• cookies

    Electronics Store Implements Tastiest Return Policy Ever

    Our former sibling site Gizmodo recently posted the return policy section of a receipt from Mikey's Hook Up in Brooklyn. Whimsical in-joke or cruel anti-consumer policy? You be the judge. More »

    7:30 AM on Wed Aug 12 2009
    By Laura Northrup
    17,132 views, 43 comments

  • nsfw

    NSFW: "New" Best Buy DVD Player Comes With Free "Buckets O' Cum" DVD

    UPDATE: Best Buy Gives Reader $30 Gift Card For Selling Her "New" DVD Player Preloaded With XXX Movie

    This picture is essentially the epitome of why it's really messed up that Best Buy will take a piece of used or returned equipment and sell it as new... eventually someone is going to get a DVD player with a copy of "Buckets of Cum" in the disc drive. The caption on the photo submitted to our Flickr pool reads,

    When we went to Best Buy and purchased a cheap DVD player after our old one broke, we were surprised to find "Buckets of Cum" in the DVD player. Ewwwwww...apparently, even though it was sold to us as new, it was actually used. I tried to call Best Buy that night, but they were already closed.
    More »

    3:52 PM on Fri Mar 20 2009
    By Ben Popken
    197,367 views, 142 comments

    Most discussed LiquidGravity: Umm, I think you mixed up something. It doesn't say NSFW image is inside until you are inside the more »

  • deals

    What Do Deal Site Acronyms Like "YMMV" And "AC" Mean?

    If you're new to hunting for deals online, you'll start seeing all these funky acronyms used as shorthand. Here's some of the most common ones and what they mean: More »

    11:10 AM on Wed Mar 18 2009
    By Ben Popken
    21,270 views, 69 comments

  • dell

    Dell Settles With 34 States Over Anti-Consumer Practices

    A $3.35 million settlement has been reached with 34 states in the suit against Dell alleging deceptive practices like misleading consumers about financing terms, rebates, and warranties. The states are... More »

    1:32 PM on Mon Jan 12 2009
    By Ben Popken
    18,180 views, 60 comments

    Most discussed rellog: Dell is a horrible company that I advise anyone that listens to stay away from... the outrageously expensive proprietary RAM more »

  • monster cable

    Monster Cable Drops Suit Against Monster Mini Golf

    Monster Cable has decided to stop pursuing a trademark infringement against Monster Mini Golf. Judging by the post-settlement letter Noel sent the MiniGolf people, it seems that after both parties kicked their lawyers out of the room and talk directly, they were able to come to an amicable solution. Monster Cable will stop opposing the MiniGolf trademark and will cover MonsterMini Golf's attorney fees. Noel's letter, inside: More »

    11:53 AM on Wed Jan 7 2009
    By Ben Popken
    14,613 views, 94 comments

    Most discussed krztov: am i the only one who hates his response? "I will say that this is a landmark kind of situation, as more »

  • black friday

    28 Bad Things That Will Happen On Black Friday

    A Fry's electronic worker has posted his predictions for 28 bad things that happen inside stores this Black Friday. There's things on there like registers being down, full-on face-punching between customers, and customers and employees getting away with shoplifting. It's not just for Fry's, I imagine these things will be happening in stores across America, assuming people have any money left to go Black Friday shopping this year. Maybe you can make the 28 things inside into a Bingo Card and play against your friends... More »

    2:21 PM on Mon Nov 24 2008
    By Ben Popken
    43,393 views, 137 comments

    Most discussed tc4b: I predict I will heat up some leftover pie, make some coffee, and have a delicious day-after-thanksgiving breakfast in my more »

  • circuit city death watch

    Timeline: How Circuit City Came Undone

    Bankruptcy is a time for reflection, we guess, so we put together a nice little time line of Circuit City's precipitous decline over the past 2 years. We begin our journey in March of 2007, when Circuit City announced that it was firing everyone who knew what 1080p meant so that they could hire cheaper labor... More »

