Consumerist: Cops

My Wife Was Attacked In The Parking Lot And Rite Aid Won't Help!

Carey — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:07:12 EDT

Virginia police are unable to track down the creep who grabbed Michael's wife in a Rite Aid parking lot because Rite Aid is refusing to hand over its security tapes. Even worse, the store manager apparently knows the creepy grabber guy and is also refusing to help. Michael wrote to Rite Aid's corporate office begging them to cooperate with law enforcement. He hasn't heard back in two days.

Michael writes:

On May 8 2008 around 6pm, my wife was shopping at Rite Aid store # 11285 in Newport News, Va. She noticed an individual in the store wearing a heavy coat and nit cap with a backpack. It was warm out so she thought it a little strange. He paid for his purchase and left the store. She paid for her items and left. She has remote start on her car and started it from inside the store. When she got to her car and opened the door, the individual who was in the store ran up behind her an attempted to grab her.
She was able to turn and kick him and get into the car and drive off. When she got home we called the police. While we were waiting for them to show up we called the store and spoke with the manager. His name is Jim or John . We explained what just happened and he stated he remembered her being in there and he somewhat knew the individual as he comes in regularly and he might work for a Waste Management Company. He also stated the camera facing the right front side of the building where the attack happened was not working, but the one in the store was. Once we gave the description to the police, he went to talk to the manager. Later in the evening he called to let us know the manager refused to discuss the issue and would not let him see the security video of inside the store. The matter was turned over to a Detective the next day. Since the 9th, numerous attempts have been made to contact the manager, however he has not returned one phone call.

On May 27 around 1pm I called the Home Office at (717)761-2633. After getting bounced around to different departments and disconnected, I was finally able to get Karen Mcklintic (sp) at 503-977-5903 in the claims department. She listened and stated she would take this to her supervisor to act on. I heard nothing from her yesterday May 28, and left her a message today May 29. All I was asking for was for someone to call the manager and instruct him to call the detective and to give him the information he needs. I don’t know if the security video is still available or if it has been taped over.

I do not understand why he is reluctant to help get this resolved. My wife was attacked a few years ago and this is bringing back some bad memories. It makes it worse that the manager may know the individual and sees him in the store and is not doing anything. As a minimum the security tapes should have been pulled after we called and given to the police. I understand if a district or regional manager needed to be involved before the tapes were given or viewed, but to get NO cooperation from a Rite Aid representative is ridiculous. I have no problem taking a week off from work, having a sign made that states: MY WIFE WAS ATTACKED IN THIS PARKING LOT AND RITE AIDE WILL NOT HELP. SHOP AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Good idea. Make the sign, show it to the manager, and explain your intentions. Then, ask once more for the tape.

The corporate office really needs to step up and reign in their vigilante manager. Customer service complaints are inherently subjective, but we can all agree that it's a bad idea to interfere with a police investigation.

(Photo: Getty)

Target Fires Security Guard For Stopping Shoplifter

Chris Walters — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:52:50 EDT

Usually our shoplifter stories focus on being detained illegally or held at knifepoint by a rabid senior greeter who demands receipts*, but Target in Milwaukee toes the line when it comes to dealing with suspected theft. That's why they fired a retired cop (warning: video) who stopped a teenager he saw stealing liquor for the second time in a month. He told her he'd seen her take rum a few weeks before and asked her what was in her bag this time. She showed him. He called her father. Target fired him because the store policy is that only certain managers can intercept shoplifters. We admire his attention to detail and desire to help, but we're glad to see a Big Box retailer following its own policy.

Babcock seems like a nice guy, and we hope he finds a more suitable job soon. We also hope that when Babcock was on the force, his partner's name was Goobcock, because that would make any reasonable criminal have a good laugh.

*Claim might be slightly exaggerated.

"Target Security Guard Fired After Stopping Shoplifter" [Fox 6 Milwaukee] (Video) (Thanks to Nicholas!)

Go Daddy Refutes Censorship Claim

Chris Walters — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:19:47 EDT

The reader who sent Go Daddy an email asking why they shut down RateMyCop.com received a response in which they emphatically denied any censorship—this was all about a customer exceeding his contracted server usage limits and nothing else, they say. Read their full response after the jump.

Mr. [redacted]:
The situation with the Web site RateMyCop was absolutely NOT about censorship in ANY way.

The site's operator has publicly disclosed the concerns were over bandwidth. More accurately, Go Daddy's concerns were about how the RateMyCop site was far exceeding the amount of server usage for which it had contracted.

This customer paid for a shared server plan. The connections to his site were six times more than an entire 'shared server' accommodates. While he was paying for a service that cost $14.99 a month, his site actually required a much more extensive set-up.

