Sources tell me that Comcast will officially announce that they're implementing this new system starting October first.

Originally, the source indicated Comcast was considering charging $15 for each 10 GB over the cap customers travel. A press release should drop shortly confirming whether this is still the case. There was also consideration of a new system whereby users who received more than four DMCA letters in a twelve month period potentially faced account suspension. That's a risky move I would imagine won't make the final cut.

"The intent appears to be to go after the people who consistently download far more than the typical user without hurting those who may have a really big month infrequently," says an insider familiar with the project, who prefers to remain anonymous. "As far as I am aware, uploads are not affected, at least not initially." According to this source, the new system should only impact some 14,000 customers out of Comcast's 14.1 million users (i.e. the top 0.1%).

The move comes in response to the FCC's ruling that Comcast's "network management" techniques were very, very uncool.

What do you think? This "invisible cap" has already been around for awhile, is admitting to it a step in the right direction for Comcast? Or not?

Comcast 250GB Cap Goes Live October 1 [Broadband Reports]

First, here's the official revised policy that Yahoo announced today, according to the Associated Press:

The company said Wednesday it is offering coupons on request for people to buy songs again through Yahoo's new partner, RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody. Those songs will be in the MP3 format, free of copy protection. Refunds are available for users who "have serious problems with this arrangement," Yahoo said.

John Healey at the Los Angeles Times' blog Bit Player published this additional information, which sounds like a hidden perk of the Yahoo Music Store closing:

Carrie Davis at Yahoo provided these nuggets of detail: if you're looking for a coupon or a refund, contact Yahoo's Customer Care department. There's no need for proof of purchase. The offer expires at the end of the year. By the way, coupons can be redeemed for any track at Rhapsody, not just the ones the customer purchased from Yahoo.

Of course, you'll have to explicitly request the coupons, then take the time to re-download your songs—or download new ones if you didn't like the ones you originally bought (although that's pretty shady, especially if you don't delete the DRM-wrapped ones)—so it's not the smoothest transition to DRM-free music. On the other hand, we're glad to see Yahoo isn't totally abandoning its customers after all.

"Yahoo offers coupons for music that stops working" [Associated Press] (Thanks to Chris!)
"Yahoo rethinks, offers refunds for DRM-wrapped songs" [Bit Player at Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Adi writes:

I ordered a pizza online tonight, and since there was no field to enter my coupon, I brought my coupon to the store. The staff member at the register was unsure how to enter it, so she got someone else to help me.

When I showed her the coupon in question, this woman informed me I couldn't use it. I asked why and she said I ordered online. I re-read the coupon and when I pointed out there was no online exclusion she said it didn't say it COULD be used online. I said that unless there was a printed exclusion, it should be acceptable. She refused, and I said that I would like to cancel my previous order and re-order my pizza using the coupon. Her answer was, "Fine. You can wait." She threw the coupon back across the counter and I asked, "Isn't the pizza already made? You're going to throw it away and make a new one?" She replied that she was and after commenting that that was ridiculous, I stepped back to wait. She then yelled, "What do you want?" I began to answer and she interrupted me, yelling, "I can't HEAR you." I spoke louder and placed my order and she held out her hand for the coupon. I handed her the page of coupons and again she threw it back, saying, "You have to tell me which one." I pointed it out for the third time, and she typed in the code and then threw the page away. I asked for the remaining coupons back and she snapped, "I'm not your secretary!"

At this point I asked if she were a manager and she informed me she was the co-owner. I was shocked a business owner would take part in such a display of such deplorable customer service. Of course, an employee would be fired in a minute for such belligerence.

When I got home I relayed the experience to my boyfriend, who insisted on calling and demanding an apology. After speaking to the owner, she refused to apologize and he informed her we would be contacting corporate. I realize she is a franchise owner, but I assume she is NOT the sort of person you want as the face of your company, and I suggest action should be taken, perhaps in the form of customer service training. I would also like to be compensated for my time and for the fact that I endured such vitriolic interaction.

I've been a Papa John's customer for a few years, and have never had a problem before, but something of this nature makes me think about never stepping foot in one of your stores ever again.

(Photo: LiveU4)

Comcast is facing a potentially heavy fine from the FCC for (possibly) improperly interfering with Internet traffic, and they're hoping that this new "protocol-agnostic" method will be more palatable.

It sounds like bad news for heavy users, however:

The new Internet traffic method will put the online traffic of ordinary Internet users ahead of heavy users at certain times to maintain overall Internet speeds, Douglas said. Thus, the Internet experience for heavy users - so-called Internet hogs - could slow during periods of Internet congestion.

