When he was charged for two $7 buffet meals, Linscomb refused to pay for one of them. He said that “there were no signs in the restaurant that said someone could not have some food off your plate,” the report said.

The restaurant staff called police, who came to the restaurant on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and arrested Linscomb on a charge of theft of services. He was taken to Fulton County Jail.

The man was released from jail two days later after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.

According to the police report, the jailed diner said that his girlfriend had only had "a couple bites" of his food. Don't mess with buffet restaurant managers, people. They are serious about the buffet rules.

Texan jailed after 2 ate from 1 plate [AJC] (Thanks, j!)
(Photo: Morton Fox )

If I had to put a date on it, I’d say things won’t be normal for two more weeks,” said Kenneth B. Medlock III, an energy expert at Rice University, in Houston.

Meanwhile, consumers are going from being "good sports" about the shortage to getting downright angry about it.

“At first I was a good sport, but this is getting ridiculous,” said Marsha Lewis, 43, an administrative assistant who lives in Dacula, Ga., and commutes to Atlanta. “I drive an hour to work every day, and looking for gasoline has become my entire life.”

The shortage was caused by combination of refinery damage and power outages in Texas, says a spokesperson from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, but there's also plenty of blame being doled out to panicky consumers.

“You hear stories about tankers pulling into gas stations and people are already waiting — and they have half a tank,” Dr. Medlock said. “It’s akin to hoarding.”

Frustration in the South as a Gasoline Shortage Drags On [NYT]
(AP photo/Jason Bronis)

#atlgas [search.twitter] (Thanks to Elizabeth!)

Remember to be calm, polite, and concise. Be professional, they're looking for an excuse to write you off as a wingnut. Don't give them one. Follow our instructions for reaching executive customer service and/or how to write an effective complaint letter, and these secrets of a professional complaint letter writer, and you'll give yourself a much better chance of success.

Angela Braly
President and CEO Of WellPoint (oversees 13 BCBS plans)
Angela.Braly@Wellpoint.com
120 monument circle
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Mailpoint IN0104-a300
Phone: 317-488-6476
Fax: 317-488-6477
Assistants:
Lisa Moran
317-488-6480
lisa.moran@wellpoint.com
Linda McAdams
317-488-6489
linda.mcadams@wellpoint.com

G. N. (Arnie) Arnott
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Blue Cross
516 – 2nd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 2C5 Canada
Phone: (306) 667-5271
Fax: (306) 664-1945
Email: aarnott@sk.bluecross.ca
Asst: Melanie Wilson
Phone: (306) 667-5270
Email: mwilson@sk.bluecross.ca

Tom Bowser
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
2301 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: (816) 395-2001
Fax: (816) 395-2035
Email: tom.bowser@bcbskc.com
Asst: Marcia Zanko
Phone: (816) 395-2019
Email: marcia.zanko@bcbskc.com

Mark W. Banks, M.D.
CEO BlueCross and BlueShield of Minnesota
P.O. Box 64560
St. Paul, MN 55164-0560
3535 Blue Cross Road
St. Paul, MN 55122
Phone: (651) 662-8438
Fax: (651) 662-7767
Email: mark_w_banks@bluecrossmn.com
Asst: Mary Beth Olson
Phone: (651) 662-6679
Email: mary_b_olson@bluecrossmn.com

Sherry Cladouhos
President and CEO
BlueCross BlueShield of Montana
P.O. Box 4309
Helena, MT 59604-4309
560 North Park Avenue
Helena, MT 59601
Phone: (406) 444-8441
Fax: (406) 447-8607
Email: scladouhos@bcbsmt.com
Asst: Velma Dalton
Phone: (406) 444-8267
Email: vdalton@bcbsmt.com

Richard Boals
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc.
P.O. Box 13466
Phoenix, AZ 85002-3466
2444 West Las Palmaritas Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Phone: (602) 864-4305
Fax: (602) 864-4200
Email: rboals@phx1.bcbsaz.com
Asst: Rebekah Mendez
Phone: (602) 864-4431
Email: rmendez@phx1.bcbsaz.com

Tim J. Crilly
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wyoming
P.O. Box 2266
Cheyenne, WY 82003-2266
4000 House Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001-2266
Phone: (307) 432-2701
Fax: (307) 432-2708
Email: tim.crilly@bcbswy.com
Asst: Carla Lofton
Phone: (307) 432-2706
Email: carla.lofton@bcbswy.com

Kenneth Martin
President and CEO
Pacific Blue Cross
P.O. Box 7000
Vancouver, BC V6B 4E1 Canada
4250 Canada Way
Burnaby, BC V5G 4W6 Canada
Phone: (604) 419-2021
Fax: (604) 419-2020
Email: kmartin@pac.bluecross.ca
Asst: Fran Darbyshire
Phone: (604) 419-2050
Email: fdarbyshire@pac.bluecross.ca

Steven S. Martin
President and CEO
BlueCross and BlueShield of Nebraska
P.O. Box 3248, Main P.O. Station
Omaha, NE 68180-0001
7261 Mercy Road
Omaha, NE 68180-0001
Phone: (402) 390-1810
Fax: (402) 398-3836
Email: steve.martin@bcbsne.com
Asst: Susan Unger
Phone: (402) 343-3546
Email: susan.unger@bcbsne.com

Raymond F. McCaskey
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Texas,
New Mexico and Oklahoma
300 East Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601-5099
Phone: (312) 653-6746
Fax: (312) 938-3657
Email: mccaskeyr@bcbsil.com
Asst: Lynne Recupido
Phone: (312) 653-6818
Email: recupidol@bcbsil.com

