• Newegg: Wii Fit with Balance Board, We Ski, and Hori Wii mat for $149.99
• Apple: Buy a Mac, get an iPod touch for free after rebate
• IKEA: Labor Day Sale, up to 50% off (in-store only)

• Eastern Mountain Sports: Labor Day Sale Save up to 70% off
• Amazon: Up to 50%+ off High Sierra Backpacks & Messenger Bags
• Geeks: Kodak EasyShare V1003 10MP Digital Camera $90

• Arbor Day Foundation: 10 trees for $10
• Arby's: BOGO free Super Roast Beef Sandwich, more coupons
• The Fruit Company: 25% off everything coupon

• Vann's: Klipsch iGroove HG iPod Speakers $100 Shipped
• Mac Connection: Apple iMac $1099 + Free VMWare Fusion Software
• Chefs: Labor Day Sale: Save up to 80% off Cookware, Kitchen Tools, & More

• Southwest: Fares starting at $59 one-way
• Purina: Free bag of Purina Yesterday's News cat litter
• Arizona Jeans: 50% off select jeans and all shoes

...expenses related to foreclosures and other credit losses increased to $5.3 billion from $3.2 billion in the previous quarter. And the company signaled that those losses would probably accelerate.

The loss “is a reflection of the extraordinary pressures at work in the housing and mortgage markets,” Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer, Stephen M. Swad, said in a statement. “The credit picture remains very difficult.”

“We estimate that average home prices declined by 6 percent on a national basis during the second quarter of 2008, which translates to an 8 percent total national decline since the beginning of the downturn in the second quarter of 2006."

Two days ago Freddie Mac, the second largest lender, told investors that it had experienced a loss that was 3 times what they were expecting.

Fannie Mae says they will stop offering Alt-A mortgages and cut operating costs by 10%.

A $2.3 Billion Loss for Fannie Mae [NYT]

The faxed scam says, "We are happy to info you that you have emerged a winner under the F&F EQUITY DRAW, which is part of a promotional draws organized by all crediting lending partners to enable home owners who owned a home all over the United States of America have more money, and at the same time buy more homes in the area where they live. The funds were drawn from part of the total Fifty Billion US Dollars ($50 Billion) release to the financial institutions and creditros by the Government and other donor nations who have so much interest and investments in the United States of America."

Here's the BBB's report on investigating the scam:

After faxing my official “Equity Draw” information sheet to a number in Idaho, I called the 778 number and had the pleasure of speaking to “Jorge Marcelo”, at Fannie n Freddie Prize Headquarters. He said he had my fax right there in front of him, which is interesting since I never told him who I was nor did he ask. But he did tell me that to collect my big prize I was required to wire a “processing fee” of $850 to the Vegas address in my documents via Western Union, call him with the WU control number and then I could collect my riches.

Obviously I’m excited, so I invited the FBI to share in my excitement. I’m not sure if there’s anything here worth law enforcement pursuit, but that’ll be up to them. My guess is Jorge is probably not in BC, and that the WU office in Vegas will forward my $850 to another location, and it may be bounced several times.

Fraudsters have a core set of scams that they just keep putting new hats on old scams to fit the zeitgeist. Most of us wouldn't fall for this iteration, rife with spelling and grammatical errors. But a few, like the desperate, elderly, ignorant, non-native-English-speaking, or some combination thereof, might. The scammers, will, however, try another variant on the lottery scam. For them, it's all a numbers game, and their auto-dialers just keep ringing up one more.

(Photo: ptaff)

Bush had originally threatened to veto the bill over the inclusion of $3.9 billion in "neighborhood grants" which he claimed would benefit the lenders who caused the mortgage meltdown, but relented as the credit crisis deepened.

Bloomberg says that the big losers in the bill may be Freddie and Fannie shareholders, who could lose their equity if the US Treasury uses its new authority to take over the GSEs.

Bush signs housing bill to provide mortgage relief [AP]
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

It's amazing that Apple doesn't recognize this situation. This is an airplane that's stuck on the runway for hours with no food or working bathroom. And the pilot doesn't come on the P.A. system to tell the customers what the problem is, what's being done to fix it, how much longer they might be stuck, and how he empathizes with their plight. Instead, he comes on once every three hours to repeat the same thing: "We apologize for the inconvenience."

It's true, Apple did address these problems early on, even going so far as to offer a free 1-month extension to current subscribers. But Pogue points out that whatever problems were plagueing MobileMe haven't been entirely eradicated, because a note appeared on the MobileMe support site that read, "1% of MobileMe members cannot access MobileMe Mail. We apologize for this service interruption and are working hard to resolve the problem."

So how is Apple trying to help out this subset of customers? By hiding behind a broken customer service system, Pogue writes:

MobileMe tech support, my correspondents tell me, is nearly impossible to reach; the recording says that the support team is "unavailable due to the overwhelming interest in MobileMe." (Somehow I doubt that "overwhelming interest" is the problem.) When you do reach them, they're apologetic but can do nothing to help.

By contrast—and even I can't believe I'm about to compare T-Mobile's customer service to Apple's, but here goes—yesterday I couldn't get online using T-Mobile's HotSpot service at a Starbucks in NYC. I called the customer support line at the bottom of the error message screen fully expecting to get nowhere—really it was just a masochistic impulse to test how incompetent they'd be. What I got instead was a live, helpful person after three rings, and when I was escalated up to a support tech, she answered in less than 60 seconds and gave me advice on how to fix the problem. I assume T-Mobile is dumping extra resources into HotSpot support right now, especially with Starbucks since they're having to deal with AT&T taking over the system and causing who knows what kinds of customer service snafus, but you'd think Apple would try a similar approach with its first big push into a new service.

"Apple's MobileMess" [New York Times]
(Screen cap of customer service wait time: Hayden)

From the NYT:

An official said the Fed’s decision to permit the companies to borrow from its so-called discount window was approved at the request of the Treasury, but that it was temporary and would probably end once Congress approved Treasury’s plan. Some officials briefed on the plan said Congress could be asked to extend the total line of credit to the institutions to $300 billion.

The actions, which taken together could provide an overwhelming surge of capital to the companies, were the second time in four months that the housing crisis had prompted the government to scramble over a weekend to rescue a major financial institution. Last March, the Treasury Department engineered the sale of Bear Stearns to prevent it from going into bankruptcy and cause a shock to the financial system.

