Consumerist
pranks
Just Say 'Yes' To Telemarketers
Want to drive a telemarketer crazy and amuse yourself at the same time? Here's an example of how to do it.
Posts Tagged “
Howto
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walmart
How To Cancel An Order You've Placed On Walmart.com
As we noted in this earlier post, it's technically not possible to cancel an order after you've placed it on Wal-Mart's website. A helpful reader says there are a couple of ways around this, although neither option will immediately free up any hold on your funds. More »
capital one
Capital One Will Ruin This Guy's Credit One Way Or Another
Joseph is having problems paying his Capital One card, mainly because Capital One keeps making it hard for him to pay it, and then reports his payments past due after they've cleared the bank. Now he wants to know what he can do to remedy the situation. More »
advice
The Basics Of Insurance, Taxes, And 401(k)s For First-Time Employees
If you're entering the work force for the first time (although this probably pertains to lots of older employees too), all the details of insurance, taxes, and 401(k)s can be daunting/boring/confusing. Ron Lieber at the New York Times has pared away the extraneous bits and created a "primer for young people starting their first job," including helpful advice like why it's important to get health insurance, how to fill out your W-4, and why it's good to take advantage of the built-in "raise" that comes from a company-matching 401(k). Sure, this is all basic stuff, but that's the point. Ya gotta start somewhere. More »
personal finance
How To Say No To Charities
Trent at The Simple Dollar blog has a post about how to say no, especially to charitable requests. One of his readers describes the problem: More »
diy
Make Your Own Groceries
Food's getting too expensive, leaving us with two choices: lose our lead on per capita obesity, or find new ways to save money. We're not the type of nation to give up a first place position on anything, so that leaves us with saving money, and one way to do this is to make your own stuff. We know, it's crazy! Apparently early settlers somehow created their own Cheetos and Frappuccinos, but we're not going to get that primitive. Instead, here's a quick rundown of some interesting Do It Yourself tutorials we found that might give you some ideas on how to cut costs the next time you go grocery shopping. More »
Want to reduce your Bank of America spam mail? Our commenter tinder posted a link to their opt-out page in our earlier post on Chase spam. [www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/]
spam
How To Get Chase To Stop Sending You Direct Mail Offers Over And Over And Over
Anyone who's a customer of Chase knows how hardcore they can be about direct mail advertising. Martin writes:Over the last 12-24 months, I've been annoyed with about 3-4 mailings a week from Chase for various add-on services and useless products. Already a customer of theirs, I did not appreciate this onslaught of advertising. Here's a quick opt-out website in which you can cancel all direct marketing letters from Chase... dnmoptions.chase.com.More »
tips
8 Ways To Opt Out Of Junk Mail Lists
Direct mailers don't believe in the concept of opting in, so if you want to cut down on the amount of straight-to-the-trash mail you receive, you'll need to contact them directly and request that your name is removed. ForestEthics—the group behind the Do Not Mail Registry petition we blogged about earlier, has gathered several ways to contact the offending parties. More »
tips
50 Ways To Get Through Phone Systems
VOIP-News has a list of 50 ways to get through to a real, live, not necessarily well-trained CSR on phone systems. We're posting this not just because their first tip is "Read the Consumerist," but because there are some really good ideas here, like hitting up EDGAR to search for contact info on public companies. More »
bad salesmen
Nissan Dealership Won't Refund Deposit
Jay writes in with a question: how do you get back your deposit from a car dealership when a deal goes sour? The salesman jacked up the price after an initial negotiation, and now won't refund the deposit: "He said we'd be surprised at what he can make up to keep the deposit."More »
howto
How To Avoid Pre-Screened Offers Of Credit
Joseph writes in with a helpful reminder:Now might be a good time to remind people that they can opt-out of pre-screened offers of credit. In light of the HSBC debacle I've been victim of, I checked out my credit report yesterday. I was amazed at how often the major credit card companies (AMEX, Capital One, Bank of America, etc...) access my credit history in order pre-screen me for promotional purposes. Consumers can opt-out at: www.optoutprescreen.comMore »
haggling
Pick Up Some Haggling Tips At HowToHaggle.com
HowToHaggle.com is a short, easy-to-skim website devoted exclusively to the concept of haggling. It's not the world's most extensive resource, but the tips page lists 15 very good things to keep in mind the next time you want to score a better deal on a product. More »
how to
The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back (Revised Edition)
We've posted recently about how to fight back when a business screws you over, and we've posted a lot of executive contact info over the years. Now we're packaging the two together into one big mega-post of usefulness: a one-stop-stop for figuring out what you need to do to start a customer complaint, or how to escalate a stalled one so that it can be resolved. More »
11:00 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
By Chris Walters
76,755 views,
4 comments
You don't have to spend $30 at Petco to gussy up your small dog in embarrassing winter wear, says the MAKE blog. Just find an old argyle sock and follow their simple, six-cut pattern. Warning: it makes a hat, too! [makezine.com]
howto
How To Order A Domain Name From GoDaddy
The times, they are a changin': whether it's for business, a hobby, some drunken money-making scheme at three in the morning, or just to feel like you own something (our girlfriend says it's "the poor man's real estate"), there's a good chance that you have bought or will buy a domain name at some point. One of the cheapest and most popular places to do this is GoDaddy.com, and designer C. Julian Klewes has written a handy illustrated guide to getting through their check-out gauntlet unscathed. More »
lines are for suckers
How To Get Into A Baseball Game
The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd,1. There are always seats available.
The worst thing that can happen to a team is to not have a good seat available for a big-time season ticket holder, or a team executive, or anyone else of importance who needs it. As you get closer to game time, and the chance that someone one of these people will need a ticket diminishes, ticket managers are more likely to give the seat out to someone lower on the food chain. Even if a game is "sold out," stay persistent and you might not only get in, but might get a damn good seat.
2. Windows are for suckers.
Almost every stadium to which I've every been has a sales office open to the public. It's in here where the managers and full-time sales staff reside during pre-game. These are the people who can get you that extra ticket or find you a seat to a "sold out" event. Don't waste your breath arguing at the ticket window, those people are usually part-time and can't do much. Plus, it's much harder to argue when there's a big line behind you and a big plastic window in front of you. Sales offices usually have smaller lines and a counter without a window - this makes it much easier to negotiate. More »
howto
Lifehacker Roundup
• Retirement plans for freelancers?"Sure a Roth IRA is great... there are a few other options for those of us going solo, like an individual 401(k), SEP IRA, or SIMPLE plan." More »