Bruce G. Bodaken
Chairman, President and CEO
Blue Shield of California
P.O. Box 7168
San Francisco, CA 94120-7168
50 Beale Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 229-5086
Fax: (415) 229-5056
Email: bruce.bodaken@blueshieldca.com
Asst.: Leslie Monahan
Phone: (415) 229-5096
Email: leslie.monahan@blueshieldca.com

D. Scott Ideson
President
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah
P.O. Box 30270
Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0270
2890 East Cottonwood Parkway
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
Phone: (801) 333-5664
Fax: (801) 333-6516
Email: sideson@regence.com
Asst: Wendy Cowley
Phone: (801) 333-5290
Email: whcowley@regence.com

Mark Ganz
President & CEO
The Regence Group
P.O. Box 1071, E15A
Portland, OR 97207-1071
100 SW Market Street
Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 226-8721
Fax: (503) 225-6797
Email: mbganz@regence.com
Asst: Denise Thayer
Phone: (503) 225-5228
Email: dethaye@regence.com

J. Bart McMullan, Jr., M.D.
President
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
P.O. Box 1271
Portland, OR 97207 – 1271
100 SW Market Street
Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 225-5351
Fax: (503) 226-8795
Email: jbmcmul@regence.com
Asst: Carol Brandt
Phone: (503) 225-6894
Email: csbrand@regence.com

John Stellmon
President
Regence BlueShield of Idaho
1211 West Myrtle, Suite 110
Boise, Idaho 83702
Phone: (208) 395-7703
Fax: (208) 395-7704
Email: jstellmon.id@regence.com
Asst: Terri Redmond
Phone: (208) 333-7823
Email: tredmond.id@regence.com

Mary O. McWilliams
President
Regence BlueShield
1800 Ninth Avenue, M/S S1600
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: (206) 464-3756
Fax: (206) 287-5413
Email: mmcwilliams@regence.com
Asst: Paula Lyons
Phone: (206) 464-5524
Email: pjlyons@regence.com

Michael B. Unhjem
President and CEO
BlueCross BlueShield of North Dakota
4510 13th Avenue, S.W.
Fargo, ND 58121-0001
Phone: (701) 282-1327
Fax: (701) 282-1866
Email: mike.unhjem@bcbsnd.com
Asst: Mary Ann Schaan
Phone: (701) 282-1328
Email: maryann.schaan@bcbsnd.com

Robert Shoptaw
President and CEO
BlueCross and BlueShield of Arkansas
P.O. Box 2181
Little Rock, AR 72203
601 Gaines Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 378-2242
Fax: (501) 378-2037
Email: rlshoptaw@arkbluecross.com
Asst: Carolyn Henry
Phone: (501) 378-2243
Email: cjhenry@arkbluecross.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
Main #: (404) 842-8000
Fax #: (404) 842-8010
Main #: (866) 777-9636
Website: www.bcbsga.com
3350 Peachtree Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30326-1040 USA

Ms. Monye Connolly
President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
mmc6213@wellpoint.com
Direct: (404) 842-8509
Assistant: Tina

Ms. Tracy Healy
Staff Vice President of Finance
tracy.healy@wellpoint.com
Assistant: Lisa

Ms. Amy Odom
Staff Vice President of Staff Affairs
amy.odom@bcbsga.com
Direct: (404) 842-8132

Ms. Cindy Sanders
Corporate Communications Director
cindy.sanders@bcbsga.com

Mr. George Walker
Chief Financial Officer
george.walker@bcbsga.com

(Photo: Getty)

Allen wrote in this week to say, "The issue between Lowe's, their attorney and I were settled amicably and in a timely manner last year." He wasn't able to provide further details due to the terms of the settlement. Lowes-sucks.com is now a placid "coming soon" page.

Congrats on your success, Allen! Your tale is proof of how one consumer's voice, telling their true story, leveraged online, can force a company to play on equal terms. If you would like to get started doing something like what Allen did, check out our post "How To Fight Companies Online And Win."

PREVIOUSLY: Lowes Resorts To Legal Bullying Instead Fixing Their Horrible $3500 Fence Job
RELATED: Intellectual property laws abused in quest to shutdown Lowes-Sucks.com [Ars Technica]

"As soon as we became aware of the mailing error, we worked to determine the exact cause, and we have made changes to prevent it from happening again in the future," said a Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson.

BCBS's parent company also said that it is in "the process of removing all Social Security numbers from such future mailings." The state of Georgia is requiring the insurance company to notify all those whose information was compromised and offer them one year of credit monitoring. You know, at the rate these data breaches are happening, we'll all have free credit monitoring pretty soon.

Here's what the AJC says you should do if this breach affects you:

Policyholders who received an incorrect EOB should contact Blue Cross's dedicated toll-free number at 866-800-8776 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Members who may have received an EOB of another individual should return it to Blue Cross. The company will provide a postage-paid envelope.

Private medical data exposed [Journal-Constitution](Thanks, Matt!)

The problems associated with banks that begin foreclosure proceedings when they do not have proper legal standing are now looming larger in the mortgage meltdown. Loans were heaped into trusts with little documentation of ownership or proper loan assignments — it was all about volume and the fees that came with it — and now that sloppiness is hurting both lenders and borrowers.

Mr. Rothbloom said he had another case in which the lender’s representative has been unable to prove ownership for two and a half years.

Meanwhile, consumer lawyers fear that borrowers are being pushed out of their homes by companies that have no right to do so. Such a prospect is particularly worrisome for residents in states that allow lenders to foreclose without court supervision, known as nonjudicial foreclosure states.

Losing a home is devastating for any family. Such monumental and consequential proceedings should adhere to letter of the law, and if they don't, families shouldn't hesitate to ask a court to defend their rights.

How One Borrower Beat the Foreclosure Machine [The New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

To Whom It May Concern,

I have never contacted any company with a complaint before, however my recent experience with American Airlines was the single worst consumer experience I've ever had. From beginning to end my friend and I were confronted with rude representative, lies and absolutely no concern for the completely screwed up travel plans.