Paulson, who has spent the last week assuring everyone that Freddie and Fannie are "adequately capitalized," had this to say:

“The president has asked me to work with Congress to act on this plan immediately,” the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., said Sunday on the steps of the Treasury building. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in our housing finance system and must continue to do so in their current form as shareholder-owned companies. Their support for the housing market is particularly important as we work through the current housing correction.”

Treasury Acts to Shore Up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [NYT]

Together, Freddie and Fanny own or guarantee more than half of the nation's mortgages — about $12 trillion, according to the NYT.

Under a 1992 law, Fannie or Freddie could be put into conservatorship if their top regulator found that either one is “critically undercapitalized.” A conservator would have sweeping powers to overhaul them, but would not have the authority to close them.

Treasury Secretary Paulson maintains that he is in favor of supporting the GSEs in their current form.

"Today our primary focus is supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their current form as they carry out their important mission,'' Paulson said in a statement today in Washington. ``We are maintaining a dialogue with regulators and with the companies.''

As of this post, Freddie is trading at 5.85. Fannie is trading at 9.83. Both are down about 25%.

U.S. Weighs Takeover of Two Mortgage Giants [NYT]
(Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

As you might expect, this didn't exactly instill confidence in the GSEs (Government Sponsored Enterprises). Their stocks are down, way down, and people are staring to wonder what will happen if they fail?

Unfortunately there's no good answer, all we seem to know is that it would be really, really, really bad if the government was forced to step in and bail out the GSEs, but it would probably be worse if they just let them fail.

From Fortune:

"If Fannie or Freddie failed, it would be far worse than the fall of [investment bank] Bear Stearns," says Sean Egan, head of credit ratings firm Egan Jones. "It could throw the economy into depression or something close to it."

In case you're wondering what Freddie and Frannie do — Fortune explains: they "help the mortgage market function by purchasing pools of loans and packaging them into securities. If one or both couldn't function, the result would be chaos."

Meanwhile,Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson maintains that Freddie and Frannie are going to be fine:

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also working through this challenging period," Paulson said. "Their regulator has made clear that they are adequately capitalized."

As of this post, Freddie and Frannie have lost about 43 percent and 25 percent of their value (respectively) since Monday.

Fannie and Freddie Stocks Continue Their Slide [Washington Post]
Lehman Shares Sink as Fannie, Freddie Plunge Further [Bloomberg]
The Fannie and Freddie doomsday scenario [Fortune](Thanks, Chris!)

He writes:

I recently ditched Windows XP at my house, and have moved to the Macintosh platform (and converted my PC machines to Ubuntu)

I've had zero issues with the conversion, except for my HP "all in one" scanner/pc/fax machine. Although I can get it to work just fine with Ubuntu, I cannot scan from OS X Leopard.

After some googling, I contacted HP support who informed me that there are no plans to update their drivers for Leopard. This is not an old printer, I bought it 4 years ago and I'd think it's in their best interest to support the segment of the market that's moving to Mac.

Instead of solving my problem with a new driver, they're trying to solve it by offering me a "trade in / trade up" program where they want me to buy a new HP printer. The only thing this will serve to do is to kill any brand loyalty I had to HP and cause me to never buy another HP product again.

I find it funny that the open source community can get scanning working just fine on Ubuntu, but a company like HP can't tweak their drivers to get it to work on a mac. C'mon HP, get it together!!!

Hello Matt,

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

With the Officejet 6110 & the Leopard OS, you will be able to print dew to the pre-installed print driver with the OS. For scanning, there is no software and drivers that will support this. There will be no software updates for this product and the Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard). We do have a program called trade in trade up. This is where you can trade the older unit in on a newer model. If you would like more information about this program, please reply to this email. Thank you

If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support experience. We would appreciate your feedback.

For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site at: http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare

Sincerely,
Scott W.
HP Total Care

Can anyone think of a way to translate the scanner's outdated language for Leopard? Suggestions in the comments.

Some businesses, however, aren't so easily mollified.

Three businesses that lost data during the update snafu have filed a lawsuit against Intuit and have asked a federal judge to grant the case class-action status. The firms — Create-A-Card Inc. in New York, AGSJ Inc. in California and Philanthropic Focus LLC in Florida — charged Intuit with reacting slowly to news from users of the buggy update and said that they each had lost irreplaceable data.

[Re. "no buggy updates": At least not on the user side—we know that doesn't guarantee anything...]

"We would expect that our total future credit losses on our current book of business would total approximately between $10 billion and $12 billion," Chief Executive Officer Richard Syron told an investors conference sponsored by Goldman Sachs.

"If I were you, I would want in this time period someone running one of these companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to err on the side of pessimism rather than optimism," he said.

In other news, both Freddie and Fannie have decided to stop buying so many bad loans and are are changing their criteria for purchasing delinquent home loans, in order to reduce the number they buy from investors.

The companies customarily repurchased most mortgages once they were 120 days past due. Freddie Mac said it will now purchase delinquent loans that were part of larger securities issued by the firm when the mortgages are at least 120 days past due and either the mortgage has been modified, a foreclosure sale occurs, or the cost of payments to security holders exceeds the cost of holding the loans. It will also repurchase mortgages that are 24 months delinquent.

Fannie, Freddie Buying Fewer Bad Loans [NWITimes]
Freddie Mac expects $10-12 billion credit losses [Reuters]
(Photo:wwworks)

"It's as bad as it possibly could be,'' said Howard Shapiro, an analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton in New York told Bloomberg, as he downgraded the lender to "sell."

Government-sponsored mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were considered "less vulnerable in the housing crisis because have had less exposure to high-risk, subprime mortgages," said the Associate Press.

"Without doubt, 2007 has been an extremely difficult year for the country's housing and credit markets and, as our third quarter financial results reflect, we have been impacted by the deterioration in these markets," said Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive officer in a statement. "We recognized the challenges facing the mortgage markets, however, and have taken further steps to address them. At the same time, as our charter mandates, we have continued to meet our mission by playing a stabilizing role in the markets and supporting our customers.

"Freddie Mac is a housing finance company operating in what today is a troubled housing and credit market. It will take time for this market to turn around. But as it improves, we are optimistic about Freddie Mac's longer-term prospects. The market shift towards fixed rate originations and improved pricing and credit standards should position us well as the weakness in credit markets begins to improve and we are able to leverage our traditional strengths."

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae account for 40% of the U.S. home loan market, and the losses will mean that less cash will be available for new loans.

"There is nothing we see right now to be more optimistic,'' Chief Financial Officer Anthony Piszel told Bloomberg. He told analysts on a conference call that the fourth quarter "is not going to be pretty.''

