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fine-print
fine-print
Consumer Advocates To Starbucks: Change Your Terms Of Service On Gift Cards
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 1, 2011 4:15 PM
54 Comments
Who reads the terms of service on gift cards? Maybe not everyone, but four consumer advocacy groups have your back and are petitioning Starbucks to remove certain provisions in time for the holiday season. More »
(ctsnow)
Guy Files Class Action Against Hilton For Charging Him 75 Cents For Newspaper He Didn't Ask For
By Ben Popken on August 1, 2011 1:00 PM
98 Comments
A man has decided to turn a minor annoyance, getting a newspaper at your hotel room door and getting charged for it, into a class action lawsuit. More »
Lane Bryant Sale Flyer Redefines 'Entire Store,' 'Everything'
By Laura Northrup on May 5, 2011 12:35 PM
69 Comments
David isn't really sure why he received this Lane Bryant flyer in the mail, seeing that he's not only thin, but, well, male. But that doesn't matter at Lane Bryant, where they're stretching the limits of reality and of the English language. More »
Casino Offers A St. Patrick's Discount But Won't Let Me Book A Room For St. Patrick's Day
By Mary Beth Quirk on March 7, 2011 8:30 AM
31 Comments
Hey everyone! Let's go to New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas for St. Patrick's Day since they're offering a Paddy's discount! But guess what — you can't actually book a room for that holiday because they're busy with a convention. More »
At Least This Journeys Promotion Gets Your Attention
By Laura Northrup on December 31, 2010 9:30 AM
47 Comments
"Try on shoes, get a free smartphone," declared a sign in the window of Ryan's local Journeys store. That sounds like a deal that can't possibly be true. And it's not. More »
(Packmatt)
Priceline Promised No "Young Renter Fee," But Avis Says Pay Up
By Chris Walters on September 29, 2010 11:30 AM
43 Comments
When Lauren reserved a car rental through Priceline last week, she checked out the fine print to see if she'd have to pay any age-related extra fees, and according to Priceline what she bid would be the total price. Now Avis is telling her Priceline is wrong and she'll have to come up with more money at the rental counter. More »
Chase Approves Transaction Anyway After Customer Declines Overdraft Protection
By Chris Walters on September 27, 2010 11:30 AM
71 Comments
Paul opted not to sign up for Chase's overdraft fee trap—oh wait, they call it "protection"—but Chase happily ignored this fact and approved a transaction anyway, which led to a $34 overdraft fee that they refuse to reverse. The loophole they're using to get around Paul's opt-out is that the vendor was someone he'd authorized in the past, and therefore this new transaction isn't protected from the bank's "protection" fee. More »
Hobby Lobby's Return Policy: We Don't Have To Take Back Anything
By Chris Walters on September 14, 2010 10:30 AM
127 Comments
Michael says the first bullet point on the Return Policy plaque at his local Hobby Lobby (and also online) reads, "If for any reason you need to return merchandise purchased at Hobby Lobby, please return the product with the original sales receipt within 60 days of purchase." That sounds great—you can shop with confidence that they'll handle returns without too much trouble—but the reality is that the store can and will refuse any return, with or without a receipt, if someone there thinks it might lose them money in the short term. More »
Developers Spiking Homeowner Contracts With Hidden Resale Fee Covenants
By Chris Walters on September 13, 2010 12:30 PM
103 Comments
Last April, Techdirt pointed out that a financial firm in Texas was trying to attach "private transfer fees" to homes, so that developers would get a little bit of each sale as it passed among owners in the years to come. It sounded crazy then—imagine having to pay royalties on clothes or furniture whenever you resold them—but the firm is aggressively expanding its plan and has signed up more than 5,000 developers across the country, reports the New York Times. If you buy a new house in the next decade, look for a "resale fee" covenant hidden in a separate document that might not be included in your closing papers or even require a signature. More »
(cote)
Be Sure To Confirm Age Requirements Before Buying Airline Tickets For Kids
By Chris Walters on August 30, 2010 9:30 AM
28 Comments
A man in California ended up fighting with Expedia over compensation after his kids, ages 12 and 16, were left stranded overnight in a Virginia airport, because the airline wouldn't let them board the connecting flight without being accompanied by someone 18 or older. The man told Expedia the kids' ages before buying the tickets but the company's system didn't send up any red flags, so he thought the trip would be fine. More »
Acai Berry Company Temporarily Shut Down By FTC Over Billing Practices
By Chris Walters on August 17, 2010 9:00 AM
27 Comments
Last summer, Central Coast Nutraceuticals settled a deceptive practices charge from Arizona's Attorney General by promising to pay $1.4 million in fines. Now the company, which peddles acai berry and colon cleansing products, has been forced to temporarily stop selling or marketing its wonder products completely under an injunction obtained yesterday by the FTC. More »
Sprint Totally Has The Hots For Me
By Phil Villarreal on July 21, 2010 11:15 AM
43 Comments
Relationships get awkward when one party drops the "L" word too quickly. Such is the situation in which Jeremy found himself when he dug through his Sprint contract. More »
Netflix: We Can Murder Your Account With No Notice At Our Whim
By Phil Villarreal on July 20, 2010 10:15 AM
80 Comments
It's amazing what we agree to every day when we scroll through infinite screens of dense legalese to click the box that said we've read and agree to abide by the terms of service on various sites. Brandon discovered that Neftlix users have all consented for the company to stop its endless supply of movie and TV shows for any reason whatsoever. More »
Does "One Coupon Per Customer" Apply To Couples Making Individual Purchases?