I purchased a roundtrip ticket on American Airlines for my friend to fly out from Los Angeles to Atlanta for my wedding.

The problems started in LA where the planes was delayed, initially gate agents claimed this was because of thunderstorms in Dallas where my friend was connecting on to ATL.

However, another wedding guest was already in Dallas, where as he told me, "there isn't a cloud in sky." Eventually, after several hours delay attendants admitted that the flight was waiting for a fax regarding permission for another passenger who needed an oxygen supply for the flight.

Eventually the flight left LA, but by then the connecting flight was long gone. The next connecting flight from Dallas to Atlanta was the next morning, forcing my friend to spend the night in the Dallas airport.

Not only was my friend not offered a hotel room for the night, the attendants in Dallas wouldn't even give her or other passengers blankets, water or any other basic necessities.

So she and the other passengers were forced to spend the night hungry and cold, unable to sleep or leave the airport.

My understanding of your "conditions of carriage" agreement is that my friend deserves compensation. The relevant section reads: "If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability."

The fact that attendant already refused to provide meal vouchers or a hotel room means that, in my view, my friend deserves some sort of flight voucher or other compensation.

To make matters worse I (since I paid for the ticket) attempted to contact American Airlines on my friend's behalf to complain about her treatment and was told that customer service complaints may only be made through e-mail, mail or fax. Fine. So I filled out the form on your website outline the same issues mentioned here and I received back a form letter thanking me for the positive feedback.

Some people will keep their mouth shut and usually I am one of these people. I feel violated, taken advantage of and left with only one choice which is that letter. I realize there's no guarantee this will be read and not just rerouted to the problem customer file to never be looked at again.

To assure myself that have done all that is possible to have my letter read by all powers that be, I will be forwarding this to as many executive email addresses that I can find.

Cheers,
S.

Good luck, S, and good letter. It's clear, directly asks for specific compensation, and lays out the concrete reasons why they owe it to you. We hope it gets you what you deserve.

(Photo: zonaphoto)

We make it back to the Duluth store (Store 3220) and the floor manager Mike Jones starts giving Anthony crap about returning the TV, saying that “we wont take that TV, sorry but I have a store to run. You can take it back to Athens.”

How about we just get our money back? I mean, we got the wrong TV, we should at LEAST get a refund. We had the receipt and everything.

Nope. No refund. Mike tells us that we can “leave the TV on the curb for all he cares, he’s not taking the TV back and not refunding the money.”

Anthony is (rightfully) livid, and calls his manager, his manager’s manager, anyone he can to get this thing resolved and us leaving with either the correct TV or a refund.

No dice.

Upper management decrees that Anthony must take this busted ass floor model with him to Athens so that his district manager can sort the whole sordid affair out. It appears that Mike Jones is under the impression that Anthony is trying to pull a fast one on the Duluth store, by walking out of there with the correct TV and attempting to return a busted floor model as if that was the one he received when he was there eariler.

So what does that mean for Anthony? He’s currently out $1200, he’s being accused of lying, and has a busted ass floor model of a TV to show for it.

Doesn't seem all that new. How'd Anthony pay?Had Anthony charged the entire balance to his credit card, he would have been able to end the situation by filing a chargeback, or, if the television wasn't a piece of busted junk, possibly doubled the manufacturer's warranty.

Circuit City appears to have resolved the situation. His friend says only, "The whole fiasco is over. Anthony has the TV. Case closed. gg Circuit City." Yes, gg, Circuit City.

F*ck Circuit City [The Hansen Family Website]

"The cases where we've found substantial shortage on all nozzles leads us to believe it's a good possibility it might prove to be deliberate. If it's deliberate, we're going to bring criminal charges," the commissioner promised.

Those charges may mean prosecution, plus fines that Irvin says could hit $1,000 for every gas customer allegedly cheated by these stations.

Staff members at the Georgia Department of Agriculture have contacted their counterparts in Florida, Irvin said, so the Sunshine State can keep a close eye on stations south of the border.

I live in Florida, and frequently drive up to this Cisco gas station just over the line in Georgia for cheaper gas. Usually this place is booming, they have probably close to 100 pumps, a convenience store, and a few restaurants. Yesterday, it was a ghost town. The state has shut them down for ripping off customers and found the regulatory seals on the pumps had been broken. I had suspected something was up, as my car was consistently taking more to fill up from empty when using their pumps. Greed=0 Consumers=1

(Thanks to Jay!)

"Investigators Freeze Hot Spot for Gas Across the Georgia Border" [First Coast News]

Woman Stays At Gwinnett Wal-Mart For Three Days [WSBTV2 via BoingBoing]

Courtney Scott, a teenager working as an intern for the paper, asked Montel if he thought pharmaceutical companies would be discouraged from research if their profits were restricted. Montel, who suffers from MS, was personally offended by the question.

From Pharmalot:

"I'm trying to figure out exactly why you are here and what the interview is about," he replied to Courtney Scott, the intern. Williams then asked if she suffered from any illness, to which she answered no. "I'm here as a patient advocate talking about the fact that medications available today are saving people's lives, that's what's saving mine and after that, this interview is done," Montel reportedly said before storming out, adding that he suffers from multiple sclerosis. He snapped his fingers, said thanks and walked away, according to the newspaper."

Montel thought the high school student was stalking him and freaked the hell out:

As we were preparing to film, Montel walked up with his bodyguard and got in Courtney Scott's face pointing his finger telling her, 'Don't look at me like that. Do you know who I am? I'm a big star, and I can look you up, find where you live and blow you up,' " Cosey said. "At this time he was pointing randomly at all of us."

Moore and Scott corroborated the statement.