    Feature

    3:21 PM on Mon Nov 10 2008
    By Meg Marco
    50,659 views, 120 comments

    Most discussed Uh oh... Cleveland: I would love, love, love if this thing could be traced back to the firing of the experienced employees, who more »

  • heroes

    Man Tells Fax Spammers To Go Fax Themselves... And They Comply

    Pat is our consumer action hero of the week. He writes: More »
  • boxes of crap

    What To Do When A Store Sells You Box Of Crap And Won't Take It Back

    We get a lot of complaints about people buying things from stores like Best Buy and Target and finding that once they get them home — there's a bunch of bathroom tiles in the box instead of the item, or that the item is used, broken or smashed. When they try to return the thing, the store tells them that they're out of luck. When you ask why they think they can get away with selling you a paperweight instead of an XBOX, they point to some bullsh*t policy and send you on your way. You don't have to put up with this. In this post, we'll tell you a) How to keep this from happening to you in the first place. b) How to equip yourself with tools that will help you in the event that this does happen to you. c) How to take advantage of these tools so that you never get stuck with someone's old broken PS3. More »

    Feature

    10:29 AM on Thu Sep 4 2008
    By Meg Marco
    159,181 views, 132 comments

    Most discussed mdoublej: I'm afraid I may have started this trend in the early nineties. I worked at a software store with a more »

  • leaks

    Get Comcast Just For Wii? Flee? Fee.

    If you think you can sign up with Comcast just to get a Wii and then cancel or downgrade service, think again. Downgrade service or cancel in the first year, $250 in fees, second year, $125. Other restrictions apply. The insider says the new Wii promotion is a bunch of crap and they and other Comcast CSRs won't be offering it to customers unless customers beg for it because of all the caveats. Frankly, they're in the right for protecting their asses on this one. However, it's not too hard to imagine scenarios where Comcast gets the account details wrong and customers wrongly get assessed fees... The internal document, inside... More »

    11:15 AM on Fri Aug 1 2008
    By Ben Popken
    12,601 views, 28 comments

    Latest by christoj879: Step 1: Obtain blank death certificates and find a bunch of friends without Comcast Step 2: ??? Step 3: PROFIT! more »

  • norton

    Top 10 Norton/Symantec Secrets You Shouldn't Know

    I awoke this morning to find a dead man on my doorstep, apparently from the gunshot wound to his back. By examining the depth of the tread marks and the streak of blood on the walls, I determined that he had dragged himself up after receiving the fatal bullet. I cleaned up the pool of blood with some extra-thirsty Brawny towels, and rifled the pockets of his black trench coat to find a package addressed to "The Consumerist." A hastily scrawled coversheet read, "Please keep my identity secret, I could lose my job. I have compiled a "10 Norton/Symantec secrets I shouldn't be telling you" list." Too late. Someone already punched his pink slip. Let's read what was inside... More »

    11:04 AM on Thu Jul 31 2008
    By Ben Popken
    145,057 views, 97 comments

    Most discussed ekthesy: @Landru: it's like they are using a vocoder or something digital that evens out the accent. Ask them if they feel like more »

  • insiders

    10 Secrets To Getting Better Tech Support From Asus

    An Asus technician has stepped forward out the shadows to give us the 10 insider tips for getting through and getting better and faster tech support from the computer and computer parts maker. Some things just can't be fixed though, but it's at least to know the soul-crushing math they're using to destroy the customer experience. Considering how bad their tech support is, you're definitely going to need these tips... More »

    Feature

    6:41 PM on Wed Jul 16 2008
    By Ben Popken
    25,675 views, 46 comments

    Latest by RodrigoOrestes: I bought my A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard in '05.  Over the years, I've had to flash the bios to get the more »

  • get out of your cellphone contract

    Want The New iPhone? Here's How To Escape Your Current Cellphone Contract ETF-Free

    As the second coming of the Jesusphone 3G draws near, we wanted to remind customers of other wireless carriers that there are ways to escape your existing cellphone contract free of early termination fees, and trade your piddling Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile bills for hundreds of pages of gloriously itemized AT&T charges. Or just switch carriers. More »