Freddie Posts Loss, May Cut Dividend; Shares Plunge [Bloomberg]
FREDDIE MAC REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2007 NET LOSS OF $2.0 BILLION OR $3.29 PER DILUTED SHARE [Freddie Mac]
$2 Billion Freddie Mac Loss [AP]
(Photo:Carol T. Powers/Bloomberg News)

Q. Who should consider a Mac?

A. Pretty much every average consumer using a computer should at least look at the Mac. It combines gorgeous hardware with an operating system I consider superior to Windows, with better built-in software. It can even run Windows programs if you buy and install a copy of Windows. And unless you do that, you won't be vulnerable to the vast array of viruses and spyware that threaten Windows users. Only a handful, so far, have been written to run on the Mac operating system, OS X.

Q. Who shouldn't consider the Mac?

A. People who spend much of their time playing cutting-edge games should stick to Windows computers, because there are far fewer games written for OS X. Apple doesn't offer hardware tuned for serious gaming. People looking for the lowest-price PCs should also avoid the Mac, because Apple's cheapest model, the Mac Mini, costs $599.

Another group that should shun Apple's computers are people who depend for support on corporate IT departments that are either ignorant about, or hostile to, the Mac. Finally, if you know and like Windows, and expect mainly to use Windows programs, stick with a Windows PC.

Why such a price difference? Obviously, cheese spirals are a technological marvel and Kraft needs to recoup the cost of building an entire spiral factory, not to mention the research and development. Plus, there's the benefit of eating mac n cheese feature 3 chicks you've never heard of. So, if you're looking for the best mac n cheese value, stick with the classic elbow box.

spiral macaroni is a racket [thoughts on technology]

He bases his claim on Comcast's install procedure, which he says requires IE5... even on a Mac. Teehee! Here's the best part:

The web contains other stories — including one from a user group for Apple fans. One Mac owner reports he'd called Comcast to troubleshoot his cable modem. Comcast's technician told him he knew "nothing about *&@#$ing Macs,"eventually disappearing into his truck. By the time the technican returned, the customer had repaired the cable modem himself with a phone call to Comcast's support line.

Do we think Comcast hates Macs and Firefox? No. Do we think Comcast considers the customers who use these products to be a statistically insignificant anomaly not worthy of the considerable investment it would take to optimize their products? Yes.

Does Comcast hate Macs? [Tech.Blorge via Slashdot]

The program lets you track spending, create budgets, schedule transactions, and more. It even lets you import Quicken files. It also looks nice. But pretty don't come for free, iBank runs $49.99.

If that's too rich, you can also try one of these 8 Free Personal Finance Management Programs or 6 Free Alternatives To Quicken And Money.

iBank2 [IGG Software] (Thanks to Daniel!)

While we do understand that Apple's warranty doesn't cover throwing your laptop into a river or sitting on it, most of the complaints we get are from genuine-sounding people who are astounded and hurt by being called liars and denied warranty coverage under a plan they paid a lot of money for.

Louis is such a person. After getting the runaround from Apple he sat down and wrote a nice letter to Steve Jobs about the poor quality of service that Apple's warranty repair team was giving him. He blind CC'd the complaint to us. You you can read it... and Louis' follow-up email, inside.

Louis writes to Steve Jobs:

June 10, 2007

Steven P. Jobs
1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014
sjobs@apple.com

Mr. Jobs:

My name is Louis [redacted], and I have been a loyal Macintosh user for a relatively long period of time. I am writing this letter to inform you about the horrible experience I have been recently having with both Apple, Inc. and its products. Taking my years of using Apple's products and services into account, I cannot say that I have ever experienced a situation as disappointing as the situation I am detailing to you today. As such, I purchased my MacBook Pro (Serial number: [redacted]) on March 7, 2006, only to find its enclosure becoming extremely hot after some time of use and the battery beginning to fail after two months. I had called AppleCare to resolve the issue, and the battery was replaced under my AppleCare warranty. The MacBook Pro was relatively fine for eleven months, that is until its display failed.

The failure of the MacBook Pro's display occurred on April 7, 2007, when I was using the computer at my desk. The laptop is always used on my desk, as I was instructed to do so by AppleCare when I initially complained about its intense heat. As such, the MacBook Pro is rarely handled, only to transport it to Apple for service. After I was finished with my work on the computer, I had put the computer to sleep by gently closing its lid. I have always closed the lid by putting a slight amount of pressure on it until the lid made contact with the bottom casing. This time, however, the hinges failed to prevent the lid from falling, and the lid subsequently made contact with the bezel much more quickly than ever before. At this point in time, I realized that I still required use of the computer, and I lifted the lid up to awake the MacBook Pro from its sleep. I did this only to find the display plagued by a series of vertical lines covering about 2/3 of the screen's area. I was initially bewildered by this, as I had never seen it occur before on any of my previous computers with LCD displays. I rebooted the computer several times, reset the PRAM, and even reformatted the hard drive with a fresh copy of OS X, but none of these things worked. I had no choice but to call AppleCare for support.

My initial AppleCare call (Case ID:[redacted]) resulted in a troubleshooting session essentially similar to the steps I had already conducted. The support agent, Sue, determined that I would have to bring the computer into an Apple Store for service, as there was nothing more AppleCare could do for me over the phone. I explained that the Apple Store nearest my home was a bit of a drive away, but bringing it there was still suggested. I then brought the computer to the Sagemore Apple Store in Marlton, New Jersey as soon as physically possible. The problem occurred over Easter weekend, so the store was not open until Monday, April 9th. The employees there determined that the computer would have to be sent out for service, and subsequently arranged for an at-home pickup. The employee that assisted me, Eric, inspected my computer while on the phone with the AppleCare depot, noting that it was in flawless condition. The process was relatively fast, and I thanked the employees for their assistance. A box arrived at my home the next day, and I packed the MacBook Pro for it to be serviced (Repair ID: [redacted]).

