Cox Communications is giving out credits for users who lost cable service during Hurricane Irene. Here’s how to get it: [More]
Groupon Refunds Me Extra $20, Shrugs
By August 23, 2011
Kairho probably shouldn’t complain. After a local business that had run a Groupon promotion went out of business, he had one of three $10 vouchers remaining. When he contacted Groupon about the closed business, he received the entire $30 back as a refund. Was it a mistake? No, Groupon explained: they don’t keep track of which vouchers you’ve actually used, so refunds are on the honor system. [More]
BoltBus Hell Trip: No AC, Windows Shut
By July 22, 2011
Passengers on a BoltBus from New York City to Boston enjoyed an experience akin to traveling inside a self-cleaning oven with wheels yesterday as the air conditioning was off and the windows wouldn’t open. Outside the temps were in the 90′s. Inside, it was broiling. [More]
Atlanta Thrashers Season Ticket Buyers Still Waiting For Refunds
By July 20, 2011
Back in May, we shared the news that the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers were still taking orders for season tickets right up until the announcement came that the team would be sold and move to Winnipeg. Disorganized and anti-consumer, sure, but as long as people who put down season ticket deposits for next season get their money back, everything would be okay. Yeah… about that. Fans who had already put down deposits for their season tickets are now getting a runaround, and the team owes each anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. [More]
Return Merchandise To Bankrupt Newport News, Get Sent To Collections
By July 6, 2011
Late last month, the company that operates the Spiegel and Newport News women’s clothing catalogs filed for bankruptcy. There’s some very interesting background questions about why the company is bankrupt for the second time in eight years and why it’s being sold to an affiliate of its parent company. But that’s not what reader Angela is concerned about. She returned some merchandise to the catalog that she paid for with her store credit account. She sent it back several months ago, and still insist that she pay for it. This is not a practical way to get out of Chapter 11. [More]
Here's Why You Shouldn't Carry A Large Balance In Your Skype Account
By May 25, 2011
Some strange things happened to Rob’s Skype account recently, Scammers drained his account balance and tried to steal money from his credit card, too. While his credit card remained untouched, and his account is now secure, he’d still like that stolen balance back. Skype is awfully sorry, but he’s not going to get that money back. [More]
Is It Amazon's Fault They Still Have My $200, Or Mine?
By April 21, 2011
David ordered a Kindle and cover from Amazon shortly after Christmas, but it disappeared in transit and was never heard from again. These things happen in commerce. What David doesn’t understand is why, after he was too busy to respond after an initial e-mail exchange, Amazon didn’t try to contact him or just automatically issue a refund or replacement for the missing Kindle. [More]
Verizon Gives Out Refunds For Deceptive Premium Text Messages
By March 10, 2011
Verizon has set up a site to give out refunds to customers who signed up for premium text messages with an advertiser who “did not meet Verizon Wireless’ standards for the disclosure of pricing and subscription information.” Here is a list of the 120 affected short codes. If you were a Verizon customer who signed up for one of them, you can file a claim here. [More]
Should Restaurant Refund Me For Edamame Appetizer With Free Giant Worm?
By February 10, 2011
Some time ago, on an unknown farm, a worm crawled inside a soybean pod to eat the delicious bean within. The pod was harvested with the worm inside, cooked, and served to reader Sarah as an edamame appetizer at a local Japanese restaurant. Sarah was disgusted and wants a refund of the $3 or so she paid for the appetizer. The restaurant’s manager claims that business is slow and they can’t afford to give her a refund. [More]
How I Lost 90,000 United Miles
By February 1, 2011
Marissa says she booked a flight in 2008 before canceling and using the credit to try to buy another flight. But United said she’d waited too long to re-book the flight, so her sunk cost and frequent flyer miles are gone. [More]
Kaiser Permanente Makes Cancelling Hard, Then Sends Me To Collections
By January 24, 2011
Tim has been stuck in a 7-month limbo with his ex-health insurer Kaiser Permanente that he is trying to break it off with. First he was told to write in a fax that said “I [name here] no longer want health care coverage by KP.” Then it turned out they gave him the wrong fax number, which he found out after he got a bill for missing payment. He called back and got the right fax number, was promised a refund and prorated payment, and sent in all his info. Instead, he got back a letter from the collections department. [More]
Reader Crafts Effective Complaint Letter, Scores 50% Refund From CVS
By December 29, 2010
Reader CMM was able to score a partial refund from CVS after they flubbed up her gift photobook order. Instead of bound and ready books, they handed her husband a pile of loose pages and covers and said “go to town.” Some of the pages had minor ink spots on them too. [More]
$568 To Change A US Airways Flight? Complain And Get Transferred To Little Caesar's Pizza
By December 14, 2010
Kyle was annoyed that when he had to change his US Airways tickets, he not only was charged a ticket change fee, he also didn’t get any refund, even though the new tickets were cheaper than his old ones. When he complained and asked for a supervisor, he found himself transferred instead to a purveyor of doughy circular objects, covered in cheese, and ruled over by a diminutive dictator. [More]
How Far Should I Go To Let Macy's Know It Accidentally Gave Me Refund?
By December 7, 2010
Steve received an early, accidental Christmas present from Macy’s, which mistakenly issued a refund for a jacket he ordered online. Being paragons of moral virtue, Consumerist readers will no doubt tell him to let the retailer know about the goof and offer to pay for the jacket. But the question isn’t so much whether or not to tell Macy’s, but how much effort he’s morally obligated to exert in order to give Macy’s the chance to correct the error. Is an email to customer service enough? Does he need to follow it up until he receives a response? [More]
HP's Idea Of Fixing A Coupon Is For You To Buy A 2nd Laptop
By December 3, 2010
Talk about buyer’s remorse. Hours after David bought a new laptop from HP with a $150 off coupon, they rolled out a $200 off coupon. HP’s first suggestion to solve this was that David should buy a second laptop at the reduced price and then return it. Excuuuuuse me? [More]
Crowd Gets Refund Because Steve Martin No Longer Wants To Be Funny
By December 2, 2010
The lectures and other events at NYC’s 92nd St Y are a varied lot and can range from intellectually stimulating to downright hilarious — and can be, on rare occasions, both. And that’s what many in the audience to see comedian/actor/author/banjo-player Steve Martin were expecting. [More]
A Cautionary Comcast Tale: Decimal Points Are Very Important
By December 2, 2010
When a California retiree missed a decimal point and sent Comcast an online payment of $6,894 instead of $68.94, the massive overpayment didn’t raise any red flags in Comcast’s system. It didn’t cause a cascade of overdrafts in his bank account, either, since he had enough money to cover it. To bring the situation to Comcast’s attention, though, he had to enlist the help of a local newspaper and a television station. [More]
NFL Will Refund Most Tickets If Lockout Occurs Next Season
By November 30, 2010
Even as NFL fans are enjoying this season, the specter of a lockout for the 2011 season looms large. With that work stoppage looking more and more possible every day, the league has had to make a decision on how to deal with ticket refunds should the league come to a grinding halt next year. And for most people, it’s not horrible news. [More]