"He was really mad. He was angry at me," Scott said. She is a 17-year-old senior at Jenkins High School working for the Morning News in an apprenticeship program through Savannah-Chatham public schools.

"I wasn't expecting him to come at me and go off, I was expecting him to say, 'No hard feelings from before.' I'm not sure if he meant 'blow me up' and ruin my career or really blow us up, but it was threatening."

Don't go, Courtney! It's a trap!

Should PhRMA Blow Up Montel Williams? [Pharmalot via WSJ Health Blog]
Montel 'blows up' at local reporters [Savannah Now]

Wachovia Bank Tells Man He Owes $211 Trillion [WSBTV]

A computer glich is causing every single Prius to fail the emissions test. It turns out that the computer that downloads the car's emissions history is incompatible with the hybrid, and the exhaust-testing system requires the car to be able to idle with the engine running— something the eco-friendly Pruis won't do.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Scott Merritt bought his low polluting Toyota Prius to help save the planet, conserve energy and encourage others to go green. He's also a big believer in keeping dirty polluters off the road.

So imagine his surprise and frustration when his electric hybrid failed Georgia emissions testing — not once, but three times.

"I spent a total of three full days getting this resolved," said Merritt, 34, a public relations executive. "I went to three different places, and nobody was able to do the test."

"The woman behind the counter looked at me like I had three heads," Merritt said. "She had never heard of this problem."

Earth-friendly Prius struggling to overcome Ga emissions glitch [Atlanta J-C] (Thanks, Gregg!)
(Photo:Ben Gray/AJC)

Progressive now says its spying was 'reasonable' [Atlanta-Journal Constitution] (Thanks to Christopher!)
(Photo: The Master Shake Signal)

Allen ordered a fence from Lowes. It cost $3500. It sucks. If you lean on it, it becomes dislodged and loose. His dogs were able to escape just by pushing on the gate. There's a two-foot gap underneath the bottom of the fence. Allen refused to pay until Lowes fixed it.

Lowes didn't feel like fixing it, sending Allen to deal with the installer, who pingponged him back to Lowes. Lowes doesn't care they didn't do the job. They just want their money. So they sent Allen's bill to collections. Allen is enraged and starts a website, Lowes-Sucks.com. Correspondence, history, more pictures, and phone recordings are up on the site.

Now Lowe's is sending him cease and desist letters for infringing their trademark.

So let's see, Lowe's is paying enough attention to pay lawyers to shoot off some letters, but not enough to actually fix their crappy install. Real classy, guys. Real classy.

LOWE'S Home Improvement Sucks

RELATED: How To Ninja Through Executive Customer Service

The police officer says the burger made him sick—and Kendra Bull, 20, spent a night in jail because of it. According to Kendra, she accidentally spilled too much salt on the hamburger meat, tried to remove it, notified her coworkers, then took a break. During the break she says she ate a burger made from the salty meat.

Officer Wendall Adams got a burger from the over salted batch, took a few bites and came back to confront Kendra. From WISTV:

Bull admitted to spilling the salt on the burger, and the officer asked her to step outside, where he questioned Bull further, she said.

Bull, who has worked at the restaurant for five months, said she did not know a police officer had ordered the burger because she could NOT see the drive-through window from her work area.

Bull said Adams insisted the burger must have had something worse than salt on it. Adams actually did NOT eat the entire burger, and samples were sent to the state crime lab to find out what was in or on the burger that made Adams sick.

Union City public information officer George Louth said Bull was charged with reckless conduct because she served the burger "without regards to the well-being of anyone who might consume it."

McDonald's employee charged after serving oversalted burger [WISTV] (Thanks, D-Bo!)
(Photo:mrbill)

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the class-action prohibition is "unconscionable," and therefore it cannot be enforced. From the CL&P Blog:

The court held that as applied to a claim such as the one in this case, the prohibition on class actions is unconscionable because "[w]ithout the benefit of a class action mechanism, the subscribers would effectively be precluded from suing Comcast" for the violations at issue. As the court explained, "[t]he cost of vindicating an individual subscriber's claim, when compared to his or her potential recovery, is too great." Permitting Comcast to avoid litigation through the class-action waiver, the court held, would "allow Comcast to engage in unchecked market behavior that may be unlawful. Corporations should not be permitted to use class action waivers as a means to exculpate themselves from liability for small-value claims." (emphasis added).

This act follows a ruling by the California Supreme Court that Circuit City could not enforce a clause that prevented its workers from seeking class-action status in a lawsuit against them, and, of course, the recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court that prevented Cingular from dropping the class-action ban hammer on customers suing them in California.

Unconscionable is officially the word of the day.

Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down Arbitration Clause Containing Class-Action Waiver [CL&P]
(Photo:cmorran123)

Kroger was also charging tax on its own coupons, for example tax on a seven dollar off coupon with a fifty dollar purchase. When I shop at the other large grocery store in Savannah - Publix, this never occurred and in fact, Publix receipts have a line item stating the amount of tax forgiven. A year a half ago, I brought this to the attention of my Kroger store manager who got back with me and said I was being charged a fee by the coupon vendors and it wasn't a tax, even though it showed up on my receipt as tax. Not satisfied with this, I took my concern to the Kroger district manager who told me that I was only being charged tax on a coupon if the coupon was used for a similar item. I wasn't even aware that grocery stores would allow a customer to do this and I pointed out to the district manager that even if this were true, that couldn't account for all the tax I had been charged over the past two years.