If successful, Comcast will implement it throughout the system by the end of the year.

Comcast to test 'Internet hog' controls [Philly.com]
(Photo: cmorran123 )

Comcast, it seems, has a serious problem. They're selling "Unlimited Access," but again and again their customers tell us that they're being threatened with "termination" for using too much bandwidth. How much is too much? Comcast won't say. According to their Acceptable Use Policy, "too much" is defined as "where bandwidth consumption is not characteristic of a typical residential user of the Service as determined by the company in its sole discretion." Reader Peter is one such atypical customer. He wants to cooperate with Comcast, but he can't get a straight answer as to how much downloading he's allowed to do. He can't even get an estimate. Since he pays for the highest tier of access from Comcast, he figures that he should be able to download more than a "typical" user. Not true, says the Comcast "Abuse" department. Since his internet is "faster" he's simply paying more for the ability to reach the bandwidth limit sooner.

Here's Peter's story:

Today, May 12th, Comcast called me at work to inform me that for the month of April I had excessive bandwidth usage and that if it showed up again in the May audit, I would have my service terminated. I was told I was in the “Top 1/10th of 1% of all Comcast users and that I was having a direct negative impact on 99.9% of Comcast’s 14 million nationwide customers”. I’m aware that I am a bandwidth intensive account holder. I am a nerd as are all of my roommates. Slingboxes, Xbox Marketplaces, WoW updates, Age of Conan install downloads, iTunes, Amazon Unboxes and torrents add up quick. I was not out to dispute the claim.

However, when I asked what I was supposed to cut my usage to, I was told “We don’t have a number for that.” When asked if I would receive any manner of compensation for the fact that I pay for their highest tier of access, but am limited on that access, I was told no. Stephen informed me that I was talking about speed and he was talking about quantity. When I asked if 99.9% of Comcast customers paid the higher rates that I did, he said, “I don’t have that number.” When I asked if he could send me my usage report, he said “No.” When I asked if he could show me proof that my paid usage was having a negative impact on the entire nationwide Comcast user base, he said, “No, that is proprietary information.” I asked if I was merely supposed to take these accusations on faith and assume that Comcast was not exploiting me, a higher paying customer, he responded with, “Why would Comcast want to exploit you?”

That was cute.

After roughly 15 minutes of trying to get some quantifiable answer as to what was non-excessive use, I was repeatedly met with the refrain, “Sir, this is all detailed in our online FAQ.” I said my goodbyes and returned to work. Once home I pulled up the FAQ, which is listed under the non-descriptive heading of “Hot”. There are 11 questions in the FAQ, 6 of which simply have no answers whatsoever.

I called their Abuse department back and spoke with a different man, Bill. I wanted to establish that I was not informed of this complaint filed against me until the middle of May, that I had secured my Wireless Network, that I had set up a net limiter and that I was actively trying to cut down my usage, but as far as I know I could already have exceeded “Fair Use” for the month of May. He informed me that I should have one month from the date of threat of disconnection to cut my usage of paid services, which was a slight relief. I proceeded to volley off him the same questions as before and received equally evasive answers. He said he had no quantifiable number to give me because it, “is proportional to all Comcast bandwidth for a month and is thus a moving target.” I proceeded to point out the inconsistency in their FAQ, which Bill proceeded to counter with the claim that information is there. I insisted it was not and he promised me he would escalate the issue. I’ll check later if there are any changes to it.

I once again brought up the issue of my higher priced service and was told, “I am talking about speed, he is talking about distance.” I could reach the same usage with their basic service as I could with their premium. His comparison was a “Ferrari to a Sentra” – They both reach the same destination, just at different times.

Now here is the twist. I called my local Comcast office to downgrade to the lower tier. I was met with a very nice woman who had no problem processing my request. When asked for a reason, I detailed all the above and she was flat out shocked. She said, “I have never heard of that before.” She went on to agree that my deal for Comcast was for “Unlimited Access”, or so we both thought, and that she was going to bring the issue up with marketing.

So, there you have it. Comcast’s own sales employees are under the impression that the services they are selling to consumers are unlimited. The Abuse department has a polar (and far more aggressive) stance, but refuses to commit to any quantification of it as well as a refusal to let you see any relevant documentation to your own paid usage.

