about his customer satisfaction hacks, and the current state of affairs of customer service. His techniques are bold and make no apologies. We're not talking letters, and forms, and complaint departments. These are real methods for real people that work real fast. He also goes into the mindset that you need to develop if you're going to get results. Bookmark this post, it's an epic barnburner. Transcript, inside... More »

    Feature

    12:00 PM on Wed Mar 12 2008
    By Ben Popken
    13,784 views, 40 comments

    Latest by Cliff_Donner: OK, I have not read this book, only this blog and its accompanying posts. Burley's advice does not seem more »

  • op-ed

    You're Being Scammed Right Now

    You're probably being ripped off at this very moment and you don't even know it. Do you have frequent flyer miles? Have you checked lately to see what they're worth? Probably a lot less than when you signed up. Everywhere we turn, companies are pulling back from the value they offered when you signed the contract and handed over your payment, and leaving fees and restrictions in their wake. Gift cards whose value dwindles over time. Credit card payment due dates getting shorter and shorter. Credit card interest rates shooting up for no reason. Impossible to fulfill warranty repairs. Overdraft fees completely disproportionate to their cost. Health insurance coverage denied for the flimsiest of reasons. The list goes on. More »

    4:00 PM on Wed Feb 13 2008
    By Ben Popken
    4,720 views, 26 comments

    Latest by Dooley: @krom: Why would I want to cut a rabbit? more »

  • success stories

    Reader Sues Subcontractor In Small Claims Court, Wins Settlement

    Companies routinely take advantage of customers because they think they can get away with it. But the small claims court offers an avenue of recourse that gives you a relatively swift and easy way of settling disputes, and getting the money you deserve. Here's reader Jason's true story, from start to finish, of how he was able to get a subcontractor to live up to their agreement to fix a receiver the subcontractor's work had shorted out:

    "In February of 2007 my wife and I moved into our newly built home. We had issues with one of the subcontractors. The issue is really a moot point here but if you really want to know the low-voltage company messed up the wiring of our in-the-ceiling speakers and it shorted out my surround sound receiver." More »

    12:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
    By Ben Popken
    8,915 views, 34 comments

    Latest by FilthyHarry: My uncle had a house built in a rural area recently and when it was done there were some problems more »

  • small claims court

    Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy

    Taking a big company to small claims court sounds like a big hassle but reader Bill has done it successfully three times. He says the time and effort spent on taking a company to small claims court is far less then how it long it takes to get companies to fix above-average in complexity problems.

    Here's his typical expenditure for a small claims suit: $24 and 45 minutes. The $24 is the cost to file a claim. The 45 minutes includes his total time of driving to and from court to file, as well as the time spent on the phone with the company when they call to settle.

    See, in all cases, he hasn't even had to go to court: the company calls him up the day before the court date and gives him a settlement. It seems they prefer to do that then pay to fly a company representative who isn't fully versed on all the facts to court. Here's his true story of how he got what he deserved from Tmobile and Washington Mutual, without breaking a sweat. More »

    10:32 AM on Mon Jan 21 2008
    By Ben Popken
    39,563 views, 85 comments

    Latest by shepd: Well, there's still people discussing this, and it's an article on the main page, so: In Ontario, Canada, you may hire more »