Eventually, I found the number for Kroger's corporate office in Atlanta and finally talked to Hunter McWilliams, a vice president, who quickly apologized to me and agreed it was illegal for Kroger to charge EBT users tax on any coupon, an internal Kroger coupon or otherwise. Six weeks has gone by and this afternoon, Hunter's assistant informed me that two days ago Kroger had resolved the issue in their stores with their registers so this would not happen again. At this point, I asked that all purchases using my Kroger loyalty card be researched for the past two years and that a refund be issued for any tax that was charged illegally. Hunter's assistant Sonja Hurdle agreed to turn this over to their customer loyalty department and see that this is done. I then told Sonja that I felt Kroger had an obligation to research every EBT transaction for at least the past two years and refund all taxes collected illegally to all EBT card users in the state of Georgia. Sonja did not agree with me, but stated that they would do this for any customer who contacted her.

Granted that the tax never amounted to more than a quarter or so for each store visit, but this would be a considerable amount of money for every EBT card user in a Kroger store in the state of Georgia over x number of years. And the question still remains whether or not Kroger actually paid that tax to the state of Georgia. By the way, I did contacted the Georgia State revenue department and they simply told me that, yes, the practice was illegal, but they did not have the manpower in their office to enforce the law.

In the past month, I have also refused to pay this illegally charged tax while grocery shopping at Kroger and while each time it may have held up the line and took the store staff twenty minutes or so to eventually come to their senses and give up trying to collect it, it would appear that my persistence has paid off, not just for me, for but thousands of other people in this state. Or at least I'm told the system has been fixed. I have not done any grocery shopping at Kroger this week to know for sure.

Thanks for listening,

James

Takeway: If you used food stamps and coupons at Kroger supermarkets in Georgia, get in touch with Sonja Hurdle to see about getting illegally collected taxes refunded.

After headquarters found out, a letter signed by the President of Progressive apologized for the actions and took full responsibility for them. They also pledged to enact new rules and procedures to prevent future occurrences. That may not be enough for the Insurance Commission and authorities, who say they are investigating the matter.

Members of the sessions, each which began with group pledges to keep the discussion private, disclosed abortions, sexual orientation issues, and drug abuse, all of which were tape-recorded by the Progressive gumshoes. After an emergency convening, and learning their trust and privacy was breached and violated, the group broke down and cried and several members left.

There's no mention of how the private investigators' identity was discovered. Maybe the group got suspicious after the couple would say, "pass" whenever it came their time to confess. Also gotta wonder how "isolated" this incident was. Maybe Progressive was just unlucky enough to get caught in something that goes on all the time. Guess if you're involved in a lawsuit with a company you need to watch out for any "new friends" you suddenly find yourself having.

Private eyes sneak into church group [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Company says it's sorry for spying [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] (Thanks to ptkdude!)
(Photo: The Master Shake Signal)

Through this financial fiasco she has managed to bounce two consecutive electricity bills and her next SS check isn't due for another two weeks. She has received written notice that her power will be turned off in the next couple days. Did I mention she's in Atlanta, where the high today is something like 105 degrees (not counting the heat index)? I had to go to the bank and try to beg the capitalists for some mercy. I had to keep the power on.

We visited the local branch this morning, and the local WaMU branch officer we spoke to offered to remove two charges, but no more, as my mother freely admits all this is her own fault. A very generous offer, I thought, but not good enough.

It turns out that if we could get ALL of those 20 NSF charges reversed, she'd have about four dollars left over after paying the minimum to keep her air conditioner going, and could get current (pardon the pun) when her next disability check comes. I knew I was aiming high, but I was desperate - I'd spent the last of my own money
to pay for her prescription medications and right now I'm just an unemployed tech support geek. We're both living on peanut butter and bananas right now.

Enter Rosie Alvarez of the WaMu Executive Response team, courtesy of the Consumerist post here ("Contact WaMu Executive Customer Service"). It turns out that extension 467 is Ms. (Mrs?) Alzarez's direct line. I called her from the branch office and left her a desperate message, and she called me back in less than an hour.

I want to give Ms. Alvarez a wet, sloppy internet kiss and Washington Mutual a big Above and Beyond shoutout. No, they didn't credit my mom all 20 of the charges, but WaMu has promised to reverse ten of them in the next 24 hours, leaving my mom with basically a zero balance in her account. She's probably going to be without electricity for what
may be one of the hottest weeks in local history, but when her check comes she'll be able to safely pay down her power bill and get her expenses back on track.

And for that I am overwhelmingly grateful.

Sincerely,

Joe A.

If you choose to post this above and beyond, I have one optional part: I have a paypal address, joe@techseaport.com, that could be used to accept donations to go towards paying her power bill. I have documentation to prove her financial trouble, but I also have no desire to insult you, your readers or your business policies/ practices by soliciting. I just want to keep her power on.

Thank you for considering this post and for all the valuable information you've shared with the world.

And that, folks, is why executive customer service shall always and forever be, for the win.

Oh, and please don't overdraft. You're just buying yourself a one-way ticket on the nonstop train to ImpecunioCity.

Joe, we also want you to try these numbers for groups in your area that provide emergency funds for seniors struggling to meet energy payments (via Georgia Natural Gas). Some of them may just be for heating but others may work for electricity or be able to point you in the direction of the right relief agencies:

Statewide Assistance

o Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), administered by the Georgia Department of Human Resources - 404-657-3426 or 404-657-3427 (inside metro Atlanta); 1-800-869-1150 (outside Atlanta)
o Project Share of the Salvation Army - 770-441-6200
o United Way Referral Program - Dial 211

Metro Atlanta-Based Assistance

o Atlanta Regional Commission, Aging Services - 404-463-3333
o Buckhead Christian Ministry - 404-239-0038 (serves these ZIP codes: 30305, 30309, 30311, 30318, 30319, 30324, 30326, 30327, 30329, 30340, 30341, 30342, 30345, 30360, and 30363)
o Midtown Assistance Center - 404-681-5777
o Resource Service Ministries - 404-352-5440
o St. Vincent DePaul Society - 770-458-9607
o Senior Connections - 770-455-7602, ext. 151
o The Sullivan Center - 404-753-0535

Last year, according to Transportation Security Administration figures, airport agents collected 12,295 "clubs, bats and bludgeons"; 1.6 million "knives and blades"; and 74,665 other objects classified as "deadly/dangerous."

