The Dallas Morning News doesn't mention whether or not the DISD will be contacting the people who have had their SSNs appropriated, but they did offer this detail:

The DISD-issued Social Security numbers began with "200" – a prefix assigned to people in Pennsylvania, and Mr. Phillips' office noted that many ended with sequential numbers.

In general, though, with the exception of the occasional criminal background check, the fake SSNs were supposedly kept away from any legitimate use, and even if your SSN fits the description above the odds are low anything bad has happened. We're just amazed at the school district's monumentally bad judgment.

"Dallas ISD faulted for using fake Social Security numbers" [Dallas Morning News] (Thanks to AttorneyWrangler!)
(Photo: Getty)

If I had to put a date on it, I’d say things won’t be normal for two more weeks,” said Kenneth B. Medlock III, an energy expert at Rice University, in Houston.

Meanwhile, consumers are going from being "good sports" about the shortage to getting downright angry about it.

“At first I was a good sport, but this is getting ridiculous,” said Marsha Lewis, 43, an administrative assistant who lives in Dacula, Ga., and commutes to Atlanta. “I drive an hour to work every day, and looking for gasoline has become my entire life.”

The shortage was caused by combination of refinery damage and power outages in Texas, says a spokesperson from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, but there's also plenty of blame being doled out to panicky consumers.

“You hear stories about tankers pulling into gas stations and people are already waiting — and they have half a tank,” Dr. Medlock said. “It’s akin to hoarding.”

Frustration in the South as a Gasoline Shortage Drags On [NYT]
(AP photo/Jason Bronis)

KXAN's website has a lobbying section that compares TWC broadcasting their network for free to someone bottling water from a drinking fountain and selling it.

KXAN says:

Here is a basic analogy: If you were to get a drink of water at a public drinking fountain, it is free, but once the water is placed in a package, it is no longer free. The same holds true for local television programming delivered through a subscription-based provider.
...
Time Warner Cable pays cable networks, such as ESPN, TNT, Disney, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, and the list goes on and on. Cable companies often say that local broadcasters have “unreasonable demands” and they are trying to “protect their subscribers from increasing their rates”. If that were true, why are they paying cable networks that have far less viewership than KXAN-TV?

We do not believe that a penny a per day per subscriber is an unreasonable demand for our award-winning news, sports and entertainment programming. It is actually much less than what cable companies compensate many of its cable networks, most of which do not have the high viewing of your local NBC station.

The station also says that they've reached agreements with every other provider — including DISH network, DirecTV, and AT&T.

Time Warner Cable, on the other hand, claims that KXAN is damaging its reputation as a news outlet by "conveying one sided, misleading information to the public." And has set up its own "Anti-KXAN" website.

Time Warner Says:

KXAN is demanding money from our customers to pay for a signal that has been and is free. That's right. They get it free from the Federal Government, but they want you to pay. We don't want that to happen just so KXAN can add to their revenue base.

KXAN is trying to subsidize their business by charging cable customers money. By doing so, they not only add to their revenue base, but take advantage of their viewers by charging for a signal that is FREE.

This may sound familiar to some of you, as the same struggle is going on all over the country, where other stations owned by KXAN's parent company, LIN TV, will also be dropped from TWC on October 2nd if a deal isn't reached.

There are 15 LIN TV-owned stations carried by Time Warner: Austin, Texas; Buffalo, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Green Bay, Wis.; Indianapolis; Mobile, Ala.; Springfield, Mass.; Terre Haute, Ind. and Toledo, Ohio.

So what's a consumer to do? Well, you can wait it out and hope that the stations reach a deal with TWC, buy a good antenna, or you can make plans to switch. LIN-TV is encouraging TWC's customers to switch to DISH Network — and also told Multichannel News that customers in the Buffalo area and the Fort Wayne market can switch to FiOS.

If you're in Austin, Buffalo, Columbus, Dayton, Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Mobile, Terre Haute and Toledo markets you can receive a $50 incentive to switch to DISH.

Retrans Standoff Could Keep LIN TV Stations Off TWC Systems [Multichannel News] (Thanks, Clint!)

Remember to be calm, polite, and concise. Be professional, they're looking for an excuse to write you off as a wingnut. Don't give them one. Follow our instructions for reaching executive customer service and/or how to write an effective complaint letter, and these secrets of a professional complaint letter writer, and you'll give yourself a much better chance of success.

Angela Braly
President and CEO Of WellPoint (oversees 13 BCBS plans)
Angela.Braly@Wellpoint.com
120 monument circle
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Mailpoint IN0104-a300
Phone: 317-488-6476
Fax: 317-488-6477
Assistants:
Lisa Moran
317-488-6480
lisa.moran@wellpoint.com
Linda McAdams
317-488-6489
linda.mcadams@wellpoint.com

G. N. (Arnie) Arnott
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Blue Cross
516 – 2nd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 2C5 Canada
Phone: (306) 667-5271
Fax: (306) 664-1945
Email: aarnott@sk.bluecross.ca
Asst: Melanie Wilson
Phone: (306) 667-5270
Email: mwilson@sk.bluecross.ca

Tom Bowser
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
2301 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: (816) 395-2001
Fax: (816) 395-2035
Email: tom.bowser@bcbskc.com
Asst: Marcia Zanko
Phone: (816) 395-2019
Email: marcia.zanko@bcbskc.com