Peter

(Photo: u2acro )

Wisconsin Management Company, Inc. extends its deepest condolences to both the Zimmerman and Gonnering families. We regret how our statement on Friday was characterized. Wisconsin Management Company, Inc. takes great pride in our service and commitment to our residents. We felt it inappropriate, one week after the incident, to discuss the particulars of the lease situation until we had spoken to the families. We have since had the opportunity to speak with Jordan's parents. After discussing what the family wanted, we have decided to release all parties from any lease obligations. Once the property is released by the police, we will do any cleaning or repairs that are necessary. We have also offered housing to Mr. Gonnering, which he will consider. Now that this situation is resolved, we hope people can focus on the actual tragedy and work towards healing and justice.
 
Russ Endres
President
Wisconsin Management Company, inc.

The president of Wisconsin Management Co., Russ Endres, says the company hasn't even officially spoken to Gonnering yet. He says they will work with him if he calls and they have a good track record of helping students who want to break leases. 27 News asked Endres if he personally believes Gonnering should be allowed to cut ties to the apartment, and Endres said, "It's too early to say." He would not commit to allow Gonnering to break the lease.

Dear Consumerist,

I stopped in my local East York Wal-Mart in PA on 3/22/08 around 12:00 pm to pick up an Easter gift for my daughter. I went to the electronics department to pick up the Rock Star video game for the PS3. They did not have any on the sales floor so I asked a sales associate named John if there was any in the back. John went to the back and brought one out. John told me that the purchase must be made in the electronics department. As if I would have walked out with it without paying for it. I guess this policy only affects the PS3 version of the game. If I wanted a 360 version I could have picked it up off the shelf and paid for it up front since I did have some other shopping to do.

No big deal I will just pay for it in the electronics department as I was told. So John rang me up and paid with a my signed credit card. I signed the signature pad at the register. John gave a brief glance to the back of my credit card and asked to see an ID.

A little bit about me: I have worked with credit card processing and acceptance for a government agency for several years. And also worked with law enforcement agencies in regards to credit card and identity theft. And also provided training to them on this very subject.

I know that the less personal information you give out in a store or online the less likely your credit card or identity will be stolen. So I have a State Issued ID what has my picture, my name, and my signature. Everything that is needed to confirm that is my card. But, all of the other info such as address, birth date, license number has been blocked out for security reasons and are not used to confirm the rightful card holder. Since some of those things can be used with the credit card number and CVS number to complete a fraudulent credit card transaction.

John told me "This is not a valid ID and you can not use it". I told him that was no where in any credit card processing agreement that asks you to view a persons address, DOB, or licensee number before completing a credit card sale. So he called over another sales associate and asked him. He said basically the same thing probably out of not wanting John to look bad. So I explained that I would be informing Wal-Mart headquarters about this to make sure this is their policy. John said "I will have to call a CSM". Now keep in mind that I already paid for the item and he at this would not give me back my credit card or ID.

After waiting around for about 5 minutes I made a decision that I now regret. I showed him another ID that had all my info on it. I just wanted get out of there and do the rest of my shopping. Now John tells me that since I will be calling Wal-Mart headquarters I have wait for a CSM. I was like "WHAT?" John will not give my credit card and 2 forms of ID back until he talks to a CSM. A few minutes later a CSM showed up and basically agreed with John. Then John said "since I showed another ID it was okay "

I regret giving up most of my personal information. I should have stood my ground. I did think about just leaving with my purchase and calling the police to get my credit card and ID back. But the police have better things to do.

Regards
Steve

(photo:SIRBERUS)

Your website continually runs stories about how merchants aren't allowed to ask for ID during a credit transaction. I work on the management team at a nationwide retailer, and credit card fraud occasionally hits our location. Every so often, we are hit with something called a 'retrieval request' from one of the big 4 credit authorization companies (Discover, AMEX, MC, Visa). This means we have 48 hours to provide a legible signed receipt, and video evidence of my staff checking a photo ID to verify the cardholder.

If we are unable to verify that my staff checked the ID of the cardholder, we are hit with a 100% chargeback to our account. That's right, they charge back the entire amount, because WE DIDN'T CHECK ID. Thusly, I have informed my staff to check photo ID on ALL TRANSACTIONS, as I am tired of dealing with bad debt. If a customer will not provide ID, I will not take their payment. I am not sure what merchant agreement your readers keep referencing, but this simply isn't true. How can I not check ID, per their agreement, and yet still be held liable for passing a stolen credit card? I would rather lose a customer than lose thousands of dollars in chargebacks every month. Just my two cents.

RELATED
"LEAKS: Amex Document Shows Proof of ID Check Is Not Required For Chargebacks"
(Photo: Brett L.)

"You'll have to drive around again so I can take your order through the speaker," the guy said.

"I can't hear back there, so I'll need you to take my order here," I explained.