The most lethal items are dispensed with promptly. Guns — an average of two a week are collected nationally — are surrendered to local police departments, which investigate their bearers. Hazardous chemicals are disposed of by SAIC Inc., a San Diego company under government contract.

In Georgia, where the government once merely stockpiled surrendered items, the legislature last year passed a bill to allow direct surplus property sales to the public. Part of the reason, says Mr. Ekin, was to give passengers the chance — remote as it might be — to recover their goods.

The store, 3,000 square feet of polished concrete fenced off in a corner of an aluminum warehouse, boasts a large collection of potentially dangerous tools and trinkets. ...Since the store opened, a trickle of passengers have come looking for their stuff.

"If they can prove it's theirs, we'll give it to them," says Will Smith, the warehouse manager. A good description of the item suffices as proof, he says. So far, only two people have found their forfeited objects: a walking stick and a manicure set engraved with the owner's initials.

Power tools, like the impact drill, are surprisingly common. So are toy guns and pistol-shaped belt buckles. Most common are scissors (over 4 inches is too long to carry on a plane), bottle openers, pocketknives and multipurpose hand tools. The store also sees hammers, dumbbells, circular saws, hockey sticks and nail guns, too. It once sold a chain saw.

By the way, who brings a chainsaw on a plane?

Carry-On Items Taken at Airports Find Happy Homes [WSJ]
Georgia Department Of Surplus Property
(Photo:WSJ)

Court Documents [PDF]
Bill Heard Chevrolet served with state lawsuit [AJC.com] (Thanks to Michael!)
PREVIOUSLY:
UPDATE: Drove My Chevy to the Levy But The Dealer Left Me Dry
Drove My Chevy to the Levy But The Dealer Left Me Dry
(Photo: Review Journal)

The vote failed 82-77 in a Republican-led House. The bill would've replaced Georgia's 3-year old ban on payday loans with a system letting lenders charge $15 for every $100 borrowed.

Georgia is the only state with a payday loan ban.

The payday loan industry is gearing up its lobbying efforts to legalize and legitimize their advantage-taking of impoverished Americans. It will take our elected representatives' resolve and integrity, and our clamor, to resist these efforts. — BEN POPKEN

House defeats payday bill [AP] (Hat tip to raising4boys!)
(Illustration: Andrew Mason)

"Since our Playground stores are clearly resonating with consumers and articulate our vision so well, we will continue to execute this concept in our remaining 97 traditional stores by taking what we have learned from our current Playground stores and rolling it into our existing fleet."

• Alabama
  Hoover, Huntsville
  
• California
  Mission Valley, Sports Arena, Escondido, Vista, Encinitas, Clairemont, Palm Desert, La Jolla, La Mesa, Temecula, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Vista Regional Facility
  
• Connecticut
  North Haven, Crystal, Milford
  
• Florida
  West Kendall
  
• Georgia
  Athens, Gwinnett, Johnson Ferry, Town Center, Snellville, Fayetteville, Atlanta Regional Facility
  
• Illinois
  Century Centre, Michigan Ave, Crystal Lake, Gurnee
  
• Massachusetts
  Boston University, Saugus, Holyoke, Auburn
  
• North Carolina
  University Place
  
• New Jersey
  Mays Landing
  
• New York
  Albany, Saratoga
  
• Pennsylvania
  Walnut Street
  
• Tennessee
  Coolsprings/Franklin, Chattanooga, Nashville West-End, NOW/Knoxville
  
• Texas
  Dallas Parkway, Caruth Plaza, Frisco, Humble, Lewisville, Southlake, Katy, Plano

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Announces Restructuring Plan

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:

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.

Trouble is: They don't know who the hell they are suing. Target has asked for the help of AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo, INC in searching for "John Doe," an unknown blogger believed to live in Georgia.

"John" shared Target's loss-prevention policies (sent to him by an unknown Target employee) on several websites including Targetunion.org and uses the screenname "Target Sucks." What did "Target Sucks" have to say about Target's lawsuit?

"I didn't sign any confidentiality agreement with them and really don't give a rat's ass if they like it or not."

The real test will come not from the results of the lawsuit, but from the response of Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo, INC. When a big box store comes calling about a user who allegedly violated their confidentiality policy &mdash which company will refuse to violate theirs?

Then again, if Target waits around long enough, AOL might just accidentally post "John's" search queries. Anyone searching for "pecans" and "I fucking hate target" ... ?

Sebastian lives in the Georgia Tech area and went to investigate 6346 Lynch Av. "I drove down the entire street, where friends of mine used to live, and there is no sign of such an address, or anything even close," he says.

Google Maps can't find the locale either. There is a Lynch Av just north of G-tech but only with residences in the 400-600 block range. Website directions instructs visitors to follow I85/75, exiting onto Howell Mill Road until reaching Lynch, a connection not seen on the maps.

The phone number is disconnected. 411 had no listing.

None of this stopped reviewer JoyPeters... ...

"If you are looking for a hearty dinner for the whole family and entertainment while you eat, this is a great place."

Nor did it stop the Trough from being listed here, here, or from posting job openings.

Under "Corporate Information", the site says, "In 2005 our first Restaurant...opened in beautiful Atlanta, GA... The 25,000 square foot facility houses our flagship restaurant as well as our corporate headquarters."

Twenty-five thousand square feet? That's like a city-block warehouse.

It's certainly a lotta space for free butter, ad supported or not.

We're calling fakies and guess The Butter Trough is a Georgia Tech class project.

Too bad!

The bread is free. The tea is free. The superheated molten butter is free. All the while, ads play from tabletop speakers, TV sets and the scattered "butter trough multimedia displays."