Mark W. Banks, M.D.
CEO BlueCross and BlueShield of Minnesota
P.O. Box 64560
St. Paul, MN 55164-0560
3535 Blue Cross Road
St. Paul, MN 55122
Phone: (651) 662-8438
Fax: (651) 662-7767
Email: mark_w_banks@bluecrossmn.com
Asst: Mary Beth Olson
Phone: (651) 662-6679
Email: mary_b_olson@bluecrossmn.com

Sherry Cladouhos
President and CEO
BlueCross BlueShield of Montana
P.O. Box 4309
Helena, MT 59604-4309
560 North Park Avenue
Helena, MT 59601
Phone: (406) 444-8441
Fax: (406) 447-8607
Email: scladouhos@bcbsmt.com
Asst: Velma Dalton
Phone: (406) 444-8267
Email: vdalton@bcbsmt.com

Richard Boals
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc.
P.O. Box 13466
Phoenix, AZ 85002-3466
2444 West Las Palmaritas Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Phone: (602) 864-4305
Fax: (602) 864-4200
Email: rboals@phx1.bcbsaz.com
Asst: Rebekah Mendez
Phone: (602) 864-4431
Email: rmendez@phx1.bcbsaz.com

Tim J. Crilly
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wyoming
P.O. Box 2266
Cheyenne, WY 82003-2266
4000 House Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001-2266
Phone: (307) 432-2701
Fax: (307) 432-2708
Email: tim.crilly@bcbswy.com
Asst: Carla Lofton
Phone: (307) 432-2706
Email: carla.lofton@bcbswy.com

Kenneth Martin
President and CEO
Pacific Blue Cross
P.O. Box 7000
Vancouver, BC V6B 4E1 Canada
4250 Canada Way
Burnaby, BC V5G 4W6 Canada
Phone: (604) 419-2021
Fax: (604) 419-2020
Email: kmartin@pac.bluecross.ca
Asst: Fran Darbyshire
Phone: (604) 419-2050
Email: fdarbyshire@pac.bluecross.ca

Steven S. Martin
President and CEO
BlueCross and BlueShield of Nebraska
P.O. Box 3248, Main P.O. Station
Omaha, NE 68180-0001
7261 Mercy Road
Omaha, NE 68180-0001
Phone: (402) 390-1810
Fax: (402) 398-3836
Email: steve.martin@bcbsne.com
Asst: Susan Unger
Phone: (402) 343-3546
Email: susan.unger@bcbsne.com

Raymond F. McCaskey
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Texas,
New Mexico and Oklahoma
300 East Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601-5099
Phone: (312) 653-6746
Fax: (312) 938-3657
Email: mccaskeyr@bcbsil.com
Asst: Lynne Recupido
Phone: (312) 653-6818
Email: recupidol@bcbsil.com

Bruce G. Bodaken
Chairman, President and CEO
Blue Shield of California
P.O. Box 7168
San Francisco, CA 94120-7168
50 Beale Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 229-5086
Fax: (415) 229-5056
Email: bruce.bodaken@blueshieldca.com
Asst.: Leslie Monahan
Phone: (415) 229-5096
Email: leslie.monahan@blueshieldca.com

D. Scott Ideson
President
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah
P.O. Box 30270
Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0270
2890 East Cottonwood Parkway
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
Phone: (801) 333-5664
Fax: (801) 333-6516
Email: sideson@regence.com
Asst: Wendy Cowley
Phone: (801) 333-5290
Email: whcowley@regence.com

Mark Ganz
President & CEO
The Regence Group
P.O. Box 1071, E15A
Portland, OR 97207-1071
100 SW Market Street
Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 226-8721
Fax: (503) 225-6797
Email: mbganz@regence.com
Asst: Denise Thayer
Phone: (503) 225-5228
Email: dethaye@regence.com

J. Bart McMullan, Jr., M.D.
President
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
P.O. Box 1271
Portland, OR 97207 – 1271
100 SW Market Street
Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 225-5351
Fax: (503) 226-8795
Email: jbmcmul@regence.com
Asst: Carol Brandt
Phone: (503) 225-6894
Email: csbrand@regence.com

John Stellmon
President
Regence BlueShield of Idaho
1211 West Myrtle, Suite 110
Boise, Idaho 83702
Phone: (208) 395-7703
Fax: (208) 395-7704
Email: jstellmon.id@regence.com
Asst: Terri Redmond
Phone: (208) 333-7823
Email: tredmond.id@regence.com

Mary O. McWilliams
President
Regence BlueShield
1800 Ninth Avenue, M/S S1600
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: (206) 464-3756
Fax: (206) 287-5413
Email: mmcwilliams@regence.com
Asst: Paula Lyons
Phone: (206) 464-5524
Email: pjlyons@regence.com

Michael B. Unhjem
President and CEO
BlueCross BlueShield of North Dakota
4510 13th Avenue, S.W.
Fargo, ND 58121-0001
Phone: (701) 282-1327
Fax: (701) 282-1866
Email: mike.unhjem@bcbsnd.com
Asst: Mary Ann Schaan
Phone: (701) 282-1328
Email: maryann.schaan@bcbsnd.com