"No, it's our policy. You'll have to just drive around and tell me your order and then I can take your order."

"I can't use the speaker, which is why I'm at the window giving you my order here!" I started raising my voice a little, as I was getting frustrated at the hoops he was putting me through.

So I told him about the Americans with Disabilities Act and I explained that taking orders through the window is an accommodation that I need because I can't use the speaker to place an order.

He kept insisting that orders need to be taken at the speaker. "If you had just let me know at the speaker that you needed accommodations then I could take your order through the window."

"But I'm DEAF! I can't hear on the speaker! When I drove up, the first thing that I told you was that I couldn't order back there because I can't hear through the speaker."

"No, you didn't tell me that," he said. "If you had told me about your disability then I could have accommodated you."

I sat there flabbergasted. I was getting more upset by the minute. All I wanted was the dang shakes! Then another car pulled up behind us.

"Look, if you're not going to take my order, I'm going to file a complaint and let the corporate office know about this."

"Well, I can call the cops on you for disrupting the business and holding up the drive thru."

"You're going to call the cops on me? I'm just trying to get service here!"

"I'm done with you." He abruptly shut the window, threw up his hands and walked away.

Steak and Shake Denies Service [A Deaf Mom Shares Her World]
(Photo: hkboyee)

I start counting out hundred dollar bills and the clerk goes nuts! "Sir, we don't accept cash for this kind of purchase! You must use a credit card!" she says at the top of her lungs. (I see her also hit a button on the phone at the same time.)

Instantly a man shows up, clearly the manager from his nametag and the rent-a-cop security guy. Both tell me the same thing, "NO CASH! You have to pay with a credit card!"

The manager's actions are legal. 31 U.S.C. 5103 says that cash is legal tender for all debts, public and private. Creditors can't refuse cash. CompUSA can.

Of course, that doesn't mean they should.

I got a call back from a guy at CompUSA corporate, apologizing for what happened. He said that he would make sure that I was taken care of properly and that cash would be no problem. I told him I would think about it and call him back.

So I called the store to see if the items I wanted were in stock, after I asked the guy about them he said, "I know who you are, your the guy that wanted to pay cash. My district manager & corporate called me and read me the riot act over this. Thanks for getting me in trouble!"

He then hung up on me!

No Cash At Compusa????? [Sprint Users]
Legal Tender Status [Department of the Treasury]
(Photo: Tyler Durden's Imaginary Friend)

Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Evesham Township police went to the couple's home in the Marlton section of the township around noon after a male caller asked them to check on Marci Buczynski's welfare. Her body was found in a bedroom.

Authorities would not provide further details on her death, saying only that she was pronounced dead at the scene and that an autopsy would be performed sometime Saturday by the county medical examiner's office.

About 20 minutes after her body was found, officers from the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police Department received reports that a man - later identified as Walter Buczynski - had parked his car on the bridge and jumped from the span.

Crews continued to search for his body Friday night.

Bernardi said a motive for the murder-suicide was not immediately clear. The couple's children were being cared for by family members, Bernardi said.

Mortgage exec kills wife, self [AP]
(Photo: Bob Jagendorf)

Crandall either reflects poorly on American Airlines, or the dollar-driven management style that makes Wall Street giddy. Crandall's successor, Donald Carty, was ousted for his own cost-saving strategy: asking unions to accept almost $2 billion in salary cuts while showering executives with lavish retention bonuses. Something to keep in mind next time you ask for peanuts or a pillow.

The enlightening clip comes from NBC travel maestro Peter Greenberg's excellent two-hour behind the scenes look into American Airlines, which occasionally airs on CNBC.

Wonder What Goes On Behind the Scenes at the Airlines? [Peter Greenberg]

Buxfer has been around for a while—both Consumerist and Lifehacker wrote about it nearly a year ago—but the Google Gears functionality is a new component added just last month, and at least at first glance it seems like a good answer to the "sensitive data" issue.

Like Mint and the others, Buxfer has introduced a way to let you easily synchronize your financial accounts from Bank of America, American Express, Citibank credit cards, Chase credit cards, and more than 300 others with your personal finance information on its site. It uses Google Gears to download your financial account information — your username and password — to an offline Buxfer component that lives on your computer, that syncs with your online Buxfer account. It's the company's policy to never store this sensitive user information on its servers.

Wesabe, like Buxfer, offers a set of financial information upload tools, so you can store your data on your own computer, then sync it with that site — we've found Buxfer's implementation of this offline component to be easier to use.