Don't miss the kids' butter-skimming contests.

"Twice hourly, the supply of butter in The Butter Trough is refilled," boasts the website. "For your enjoyment, our farm clad employees slop the super heated butter into the butter trough so that you can enjoy it at its most liquid consistency. You are encouraged to bring your ButterSkimmer brand Butter cup to the trough and Dip In!"

A recent visitor noted that though it had a 60 foot trough, he doesn't know if he'll go back, "the other customers were very.. strange.. "

The only question is, will the ads play in our coronaries subsidize the cost of the bypass?

The Butter Trough (Thanks to Amy!)

"Thank you for posting my frustrations about my fitness club the other week. As soon as the Consumerist story dropped, everything was squared away (with quickness!)."

No need to thanks us. Just doing our friendly, every day job as your trusty stockades around the corner.

There's a commercial for K-Mart on TV now, where a slightly flabby man does leg thrusts while exhorting "Bikini!" at the video workout he's watching. He seems to be having a lot more fun than Garth.

Garth baby, call your card company up, or if it's linked directly to your account, call the bank up, and reverse the charges. That should get their attention pretty quick. Chargebacks, a consumerist's Excalibur.

Kvetch, after the jump...

"Ay yi yi. Garth from Extreme Craft (www.extremecraft.com) here.

Three years ago, I naively signed a contract for a membership to Bally's Fitness down the street from me in Atlanta. The club was crappy, but it was cheap, and the sales rep told me that if I moved, I could cancel for $50. Instead, they tore the club down a year later, and informed everybody that their memberships had automatically transferred to other fitness clubs run by Bally's and Crunch. The next nearest club was almost 12 miles from me—about a half hour drive.

Since I had signed the contract, I decided to take my lumps and keep paying their $18 a month for the next two years as a tribute to my imbecility. I'm nearing the end of the contract, and this month, I was hit with a surprise DOUBLE BILL! I contacted Bally's via their customer service number, and waited for about 20 minutes on hold. Bally's then gave me Crunch's customer service number, and I got through to them after 20 minutes of the most MIND MELTING HOLD MUSIC I have ever experienced. Don't believe me? Call 1-888-310-6011 and find out for yourself.

The rep on the other end was nice enough, and explained to me that the double bill was because I hadn't been billed in May (this is through auto-deduction, mind you). I explained that they had, in fact, debited my account at the beginning of June rather than the middle of May, which accounted for that payment, and that the double-bill made for THREE DEDUCTIONS this month.

She told me to fax them my bank statement showing the double-bill, and that my account would be credited. I thanked her, then faxed my statement to the number that she provided, and SURPRISE...it didn't go through. When I called to see if the number was even a fax number, I found out it was their customer service number again. I waited on hold for another twenty minutes, then gave up and left a message.

I waited for two days, and NOTHING. Today, I spent another half-hour on hold with that INSANE MUSIC, then after a half hour, I got a pre-recorded message that said "Thank you for your call. Our office is now closed. Please call back during our business hours, which are between 8 am and 11 pm Eastern Standard Time." I almost exploded, because it was 2:30 in the afternoon Eastern Standard Time. I left an angry message on their answering machine explaining my predicament, then being a glutton for punishment (and complete idiot), I dialed again.

SAME...DAMN....THING. After a half hour on the phone, I got their idiotic message. How is it possible that a company could have customer service this bad? The hold music is calculated to drive the hold-ee into
prolonged bouts of mental illness. I can't imagine that the people who DO make it through could be in a very good mood when they do get a human on the other end.

The mind boggles.

Best,

Garth"

After the abominable wait on hold, I get a human to find out why the tech has not arrived. The CSR then drops the bomb on me. There is no appointment for a digital upgrade with DVR scheduled for my account!

Add another log on the interminable blaze of Comcast ineptitude, after the jump...

Andy writes:

"Right around Christmas last year, I decided that in lieu of anything else from my S.O., I would like to upgrade our cable to take advantage of my HD-TV. We already had a cable modem and the very basic (13 channel) cable TV. This was in essence an upgrade, costing 20 dollars more for digital and HD content, as well as 15 dollars for a compatible DVR. As the holidays were coming up, I tried to make the appointment before we would be gone to visit family, but no luck. The only appointment I could get was the first week in January. No, I could not install it myself, no picking up the box, the upgrade required a tech to come out (with a minimum fee of 34.95 for a service call) Not great, but what can you do? Anyway, after getting off the phone with my 3-week-later appointment, I went to do some work on the internet. Within five minutes of surfing, the connection went down. Now, I haven't had many problems with my service since moving from downtown Atlanta to Decatur, but I thought nothing of it at the time. It was getting late anyway, so I went to bed, expecting whatever trouble was occurring would be fixed by the morning. Well, sure enough, not only was my internet still disabled, but I was getting a very strange error telling me that if I wished to connect to the internet I needed to subscribe to Comcast's broadband service. This worried me so I went through the 1 hour wait time to talk to a CSR (the wait time was even longer the night before when I was trying to upgrade my service). I informed the CSR of my problem connecting, and was informed that I was not listed as having a broadband account, or even very basic cable. The only service I had listed was the digital cable that was to be installed next month! It was then I realized that whoever it was that set up my upgrade had somehow cancelled all the other services I already had. I explained to the CSR what I thought had happened, and he very nicely said he would take care of it. A couple of hours later, I was back online and everything was fine. For a while...