Robert Shoptaw
President and CEO
BlueCross and BlueShield of Arkansas
P.O. Box 2181
Little Rock, AR 72203
601 Gaines Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 378-2242
Fax: (501) 378-2037
Email: rlshoptaw@arkbluecross.com
Asst: Carolyn Henry
Phone: (501) 378-2243
Email: cjhenry@arkbluecross.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
Main #: (404) 842-8000
Fax #: (404) 842-8010
Main #: (866) 777-9636
Website: www.bcbsga.com
3350 Peachtree Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30326-1040 USA

Ms. Monye Connolly
President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
mmc6213@wellpoint.com
Direct: (404) 842-8509
Assistant: Tina

Ms. Tracy Healy
Staff Vice President of Finance
tracy.healy@wellpoint.com
Assistant: Lisa

Ms. Amy Odom
Staff Vice President of Staff Affairs
amy.odom@bcbsga.com
Direct: (404) 842-8132

Ms. Cindy Sanders
Corporate Communications Director
cindy.sanders@bcbsga.com

Mr. George Walker
Chief Financial Officer
george.walker@bcbsga.com

(Photo: Getty)

Nearly all of Houston has no power and most has no water. Even though my upstairs ceiling caved in, my manager at Walgreens said "you're scheduled to work and are expected to be here."

That's the message that he had left. When i called the store back to let them know there's no way in hell that I'm showing up, I luckily spoke to my friend Ms. Curtis, an assistant manager. I told her the situation and she then told me her situation. On Saturday, Mr Hudson, the store manager, called her to tell her that she needed to be there at the store on Sunday. She told him that she couldn't get out of her driveway due to a massive tree that was now in her driveway.

Mr. Hudson's response was, "You don't have a neighbor with a chainsaw ?" Ms. Curtis is a little person. She's a dwarf. 3' something tall, and he suggests to her to borrow a chainsaw to move a tree from her driveway so that she can come to work during a natural disaster.

I see no point in our store being open because we were out of all the supplies that could be useful to anyone on Thursday night.

So if you need 3 for 1 pantyhose packs, electric nose-hair trimmers, bouncy balls, or singing Hallmark Christmas houses, come on down to Walgreens in Houston, TX. Their automatically-opening doors stand ready, awaiting your patronage.

(Photo: cycle60)

"We didn't piece any of this together. We just taped it to hold it together. None of this has torn through at all," Amelia McBride said.

"You get the wrong people get a hold of this information, oh my gosh! They could have a heyday with this one box," Michelle McBride said.

"I was just in shock. I just couldn't believe that they're using shredded up checks as packing material," Amelia added.

The McBride's contacted the company that shipped and packed the peppers, WHH Ranch Company.

Owner Bill Hamzy says the family owned and operated business has been using shredded paper from the same Texas bank for years.

He says the McBride's are the first to notice the problem and one he will fix immediately.

It's great that WHH Ranch agreed to stop packing goods in shredded checks, but what sort of insanely reckless bank was handing them out to begin with?!

Packing material poses threat to customers of one Texas bank [KTKA] (Thanks to Aaron!)

"Vandalism is costly," another sign on the restroom doors read. "To help with these costs and to continue providing restrooms, this security lock has been installed. Your cooperation is appreciated."

Pay toilets are illegal in Houston, hence the free tokens. Still, the reporter who wrote the story says he saw a customer use his own quarter to access the toilet.

Is this the future of fast food?

Need to answer nature's call? It'll cost you [Houston Chronicle](Thanks, Therese!)

Reader Neal's receipt:

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Here's Janssens' take on the law:

According to a lawsuit initiated by the newly-established Texas Chapter of the Institute for Justice, the Texas Private Security Board, a state agency, is interpreting this as including simple computer repairs such as malware removal.

The law provides for punishment of up to one year in jail and $4,000 in fines, and up to $10,000 in civil penalties. Additionally, any customer knowingly enlisting the help of an unlicensed computer repair person (that is, without a PI license) is subject to the same punishment.

Matt Miller, Texas Institute for Justice Executive Director and lead attorney on the case, notes that "it makes no sense to require a computer repairman with 10 or 20 years of experience to get a degree in criminal justice just to continue working in his occupation. This law will drive up the price of computer repair for everyone, and that’s exactly what the private investigations industry wants."

Janssens points out that "to get a PI license, one needs either a criminal justice degree (with all associated costs) or a three-year apprenticeship under a licensed PI."

But the Daily Times says repair technicians' fears are unfounded, and that the lawsuit is in part a publicity stunt by the organization that filed it:

The author of the bill, Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, told the Houston Chronicle that computer techs are misinterpreting the law and that the lawsuit is simply a publicity stunt by The Institute for Justice.

The lawsuit marked the launch of the group’s Texas chapter.

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, agreed the new law probably is being misread.

“It needs some tightening up and some clarification, but I have been assured that they will be very cautious about enforcing it,” Hilderbran said. “(Driver’s) intent was that this rule only be used when analyzing data for investigative purposes.”

An e-mail sent to Hilderbran from DPS states that “only computer forensics officials must be licensed under the Private Security Act” and that those who only retrieve information from computer databases and pass it on to another person are not subject to the new law.