Basically, he was paying for compact car, when he really needed a semi-truck.

The customer was not willing to work with our staff to resolve the issue.

While the "censorship" allegations certainly make for an edgy "story," they simply had nothing to do with this situation.

- Go Daddy
Office of the President

(Thanks to Mike!)

"Go Daddy Shuts Down RateMyCop Watchdog Site"
"GoDaddy Silences Police-Watchdog Site RateMyCop.com" [Wired]

RELATED
RateMyCop.com

Go Daddy Shuts Down RateMyCop Watchdog Site

Chris Walters — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:24:12 EDT

Yesterday, Go Daddy pulled the plug on RateMyCop.com, which has been criticized by law enforcement officials for allegedly putting police officers in danger by listing their names and in some cases badge numbers. Visitors can then add comments and post critiques or praise about specific cops in their area. The website collected its officer data via public information requests, and no personal information is used, nor are undercover agents revealed. Still, law enforcement officials are upset at the exposure. When the site's owner, Gino Sesto, called Go Daddy, he was first told it was removed due to "suspicious activity," but then the reason was changed by a supervisor to an exceeded bandwidth cap, which Sesto disputes. Update: Go Daddy responded to our reader's email and said taking the site offline had nothing to do with censorship.

One Consumerist reader sent Go Daddy the following letter this morning to voice his concerns that the company might be selectively censoring content (which certainly is within Go Daddy's right, but might turn off some customers):

I am writing to express my concern over Go Daddy's recent action in taking down the "RateMyCop.com" site hosted for one of your customers. Recent media attention has raised some controversy and your action was to suspend the site and post an "oops" page asking for the site's owner to contact you.
While I'm not necessarily a fan of "RateMyCop" or its message, the content of this site did not violate any laws, nor did it violate any normal standards of decency. That Go Daddy would censor this site, without warning or consultation to the site's owner, is deeply troubling to me.

I have been a Go Daddy customer for many years, and recently went through significant steps to transfer the last of my domains from previous registrars/hosts to consolidate under Go Daddy. I am now seriously considering taking my business elsewhere.

My domains are "hobby" websites, which I'm sure makes them very profitable for Go Daddy because I pay for Premium level services but place very little load on your systems, in that traffic is steady but not massive. I pay for this type of hosting so that I have absolute control over the content and presentation of my domains, free from advertising, bias, or other restrictions.

If Go Daddy is going to insist that constitutional protections extending to publications on other media do not apply when published on Go Daddy's servers, then I'm afraid I will feel the need to publish my speech elsewhere. And I promise to do so in as noisy and spectacular a manner as possible.

I look forward to hearing your response, and furthermore hope that you will reconsider your policies regarding censoring the content of the sites you are paid to publish.

(Thanks to Mike!)

"GoDaddy Silences Police-Watchdog Site RateMyCop.com" [Wired]

RELATED
RateMyCop.com

Can't Drive 55? Find Out Where to Slow Down

consumerintern — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:32:39 EST

Speeders and scofflaws of the world, take heart. Someone has got your back. (Or maybe your brake pedal.)

The Speed Trap Exchange, sponsored by the "National Motorists Association," AAA's crazy cousin, offers a list of speed traps throughout North America and the Caribbean. Users can add locations to the list, sorta like a wiki.

Readers indicate if the trap is an automated box or a favorite cop hangout. Either way, look up your city, plan your route, and save yourself the money and the hassle of getting pulled over.

Not that we'd ever be caught speeding ourselves, at any point in time, ever, of course. No, never. — MARK ASHLEY

(Photo: chrischappelear)

Report Fraud To Law Enforcement Agencies With Consumer Sentinel

Meg Marco — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:39:16 EST

Consumer Sentinel is

"a one-stop, secure investigative cybertool and complaint database, on a separate restricted-access secure web site, that provides hundreds of law enforcement agencies immediate access to Internet cons, telemarketing scams and other consumer fraud-related complaints."

Oh, a cybertool! The database is maintained by the FTC and currently holds over a million complaints.

Consumers can't search Consumer Sentinel, but law enforcement agencies can. If an agency is currently investigating a company, the investigators can set up alerts that will email them when a new complaint is filed. So, if you've been the victim of fraud, help the cops out by submitting your complaint. —MEGHANN MARCO

Consumer Sentinel

Best Buy Calls 911 On Customer Asking For Refund

Ben Popken — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 19:24:48 EST

Best Buy calls 911 after Consumerist reader RJH asks for a refund on a nonworking Tony Bennet CD.

Sooooo RJH buys the CD and goes to his car to play it. He gets "Disk read error" three times. RJH walks back in with his three minute old album and receipt and asks for a refund.