"Buxfer is giving Mint, other personal finance sites, a run for their money" [VentureBeat]

RELATED
Buxfer

The boiler's been replaced and I've had consistent heat and hot water since xmas. Now i just have this unholy clanking coming from the steam pipe every morning b/t 3 and 5 am which jolts me from my bed in fear that its about to explode and take me with it. The super says hopefully it will get resolved this week.

And despite the fact that I'm fairly certain that, for my troublemaking, Dermot will either price me out of my apartment or fail to renew my lease come august, I can take some solace in the fact that the elderly people in my building now treat me like a local hero for getting Dermot to cave in a way they had never been able to.

• 10:30 a.m. — She finds the Mars Mission MT-101 Drilling Unit for a customer who describes but can't name it.
• 10:32 — She leads a customer to the Star Wars Millennium Falcon Transformer, then explains how it works.
• 10:35 — She takes a customer to the High School Musical doll section.
• 10:36 — She says to two women: "Is everything OK? Let me know if you need anything." One of the women suggests a couple of drinks might help.
• 10:37 — She brings Barbie Dream House to the customer service area to hold for a woman having trouble operating a shopping cart with it inside.
• 10:38:50 — She moves a stray Tickle Me Elmo back to the Elmo section.

For many, the career is more like what former retail manager Norm Feuti, who now pens a syndicated cartoon called Retail, remembers.

"You don't really have any control over what goes on. You put the displays where they (corporate executives) want them. You carry the products they want. They set the prices. And the computer systems reorder your merchandise," says Feuti, who worked in retail management until 2002. "But when it comes to sales, you get none of the credit and all of the blame."

Katey Morse was recruited to be an assistant manager for Ann Taylor Loft (ANN) in 2003 while she was working as a Coach (COH) store assistant manager in Grand Rapids, Mich. She now works as a personal banker for Chase. Morse, who is pregnant with her first child, says she knew the hours in retail management wouldn't be conducive to raising a family. Besides, she says, "The compensation is pathetic when you figure out how many hours you were expected to work."

Seemingly, walked away from register and wallet fell out of pocket. Kind customer behind me gives to cashier, who sticks it on the side of the register and does not log or tell manager my wallet fell.

Came back 10 minutes later frantic, couldn't find wallet after ordering food in food court. Cashier looks me in the eye and says she never saw it, her manager offers to check cameras, but I assumed I had dropped it and lost it...so decline offer. Two hours later, return to store and request manager check camera (friendly cashier gone by this time). After nearly 40 minutes of looking at video, two managers return to tell me friendly cashier pocketed my wallet and left.

Alenaya has already sprung into action and cancelled the debit cards and put a hold on her bank accounts. She should also call the credit reporting agencies and put a fraud alert on her credit report. The three CRAs can be reached at these numbers:

Equifax: 800-685-1111; Fraud Dept. 800-525-6285
Experian: 888-397-3742
Trans Union: 800-916-8800; Fraud Dept. 800-680-7289

Wallet stolen at Gap Outlet, by none other than the "nice" cashier... [CreditBoards]
(Photo: Getty Images)

When a patron fails to return a book and is then billed for it by a library, Mr. Bowling said, "it is a legitimate debt, and it is credit-reportable."

It is not clear how many library patrons are reported to credit bureaus, or how many of them have trouble getting credit as a result. The three main credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, compile information from lenders and debt collectors and provide it to banks and other lenders who use it to estimate how likely a consumer is to repay a loan — and thus who should get credit and at what interest rate.

Federal regulations limit only how old a late payment can be before it is reported and for how long — seven years — that negative information can stay on a consumer's record. It is up to credit bureaus to decide what kinds of payments to record, and they generally choose the ones that they think will be useful to the lenders who are their clients, said Rebecca Kuehn, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission's division of privacy and identity protection.

Experian and TransUnion accept reports from Unique, according to spokesmen for those companies, but only put debts of more than $50 on consumers' records.

How One Overdue Book Can Hurt a Credit Record [NYT]
News Flash: Library Fines Can Hurt Your Credit Rating [Gothamist]
The Library [Seinfeld Lists]

Also good to note: if a customer gives a buying signal, "Close the sale before the customer changes his mind," and apparently a good buying signal is "The customer approaches the counter and reaches for her purse." Funny, we thought buying signals would be more subtle than that.

"Think you know retail?" [USA Today]
(Photo: Getty)

Dec 13th
On Monday, I returned home from work to discover an unexpected message from the city building inspector tucked under my door, stating that he had come to check on my heat and hot water, but that, since I wasn't home, he'd check things out in a neighboring apartment.