We just can't get over the idea of Geek Squad members all carrying around P.I. badges. Beyond the obvious concerns that over-eager Geek Squadders will abuse their power to, um, "privately investigate," the Texas Best Buy stores will have to remodel their in-store zones to provide a door with a frosted glass window for customers to walk through.

"Geek Squad, P.I.? Computer Repair Uproar in Texas" [ITPlanet.com] (Thanks to CaptZ!)
"Computer techs fight private-investigator law" [Daily Times]
(Photo: Joost Assink)

Because retailers will be reimbursed for the cost of the DTV boxes, most states will require the retailer to collect taxes for the full amount of the transaction. Just to make things even more confusing, a few states appear to be making an exception to their tax laws for the DTV program... and... To make a long story short: If you live in Texas, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — check your receipts, because Best Buy was incorrectly charging sales tax on the full amount and is now issuing refunds. If this issue is confusing enough that a large retailer like Best Buy got it wrong, it's likely that other retailers have also made some errors.

Reader and blogger M got a letter from Best Buy apologizing for the error, complete with a check for $3.30.

If you have any questions about the amount of tax you were charged for your DTV box, we recommend contacting your state's attorney general or your state's Comptroller's office. They should be able to explain the specific laws of your state.

Best Buy Letter [Texas Money Talk]
(Photo: classeamplifiers )

To Whom It May Concern,

I have never contacted any company with a complaint before, however my recent experience with American Airlines was the single worst consumer experience I've ever had. From beginning to end my friend and I were confronted with rude representative, lies and absolutely no concern for the completely screwed up travel plans.

I purchased a roundtrip ticket on American Airlines for my friend to fly out from Los Angeles to Atlanta for my wedding.

The problems started in LA where the planes was delayed, initially gate agents claimed this was because of thunderstorms in Dallas where my friend was connecting on to ATL.

However, another wedding guest was already in Dallas, where as he told me, "there isn't a cloud in sky." Eventually, after several hours delay attendants admitted that the flight was waiting for a fax regarding permission for another passenger who needed an oxygen supply for the flight.

Eventually the flight left LA, but by then the connecting flight was long gone. The next connecting flight from Dallas to Atlanta was the next morning, forcing my friend to spend the night in the Dallas airport.

Not only was my friend not offered a hotel room for the night, the attendants in Dallas wouldn't even give her or other passengers blankets, water or any other basic necessities.

So she and the other passengers were forced to spend the night hungry and cold, unable to sleep or leave the airport.

My understanding of your "conditions of carriage" agreement is that my friend deserves compensation. The relevant section reads: "If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability."

The fact that attendant already refused to provide meal vouchers or a hotel room means that, in my view, my friend deserves some sort of flight voucher or other compensation.

To make matters worse I (since I paid for the ticket) attempted to contact American Airlines on my friend's behalf to complain about her treatment and was told that customer service complaints may only be made through e-mail, mail or fax. Fine. So I filled out the form on your website outline the same issues mentioned here and I received back a form letter thanking me for the positive feedback.

Some people will keep their mouth shut and usually I am one of these people. I feel violated, taken advantage of and left with only one choice which is that letter. I realize there's no guarantee this will be read and not just rerouted to the problem customer file to never be looked at again.

To assure myself that have done all that is possible to have my letter read by all powers that be, I will be forwarding this to as many executive email addresses that I can find.

Cheers,
S.

Good luck, S, and good letter. It's clear, directly asks for specific compensation, and lays out the concrete reasons why they owe it to you. We hope it gets you what you deserve.

(Photo: zonaphoto)

5% of TWC's users take up half of the ISP's capacity, says Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable's executive vice president of advanced technology.

"We think it's the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure," Leddy said.

Most ISPs already have "download caps" on their so-called unlimited use accounts, but the caps are kept secret.

From Yahoo!:

Time Warner Cable had said in January that it was planning to conduct the trial in Beaumont, but did not give any details. On Monday, Leddy said its tiers will range from $29.95 a month for relatively slow service at 768 kilobits per second and a 5-gigabyte monthly cap to $54.90 per month for fast downloads at 15 megabits per second and a 40-gigabyte cap. Those prices cover the Internet portion of subscription bundles that include video or phone services. Both downloads and uploads will count toward the monthly cap.

A possible stumbling block for Time Warner Cable is that customers have had little reason so far to pay attention to how much they download from the Internet, or know much traffic makes up a gigabyte. That uncertainty could scare off new subscribers.

Those who mainly do Web surfing or e-mail have little reason to pay attention to the traffic caps: a gigabyte is about 3,000 Web pages, or 15,000 e-mails without attachments. But those who download movies or TV shows will want to pay attention. A standard-definition movie can take up 1.5 gigabytes, and a high-definition movie can be 6 to 8 gigabytes.

Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to check out their data consumption on a "gas gauge" on the company's Web page.

The company won't apply the gigabyte surcharges for the first two months. It has 90,000 customers in the trial area, but only new subscribers will be part of the trial.

We can't help but think this is going to put a damper on services such as the new Netflix box, or Apple's iTunes. It may have some pricey implications for deaf cable customers as well, as they tend to use internet video to communicate.

Then again, it does seem more honest than Comcast's current policy of shutting down users who exceed an undisclosed monthly cap.

What do you think? Will this fly?

