Two days before they were to fly to Arkansas for a family wedding and reunion, American Airlines canceled the flight of five seniors, reports CBS Sacramento. They were handed back the frequent flyer miles they had used to buy the tickets, miles they spent years racking up, and told to find another flight on another airline. The only way to do it was for each of them to buy a $1083.40 last-minute ticket. They feel AA should have found them another flight or should reimburse them for the tickets, but according to both law and policy, they have no recourse. [More]
AA Cancels Flight, Leaves Seniors En Route To Wedding To Fend For Themselves
By July 13, 2011
Target, RiteAid, And Publix Change Policies To Cripple Extreme Couponers
By July 5, 2011
In the past few weeks, three big stores have changed their coupon policies in ways to curb some of the more lucrative coupon tactics. It appears to be fallout over noob extreme couponers inspired by the TLC show Extreme Couponing, who are ruining the game for everyone else. [More]
Citibank Pledges To Pay Small Checks First, Minimizing Overdraft Fees
By April 5, 2011
Overdraft fees may be devious mechanisms that suck funds out of the customers who can least afford them, but their administration doesn’t have to be downright evil. [More]
UPS Refuses To Listen To UPS, Won't Release Package To Authorized Person
By October 1, 2010
What is the standard for a UPS store pickup center to release a package to someone who is not the addressee? Ace writes that apparently, one needs more than a signed note authorizing the pickup and an order from a UPS call center. What should have been a routine package pickup turned into a bizarre slap-fight. [More]
Hobby Lobby To Couple: Only Women Can Carry Bags
By September 15, 2010
A Hobby Lobby employee asked Joe to leave his Maxpedition Versipack–I was going to call it a man purse, but it’s so aggressively utilitarian that I think it gets a pass–at the front counter before he shopped in the store. That’s unfriendly but not that weird, considering the loss-prevention strategies some stores use. However, they let his wife continue with the exact same bag attached to her hip, I guess because women can’t steal. [More]
Calorie Count Rules Coming To Theaters, Airplanes, Convenience Stores, Supermarket Food Courts
By August 31, 2010
The FDA says the law that requires restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie counts also applies to other types of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, movie theaters, airplanes, trains, food courts in grocery stores, and convenience stores are all considered chains and will soon have to start following the law. The agency hasn’t made up its mind yet whether things like salad bars in grocery stores will have to fall in line. The FDA will announce official guidelines in December. [More]
Goodwill Fires Worker With Down Syndrome After His Mother Buys Him A $3 Shirt
By July 31, 2010
The Goodwill in Washington Iowa fired a thirty-year-old employee with Down syndrome after his mother bought him a $3 shirt. Goodwill initially refused to sell the shirt because of a policy banning employees from making purchases on days they were working. Another employee intervened and approved the sale after the employee’s mother explained both that she was a family member and not an employee, and that the employee with Down syndrome had no interest in buying clothes. When the employee reported to work the next day, he was fired. [More]
Facebook Announces Simplified Privacy Settings
By May 26, 2010
Faced with a steady stream of criticism from users, privacy advocates, and more recently members of the government, Facebook has announced today that they’re simplifying how privacy settings work on the site. The WSJ is liveblogging Facebook’s conference call right now. CNET’s coverage is coming in faster, though, and offers more detail. Below is a quick summary of what Facebook is changing. [More]
Apple Bans Man From Ever Buying Another iPad
By April 19, 2010
Apple has banned a blogger from buying any more iPads. Ever. Like, for the rest of his life, he is not allowed to buy a single one. He will die an old man, still clutching the same iPad, forbidden from ever upgrading. Porkay? [More]
Access America's "Comprehensive Trip Protector" Insurance Isn't Comprehensive, So Enjoy Your Overnight Layover
By February 26, 2010
Mark Smith just got suckered into buying travel insurance that turned out to be worthless to him. There was a huge hole in the middle of the coverage, which meant he and his two kids were stuck overnight in Denver on his own dime. Luckily the policy only cost $40, but that’s $40 that now belongs to Access America in exchange for providing a useless service. [More]
Customer Knows Her Stolen iPhone Is Being Sent To Apple, But Apple Says They Can't Return It
By December 31, 2009
Alisa was robbed on the subway a couple of weeks ago, and now someone else has contacted Apple about replacing the phone due to a software malfunction. Alisa found out about this because her email account is still associated with it, but neither she nor the police can persuade Apple to return the phone to her once the other party sends it in for replacement. [More]
North Pole, Alaska, Forced Out Of Santa Letter Program
By November 19, 2009
New security rules have proven too complex for Alaska’s post offices to bear, so they’re ending their participation in Operation Santa, the 50-year-old program where letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole” are answered by volunteers. The program will continue elsewhere, reports the Associated Press, but when I called the USPS to find out where letters should be addressed I was told parents should contact their local post offices for information.
Barnes & Noble Says They'll Accept Gift Cards For Ebooks Before Christmas
By November 16, 2009
Apparently Barnes & Noble meant it when they said that they were looking into the gift card issue for ebook purchases. Currently, B&N gift cards can’t be used to buy ebooks, but a new post on one of the company’s blogs says that should change by mid-December.
Ulta District Manager Apologizes For "No Writing Anything Down" Policy
By November 16, 2009
Last week, Daynah wrote about how she was forced to stop writing anything down during a recent shopping trip to the cosmetics store Ulta. At the time, Daynah grudgingly gave in because she really wanted to make a purchase (she tests products for consumers). But once she left the store, she took the fight back to Ulta.
Ulta Manager: "Take Your Pen To Your Car, You're Not Allowed To Write Anything Down"
By November 9, 2009
In a world where smartphones can shoot video, snap photos, record audio, scan barcodes, and let you make price comparisons via text message, it’s almost funny to run into a paranoid manager like the one at an Ulta makeup store in Seattle. Well, funny except for that petty tyrant part where she tells you that you’ll have to take your old-school pen and papers out to the car and come back empty handed before she’ll sell you any makeup.
How The Banking Industry Wants You To Think About Overdraft Fees
By October 7, 2009
Earlier today, a public relations person sent in the following suggested “follow up” story about the explosion in overdraft fees. She was quite friendly and complimentary and made it clear she just wants to help educate consumers about banking fees. The only problem is, the entire story is a jumble of propaganda designed to spread FUD about any attempt to change current overdraft policies. We figured it might be fun to see how the banking industry wants you to think.
Amazon Clarifies When It Will Remove Kindle Books
By October 2, 2009
As part of a settlement with the customer who sued Amazon over the 1984 fiasco this past summer, Amazon has clarified under what circumstances it can delete your books. Notably, Amazon is not saying that it will never again delete books, which keeps the Kindle in the “do not buy” list for consumers who want unequivocal ownership of the items they purchase. In fact, despite the muted praise Amazon is receiving for doing this, the best we can say about the clarification is that it’s about time, but that it still doesn’t address the fundamental ownership issues raised by the Kindle licensing system.
AppleCare Is An Extended Warranty Worth Buying
By August 11, 2009
I asked Apple this morning to replace my broken laptop now that they’ve reintroduced the anti-glare option on their 15″ MacBook Pros. Apple agreed, and soon a new laptop will leave China destined for my apartment. This isn’t the first laptop Apple sent me this month. It’s the second. Here’s why…