    6:14 PM on Thu Jul 10 2008
    By Alex Chasick
    58,771 views, 68 comments

    Latest by missDZ: Thank you Consumerist I just got out of my Verizon plan. I simply said that the new fee increase and the more »

  • exclusives

    Powerpoint By Pissed Comcast Employee Reveals They Know Exactly How Much They Suck

    It's no secret to Consumerist readers that Comcast's outsourced techs are often late, rude and incompetent, and that calling customer service is more akin to improving dialogue in a Beckett play, but as this exclusively obtained powerpoint made by a Comcast employee shows, it's no secret to the cable company either. (I know the damn thing wasn't officially created by Comcast corp. C'mon, give us more credit than that. It's pretty obvious that it's too funny to be official. I just meant to describe how it was created by a Comcast employee and passed around to other Comcast employees and came from inside Comcast. I realize now that "internal" makes it sound official, and that wasn't my intention. I apologize for the confusion.) Watch and/or download the powerpoint, inside... More »

    11:56 AM on Fri Jun 20 2008
    By Ben Popken
    148,210 views, 127 comments

    Latest by camillus8: I used to work at a cable company. Both at the local operational level and at headquarters. It more »

  • iphone

    The New iPhone May Save You Money—If You Don't Buy One

    If you're thinking about getting that new 3G iPhone, you might want to hold off a few more months and see what happens with the other carriers. BusinessWeek has an article about how AT&T's aggressive subsidizing of the iPhone will have a negative impact on handset makers and carriers, because it's going to force them to increase subsidies and reduce service fees. Translation: good times for the consumer bold enough to stay off the iPhone train. More »

    11:48 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
    By Chris Walters
    22,026 views, 68 comments

    Latest by Dyscord: So AT&T charges $30 for the data plan? And this is JUST the data? I know Sprint's cheapest plan for more »

  • cable

    25 Reasons Why Cable Technicians Hate You

    It is no secret that we dole out criticism of the cable companies, perhaps, on a daily basis. We thought it might be fair and equitable to learn what cable technicians hate about the customers. We found out about this post written by a cable tech who isn't afraid to let it fly, "And every once in a while, we get the one customer, and we just fucking hate you," says "InstallerTechJeff" on Cable Rant Forums. The 25 reasons, inside... More »

    12:29 PM on Fri Jun 13 2008
    By Jay Slatkin
    54,154 views, 305 comments

    Most discussed Gokuhouse: There are so many things wrong with that list....I actually would have to write them all down as I read more »

  • guilty

    Judge: "Dell Has Engaged In Repeated Misleading, Deceptive And Unlawful Business Conduct"

    A state judge in Albany, NY has found that Dell "has engaged in repeated misleading, deceptive and unlawful business conduct,including false and deceptive advertising of financing promotions and the terms of warranties, fraudulent, misleading and deceptive practices in credit financing and failure to provide warranty service and rebates." More »

    9:46 PM on Tue May 27 2008
    By Meg Marco
    17,277 views, 73 comments

    Latest by Phreggs: The DPA (Dell Preferred Account) actually mentions that the interest rate is a seperate approval, ran through by CIT Bank. Anywho, more »

  • videos

    How Robots Are Killing Customer Service

    Here is the live audio and powerpoint from a recent presentation I gave called, "The 5 Things Your Customers Aren't Telling You." This is number 3, "Stop Hiding Behind Walls Of Robots." It's all about how companies think they're saving money by replacing humans with machines but sometimes machines can't do jobs as well as humans, especially when it comes to customer service. I brought the point to life with a funny little story about eBay and their wonderfully inept automated email response system. I hope you enjoy the video, including the intro and outro ditties I worked up on my girlfriend's old Yamaha synth. More »

    Feature

    12:01 PM on Tue May 20 2008
    By Ben Popken
    21,712 views, 57 comments

    Most discussed Kajj: @eelmonger: You know what might work? It won't be quite as cheap, obviously, but just throw a line down at more »