Time Warner Cable tries metering Internet use [Yahoo!]
(Photo: meghannmarco )

The resulting news story has what may be the greatest sentence ever written:

The personal check was not made out to Mr. Fuller and when the bank contacted the check owner, the woman said she did not write a check for $360 billion.

Really? She didn't? You'll be shocked to hear that Mr. Fuller was also charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of marijuana. When asked why he was tying to cash a check for such a large amount, Fuller told police that the check "was given to him by his girlfriend’s mother to start a record business." No word on whether Mr. Fuller and his girlfriend are still dating.

Man accused of trying to cash check for $360,000,000,000 [Dallas Morning News]

Let's listen in:

I am currently serving in the U.S. Military. After completing boot camp at the end of summer 2007 I received my orders to go to Greece - departing October 23, 2007. I was told by other military personal that I could have my Verizon Wireless cellular phone account put on hold for up to one year, as I would not have any service in Greece. I contacted Verizon who told me that it was not possible to put my account on hold. After talking to my commanding officer, I was told that the Verizon Representative I talked to was incorrect, and that - by law - I should be able to put the account on hold. Since I had already left for Greece in October 2007, my mother contacted Verizon on my behalf to, once again, put a hold on the phone and the account. This was completed in December 2007.

I was still receiving bills from Verizon Wireless after my phone was on hold, but my mother paid those bills figuring they were left over from previous months. I was unable to view my bill as I am in Greece, and I never set up an online account at Verizon's website. The bills were paid as follows AFTER the account was on hold:
February 9, 2008 for $197.57 via VISA credit card (I have a letter from Verizon confirming the payment.)
March 23, 2008 for $115.00 via Check #275

I also received a letter from Verizon on February 10, 2008 stating that I registered for "My Account" online. My mother is the person who received the letter and assumed I had set this up so I could keep an eye on my account while in Greece. I, however, never set my account up online. The next, and most recent bill sent to me is for the total amount of $779.62 - due April 23, 2008. Seeing that this was a huge amount due for a phone being on hold, and since my mother paid the past 2 bills in full, she contacted me to let me know there must be a problem. She scanned and emailed me a copy of the bill for me to review. I have noticed that now there is another name and phone number attached to my account. The new phone number is 210-[redacted] and the additional name is [redacted]. I never authorized for any additional names or numbers to be added to my account. It also seemed odd that my cell number is a 717 area code (Pennsylvania), and the number recently added to the account is a 210 area code (Texas). I searched the name [redacted] and found that she is a wanted criminal in Denton County Texas. My step father has already contacted the Denton County Police Tip Line.

I called the Verizon Wireless Customer Service line 2 days ago to get this matter resolved. I was put on hold for over 20min only to be told that I would have to contact the Fraud Department at 1-800-521-1841. I called the Fraud Department several times. I was left on hold for a representative for at least 30min each time I called. I finally received little help from a representative at the Fraud Department this morning. The call was placed on April 17, 2008 around 9am.

I explained my situation to the rep. But I was being treated as if I were the criminal. I was never asked to verify any account information. The only information taken from me was the new phone number on my account. 20min after I gave the Rep the unrecognizable number I was finally told that this new name and number was added to the account in August 2007. I was shocked! Then the Rep told me that it is my responsibility to check my account regularly, and that since it has been "almost a year" since the addition that there was suspicion as to why I was now calling. I explained that I am in the military and had orders to go to Greece and that my mother had been taking care of my bills. She did not seem to care. The Rep also told me that the new number associated with my account is a dedicated line for a laptop. This does not make any sense, as the bill clearly states that the number [redacted] is a cellular phone calling plan - with 450 general minutes for $39.99. The current bill is at almost $800 because there were 1865 minutes used (1415min over the plan) as well as text and picture messaging and a Ringback Tone. If the number were used for a laptop, why would it have all this information on the bill? I was very angry at this point because of the way the Rep handled the situation, as well as the demeanor in which she spoke to me. I explained to her that the new number is a Texas area code and that I live on the East Coast. She said since she is in New York I would have to contact the Fraud Department in the South. This is when I decided to write to the FCC, as it seems my situation is going nowhere with Verizon Wireless. Please help.

If you don't see any results from escalating your complaint, you might want to think about filing a lawsuit in Verizon in small claims court and/or maybe filing a police report. Since you're in the military, you have access to some legal help through the armed services. U.S. Armed Forces Legal Assistance, or the Naval Legal Service Office may be able to provide you with legal advice.

Anyone have advice for Barbie?

(Photo:nomad)

Greetings from Austin, Consumerist. I thought y'all might like to hear tale of a visit to a local Walmart (store 1185, for those keeping track).

The journey started last Thursday evening, March 20 at around 10pm. I noticed I was low on food, deodorant, and a few other essentials that guarantee I'm a pleasant person to be around. Seeing how I've never had a major problem at Walmart, and its the closest grocery store, I decided I would go to Walmart, as usual.

I arrived to find it busy, as always. So I start getting the groceries. I almost get run over by one of those fork-lift-pallet-carrier things by some negligent employee near the yogurt/cheese area. Still, I survive and decide it's not worth griping about.

After getting groceries, I decide to finally get that deodorant. They no longer carry my favorite deodorant. I'm forced to accept a second rate brand (tainted with lead?) that makes me slightly unhappy. NO!