I had no idea what would come of this notice, but then two days later (this evening to be precise), another notice appeared under my door announcing that Dermot will be replacing our now infamously busted boiler next Monday...

Mind you, our building manager told us at our tenant meeting last month that it would take weeks of work to replace the boiler, and that the entire time we'd have to have a noisy generator blaring outside, keeping us up nights. Interesting how those horrid weeks she described have now been reduced to a few short hours.

Like I said, the visit from the inspector was unexpected. I never did get around to filing any complaints with 311 (my lack of faith in government leads me to suspect they'd collect dust in a database somewhere).

Thus, I believe Consumerist is entirely responsible for these matters coming towards their resolution — responsible, in fact, for both the city and Dermot taking notice in the first place — and I am extremely grateful for your support on this issue.

Consumerist is truly the harbinger of corporate responsibility.

Thank you and happy holidays.

Dec 17

FYI, workmen are still here and the heat's off ... it's 61 degrees in my apartment right now

Dec 20th
Boiler was supposed to be replaced Monday; it's Thursday night @ 10pm, they're still here making a racket and I've got ice cold water coming from the tap.

Dec 21
As of this morning, still no heat, no hot water. It's 61 degrees in my apartment.

PREVIOUSLY:
Coldest Day Of Year. No Heat On. Thanks, Slumlord Dermot Company.
Stuck With Dermot Management, A Modern-Day Slumlord
More like Dermot Mismanagement [Orthodox Anarchist]

At the end of October, Daniel wrote us about the troubles he, and all the other tenants, were having with their building's shady management company, Dermot Company. After his story posted here, Dermot called him, "jumping through hoops to kiss my ass," as Daniel put it. He asked us to refrain from posting the news to make sure that they weren't just making kissy kissy nice nice to put out the bad PR. We agreed, and Daniel's instincts proved correct.

His update, inside...

Oct 30

One of the guys in their maintenance department just called up to schedule an exterminator appointment, said he'd check out the hot water issue, and was pleased to learn that after two weeks, my super finally came over last night and installed a smoke detector. He also gave me his personal telephone extension so that I wouldn't have to deal with their maintenance line. He said he'd call me back later today to let me know when the exterminator is available.

-Daniel

-Ben

Dec 3

Welp, shortly after the post on Consumerist was mentioned on Gawker, I got a call from someone in Dermot's maintenance dept. who promised me he'd get all of these issues resolved as quickly as possible. (Gee, it only took embarrassing the company on the biggest blog in NYC to get their attention. How responsive!) He also gave me a direct number to reach him at so that I wouldn't get caught in voicemail hell next time I have an issue needing attention. Thus far they have sent an exterminator, so my roach situation has improved. And they also had the super install a smoke detector.

However, the hot water is still on-and-off, and, as I discovered at a tenant meeting two weeks ago, the boiler is broken and needs to be repaired or replaced. Dermot is leaning towards replacement, meaning that I, and the other tenants, will be subject to paying for an MCI. i.e., I just moved into the building a month and a half ago, and now I need to shell out X amount of dollars to pay for the broken boiler. In the meantime, if there's no hot water, I have to call the super to have him switch the boiler back on, because it keeps blowing out every 30 minutes. You can imagine how great I feel about having to call the guy first thing in the morning to tell him to roll out of bed and hit a switch so that I can take a shower.

Also, yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far, and there was no heat til nightfall. It was snowing, but my radiator didn't come on til 6pm. Not heat in the morning. On a Sunday. I was freezing all day.

In addition, I also learned a few other things at the tenant meeting: No one in my building has ever reached anyone on the maintenance number, and they say that they've reporting the same issues to Dermot repeatedly since they took over the building, and that they have yet to be resolved.

Dermot sent a building manager to the meeting who sought to make every excuse for the lack of traction on any and all maintenance issues, saying that she has no idea why no one's answering the maintenance line. After I tore her a new asshole, refusing to roll over for her corporate doublespeak, half the tenants came up to me and thanked me for standing up for everyone.

We were then told that we should take all our problems to the super, and not contact Dermot directly, even though during tenant orientation they tell us to leave the super alone and to take everything directly to the maintenance dept. We were also told that contacting the building manager directly was a very effective form of action, yet she refused to post her telephone number.

Another exciting tidbit: The previous super and her sons, who were fired when Dermot took over the building, have been sneaking back into the building and sabotaging utilities. The building manager told us to be on the lookout and not to let them into the building. I asked how I'm supposed to know what they look like considering that I just moved in. She said she wasn't legally allowed to distribute their photos. Get that? Disgruntled ex-employees are attacking the electricity and gas in my building, but I'm not allowed to be shown who they are! Boy, that makes me feel safe.

