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telecoms

California Declares Free Market Broken, Recommends Price Controls For Phone Services

Verizon, AT&T, and their regulated cohorts love to blab how the "free market" and "competition" will keep prices low for consumers. According to California, it's a big fat expensive lie. The cost of basic phone service has soared since the Public Utilities Commission lifted price controls in 2006, leading the agency to conclude:
"There is no indication of any change in the near future regarding the current state of competition. Market forces have not yet met the challenge of controlling price increases."
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9:00 AM on Sat Aug 16 2008
By Carey
7,647 views, 72 comments

Latest by ELC: @Invective: Lots of good stuff here! more »

Don't Eat Poop

Whole Foods Recalls Previously Recalled Meat. What?

Whole Foods apparently never got that June memo to chuck Nebraska Beef contaminated with E. coli. The posh-man's bodega announced yesterday that they are recalling the previously-recalled beef, which Whole Foods sold between June 2 and August 6. The contaminated beef has popped up in 24 states and sickened 49 people. Noted food safety litigator Bill Marler shows us that being a lawyer can be fun by posing six amusingly litigious questions for Whole Foods... More »

10:50 AM on Sat Aug 9 2008
By Carey
13,686 views, 39 comments

Latest by yagisencho: PCC Natural Markets for the win (sorry, Seattle area only). more »

circuit city

Mad Mag Reacts To Circuit City Ban

MAD magazine's editor responded to the Circuit City "search and destroy" kerfluffle thusly:

"We at MAD were shocked and confused by this entire incident — mainly because we had no idea that Circuit City even sells magazines. Nonetheless, we accept their apology but hold out hope that their gesture of a $20 gift card is only an opening offer."

Har hars all around, yolks.

Circuit City Rethinks MAD Magazine Ban, Apologizes [Newsarama]
PREVIOUSLY

1:19 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By Ben Popken
7,995 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: @MrTibbs: Clever, LOL. more »

circuit city

Circuit City Sorry For Commanding Employees To Destroy Mad Mag's "Sucker City" Parody

After a thin-skinned Circuit City exec ordered stores carrying Mad Magazine to search and destroy all copies of a recent issue featuring a 4-page parody of "Sucker City," someone with a brain stopped the madness. Here's the surprisingly classy message we just got from corporate: More »

3:25 PM on Mon Aug 4 2008
By Ben Popken
36,281 views, 64 comments

Latest by renilyn: @stacye: Actually yes... As Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving tradition in my household, there isn't a year that goes by more »

leaks

Circuit City Orders All Stores To Destroy Issue Of Mad Magazine Parodying "Sucker City"

Circuit City headquarters has ordered their stores to "destroy all copies" of the latest issue of Mad Magazine, according to an anonymous tipster. The retailer apparently isn't amused by the 4-page spoof of "Sucker City." Inside, Mad's 1-page preview and headquarters' response.

UPDATE: Circuit City Sorry For Commanding Employees To Destroy Mad Mag's "Sucker City" Parody

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6:00 PM on Sun Aug 3 2008
By Carey
139,940 views, 114 comments

Latest by capraiii: @capraiii: Oh, well, I guess it is true. Grats to CC! more »

Internet Explorer

Sitemeter Bug Breaks Parts Of The Internet For Internet Explorer Users

A bug in the popular metrics-tracking platform Sitemeter has boxed Internet Explorer users into a quiet little corner of the internet since late yesterday afternoon. Any site using Sitemeter now displays the following cryptic message to IE users: "Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site - Operation aborted." The bug affects IE 5.5, 6, and 7, but we have three ways—including use another browser!—to restore access to the full internet in all its horrible glory, inside. (Note: we've put in a fix so IE users can continue to read Consumerist without changing their settings.) More »

11:00 AM on Sat Aug 2 2008
By Carey
7,376 views, 74 comments

Latest by glorpy: @RvLeshrac: Still no, because IE shouldn't be disregarding the inner object just because the outer one used an invalid URL, more »

at&t

AT&T Will Roll Out Tiered Internet Access In October

If you stream movies or other high-bandwidth content and you're an AT&T customer, get ready to pay more later this year. AT&T will introduce tiered Internet access packages this October, said one of their executives yesterday at an FCC hearing.

"When AT&T provides broadband service by speed, it will do so in discrete, non-overlapping tiers," Quinn said in written testimony. "We will strive to provide service within the speed tier purchased by the customer and, if we find that we are not providing service within the ordered speed tier, AT&T will take action either to bring the customer's service within the ordered tier or give the customer an option to move to a different tier."
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1:13 PM on Tue Jul 22 2008
By Chris Walters
7,017 views, 51 comments

Latest by synergy: @blackmage439: I'm guessing Internet Neutrality is the next item on the block. more »

Mental Illness

Good News: Compulsive Buying Is A Treatable Illness

Can't stop shopping? You're not alone. According to the L.A. Times, one in twenty Americans buy compulsively, a destructive yet treatable economy-propping impulse control disorder. More »

3:40 PM on Sat Jul 19 2008
By Carey
4,841 views, 27 comments

get out of your cellphone contract

Want The New iPhone? Here's How To Escape Your Current Cellphone Contract ETF-Free

