In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, a common thought prevailed among those in New Jersey who had cars — “What if the gas stations run out of gas?” As people panicked and drove off to find the nearest gas pump and long lines formed, those lines prompted other people to think that there must be a shortage if there’s a long line and so they join the line, too. And thus begins a cycle that has caused some emotional flare-ups at the pump. [More]
Sandy Prompts Panic At The Gas Pump, Things Get Heated As Customers Rush To Fill Up
By November 1, 2012
AT&T And T-Mobile Briefly Reuniting In New York, New Jersey To Help Storm Victims
By October 31, 2012
It’s been almost a year since the FCC and Justice Dept. ripped AT&T and T-Mobile apart, ending the lovers’ foolish hopes of a life of marital bliss. But regulators can only keep true love down for so long, as the two telecoms have announced they will share their networks in storm-damaged areas of New York and New Jersey where customers have been left without bars on their phone. [More]
License Plate Decals Seem To Be Keeping Teens Off The Roads When They Shouldn’t Be On Them
By October 29, 2012
In an effort to cut down on car collisions involving young drivers, New Jersey slapped red decals on the license plates of teens with provisional licenses two years ago and it seems to be working, says a new study. The thinking being if it’s easier for cops to spot teenagers eschewing curfew rules, they can bust said youngins before they hurt themselves or others by driving irresponsibly, or simply because of lack of experience. [More]
Only Bad Things Can Happen When You Abandon Thousands Of Bottles Of Counterfeit Ketchup In A Warehouse
By October 18, 2012
Taking huge, commercial-size bladders of Heinz Ketchup and repackaging it into smaller plastic bottles may not seem like that insidious of a scam, until you think about what else might be getting added to the sweet red goo — and what happens when you leave a few thousand bogus bottles of the stuff in a warehouse unattended. [More]
Comfort Inn Boots Wedding Guests From Overbooked Hotel, Doesn’t Seem To Care
By October 11, 2012
When you book a block of eight rooms at a hotel, 18 months in advance no less, you’d expect to have a little leverage when the place suddenly realizes it’s been overbooked. At the very least, you’d expect a little bit of respect. But a woman in New Jersey says the folks at Comfort Inn were not terribly comforting when they told guests who had reserved rooms for a nearby wedding that they would have to stay elsewhere. [More]
Woman Loses License Because Red-Light Camera Can’t Read
By October 1, 2012
Municipalities around the country are turning to red-light cameras as a way to bring in traffic violation revenue while freeing up police officers to do other things. Of course, these devices are far from perfect, especially in the dark. But the process of convincing authorities that it couldn’t have been your car in the photo is sometimes more of a hassle than just paying the ticket. [More]
Employee Kills Coworkers At New Jersey Pathmark
By August 31, 2012
The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that two workers are dead after an employee of the Old Bridge Pathmark supermarket in New Jersey entered the store with two guns and began shooting. The worker then took his own life. [More]
Casino Deals Unshuffled Cards, Wants Gamblers' Winnings Back
By August 23, 2012
When the same sequence of cards was dealt at a mini-baccarat table at Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget casino twice in a row, was it just probability in action. Out of all the packs of shuffled cards in the world, the cards ending up in the same order happens now and then. Then the cards came up in the same sequence a third time. Fourth. Fifth. The players played forty-one hands where the cards came up in the same order, betting larger and larger amounts each hand. Wouldn’t you? They ultimately won more than $1.5 million. Casino security staff swarmed the table, trying to figure out how the fourteen players at the table were cheating. They weren’t. A vendor allegedly supplied the casino with packs of unshuffled cards, which were dealt as-is. Now the casino is suing the fourteen gamblers and the playing card company, and the gamblers are countersuing the casino. [More]
Update: State Decides Man No Longer Needs To Repay $19K In Unemployment Benefits
By August 10, 2012
Back in April we told you about a New Jersey man who was stuck in a bureaucratic battle between church and state, as he tried to figure out why he needed to repay more than $19,000 in unemployment benefits he’d believed he was entitled to. After pulling their heads out of the sand at the shore, officials have realized the man was right all along. [More]
Wawa Pays $12,500 To Kicked-Out Customer With Service Dog
By August 8, 2012
Many people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey speak highly of the Wawa chain of convenience stores. Which is why it was a bit of surprise to folks in the area when a man was kicked out of a store earlier this summer because he brought his service dog into the building. Now the chain has not only agreed to fork over a bit of cash to the customer, but to also make sure its employees don’t repeat the mistake. [More]
Thousands Of NJ Residents Don’t Realize They Were Scammed, Pass Scam On To Family & Friends
By July 23, 2012
We recently told you about scammers tricking consumers into sharing sensitive information by telling them a federal stimulus plan will pay their power bill for a month; they just need your SSN and bank routing number. If you think that no one would fall for such an obvious ruse, then you might be surprised to know that not only were thousands of people in New Jersey taken in by the scam, but they passed it along to their friends because they thought it was a good deal. [More]
Cemetery: You Paid For The Crypt But You Didn’t Pay For Us To Put You In it
By July 16, 2012
A couple in New Jersey thought they had made the final payment on their prepaid funeral arrangements 30 years ago. That is, until the cemetery called to tell them they still owed more than $2,000 if they ever hoped to actually be entombed in the crypt they had purchased. [More]
Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery Could Make Bricks-And-Mortar Retailers Even More Irrelevant
By July 13, 2012
One of the few knocks against online retailers is the difficulty in getting your purchase immediately, meaning people continue to go to bricks-and-mortar stores when they need to get their hands on an item right away. But it looks like Amazon could take away that advantage from its competitors by expanding the number of warehouses it has around the country. [More]
Families Displaced By Storm Accuse Hotels Of Gouging
By July 3, 2012
Over this past weekend, some crazy rains tore a path through a portion of the Mid-Atlantic, leaving entire areas without power or other utilities and forcing some residents to turn to hotels for shelter. But some people in New Jersey have accused local hotel operators of trying to cash in on area residents’ misfortune. [More]
TD Bank Teller Accused Of Stealing $100K From Customer Accused Of Cheating State Out Of $545K In Tax Refunds
By June 27, 2012
Two wrongs don’t make a right, and stealing money from someone who stole it to begin with does not earn you a Get Out of Jail Free card. At least that’s what the authorities are telling a former TD Bank teller who stands accused of siphoning off nearly $100,000 from a customer who has been indicted on charges of deceiving the state of New Jersey into paying out $545,000 in tax refunds. [More]
Woman Spends Night In Jail Over 10-Year-Old Traffic Ticket
By June 19, 2012
Back in 2002, a 17-year-old New Jersey driver received a ticket in New York for not having her insurance card on her. And even though she apparently didn’t pay the fine, she was able to renew her license and commute by car to New York City ever day for the last six years. That is, until she was arrested last week. [More]
NJ Supreme Court: HOA Can’t Tell You To Remove Political Signs From House
By June 13, 2012
As you may have heard, it’s a presidential election year, which means homeowners associations all around the country will be removing — and fining people for — political signs placed in residents’ front yards and windows. But the people of New Jersey are now free to announce their favorite candidates without fear of reprisal. [More]
Debt Collector Garnishes Woman’s Wages But Won’t Tell Her Exactly How Much She Owes
By June 6, 2012
A woman in New Jersey fully admits that her financial irresponsibility led her to owe Capital One $1,286, an amount that eventually ended up in collections. But now that the same woman wants to get a better handle on how much she’s paying out every month, the collections agency refuses to give her an accurate account balance. [More]