These two minor events aside, I arrive at shortest check out line with its light on. I wait patiently in line as the cashier (the soon to be very evil and rude) Shanda checks out the person in front of me. She turns her light off as she finishes checking this lady out. When I start putting my stuff on the conveyor belt thing, she lashes out at me saying "her light was off the whole time" and that "she would not check me out". Displeased with this result, I calmly remind her of her job responsibilities and I manage to get to check me out, even though "she did not have to check me out, but she would".

About 2 minute later, her supervisor comes up, telling her to pull out. She then relates a story about how "this idiot is forcing me to check him out". Of course, I get somewhat upset at this characterization of myself. At this point, however, the supervisor, tells me that "her cashier was already checking me out, so be quiet, shut-up, and don't come back".

I basically try to approach the supervisor to talk to her after checking out (at her podium-thing) and she runs off socializing with all the other cashiers. I finally get her to stop, but she refuses to reveal her name to me and had her name-tag backwards. Fortunately, a very friendly cashier in another line gave me the supervisor's name, Yvonne.

So there you have it Consumerist, I'm not supposed to ever go back, and if I was to come back, I'm supposed to take their corporate draconianism in the a** and "Shut-up". Thoughts?

David

(Photo:Jeff Holbrook)

I have a complaint about hidden fees that some car dealerships try to get away with.

The state of Texas charges any business an inventory tax in January of each year for products in warehouse at the end of the year. It's not much, @0.02% of the retail value of the item. Some large national companies ship inventory out of state to other warehouses to avoid paying the Texas inventory taxes.

Several New and Used car dealerships go one step further and try to charge the consumer the Vehicle Inventory Tax on every car sales receipt during the year.

Although the Texas department of transportation office says by definition the "Vehicle Inventory Tax (VIT) - A property tax that dealers pay on their business inventory. This is NOT a tax that is required to be paid by the consumer." referenced at www.txdot.gov/publications/motor_vehicle/section01.pdf

The finance person at the dealership doesn't like it but persistence has prevailed. Though they claim to not be able to remove the fee, I have successfully negotiated out of paying this hidden fee at the dealerships by quoting this manual. They usually adjust the sales price down to cover this line item on the retail purchase contract.

(Thanks to Mike!)

"Motor Vehicle Dealer Manual - Section 1" [Texas Department of Transportation]
(Photo: A contradiction of terms)

I'm sure you get hundreds of complaints about salons, but have any of the salon owners in question put a lien on the car of the injured party? Mine has.

Nutshell: I went to have a perm done in a Tony Cao salon in Trophy Club, Texas. Three different people worked on me, including a boy who told me he had no idea what he was doing. He was the one in charge of rinsing out the solution on my head. I ended up with burns and bald spots (see attached picture), and severely damaged hair. Not only would the salon owner not give me a refund, he told me it was my own fault for having had damaged hair prior to visiting his salon. He also charged me for a full haircut, when I had not asked for one...

I asked for my money back three times, and he refused, so I wrote on the back of my car window with shoe polish, "Tony Cao Salon Ruins Hair No Refunds." And he PUT A LIEN ON MY CAR! (In Texas, you can put a lien on anything for any reason.) [ed. A lien is a claim by one party on a second party's property that entitles them to a specific amount of money in the event of that piece of property's sale.] After calling and speaking with Tony Cao, I found out that this was not even one of his salons, but it is a man he is suing to get the name taken down. I would never have set foot in the place if I had known it was just some guy off the street! So I have filed a small claims lawsuit to recoup the cost of his salon's services, the cost of the salon services I needed to manicure out the major damage he caused, and the cost of my dermatologist. I got a letter from his attorney last night saying that they will pay me my claim and remove the lien from my car, if I am willing to sign documentation basically stating that it never happened, and promising my complete silence and confidentiality. So, in effect, they are saying they will stop trying to TAKE MY CAR if I promise never to tell anyone that this horrible place burned bald spots in my hair. If nothing else, it's an amusing story to everyone I know. Thanks, Lane B.

Late yesterday, I spoke with their attorney and they made a correction on the suit. So we have settled, and the salon is giving me back my money. Thanks!Lane B

Sorey says when he went in, he told a befuddled cashier that he didn't think that the arbitration notice was enforceable, that anyway he wasn't agreeing to it, and, "I need a taquito and a coffee." He says he sat down, watched some traffic, and ate his taquito. "I didn't choke, I didn't burn myself, and I didn't sue 'em," he reports.

Eat Burger, Waive Right to Sue [Mother Jones]
(Photo: Dan Sorey)