As the second coming of the Jesusphone 3G draws near, we wanted to remind customers of other wireless carriers that there are ways to escape your existing cellphone contract free of early termination fees, and trade your piddling Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile bills for hundreds of pages of gloriously itemized AT&T charges. Or just switch carriers. More »

6:14 PM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Alex Chasick
49,061 views, 67 comments

Latest by n/a: Success! I got out of my Verizon contract today after only 3 calls (to 3 different Tier 1s) and 10-minute more »

Too Soon

AT&T Turns That Whole Warrantless Wiretapping Thing Into A Hilarious Marketing Joke

Meet Ms. Suspicious, a member of the "Online Liberation Movement." According to AT&T, Ms. Suspicious "has nothing to hide," so she certainly won't mind when AT&T and their traitorous telecom buddies trash the Constitution and violate her right to privacy! More »

7:30 PM on Sat Jun 28 2008
By Carey
57,903 views, 119 comments

Latest by packetscan: Reach out and Tap someone. more »

Don't Be Stupid

No, You Should Not Save Money By Filling Your Rental Truck's Gas Tank With Water

Look, we know gas is expensive, but don't save a couple bucks by topping off your U-Haul's gas tank with water. We won't pretend to care about U-Haul—not even U-Haul cares about their vehicles—but the next renter will want to bludgeon you with a rusty ice pick when their truck breaks down because you hosed the engine. More »

9:25 AM on Sat Jun 28 2008
By Carey
16,512 views, 55 comments

Latest by n/a: @FatalisticDread: Uh, I was correcting the spelling dude. Pay attention huh? more »

early termination fees

Graph: Which Cellphone Company Has The Best Early Termination Fee Policy?

Discounting or pro-rating the early termination fees that cellphone companies love to tack on to their contracts is becoming more common, so we thought we'd make some graphs that show the strengths and weaknesses of the different policies. As you can see, T-Mobile 2-year ETF doesn't make any discounts until fairly late in the contract period — and their ETF of $200 is higher than either of the other two companies that offer discounts. (Sprint does not pro-rate or discount its ETF.) T-Mobile's ETF does, however, reach a point where their discounts are steeper than Verizon and AT&T's pro-rating. More »

Feature

3:05 PM on Fri Jun 27 2008
By Meg Marco
18,268 views, 42 comments

Latest by ceilingFANBOY: Hmm... My comment must not have posted, but if you really want to work the system, then T-Mobile never drops more »

M&T Bank

M&T Bank Makes An Offer You Can Definitely Refuse

Here's a novel way for a bank to increase revenue: offer your customers a "perk" where they can skip a payment on their loan for a neat $25 fee! Of course, interest still accrues, your total repayment amount increases slightly, and one month is added to your repayment period. No thanks. You can see the actual letter and details below. More »

8:05 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Chris Walters
5,667 views, 41 comments

Latest by n/a: My credit union offers this all the time. Although it makes more sense since my credit union is for people more »

etfs

T-Mobile Introduces Declining Early Termination Fees

Tmobile just announced that they will let early termination fees decline over the course of a contract. Previously, you had to pay the full monty whether canceled on the first day, or last day, of your contract. This chart shows you how the new fee breaks down over time:

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2:31 PM on Mon Jun 23 2008
By Ben Popken
7,213 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: @Lewis: I suspected that would be the case. Screw you current customers, only new people get the goodies! more »

iphone

The New $199 iPhone Is $160 More Expensive Than The $399 iPhone It Replaced. What?

Apple's new 3G iPhone might seem like a bargain at $199: more features, 3G speeds, and $200 cheaper than the original model. Great, except it's not actually cheaper. The new $199 iPhone is actually $160 more than the $399 iPhone it replaces. More »

6:10 PM on Sun Jun 15 2008
By Carey
51,464 views, 136 comments

settlements

AT&T Agrees To Refund Unauthorized Third-Party Charges On Cellphone Bills

AT&T Mobility has agreed to offer refunds to customers who were charged for third-party services like ringtones, although if you were frequently a victim of this you'll quickly exhaust your refund quota: "Customers will able to claim refunds for spurious charges that appeared on up to three of their monthly bills between Jan. 1, 2004, and May 30, 2008." AT&T should be sending out a notification to its customers "soon," but you can already download a refund request. More »

8:52 AM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Chris Walters
2,328 views, 9 comments

Latest by n/a: I used to work for AT&T customer service and if someone called in about 3rd party charges, we would always more »

complaints

AT&T Shipped Me An Empty Plastic Bag Instead Of An iPhone!

David ordered a refurbished iPhone from AT&T. What he received was a brand new empty plastic bag. Apparently, AT&T has 500 backorders for refurbished iPhones, so for some completely unknown and nonsensical reason, they've decided to start shipping empty plastic bags. Let's join David as he tries to track down the iPhone he ordered... More »

9:29 PM on Sun Jun 1 2008
By Carey
12,469 views, 65 comments

Latest by n/a: lol "Your World Delivered" is AT&T making a statement with that bag? I'm upset they didnt deliver my world? I'm more »

The Supreme Court rejected T-Mobile's appeal in 3 cases yesterday, which means an earlier federal ruling that says states "can refuse to enforce arbitration clauses if they include bans on class actions" will stand. Now T-Mobile has to go back to state courts to deal with the class action lawsuits against it. [Associated Press]

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