Some days later, I decided to confirm my repair status via Apple Support's online repair status service. I noticed that the status indicated something akin to "Apple needs more information before we can repair your product. Please contact AppleCare." By this time, I was surprised, as I had ensured that the Apple Store employee had provided all of my contact information to the AppleCare depot agent when the service request was arranged. I then called AppleCare, and the representative presented with me of a charge for $1259.95, based on the repair depot's claim that the MacBook Pro had experienced "physical damage." She then noted that the depot claimed that the bottom casing was showing "warping." I had taken pictures of the MacBook Pro immediately before I had packaged it for service, and I could not identify the damage that the the repair depot was claiming. I requested to speak with a supervisor so the charge for service would be removed, but the supervisor failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion at the time. She then arranged for the MacBook Pro to be shipped back to my home without repair, as I had no other options at the time. In the process, she assured me that all of the components aside from the display and lower bezel casing would remain covered by my AppleCare plan. I had called again some time after that call in hopes of speaking with a representative that would repair the computer, but the representative would not agree to do so. This representative also confirmed that the only components no longer covered by my AppleCare agreement were the bottom bezel and LCD display. The representative then suggested that I file a claim under my credit card company's extended warranty plan. In attempt to minimize the amount of aggravation on my part, I filed a claim with Visa for this service and waited for Visa's response.

About a month later, I had received a call from a Visa claims administrator, and he stated that my claim was denied based upon Apple's claims of "physical damage" to my unit. The claims administrator stated that he had spoken with Aaron at Apple, and Aaron had noted that there was "corrosion in the hinges that caused them to fail and a cracked screen." As I had no other options, I then called AppleCare again in an attempt to resolve the issue.

By this time it was May 15th, and I spoke with Crystal [redacted]. She further detailed the depot's claimed problems with my MacBook Pro, and these included the "warping," "physical damage," and "bottom bezel damage." I explained to her that I did not cause the damage myself, and that no other person had handled the machine while it was in my possession. That is, while it was not at Apple to be serviced. She explained that there were pictures that the depot had taken illustrating this claimed damage, and that she was able to send the entire set to me. I received these pictures, and to this day, I fail to see any significant abnormalities with the computer. Crystal then claimed that Apple's images prove that the LCD screen was physically cracked, yet the images which were sent to me do not illustrate anything remotely close to proof that the screen is "cracked." Moreover, she denied that my computer's hinges were corroded when I stated that is what Apple told Visa. I asked her to verify the claims again, and she again denied the existence of such corrosion. I was beginning to become suspicious of Apple's practices at this point, as the information given to either to me or my credit card company was incorrect. After about an hour of attempting to resolve the issue, I was yet again left without many options. One of these options was contacting the Better Business Bureau, and I filed a complaint with them later that day. When had filed the complaint, I had realized that Apple was not a BBB member, but still believed that Apple would at least respond to the complaint by the given deadline. Now, it seems that I was wrong about that belief.

Since the lines on my MacBook Pro's display were progressively worsening, I was forced to connect an external monitor to the computer to continue my daily work. As I do not use the machine solely for work, I attempted to play the few modern, Mac-based games available (Call of Duty 2, Civilization IV), and found that the MacBook Pro would unexpectedly shutdown while playing these games. These shutdowns would not even prompt the infamous kernel panic message, the computer would just completely cease operation. Further use of the machine led me to realize that the problem was only apparent while using graphics or CPU-intensive applications, as well as Windows XP under BootCamp. The problem would never occur when just using web browsing or email applications under OS X, regardless of version. As I had been familiar with a similar problem on the MacBook line of computers, I called AppleCare for assistance (Case ID: [redacted]). After detailing to him the problems which Apple claimed were wrong with the computer, the support agent stated that it was a hardware issue, most commonly with the logic board, and that a box would be sent to my home for repair (Repair ID: [redacted]). With the assurance of the previous support agents that all components aside from the screen and bezel would be covered, I naturally expected that the repair would be covered. As it turned out, this was not the case.

Two days after I had shipped the computer, I checked Apple's online support status site, only to see that Apple now needed more information about my product before it can be repaired. I then called AppleCare, and spoke with Obi. Obi claimed that the previous assessment of physical damage voided my computer's entire warranty until the fee for repair of the screen and bezel was paid. I explained to him that was not in line with what was told to me by previous representatives, and that the problem was relatively common. This did not have any effect, so I requested to speak with a supervisor, Jennifer. Jennifer confirmed Obi's statement that the entire warranty was voided because "our repair depot does not handle partial repairs." She further explained that computers which Apple claims have experienced "physical damage" are "hard to warranty." As any reasonable person would do, I responded that that was a ridiculous statement based upon the other representatives' claims, and that I would have to complain about this issue to Apple directly. Jennifer confirmed that Apple had received a letter on my behalf, and that I was "not being ignored." As it is past the initial deadline for Apple's response, June 7th, is sure seems as if this is not the case. As Jennifer was a dead-end for what she could offer me, I called AppleCare back again.

This time, I had spoken with Louise, and she confirmed the statements of the previous two representatives, Obi and Jennifer. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and was transferred to Cathy [redacted], possibly the most helpful person I had ever spoken with at AppleCare. After explaining the whole situation to her, including the fact that the corroded hinges statement differs from what was given to Visa, and the fact that other examples similar to the problems my MacBook Pro was experiencing could be located on the internet, she performed an intensive search of any applicable information. After about fifteen minutes of searching, she failed to uncover any information about the intense heat, claimed case warping, hinge failure, or screen failure affecting a "significant number" of MacBook Pros. If needed, I will send links detailing these issues affecting other user's machines. I informed her that I had viewed an image of a MacBook Pro in Germany with case warping almost exactly matching Crystal's description of the warping affecting my MacBook Pro. Sadly, she could not take the information regarding how large of a user-base this issue is affecting, as Apple did not have a significant amount of similar reports in their support database. Disheartened by this, I thanked Cathy for her attempt in assisting me and ended the support call.

Although I have been told by several representatives that Apple's CEO does not accept mail, I am now asking for your assistance with the issue. In all of my time spent dealing with the computer and electronics industries, I have never before experienced anything quite like my experience with Apple and its support services. Over the course of two months, I have invested a great amount of my time endeavoring to resolve this issue, but have miserably failed. I have since recalled the belief I once held when I had initially switched to the Mac platform several years ago, a belief that Apple was one of the few companies in the industry which actually cared about its customers. Taking my recent experience with Apple into account, this belief could not have been further removed from the truth. I now ask you both as the CEO of a multinational corporation, as well as a decent human being, to provide a working computer for me. I have spent a large amount of money on Apple products, with my MacBook Pro purchase alone totaling $2848.00. I believe that any customer spending any amount of money on a product should receive a product in working condition, not one which quickly fails and is then determined as ineligible for repair under the expensive extended service plan.