By Chris Walters on July 19, 2010 10:30 AM
140 Comments
Liz is wondering what's going on at her local Hobby Lobby. She's a professional doll maker and she buys a lot of supplies from the craft store chain every month. So far, she and her husband have been able to use the company's in-store coupons for separate purchases even if they stand together in line at the register, but it looks like her Hobby Lobby may be cracking down on that. Should it? More »
Groupon Shows How To Properly Explain TOS Changes
By Chris Walters on May 18, 2010 2:47 PM
43 Comments
Groupon is a daily deal sort of website, but the reason it's on Consumerist today is because of how well it communicated some recent changes to its Terms of Service agreement. Consumerist reader Pureboy sent in a copy of the email he recently received where the website explained the changes in plain English, with examples. More »
Chase Charges $5 To Use Non-Chase ATMs Outside The U.S.?
By Chris Walters on April 21, 2010 1:40 PM
46 Comments
Chase says this about using non-Chase ATMs: "$2 each for any non-Chase ATM withdrawal, balance inquiry or transfer. $3 per ATM withdrawal outside the U.S." You might think that means it costs $2 in the U.S., and $3 outside. You'd be wrong. More »
(Gamestation)
Read Fine Print Or GameStation May Own Your Soul
By Marc Perton on April 16, 2010 11:24 AM
45 Comments
Forget about those unreadable termsheets that come with your credit-card bills and warn you that your home is on the line if you miss a payment by 30 seconds. If you really want to experience the worst consequence of skipping the fine print in a customer agreement, head over to Gamestation.co.uk. The web retailer has an "Immortal Soul Clause" in its terms, and now owns the souls of over 7,500 customers. More »
These Antenna Installation Instructions Are Surprisingly Specific
By Chris Walters on March 29, 2010 11:09 AM
58 Comments
I am typing this post with a digital TV antenna stuck in my ear, and all because nobody told me that this wasn't the right way to install it. Ow! Apparently Antennas Direct of Missouri knows that there are people like me out there, because they've included some very specific warnings on their installation instructions (PDF). (Thanks to Billy!)
If I Read The Fine Print I Would Still Have A House
#599; The Boilerplate Clause [WonderMark] (Thanks to MercuryPDX!) More »
By Ben Popken on March 2, 2010 7:47 AM
16 Comments
Credit card companies stuffed all the crazy they could into their contracts in advance of the CARD act taking effect. This time they might have taken it too far, even for banks. Shoulda read that boilerplate!#599; The Boilerplate Clause [WonderMark] (Thanks to MercuryPDX!) More »
(kthread)
Access America's "Comprehensive Trip Protector" Insurance Isn't Comprehensive, So Enjoy Your Overnight Layover
By Chris Walters on February 26, 2010 3:11 PM
44 Comments
Mark Smith just got suckered into buying travel insurance that turned out to be worthless to him. There was a huge hole in the middle of the coverage, which meant he and his two kids were stuck overnight in Denver on his own dime. Luckily the policy only cost $40, but that's $40 that now belongs to Access America in exchange for providing a useless service. More »