Fast-forward to the day of my appointment for my upgrade 3 weeks later. The appointment was from 8-11 am, so I let work know that I would be an hour or two late (I don't go in til 10). I get up bright and early and started waiting. At 10:30, I get on the horn to Comcast to find out what is going on. After the abominable wait on hold, I get a human to find out why the tech has not arrived. The CSR then drops the bomb on me. There is no appointment for a digital upgrade with DVR scheduled for my account! I ask how this is so, and the rep tells me after looking into it, that only one work-order can be open at any time and when my service was turned off and I called to get it fixed, they had closed my pending work-order for the upgrade and it had never been re-opened. So, ever helpful the CSR asked if I would like to schedule another appointment. Angry, I said yes, but asked how they were going make this gross mistake up to me. The answer was nothing. I persisted and finally got them to waive the $34.99 installation fee. Then I set up another appointment: 3 weeks from the time of my original one. This appointment worked out fine, but man is my butt still chapped about that one. I would have given up my cable, internet and everything but the only other option is Bellsouth, which I had previously sworn to never give another red cent after an even worse experience."

Please help me. Comcast is killing me."

Why is Comcast killing this nice woman and how can you help? Find out, after the jump...

Sherri writes:

"I am currently (as we speak) on the phone with Comcast's customer service line. I'm on hold as a customer service rep emails dispatch to find out why they haven't arrived. They have to email as they can't actually call dispatch. I know this because I do this all the time.

I had cable and internet reinstalled back in March (I'm going through a divorce and I had to have a new account set up). It took a month to get a DVR and it hasn't worked since I got it. In total, I have set up six appointments, five of which they have totally not shown up for. They are absolutely making me crazy.

My first appointment was from 2:00 - 5:00 on a Thursday. Took a half day off from work. Had a call at 5:30 that the technician was running late, and when he hadn't shown up at 7:30 I called them. They apologized and rescheduled for that Saturday from 8:00 - 11:00.

That Saturday at 1:30 I got a call. The dispatched told me that they hadn't come because they were out of DVRs and they needed to reschedule. I lost it and said I didn't care about the damn DVR at this point. If I didn't get internet I was going to seriously lose money and my mind, plus I really wanted my bloody cable TV. After I got really (really) angry they contacted dispatch. Finally at 4:00 or so, an angry tech showed up, which... sorry.

Had to wait three more weeks to get my DVR. Made an appointment for a Saturday, 11:00 - 2:00. I hated to do it as I had a guest in from out of town, but I couldn't miss more work. We sat around until 2:00, at which time I gave up. They called me an hour or so later, but this time they were helpful and rescheduled for that night... and actually showed. DVR obtained.

And then... the new DVR doesn't work. It freezes and crashes in both live and recorded. Recorded shows... don't. Or they cut off the last ten minutes. You can't pause live tv, which the machine helpfully notes is an error. In short, it doesn't work. And just for the record, my old DVR and the previous cable box worked perfectly.

So... I rescheduled on a Thursday, and took another half day off from work (I know!). I called before the appointment to ask customer service to email dispatch to tell them about my missed appointments, and to please show up, and to bring a DVR.

The tech showed up promptly, to my shock. Yay! He had, however, no DVRs.

He swore up and down that it almost certainly wouldn't be the DVR as they don't have any problems with them. So he found a splitter he says is the problem. I let myself be persuaded and he left.

That night it started crashing again. Last week, every single tv show I tried to watch crashed out. So I called AGAIN. And set up an appointment AGAIN, for this past Friday. I was going out of town for Easter, and really didn't want to wait another week for a weekend appointment, so I decided to take a full day off Friday rather than a half day to fit in the appointment. It was scheduled for 11:00 - 2:00. Nothing. Finally at 3:00 I had to leave for my trip.

At 3:30 I got a call that the tech was in front of my house. I had to tell them I was about forty miles from my house at that point, so what the hell could I do about it? I rescheduled AGAIN for Tuesday (today), and they actually had a night appointment available, so I took that.

Later that day, though, I got another call, this one saying that I had missed my appointment. I think I was a wee bit snippy when I told the person that it wasn't me who had missed the damn appointment. This person didn't know about the new appointment that the other rep had set up, so I had to set it up again.

Yesterday, I took the precaution of calling ahead and asking customer service to email dispatch with what's been going on, and asking them to call me in advance if they didn't have a DVR. I'm so naive.

I had to leave work an hour and a half early today if I wanted to be home at 5:00 for the appointment (Atlanta traffic). My boss, at this point, is as over it as I am. Got home. Waited. Then I got an automated call at 6:00 informing me that my appointment has been cancelled and I need to call Comcast to reschedule.

This time I really lost it. They actually had me crying.

So I called Comcast again. I waited while the nice rep (they're almost always nice. just utterly ineffectual.) wrote the usual emails. This time, though, she promised to call back after she finds out from dispatch what's going on. That's a new one. I'm still waiting.

I don't want to start over and get a dish. Even if I cancel cable, I still have to have internet from them unless I get a land line and DSL. I really wish there was some bloody competition. I think that's the worst part. I just want to get my damn cable to work, and I feel like a hostage.

PLEASE HELP ME!!! Anyone? (I'm totally serious)

-Sherri"

We think Sherri needs to contact the Atlanta, GA Information Technology Bureau, but can't find their number, does anyone have it?

Related: Shopper Sinks Teeth into Cable Company

UPDATE: Sandra writes: "She needs to contact her county Board of Commissioners; they should handle this sort of thing.

Fulton County — http://www.co.fulton.ga.us/commissioners/commissioners_home.html
Cobb County — http://www.cobbcountyga.gov/boc/chairman.htm
DeKalb County — http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/commission.htm"

Kristin Wallace, spokeswoman for Sprint Nextel. "In principle, Sprint Nextel believes the competitive wireless marketplace is serving its consumers well and that regulation of wireless service would be harmful to innovation and costly for consumers."

Caran Smith, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, said ... "By limiting a carrier's contract options, the state in effect is limiting a consumer's flexibility to move to rate plans and take advantage of services that meet their wireless needs."