I realize that your time is greatly valuable, and as such, I am deeply grateful for your consideration regarding this issue. Given the truly troubling experience I have had with Apple's products and support services, I hope you will agree that a remedy is in order. Once again, I thank you for your time and consideration regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Louis

Hello again,

After sending my email to Steve Jobs, a representative from Apple's corporate executive relations discussed the situation with my repair, and he stated that the support representatives I spoke with did not fully take the heat generated by the computer into account for the display's failure. As such, he offered to repair or replace the machine free of charge, and I received the replacement computer on Tuesday. The representative is now working with me to transfer my AppleCare to the new machine.

I would like to thank the Consumerist for the wonderful service they provide to consumers in need. I apologize if my reply had not been the fastest, as I wanted to make sure all was well before I contacted you again. Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,

Louis

(Photo: earth2kim)

The software that came bundled with my Canon Digital Rebel XT no longer works on the latest version of OS X. No problem, right? I'll just download the update from Canon. But oh ho! They've bundled all the functionality into a new application called "EOS Utility," which is now packaged with cameras newer than mine. And because it's a newer bit of software, Canon's (rather helpful) customer service people want me to pay $20 for a copy of the new software.

I understand not getting free software updates for life, but it's doubly frustrating in this case, because 1) I brought the camera in part because of the functionality promised by their software (functionality I used to have until I upgraded my Mac), and 2) it's stupid that Canon won't just let the users of their cameras download the software in the first place. Even if I had bought a camera that came with the newer "EOS Utility" software, Canon would force me to pay for a new disc if I lost or broke the original. Their rationale? According to the customer service rep: "What if someone bought a Canon from a pawn shop? Then they could have the software for free!" The horror!

I love my Rebel, but I'm extremely put out by Canon's decision to maximize every bit of profit instead of providing a person who purchased their product with the best experience possible.

We'll give our old bossman the same advice we give you: don't stop with Tier 1, escalate! Knowing Joel, he's probably already found a free copy of the new software online somewhere, but if he hasn't, anyone know where he can get it?

Either way, Canon's policy is wack. Why should it matter if Joel traded a newborn child the camera underneath the docks? Successive generations of owners shouldn't have degraded user experiences. — BEN POPKEN

Philip tried contacting Quicken support:

Neha: Do you see the tab says Pay bills Online or Online Bill Payment at right side of the window?
Philip: yes - Pay bills online
Neha: What is selected in this tab?
Philip: not enabled - the "using your financial institution" choice is grayed out
Neha: That means Bank of America does not provide Online bill payment for Mac version of Quicken. It is available for Windows version of Quicken
Philip: That's dissappointing. When I purchased this, your list simply said that it was supported and didn't mention that it was just for PC.
Neha: Philip, I can understand your concern and really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. There are some financial institutions provide this service for PC version of Quicken but not for mac
Neha: I can only request you to tell your bank to contact us to have this service

Neha wasn't kidding. Rather than speak with a supervisor or call the Bank of America herself, Neha waited as Philip picked up the phone.

The full conversation and screenshots, inside...

Neha: Hi, my name is Neha. How may I help you? Philip: Your compatability chart shows that my bank, Bank of America, supports Direct Connect and online bill pay. However, when I try to set it up in the preferences, it is grayed out. Am I doing something wrong? Neha: Thank you for the details, Philip Neha: Philip, what I understand is that you are trying to activate your account with your bank. Right? Philip: I have sucessfully downloaded my transactions into Quickens register Philip: Is that what you mean by "activate"? Neha: yes Neha: Please give me 2-3 minutes while I check my resources to provide you with the best solution.

Philip: thanks
Neha: Thank you for being patient, Philip
Philip: no problem
Neha: Philip, may I know what exactly are you trying to do so that I can duplicate it at my end?
Philip: I want to pay bills online
Neha: Okay... so we need to activate your account for online bill payment
Philip: right
Neha: Please follow these steps
Neha: Please open Quicken
Philip: done
Neha: Please go to Lists >> Accounts
Philip: ok
Neha: Select your account from the list
Philip: ok
Neha: Click on Edit
Philip: yep
Neha: Do you see the tab says Pay bills Online or Online Bill Payment at right side of the window?
Philip: yes - Pay bills online
Neha: What is selected in this tab?
Philip: not enabled - the "using your financial institution" choice is grayed out
Neha: That means Bank of America does not provide Online bill payment for Mac version of Quicken. It is available for Windows version of Quicken
Philip: That's dissappointing. When I purchased this, your list simply said that it was supported and didn't mention that it was just for PC.
Neha: Philip, I can understand your concern and really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. There are some financial institutions provide this service for PC version of Quicken but not for mac
Neha: I can only request you to tell your bank to contact us to have this service
Philip: Your website does not saythat.
Philip: http://web.intuit.com/personal/quicken/results.cfm?type=basic&search=-b&qwid=qw1600&qmid=qm1600&qbid=qb1700&qbmid=qbm1700

Neha: Okay...
Neha: Please give me a minute to check it
Philip: I'll call my bank, perhaps you can contact your company to change the misleading website.
Neha: Thank you for being patient, Philip
Philip: Also, look here:
Philip: http://web.intuit.com/personal/quicken/details.cfm?type=basic&fidetails=Bank%20of%20America%20%2D%20All%20Other%20States&qwid=qw1600&qmid=qm1600&qbid=qb1700&qbmid=qbm1700&country=

Neha: Okay...
Neha: Philip, please confirm, have you selected your financial institution in the financial Institution tab
Philip: This Intuit page specifically states Direct Connect AND Web connect for Mac
Philip: I have double checked it. I have selected "Bank of America - All other..."
Neha: Yes, it supports direct connect and web connect for mac for downloading transactions, Can you please check with them whether they provide bill payment for mac or not. I will wait
Philip: I do not understand, YOUR website (that last link I sent you) clearly states that Bank of America supports Bill Pay Service for the Mac
Philip: Who at Bank of America would I call to ask about a Quicken question?
Neha: Please call them at (800) 933-6262
Philip: ok - I will try to call them
Neha: Thank you, I will wait
Philip: still holding
Neha: Okay...
Philip: They are saying that they do not support this option for Macintosh.
Neha: Philip, I really apologize for the wrong information provided at our website. I will try to forward this complaint so that it can be corrected
Philip: Yes. Is there anyone I can speak to about getting a refund for the software since I cannot use it as advertised?
Neha: Philip, I can give you the refund
Neha: Please let me know when did you purchase it?
Neha: Philip, please let me know the order number so that I can process the refund for you
Philip: Purchased last Monday the 5th of Feb.
Philip: Order # XXXXXXXXXXX
Neha: Thank you, Philip
Neha: Please give me 2 minutes while I process the refund
Philip: ok
Neha: Thank you
Neha: I have processed the refund for you and your refund confirmation number is XXXXXXXXXX. The amount of $64.19 will be credited to your Credit Card Account within 1-2 billing cycles
Philip: Thank you for your help.
Neha: My pleasure to help you.
Neha: Is there anything else that I can help you with today?
Philip: no. thank you.
Neha: Are you satisfied with my assistance?
Philip: Yes, thanks.
Neha: Thanks for using Quicken. Please return to chat if the need should arise. Have a great day.