There are also some questionable things happening with my lease — namely, it appears that Dermot misled me about the legal status of my apartment, telling me that it was rent stabilized when it actually is not — at least, according to my City Council rep. I'm currently investigating the matter with my attorney.

The Dermot disaster continues...

-Daniel

(Photo: Getty)

Lacking any automated system for keeping track of all those diverted planes, Mr. Dillman and his colleagues furiously scribbled down details of where they had gone, how long they had sat there, and whether pilots had enough time left on their daily work limits to keep flying when the weather cleared.

Ultimately, 44 of the planes sat on tarmacs for more than four hours.

The kinds of programs American and others are installing are neither terribly expensive nor "a great leap" in technology, and thus could have been in place years earlier, Mr. Mogel said.

Not stranding passengers "is just a matter of will," he added.

"Don't wait too long to get credit help" [StarGazetteNews.com]

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"How to Choose a Credit Counseling Agency" [wiwiHow]
"12 questions to ask a potential credit counselor" [Bankrate]
Debt Free Today
(Photo: Getty)

Coincidentally, the company said it will "take a one-time charge of $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, related to severance costs and certain asset write-downs."

"Chiquita Brands to restructure and cut jobs" [Reuters]

A major NYC real estate corp [Dermot Management] is seriously fucking its tenants, myself included, and I just signed my lease a week ago and am now stuck with these bastards.

I just moved into an apartment at 121 Seaman Ave., in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.

The property is managed by the Dermot Company, which has been snatching up properties all around New York City and providing broker free rentals through sites like Rent-Direct.com, which is where I found my apartment.

The apartment seemed like a steal: A lot of space, a pretty nice building, a decent neighborhood (if far as hell from all civilization) and a reasonable rent. However, upon moving in to my new apartment, I made a few alarming discoveries: My kitchen is infested with cockroaches, I have only intermittent hot water, and there are no smoke detectors in my apartment.

Though, at my lease signing, Dermot assured me that they would be prompt in responding to any maintenance issues, I have found that they keep their maintenance line locked in "Do Not Disturb" mode 24/7 and do not return calls under any circumstances. It has been over a week since I have called to complain about these issues — all three of which are clear violations of NYC housing code — and I have yet to receive a call back.

Last night, I asked a neighbor about her experience with Dermot. She told me that the tenants in my building — those who have had the will to stay and fight — have been organizing against Dermot and that they've already called in the City Council for help. She says that she has personally filed a half-dozen complaints with 311 in the past year, that the hot water has been an issue for a long time, and that when she withheld rent, as was within her rights, Dermot wrecked her credit. She said that half the tenants have vacated in the last year, three on my floor alone, and that she's moving out before her lease is up because she doesn't want to deal with Dermot anymore.

A NY1 article published earlier this month (that I wish I'd read before signing my lease) says:

Tenants [of another property in Brooklyn] say they're being forced out of their rent controlled and rent-stabilized homes by new landlords who are transforming them into luxury apartments. They claim they're being harassed with all sorts of tactics, from frivolous lawsuits to challenges to their leases, to being denied basic repairs...

...Jackson's been living in a rent-stabilized apartment at 99 Lafayette for 16 years. She says her problems began when the building was bought by the Dermot Company in February. The same developer also owns 266 Washington, where many long-time residents shared similar stories.

I called my City Council representative to look into this matter. The conversation began like this:

"Hi. I just moved into the neighborhood and have found my new landlord to be somewhat negligent. It's a management company called Dermot."

"Do you live at 121 Seaman?" the councilman's associate asked, instantly naming my address.

"Uh... yeah."

"Yeah, they're a big problem," she said, warning me that I should file a rent overcharge form in order to check whether they're also ripping me off on the rent, which has been her experience. She also urged me to attend the upcoming tenant meeting in my building, which she will be present at.

I offer this as a cautionary tale to my fellow New Yorkers and those presently hunting for apartments in NYC: Stay the fuck away from Dermot. They are, to put it mildly, indifferent to the needs of their tenants; and to put it fairly, douchebags.

-Orthodox Anarchist

More like Dermot Mismanagement [Orthodox Anarchist]

Although novel, we're not sure how much of an added value this really is since special edition sets are more expensive than regular DVDs anyway. (Amazon reports the list price for the Special Edition "Live Free or Die Hard" DVD is $34.98, discounted to $23.99. By comparison, they list the regular old ugly DVD release at $29.99, discounted to $15.99.) And yes, the semi-tech-savvy can rip DVDs and compress them for playback without the studio's help. Still, they win points for convenience, and we're impressed and surprised that a studio isn't running screaming from a movie file for once.

