Consumerist
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Staples Wants To Know If They're Freaking You Out With Their All-Knowing Emails
Apparently Staples is worried that their emails might be too accurate when it comes to marketing office supplies to people—accurate enough to make potential customers paranoid. More » -
pranks
Guy Who Invented Spider Currency Wrote Fake McDonalds Memo
This will probably come as a surprise to no one, but the fake McDonalds memo that went viral last month was written by David Thorne, the same guy who tried to pay for a bill with a drawing of a spider. He is a very silly man. More » -
creative writing with crooks
Scammers Get Over-Ambitious With Fake FBI Letter
We guess if you're gonna create a failure pile, make it a big one. This email that pretends to be from FBI director Robert S. Mueller has the typical scammy touches: strange grammatical issues, unexpected shifts between formal and casual voices, a complete lack of understanding of how US government offices actually work, and an "official" gmail address. We were ready to send our information to them until we got to the end, where the letter threatens you with arrest if you don't play along. Now they're just getting silly. More » -
funny
Company Apologizes, Hilariously, For Mail Merge Screwup
Everyone knows that the "personal touch" of using your name in an email, printed letter, or CSR call is powered by a database and a computer, and not really personal at all. Still, when a company gets it wrong it can be annoying. When a company gets it wrong, then apologizes by sending a follow-up message that makes you smile, all can be forgiven. More » -
insiders
RadioShack Will Say Anything To Upsell Extended Warranties
An anonymous RadioShack employee sent us what he considers unethical talking points distributed by the corporate office to help employees upsell the RadioShack Replacement Service Plan. According to our tipster, "each example encourages lying." Read the deceptive talking points, inside... More » -
rude
Urban Expressions Craft Store Calls Customer A Whore
The only thing crazier than people involved with wedding planning are people in the scrapbooking supply industry, it seems. Weddingbee reports that an online craft supply store called Urban Expressions (not to be confused with the handbag company) completely lost it when an angry customer wrote in asking why they had neither shipped the item she'd bought nor specified otherwise as promised. Their response makes us understand why they chose the name "Urban Expressions" for their store. More » -
disappearing discoutns
Edmund Scientific Jacks Up Price After Shopper Authorizes Payment
Update: Diane says the problem has been resolved.
More »Edmund Scientific has contacted me and offered to refund the $13 difference. Although they did lay some of the blame on me for clicking the link they have also said this has been a recurring problem that they will look into further.
The best part is that I got so many great links to check out from other Consumerist readers!
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security gaps
American Express Keeps Emailing Sensitive Customer Info To A Random Stranger
We're starting to think Amex doesn't take this whole "data security" thing very seriously. First they confused a customer, and us, a few months ago with their random confirmation phone call, where they demanded a customer turn over bank account information over the phone without giving him a way to verify they were really Amex. Now a reader says the company has "for years" been sending him someone else's account info via email, including the customer's name and the last 5 digits of his account number. J.R. writes, "Seriously, I've seen better security on a video game forum." More » -
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coupons
Sears Pays $10 In Coupons For Your Email Address
Max wants to know why he hasn't received the $10 gift certificate that the cashier at Sears promised him for turning over an email address to receive marketing messages. We contacted Sears and found out what's actually going on. More » -
phishing
Here's A Phishing Site Disguised To Trick Wells Fargo Customers
Freddie writes that his friend was tricked by a phishing email. All the warning signs were there to tip off his friend—an email saying he needed to click a link, a suspicious url, a page asking for his login info—but he clicked and entered the info anyway. Please do not be like Freddie's friend, who is now probably on the phone with the real Wells Fargo trying to get his account number changed. More » -
stubhub
Help, StubHub Never Delivered My Tickets!
Vinay's StubHub tickets to see Lady Gaga never arrived in his inbox, but StubHub insists that they delivered the goods and refuses to issue a refund. StubHub's only communication with Vinay was a short confirmation email promising that the real tickets would arrive via SubHub's e-LMS system. The tickets still hadn't arrived the day of the concert, and armed with only a confirmation email in hand, Vinay was turned away from the venue. More » -
customer service
Hey, Digital River, Try Reading Your Customer Service Email
Reader Lance emailed Digital River to opt-out of the automatic license renewal that came with his three-year subscription to BitDefender Antivirus. Rather than read Lance's email, Digital River instead decided to cancel his entire purchase. After throwing several protest emails into Digital River's customer service void, Lance decided to accept the refund so he could buy a different antivirus package. Except now, the refund is nowhere to be found... More » -
contact info
Email Addresses For Microsoft Executives
It's not uncommon to run into a dead end when trying to resolve your Xbox 360 or Xbox Live issues with the official customer support channels, which is why sometimes you have no recourse other than to try to get the attention of the executives at Microsoft. Here are some addresses to try, culled from the Penny Arcade forums. More » -
stupid
JC Penney Emails You To Let You Know They Won't Email You
Reader psionix bought some PJ's from JC Penney for his wife and, upon checkout, chose not to receive any emails from JC Penney. The retailer then emailed him to let him know that they won't be emailing him, and asked him to fill out a survey on why he didn't want to receive any emails from them. Here's what they sent: More » -
united
United Promises There's No Fee, Then Takes $150 Out Of Your Account
We all know that just because a rep on the phone promises you something, that doesn't mean it's necessarily true. But in Alan's case, two different United reps both confirmed, repeatedly—he asked several times before completing the purchase and again before canceling—that he could cancel his tickets within 24 hours of purchase without paying a fee. A week after he canceled, he was hit with a $150 non-refundable fee that one United rep admitted was a new policy that wasn't in writing—but United still refused to reverse it.
More »
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Petland
Petland Sends Really Snarky Email To Puppy Mill Protesters
Who knew Petland could be so snarky? Here's a really bitchy email Chris Beth, their director of Regional Operations, sent the head of a group of protesters who have been demonstrating outside a Petland store in Plano Texas over Petland's alleged use of puppy mills. Bet he never thought it would end up on the internets: More » -
vonage
Vonage Says Merry Christmas By Raising Rates On Cheapest Plan
William got an email from Vonage yesterday telling him they're raising his bill starting in February. More » -
bailout
GM's Prez Begs Customers To Plead On GM's Behalf
Consumerist reader Darkrose writes, "I just got this in my e-mail. Thought you guys might be interested in it." In the email, GM's president Troy Clarke is in high PR mode, pointing out the grave consequences and emphasizing that GM wants not "a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid." We thought other readers who aren't GM customers would find it interesting.
Tonight, the president of Ford Motors will be on Campbell Brown's "No Bias, No Bull" program on CNN at 8pm ET/5pm PT, presumably to hit similar talking points. Dance, auto monkey! Dance for the TV audience! More »
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