We're not satisfied with the assistance. A rebate is nice. Supporting Mac users as advertised would be even better. If a bank with with $1.5 trillion can't do it, nobody can. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

The gyms "would replace the slide-centric PlayPlaces with a setup offering sports-oriented activities such as stationary exercise bikes, rope climbing and other aerobic activities for kids up to 12 years of age."

Stationary exercise bikes? Does anyone feel like calculating how long it will take your kid to burn off a Big Mac? We're all ears. —MEGHANN MARCO

McDonald's trying a new play on PlayPlace [Chicago Tribune]

This sounds like a fantastic solution for those of us weirdos who use both PC and Mac (yay! One computer!), but one wonders if it might be prudent to wait to see what unfolds with Windows Vista, if only to avoid the extra cost of upgrading the operating system.— MEGHANN MARCO

Do you want Windows XP on that Mac? [ZDnet]
MacMall's Windows XP Bundles Press Release [MacMall]

"...Just the sort of unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets hipster we've always imagined when picturing a Mac enthusiast. He's perfect. Too perfect. It's like Apple is parodying its own image while also cementing it."

All that's left to wonder is, "Where can we get that John Hodgman computer?" He's so adorable.— MEGHANN MARCO

Justin Long: A Mac No Longer [wirednews.com]

Reader Tom sends us an extremely verbose and highly detailed account of his various difficulties with Apple computers. We shudder at the thought of posting this, fearing that Mac Enthusiasts will descend upon Consumerist headquarters with machetes and white firewire cables with little apples on them that they will use to garrote us as we sit typing away. Alas, dissent will not be silenced, and it seems as if Tom has had a hell of a time. Potentially machete-wielding Mac Enthusiasts themselves, Tom and his girlfriend have spent 4,800 in the 4 years since their conversation from PC... on machines that constantly break. Bad luck, or the darker side of Apple? Read Tom's lament inside.

Hi, I came across the site via the iPod story. As a card carrying mac- zealot I'm always in for some Apple gossip andnews. But all my love for Apple design and Apple's wonderful programs aren't enough these days to keep ma rage under control.Almost 4 years ago I switched from PC to Mac. It was a joyous day, that kinda compared to the firsttime you madelove to a beautiful lady (without the awkwardness of actually not knowing wat to do). I love my first iBookG3! Icarried it around in a special bag, made sure it was kept clean and all the things. Imagine my surprise when one night my screen goes black. Panic set in! Luckily we have an Apple reseller and authorised repair servicenearby. I bring in the unit and it turns out to be a broken motherboard. It's replaced under warranty and a few months later I find that I'm not alone (http://www.apple.com/support/ibook/faq/).Anyway after I think 3 to 4 weeks the unit comes back during mid terms and just refuses to go to sleep. I bring it in between cramming for Anatomy and Physics and after convincing the sales rep that it's NOT software related he agrees to take it back in. After 2 weeks I was proven right, the sleep sensor or something was damaged during the repair. They wanna foot me the bill but after some haggling they agree that it's not my cost to bare.

Now some would think this was the end of it. New MoBo all is fine in Apple town. In it's medium long life (3 years) it will have 2 other MoBo replacements and a hard drive crash.

About 1,5 - 2 years after getting the iBook G3 I sold it to a friend and got me a shiny new iBook G4. Because it's new and an Apple it shouldn't give me any hardware problems, cos the first one was a fluke! it had to be.

Wrong... 4 months in it's use I get an urgent letter saying I quickly need to replace my battery because it might overhead (this is still pre-Sony times people). I'm thinking FREE battery, so I don't complain. 1 month after it's birthday the HD crashes. Now I know laptop HD's are sensitive and crash prone, but at home we have had
nothing BUT laptops for almost the past 10 years (3 white labels and 3 Sony Vaio's) and NONE of those laptops EVER had a HD crash and they ware abused instead of the sweet friendly used Apple. Actually all but one still work to this day. One months before finals I run for a repair, costs me 240 and the loss of all my notes (learn to back up folks!)

No when I say I'm a mac zealot I really mean it. During my G3 problems I convinced a roommate to get a freshly released G4. He finds the G4 to be allergic to the inner linings of the slot-drive that sticks out a little bit more every time he ejects a CD. After the replacements, he finds out the "new" drive has a taste for expensive DVD movies and scratches them up really nicely. Brings it in again, gets it back, same problem. Only after 3 destroyed DVD's and promising he'll pay for the next repair do they agree to take it back in. Another convinced friend receives his powerbook 12" with broken display and dead within 12 months mother board. Still my love can't be stopped and I convince my girl friend to squander all her savings on a Powerbook G4 15". As I type this the powerbook is
celebrating it's first birthday in the Apple repair shop after being away from home for 5 weeks and counting for it's SECOND motherboard replacement due to a faulty power connector. This means that for every week of use, my girlfriends laptop has spent 1 days in repair.

Being well, PO'd and because my girlfriend is bigger then me. I take up the phone to Apple Belgium, who connect me to Apple support in The Netherlands who say they can't do anything but take note of my complaint. I ask what I can do to actually voice my complaint and get some form of satisfaction. I'm suggested to write via registered mail
to Apple's International headquarters in Cork Ireland. I collect my best English (I'm a native Dutch/Flemish speaker) and start writing. After 3 weeks no reply (now Ireland isn't THAT far) so I write a
second letter. Last Friday I finally receive a letter back from Cork in FRENCH?! saying that (and I'm not translating liberally here). "It's nice to have received your complaint. We are sorry we couldn't respond sooner to your letter because we actually don't respond to letters and only handle complaints via phone. So here is your case number and please call us in Ireland so we can see if. Now I'm a student and the 3 calls I made to Apple were pretty pricey enough but I don't think I can even call internationally on my pre-pay cell
phone card.