So my Best Buy fiasco gets read by a lot of people over a 3 day period....somewhere around 130,000 times......and apparently only 10 or so people read it in it's entirety. I would like to thank everyone for reading and for their "inventive" comments about me and my story. The result from all of those views is a positive ending. After posting the story on a Friday night to the Consumerist, I get a call on my cell phone Monday afternoon from the District Manager for the Southeast U.S. Best Buy Stores. His name is Mike and he is more than cordial on the phone and is quite apologetic about the whole event. The story was brought to his attention from Corporate and he apparently was tapped as the person to call and try to make things right with me. He is the first person to agree with me that the 2 for $25 deal listing in the store was contradictory to the offer in the circular. After we discuss the situation, he says it never should have escalated anywhere near where it did and he wants to make it up to me since I am such a loyal customer to have purchased something after going through the whole event. He offers me his contact information to personally use for any questions or problems in the future along with a $200 Gift Card. I gladly accept and we discuss a few other details I would like to share with everyone. (I am not sure if I am still receiving the $25 gift card in the mail as well, but at this point it's not important.) First of all......Brian the Manager........is really Brian the ASSISTANT Manager. The store manager is actually named Corey. Now to be fair, Brian never introduced himself as the STORE Manager, but as "THE manager" as you might recall. Regardless, "the headset guy" still referred me to him as the highest level of management there was and I took that at face value. Also, it was made known to me that if an employee is approved to handle money, meaning a register worker, then they also have the ability to make a customer happy based on some common sense rules. This means they do have SOME authority in changing prices on a product right then and there to resolve an issue. Now, typically, this is probably not going to happen because these individuals want to keep their jobs and therefore aren't radically changing things without management approval.....so I will give them a pass. However, it still seems that management failed that evening unfortunately. After I part ways on the phone with Mike, the District Manager, he contacts Corey at the store to hand-deliver the $200 Gift Card to me at the store location at my convenience. I finally felt like someone at the top of Best Buy heard my story and wanted to make it right. About 15 minutes later, Corey contacts me and is also very friendly and cordial and wants to schedule a time for me to stop by the store and accept his apologies and pick up the Gift Card. We decide a convenient time and here I am writing a follow-up article after gladly receiving my card tonight. The great ending to all of this that should get a laugh is what I received from Corey at the store tonight along with my gift card, as a show of good faith and to try to have some fun with the story. A COMPLIMENTARY COPY of SAW IV. Now that's a manager who knows how to make the best of a situation..... Corey and I had a few laughs about many of the comments made online about the story and we parted friends. He assured me that my story was, and will be, used as a learning experience for customer service at the store in the future. So Best Buy has made things right with this consumer and I look forward to shopping there again. And by the way, neither Mike nor Corey asked me to write anything else about the matter or have any kind of retraction. And that's exactly why I am writing a follow-up. It just goes to show that with the power of the internet, the help of the Consumerist site, and a lot of interest at Digg, one customer's story can catch the attention of an entire retail conglomerate.

Thanks to the Consumerist site for listening and posting my un-edited story.

Jason

Oh, that's not part of the sign? Then why did the manager of the Best Buy in Beaumont, TX refuse to honor the in-store advertisement? Read Jason's story, after the jump.

To preface this story, I would like to say I shop at this Best Buy almost exclusively for games, movies, electronics, and computer related items on a local level. Obviously online shopping is still typically the best place for this stuff, but when I want it in my hands, I go here. I happen to frequent this Best Buy every Tuesday like clockwork because I have about 30 minutes to waste when I leave my main day job and go to a freelance job just down the street from this store. I have been in this routine for over 4 years so I am obviously very familiar with this store. I wait for sales and try to pick up deals when I can. When it comes to deals, I am also very aware of the nuances of sales promotions and disclaimers. I never try to push an issue that I know is not correct based on disclaimers and so forth. I worked in advertising so I am actually sensitive to this stuff myself and I also know that people get paid very well to make sure they don't let mistakes like that through, especially for a company the size of Best Buy. With that all being said, let me explain what happened. I walk into the Best Buy Store #238 in Beaumont, TX at around 6:30pm Wednesday, January 23rd. I am looking for an extra little birthday present for my 66 year old father, specifically a movie, just as a little side gift as entertainment to counter the tools I already bought him. I wander around looking at the movies for awhile and finally decide on 3:10 to Yuma, a new release. The price on it is $19.99. I decide that standard definition movies are a pretty poor investment at that price and put it back and decide to look around for something else. I think standard definition movies should be $14.99 (and below) these days now that the HD formats are becoming the standard. But as I look through the movies, I see one of their sales promotions on a tiny yellow tag. The promotion says: " 2 for $25 - Choose from: 3:10 to Yuma, Good Luck Chuck, Saw IV, and War. Disclaimer: Must be purchased on same receipt. No rainchecks. See a customer specialist for details. TempPart #b015021 Expires 01/26/08" Now I think to myself, that's a pretty good deal since all of these movies are new releases and it meets my self-imposed restriction of buying standard-def movies for under $15. So I am convinced at that point that it's a good deal. I end up choosing two copies of 3:10 to Yuma. One for my father, and the other for me. Now some people may point and say that choice is not valid to begin with because I am buying two of the same movie....and typically, I might agree with that, but I thought since it didn't say anything about not getting two copies of the same movie, then that must be a valid choice, so I was ready to put one back and get War instead.... the odd thing is, that was never the issue.

So I get to the register and they ring me up as I pull out my Reward Zone membership card to put the purchase on my card like I always do.......and the clerk tells me $43 dollars and change, meaning, of course, the movies are ringing at $19.99 each. I very politely say they should be ringing at 2 for $25. The clerk then grabs a mailer circular from under the register and says, "No sir, I think for that promotion one of the titles needs to be Saw IV." and proceeds to show me a promotion in the mailer. I still politely tell him that I didn't use the mailer to make my decision to buy these, I used the in-store advertising promotion listed in the DVD section and he asks to see the tag I was referring to. I leave the counter, go to the DVD section, grab the tag and then walk back over to the register to show him and he still says I need Saw IV to be one of the movies. I still at this point politely tell him that they must be different promotions because this tag mentions nothing like that and is spelled out in black and white that I can choose any two of the following movies with no reference to a specific movie required in the purchase.

