Consumerist
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stupid
Evil Washington Redskins Owner Bans Fan's Signs
I was remarking to a friend of mine as we were watching the Iggles peck the eyes out of the Redskins Monday that despite the fact that I write a blog about consumer news (not sports) — I keep finding myself writing about the Washington Redskins and Daniel Snyder, their evil and apparently totally incompetent owner. The newest permutation of said evil is that the 'Skins have banned signs from FedEx Field. Yes, signs are apparently dangerous. More » -
evil
47 Passengers, Including Two Babies, Trapped On Continental Flight For 11 Hours
When will airlines realize that when a flight gets diverted and things go wrong — you just should not force people to stay on an airplane for 11 hours with only a bag of pretzels to eat. What was ExpressJet's (operator of the Continental flight) excuse? The TSA screeners had gone home for the night, so they couldn't let anyone get back on the plane if they let them off. Oh no! More » -
legalese
Time Warner's Revised Subscriber Agreement Allows For Consumption Based Billing
Time Warner has revised their Subscriber Agreement to lay the legal foundation needed to implement consumption based billing, including usage caps, tiered rate plans, overlimit fees, and speed throttling. Though Time Warner's metered broadband plans lie in shambles after a barely-averted run in with Congress' legislative mace, the cable giant clearly has no intention of letting such a potentially massive cash cow escape from the paddock. Inside, the dangerous new legalese that may soon appear in teeny tiny print on your next Time Warner bill. More » -
evilighttrucks
Unfortunately Named Truck To Help Save Environment
I love the idea of electric vehicles, but did Electric Vehicles International really have to call it the "eviLightTruck"? Probably not a good idea to have, you know, Satan, in your product name. You're electric, people already think you're going to blow up their baby carriages, don't go out looking for ways to make your job tougher. [evi-usa]
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evil
Taco Bell Typo Causes 11 Overdraft Fees
A Vancouver man says he was overcharged by Taco Bell — costing him hundreds of dollars in fees. The man used his debit card to buy $15 worth of Taco Bell for his family. The receipt read the correct amount, and he says he didn't notice that his card had been debited $150 until he started receiving overdraft fees for each item he bought after Taco Bell. More » -
privatization
Chicago's Privatized Parking Meters Are An Epic Failure
The City of Chicago has gone ahead with a deal to lease the city's parking meters to a company that raised the rates — and the results are reportedly tragic. It now costs 28 quarters to park for two hours in the Loop, which some say is causing the meters to fill up with quarters and break. More » -
wamu
WaMu: You're Lying About Someone Breaking Into Your iTunes Account
WaMu's crack fraud department is at it again, according to reader Kristin. Someone broke into her iTunes account and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of iTunes gift cards with her debit card information. She disputed the charge and WaMu told her not to worry — they'd take care of it. Two months later, while on a trip to Chicago, WaMu reversed the credits, causing Kristin to become severely overdrawn. No amount of protesting will convince WaMu that she wasn't lying about the iTunes break-in. Why? Because she never responded to some mail they sent to her old address.
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scams
Towing Chicago-Style: Put Up A Sign After Hundreds Of Cars Have Already Parked
If you're from Chicago and have ever parked an automobile, this has probably already happened to you 6 times and you'll be wondering why this story is even newsworthy. Feel free to go get a sandwich. For the rest of the country... The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that hundreds of people who drove to the 79th annual Bud Billiken Parade got a nasty surprise when they found that a towing company had posted a notice after the parade started and towed all of their cars. More » -
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credit cards
2008 Consumer Action Credit Card Survey Declares Credit Cards 'Really !@$% 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 » -
videos
Walgreens Thanks Nurse For Rescuing Comatose Diabetic By Sending Her Glucometer Bill
A woman went into a potentially fatal diabetic coma while in line at a New York-area Walgreens. Two nurses and an off duty sheriff's officer happened to be in line. They grab a carton of OJ, some sugar, and a glucometer and manage to raise her blood sugar a little bit. According to their reports, after the paramedics took the patient away, the Walgreens manager came out to demand that the merchandise be paid for, otherwise it's shoplifting. Good thing they were there, otherwise he might have tried to fine the diabetic for blocking the checkout line.
Shame, Shame, Shame: Incident at Walgreens [FOX] (Thanks to Robert!)
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insurance
Insurance Company Won't Pay For Child's Leukemia Treatment
Primary Physician Care, a privately-owned insurance company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has now twice refused to pay for a 3-year-old's special leukemia treatment recommended by doctors at Duke University Hospital—even after the child's mother called the insurance company and spoke personally to the president. The child, Paxten Mitchell, suffers from a rare form of the cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. More » -
new and exciting products
Zubaz Pants Are Back In All Their Zebra Striped Glory
Attention: If you're one of those guys who still wears Zubaz, I have some good news for you. The company has decided to reform and is producing a limited line of the infamous pants. Finally, you can get some new ones. More » -
evil
Payday Lenders Convince Elderly To Assign Social Security Checks To Them, Hand Back Allowances
This writer is quickly growing convinced that payday lenders are the modern version of indentured servitude, trapping consumers in cycles of debt that simply cannot be broken in their lifetimes. The Wall Street Journal published a story last week about payday lenders who make loans to the elderly and effectively take over their Social Security or disability payments, handing back whatever remains after they take their cut. Though it sounds like it should be illegal, payday loan companies are partnering with banks to pull this off. More » -
evil
Former VP Admits "Enzyte Male Enhancement" Ads Are Complete Fiction
If your BS detector doesn't already go off when you watch commercials for Enzyte "Natural Male Enhancement," then listen to what a former vice president of the company that manufactured the product had to say about it: More » -
fraud
Jury Selection For Enzyte Trial Started Today
Jury selection began today for the federal trial against the man, his mom, and the business associates responsible for the "male enhancement" supplement Enzyte, reports WKRC in Cincinnaaa-ti. The charges against Steve Warshak and his Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals company include "committing wire and mail fraud, money laundering, and misbranding." No mention of creating what's possibly the world's most irritating TV ad, but we guess that crime is so great that it's being left for hell to sort out. More » -
arbitration
Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit Against Overstock.com Due To Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clause
Did you know that every time you purchase something from Overstock.com you agree to a mandatory binding arbitration clause and have no legal recourse against the company? Even if they illegally disclose too much of your information on your receipt? More » -
evil
Scammy "Joke Of The Day" Text Message Company Lets You Sign Anyone Up
Reader Stephen writes in to let us know that he somehow got signed up for a scammy "Joke of the Day" service that charged $9.99 to his Sprint account. More » -
Oh, by the way, KamberEdelson, the law firm that filed the class action against Sears over its website exposing customer's purchase histories? They're the same folks who successfully sued Sony BMG for selling all those DRM-riddled music CDs. Sears could be in trouble. [Washington Post]
evil
New York, 4:13 AM
Tue Nov 10
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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