The clerk tells him there's state and federal laws against refunding money. Our guy calls him a fool.

Manager comes and says the guy can have a substitute disk or leave, or else the manager will have him arrested for trespassing.

Guy laughs.

Manager calls 911...

UPDATE: RJH wrote in again to clarify some issues. Posted inside. Highlights:

• The Best Buy was in Altanta, GA, in the North Metro area.
• He paid cash, not with gift card.
• RJH says he got so incensed at Best Buy because of, "...[T]he countless times they steamroll other customers who do not have the wherewithal I do to fight ludicrous charges like this. The bottom line is that I could care less about the fifteen bucks, it was the idea that a major retailer can just sit there and make it up as they go."

RJH writes:

"I was out shopping with my daughter, Z and her brother yesterday, trying to use those dreaded gift cards, the one of interest was from Best Buy.

While they are looking for music, I see the new Tony Bennett CD, kind of a Duets and I decide to spring for the fifteen bucks.

We get to the car and I pop it in and see "Bad Disk" on my player. I tried unsuccessfully three times to get it to work, but alas, it must have been a bad disk. So I walk back into the store with my three minute old receipt and show it to the door guard who shows me to the return line. Now I have owned this thing for three minutes and I just want to swap it out. It is three days after xmas and I really do not want to go through the entire return process so when I finally get to the front of the line; the customer service trainer is waiting on me. I tell him, forget it, just give me my money back, it is a bad disk.

He tells me there are state and federal laws against them refunding my money at which I literally laugh out loud. I said there are no such laws. He claimed there were and I said, if you believe that you are a fool. Then I asked to see a copy of the law at which point the "manager" showed up. He said that he would show me the law it was right out the front door and If I did not leave, they would have me arrested for trespassing. At this point the manager says I can have another disk or be arrested for trespassing. I asked again to check the CD, it was a bad CD.

I am thinking this is a riot, let's just see where this goes.

Sure enough, he calls 911 for a trespasser in his store.

I am literally laughing out loud. I go back to the car where the kids are and explain that I will be a few more minutes. I get my phone and call my wife and tell her what is going on.

Then I call corporate in MN. I explain what is going on and the "senior customer consultant" tell me to please hold after he agrees that it is an out of control situation. The first question that corporate asked me was if they actually checked the CD to see if it was bad. I told him that they did not check it in spite of my requests.

About this time the manager comes to me and says that it looks like the cops ain't coming so he will give me the money back.

Now the cops show up, (three officers in two cars!) I have the customer service people refunding my money, the three cops looking for me, and me on hold with corporate.

I get my money then approach the cops and explain my side of the story. They just shake their head. I apologize for the store manager wasting their resources. I was kind of hoping that they would arrest me.

I finally get the guy from corporate back on the line and he commits to calling me tomorrow with resolution.

Turns out it wasn't a call from him I got today, the store manager called. I went over the details with her and after what seems like a thirty minute discussion she admitted there is not a federal or state law against a store refunding a customer for a defective product. She then asked what it would take to make it right, I told her to think about it and call me back. She did call back later today and offered me a twenty five dollar gift card. I asked her to donate it to Salvation Army and guess what, they can't do that either."

Pathetic. Kudos to RJH for standing up to these Best Buy mendicants. They didn't count on a customer calling their bluff. Doubt RJH will be purchasing many Tony Bennet CDs from them again.

What this means for your weekend: If you believe a store is wrong, stand up for yourself.

Meet their threats with complete confidence.

Be like Violent Acres, who, on the advice of her Marine father, kicked a bully in the nuts with her Cabbage Patch rollerskates and yelled while standing over his body, "I'LL EAT YOUR EYES! I'LL EAT ALL OF YOUR EYES!"

See you in 2007.

— BEN POPKEN

UPDATE: RJH writes in again to clarify some issues.

"Ben it was in the North Metro Atlanta Area, I'd rather not share their names....

to refute some of the bullshit claims.... (and the temperature that day was in the 60's) I originally talked to a male manager then the store manager called me later (the she).

I paid for my purchase with cash, not my daughters gift card.

As soon as I walked in the store, I told the door guard that I just needed to swap it out it was a bad disk. He referred me to the exchange line. I mentioned the "customer service trainer" moniker because if anyone should know how not to lie to a customer, it should have been him. Had he simply said that is against store policy, I would have asked for the manager. As soon as he lied, all bets were off with him. The first thing the store manager said was leave and if you don't I'll call 911 and have you arrested.

One of the real reasons I get so upset in these situations is the countless times they steamroll other customers who do not have the wherewithal I do to fight ludicrous charges like this. The bottom line is that I could care less about the fifteen bucks, it was the idea that a major retailer can just sit there and make it up as they go."