Anyway the moral of this pretty long story is that in 4 years, I and my girlfriend bought 3 Apple laptops for a total of 4,800). All died (some even multiple times) almost within a year of use, with lengthy repairs (luckely most in warranty but still these things shouldn't happen to —frankly— more expensive hardware) and a whole lot of
discomfort. Only to have Apple send me on my marry way in debt at the post office, telecom company and worst of all my mother!

I know this probably doesn't constitute a story but it sure feels good to voice it somewhere!

Thanks for listening

Tom

But after his bluster hit the internet and before he could strap on his boots and fill his flask with whiskey, Apple Ireland's head of corporate affairs called him up and apologized. 90 minutes later, his new Mac was sitting on his desk.

Which is all for the best and not just because it's great customer service. One half of The Consumerist lives in Ireland. He would've been stabbed and robbed at least five times before even reaching Cill Dara.

James is plenty upset that he just flushed an entire year's curriculum in New Media down the toilet because he fell for some oily salesman's pitch. Hey, who wouldn't be? Although we would point out the foolishness of purchasing a non-existent product based on the promises of imminence from a guy working off commission, James puts it pretty eloquently when he writes "if you can't use trust at all, life's just one big purgatory of paranoia." Naive, perhaps, but that's the way the world should work, and we wouldn't be consumerists if we didn't cling to that ideal in one way or another.

James' story after the jump:

I'm a total Consumerist fan - it's a great place to vent spleen about insensitive, ignorant, incompetent, in-whatever companies and services, and even endow those rare few with a well-deserved halo. So now I have something to bitch about.

I'll be the first (okay, maybe third) that I probably walked into this one, but on the other hand, if you can't use trust at all, life's just one big purgatory of paranoia. I teach art with technology (we call it New Media) at a small midwestern high school. One of the software programs we tried and dumped was Flash. Awesome features, and ridiculously steep learning curve. But I needed/wanted something I could use to teach kids interactive design. I needed something with a shallow learning curve, inexpensive, easy to use... and Mac-compatible. Yes, we're an all-Mac school here and fiercely proud of it.

Enter Xtivity, published by Tivity Software (http://www.tivity.com). They seem to be a division or spin-off or conjoined fetus of AutoFX, the company that makes some really cool Photoshop plug-ins. After hearing about them last fall, I contacted them to get more information. I found out that the product as initially released, was Windows-only, but that an OS X version was imminent - within a couple of months, I was told. I was also informed that I could purchase Xtivity at that time and when the OS X version was released, I could use the same licenses on that version. Even the website indicates that, both in a product page and on the user forums. Sounded good to me - we have one lab that's all Windows, so I figured I could house Xtivity temporarily in there until the OS X version was out, whereupon I would install it in my own classroom lab. So I bought 8 licenses.

Over the fall and into the winter, I kept getting assurances from my contact at Tivity that the OS X version was not far off. Says the same thing on the website. I wanted to start using it in the winter months, but it never showed up, and the Windows lab was not as useful to me as I thought it might be - none of the tools or equipment I use for teaching were available in that lab.

So here we are at spring, where I have given up on using Xtivity in my classroom for this year. In the meantime, I was happily provided the funds for a new classroom lab and 14 new Intel iMacs. So I'm thinking I'm already sitting on 8 Xtivity licenses, and a last-minute opportunity to use some title funds comes up, so I get 6 more licenses to fill out the extra machines. Because I'm deaf, I have a colleague place a call for me to Tivity to find out about the OS X release. And we discover that, for all intents and purposes, the OS X version is pretty much vaporware. Not only that, but the rep who sold all of this to me is no longer working there. I peruse the website and forums and I discover that, apart from some pretty noncommittal replies to queries about an OS X version from hopeful users such as myself, there is nothing from Tivity in the way of answers.

So basically I got baited and switched. I can probably get a refund for the first 8 licenses, but the book for the title funds is now closed, so we'd be stuck with 6 licenses anyway. And what's worse, I'm stuck without an appropriate tool to teach my kids next year. None of the other solutions I've seen out there come close and I'm left feeling frustrated and angry with Tivity. If they weren't going to commit to OS X, why even mention it on their website? OS X users would just assume this would be another instance of Mac marginalization and passed Tivity by. Granted, I got blinded by trust and optimism, and I've left some rants on Tivity's own forums expressing my displeasure and mild contempt - which will no doubt be purged by now - but I think they also need to show some integrity and just say, "nope, no hablo OS X here."

Yes, I could install the beta of BootCamp on all those Intel iMacs - a beta in a classroom lab sounds real tasty - but what's it gonna cost to get 14 copies of Windows, too?

As far as I'm concerned, Xtivity got some 'splainin' to do."

Or is all this just lame?

Thanks for letting me rant. Keep up the vitriol - somewhere, somehow, some way, a corporate monkey burns in pain because of your good works!

The PR flak who sent us this says that over sixty-thousand dollars worth of iPods were used to achieve this Rube Goldbergian domino effect.

The ad is for Tekserve, a large, independent Apple specialized store in New York City. That's iTopia in the background, their store-within-a-store dedicated to iPods and iPod accessories.

Wonder if any of the screens cracked in making this?

• The Department of Homeland Security is finally doing something good, even though how it falls under their jurisdiction is a bit ambiguous. US considers banning DRM Rootkits. Use username dominos6. Must be anthrax on the brain.

• Macrovision, which makes anti-copying software to prevent 'legitimate backups', threatens MacTheRipper with a lawsuit saying the DVD ripping software infringes on their copyrights. Don t cry, bitches, just build a better mousetrap; it will give us a new toy to play with and break.

• World rejects US webcast rejections offered in treaty, US rejects world.

• Why are you such a bunch of big girls? asks a conference attendee of telcos bending over for Hollywood.
  

The Postal Service's Ben Gibbard had this to say:

It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent.

Every time one opens at iPod there is a sticker that says 'Don't Steal Music.' Perhaps with the introduction of the iPod video, Apple should be heeding its own advice: Don't Steal Videos.

Speaking of not stealing, image from Frederik Samuel.

My machine initially came up registered to another user. I didn't pick up on that until Lance referred to me as Hector for a second time. He calmly looked at what was wrong, thought about what the cause could have been, and fixed it. I left happy and the people next to me with their iPods noted that.

Congratulations ... on exposing Omni Technologies, and for getting one of their famous obnoxious responses (I'm amazed they didn't send it to you in ALL CAPS!). Michael G certainly isn't alone I was perhaps the first to get this treatment from Omni back in 2003:

In December 2003 I ordered RAM from Omni Technologies' eBay store for my legacy Powerbook. The price was high and the cost of international shipping to Europe not much better. But their eBay feedback (at that time) was 100% positive and the cards came with a lifetime warranty. So I placed the order and about two weeks later the card finally arrived. I installed it that day and was a very happy camper.