We'll reserve final opinion until after we hear more about how easy the process is, and just what "DRM-free" really means to a movie studio, but here's how Hollywood Reporter describes the process:

To utilize the Digital Copy feature, consumers can insert Disc 2 of the "Live Free" DVD into their computer. A menu will pop up, giving users the choice of either executing the Digital Copy application or launching the DVD special features. If the Digital Copy application is selected, the computer will verify the proper requirements and ask the user to enter a 16-digit serial code, found inside the DVD case. After selecting a destination — either the computer's hard drive or a connected PlaysForSure video player — the transfer will begin, and the program will be ready for playback after about five minutes.

""Die Hard" DVD will include computer file" [Reuters]

"Change the monthly mind set"
No more "low monthly payments" for you. This means their answer to the windfall question is to apply it all to a high-interest credit card account, for example. The sooner you pay these sorts of loans off, the more you'll save. If you pay 1/12th more each month on your home loan—the equivalent of one extra payment a year—you can shave 7 years off a 30 year mortgage.

"Fix it and forget it"
Get out of your ARM loan as soon as you can, and if you have good credit, look for the elusive fixed-rate credit card. SmartMoney suggests you check out CardRatings.com.

"Shuffle the cards"
Take advantage of zero-interest transfer offers from credit cards, not so you can run up the card with new charges, but so you can pay off your debt faster—which can lead to a better credit score, which makes you a more attractive customer to credit card companies, which means you can shop for better offers and lower rates.

"All under one roof"
Consolidate your loans into one payment at a lower rate, usually through a home equity loan if you can get one.

"Live Debt-Free" [SmartMoney]
(Photo: Getty)

Seems sensible, now that you think about it. Really, what could he legally protest? His own decision?

In any event, Javin's anti-ARMC protest will live on until they unplug the internet.

Previously: Apartment Complex Evicts With Fake Excuses So It Can Raise Rent 40%

The story is long and tortuous, but the basic gist is Fox Chase Apartments invented a lot of cockamamie excuses to evict him, steal his deposit, and re-rent his apartment for a substantially higher price.

The worst was reporting a "dangerous fire hazard," to get the fire department banging on his door. In reality, he had an empty can of dental acrylic in his hall closet.

They called his tobacco pipes "drug paraphernalia." They declared a "red sticky substance" on his porch to be attracting "swarms of bees." Really, this red substance was water-based paintball residue, and the bees were carpenter bees. They only care about the wooden railing.

He's set up a website to broadcast the abuses, http://www.Javin-Inc.com/foxchase

FoxChase has threatened him with legal action unless he takes it down, but he has refused to comply.

After evicting Javin from his $950 a month apartment, Fox Chase put his apartment back on the market the very next day. The new rent is $1350.

Fox Chase apartments are owned by ARMC (American Rental Management Company), with large holdings in Southern Maryland and Puerto Rico.

Javin approached 30 lawyers about his case but all have refused him. One told him, "...it's a good old boy justice system down there. If you want to fight [ARMC], you'll have to hire a lawyer from out of state to take them on..."

Anyone interested in contacting Javin can reach him at foxchase@javin-inc.com.

On Sunday, August 20, my entire family visited the Starbucks store located at 3101 South Western Ave, Marion, IN at 8:00 PM. (Yes, the same Marion of "Taco Bell Sauce Dump" fame.) They were downright swamped, and there were only 3 people working. One taking drive thru orders and making drive thru drinks, one on dine in register, and one making dine in drinks. As you can imagine, it took a while to make all of those drinks (around 10 minutes). But here's the good part.

Most of my family ordered Talls, but one or two of us ordered Grande drinks. However, when we received our drinks, we all received Ventis. Our receipt showed the right sizes that we ordered. We questioned the Starbucks staff about it, and they said that they were upsizing them because of the wait that we had had. I work in fast food (unfortunately), and know that giving away free items is costly. But what was even more amazing was that there did not seem to be a manager in the store. I know from experience that when managers are gone, things tend to go downhill at a restaurant. But in this case, they appeared to do the exact opposite.

I applaud Starbucks for their amazing customer service and low-level employee training. While their free upsize did add a few hundred calories to our drinks, I still applaud them. Let's say that Starbucks has secured my business for a long time. Thanks!

That's right... satisfaction came only when Starbucks management was left completely out of the loop. Yeah... that seems about right.