But the following day the RAM card died. I waited up that night to make the international call to their "customer service" in Florida and was told that while they would replace the faulty card under warranty, I would have to ship it back first (at my expense) before they could send the replacement, but my shipping costs "would be refunded".

Get the surprise ending after the jump.

After another long wait, the package finally arrived, but they had mixed up my order with some other poor bastard who had ordered RAM from them, sending me the wrong chips. Another midnight call to Omni revealed that the other customer had already notified them of the mixup and that they had been waiting for ME to contact them. Their response: ship the RAM back (again at my cost) and they will send out the correct replacement. So after a month I would be out the cost of the original RAM and two lots of registered international airmail and have nothing to show for it. But their customer service rep promised to refund all shipping costs if I forwarded the receipts. So I did the right thing and sent the RAM back.

Finally the third package arrives with the right RAM. I sent an email confirmation to Omni THANKING them for the card, and attached scanned copies of the postal receipts asking for the promised refund. Unsurprisingly, I didn't hear anything back from them.

I called customer service again but they "don't have" the receipts: as soon as they had them they would issue the refund. I mailed copies again, but heard nothing. I called the guy back, and he said they received the receipts but he would have to "check with accounting" and get back to me. Still nothing.

I called back a few days later and was told that accounting only issued refunds at the start of the month and that I would have to wait until the following month to get my money. Start of the month came and went and still no refund.

I called again. This time the rep seemed surprised that the refund wasn't paid, but promised the refund within 24-48 hours. After half a week I still had nothing.

Sick of all this crap, I finally emailed them a note recapping the entire story, stressing that I had done the right thing by them paying to ship their products around the world and that they could at least refund my costs as promised. If they kept stalling I would have to take legal action to get that money back.

Miraculously, not only did they then refund the money, they sent me an obnoxious email claiming: they did me a favor selling me RAM in the first place, I was rude enough to send the faulty RAM back and demand a replacement, and that I overcharged them on shipping. But out of the goodness of their own hearts (which I had "taken advantage of") and for the sake of "customer satisfaction" they have now refunded the money! A quick email back noted: they shouldn't offer a product if they aren't willing to sell it, they shouldn't offer a lifetime warranty if they aren't prepared to stand by it, the cost of return shipping (to cover their own screw up) was significantly cheaper than what they charged me, and I would be more than happy to provide them with their very first negative feedback on eBay.

Getting money out of Omni Technologies takes months, daring to post anything negative about them brings a very swift response [look how quickly they jumped on the Consumerist]. Hours after posting negative feedback on eBay, my inbox was full of hate mail from a range of people at Omni, in addition to notification from eBay and a third party arbitration group that Omni had lodged a complaint against ME and wanted my comments removed. It went to eBay's arbitration service, but having already received my refund, and tired of the whole scam and continuing hate mail from Omni, I caved and agreed to a settlement: the comments would stay but would not effect Omni's overall rating. The following day, I found eBay had "mutually withdrawn" my comments anyway, leaving Omni with a pristine record to suck others in.

Greetings!

We were directed to a posting on your site about our company by a displeased customer.......

Do you really post anything anybody says about anyone else and then give journalistic opinions as FACT and consider that as viable?

If you wish to know the facts about this transaction and this slanderous post about our company you may contact me personally at the numbers listed below.

I m sure THE FACTS WILL SURPRISE YOU.....but then again you may just take opportunity to turn it around and cash in on the scandalous attention it generates.

You may contact us by phone at 800-805-5655 / 561-750-2484 / 9am - 9pm EST / 7 Days.

- Cary Janssen / Customer Service Director

Believe it or not, we do try to remain as objective as possible when publishing any "slanderous post," but if we've posted a complaint on our site, you can make an assumption that we're empathizing with the consumer. That said, sometimes customers—and we editors—get it wrong, which is why encourage comments, responses, and critiques from both the companies in question and our readers.

After two weeks of waiting for the RAM to arrive, I called them back and spoke to a Mr. Grant. He gave me some BS about that memory still being manufactured...

Read Michael's whole story after the jump, then take the time to peruse Omni Technologies' (generally negative) Reseller Ratings and (generally positive) eBay feedback.

On November 11, 2005, I spoke with a representative of Omni Technologies in Florida, wanting to order some RAM for my new Mac. He advised me which kind would be best, and after that, I placed an order for it via their website. I printed out the order confirmation, which said, among other things, "pending shipment." I also noticed that they had billed my card for the $229.99 the next day.

It got ugly from here.

After two weeks of waiting for the RAM to arrive, I called them back and spoke to a Mr. Grant. He gave me some BS about that memory still being manufactured, and, oh yeah, they couldn't sell it to me at the price they had already billed me for! Now he wanted $360! I told him they'd already billed my card and accepted my order, and I expected them to fulfill it as originally stated. He replied he'd do that in the interest of "customer satisfaction," and told me to call back in two weeks, when he thought he'd have the RAM in stock.

Right.

Fast-forward to January 3, 2006. After waiting an eternity on hold, "Ron" said the best that they could do for this order was $269. I told him just to cancel the order and refund my card, since they obviously had no intention of honouring the order. "Ron" seemed surprised when I told him Omni had already billed my card, and said he needed to "check with accounting." He said he'd call me back. Of course, there was no call. I called Omni back on the 4th and again spoke to "Ron." This time, he promised a refund and an email confirmation within 24-48 hours. I asked him to tell me my email address for confirmation, and he did.

Of course, still no email or credit.

Today, the 10th, I spoke with "Chris." I explained the situation to him, and he seemed surprised when he pulled up the order and said, "it looks like you cancelled the order?" I reiterated to him that Omni refused to honour their own price, even after they billed my card, and that "Ron" had promised a refund at the end of last week. "Chris" told me — wait for it— that he'd take care of it right after he checked it with accounting! Upon asking for a manager or supervisor, of course neither happened to be around now either.

I told him I'd been around this circle before, and if I didn't see this resolved by Wednesday, I'd file a claim here in Virginia— and explained to him that it would cost Omni a lot more to answer the charges up here than to just do what they were supposed to do.

So, to sum up:

Omni quoted me a price on RAM, billed my card, then tried to change the price. After almost two months, I've yet to receive the RAM or a refund. Two terms come to mind: bait-and-switch and stealing.