Another Best Buy employee walks over and asks if he can help me.......now this guy comes over with a chip on his shoulder already it seems like, and a headset on. (At this point, I am wondering where the drive-thru is.) He seems like some kind of floor manager or assistant manager. He is very abrupt and not too friendly in his demeanor and I am a little sick from the winter weather, a little tired after working all day, and really not looking for a confrontation or anything. I am staying very calm and never raising my voice or causing a scene or anything. Besides, this is MY Best Buy.....I come in here all the time....and none of these people recognize me? I shop here every week, sometimes twice a week or more....and have been for over 4 years now. This new guy with the headset is telling me that I can't take advantage of the promotion without one of the movies being Saw IV. I told him, I understand that promotion from the mailer.....but this is a different contradictory promotion in the store. I show him the tag. I also show him the 10 tags or so in the store that are identical to it. He then tells me that the mailer circular takes precendence over the in-store advertising, which is kind of shocking to me, since I never saw the mailer and didn't receive one, yet I am shopping in the store. I finally realize I am getting nowhere with this individual and decide to go the old "manager route." At this point, I don't even care about the movies at that price, I am just wanting to make sure they understand that the promotion in-store is a direct contradiction to their mailer promotion. No one will even admit this yet. So I ask him to get the manager to resolve this so I can go on about my evening. The headset guy goes off to find the manager and leaves me for over 10 minutes, just standing around in the front of the store. He finally comes back talking over his headset and says in a mumbling way "I talked to the managers and they said you need to buy Saw IV." At this stage, I am standing here in disbelief that a manager didn't come out to talk to me. I am not even sure this guy ever TALKED to a manager now. I tell him that I need a MANAGER to tell me that for me to understand. This headset guy actually tells me at this point that the managers are too busy to talk to me about it. Well, now I am getting a little irritated. Since when, at any retail establishment, is a store manager too busy to handle a customer problem? I am dumbfounded and annoyed all at once. This same headset guy is now getting belligerent when I have shown no signs of being "one of those customers" who is about to cause a scene. I am calmly and quietly trying to take advantage of an offer that is advertised in the store. Normally I don't even care about this kind of stuff. Typically I would have left empty-handed if the employees would have said "Sir, I see your point and that advertising is misleading or false, I really apologize, but the register won't even allow me to do that kind of deal. Let me pull that advertising off the shelf right now to resolve the matter." I would have been fine with that response and left the store and never thought about it again. My real problem now is that these two employees and the absent manager are basically reacting to me like I am crazy to not "get" their promotion. They think the tag spells it out completely for me and that I must be mentally challenged.

Finally, the store manager shows up and is over-the-top friendly, in a QVC talk show host kind-of-way. I explain to him very politely the whole story from scratch. Let me remind you that we are standing in the check-out area among several other customers checking out with their own purchases. The manager listens intently to my story and finally without missing a beat upon me saying "So there ya have it, isn't that crazy?", he says as if he rehearsed it "Yes, but you have to buy Saw IV." Now I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone here because I just explained to him the difference in the promotional wording from the mailer and the promotional wording from the in-store advertising. It is right here in black and white. I am showing it to him right here in front of us. He refuses to acknowledge that it even remotely seems inaccurate or misleading. I finally get irritated and say, "You need to sell me these two DVDs for $25 to make good on your in-store advertising." and he says "No, I don't." I am seriously floored at this point. I am three levels deep into Best Buy employees and they are all treating me as if I am crazy and we are seriously talking about $15 here. It's crazy. So I tell him that this whole thing has kind of gotten out of hand and that if he just honors the deal then I will be on my way. He still says "No, I can't help you.....unless you buy Saw IV." At this point, I swore if I heard "Saw IV" one more time, I was going to throw up. So basically, I finally tell the manager as a last resort that I could call the consumer hotline and report the store for not honoring the deal. He responds with "It doesn't matter, call them, I make the final decisions at this store and you are NOT getting those movies for $25." Oh man, I have NEVER been talked to by a store manager like that in my life. I worked in retail and I worked in advertising and I know what it's like on both ends of the business. This is just unbelievable at this point for me. I ask the manager what his name is and he says "Brian" and I follow with "Brian what" and he says "BRIAN...THE MANAGER" and then I ask him to get his full name so I know who to report and he says "Brian the Manager is all you need to know."

I set the movies down on the counter and grab my cell phone and dial the 1-888-BEST-BUY on the back of my reward zone membership. The manager and all of the employees have now scattered and I am wandering around the DVD section again on hold. I want to be able to see this tag again to read it verbatim to the consumer hotline because the headset guy took the tag I was holding up at the front. Finally someone comes on the line and it sounds like a young guy, probably early to mid-twenties from his mannerisms and vocal cues. I tell him the entire story from the beginning and that I have now been in the store for over an hour to buy two DVDs. I also tell him I am calling now just to prove to the manager that he can't treat people poorly like that. It has become a challenge to right this wrong. He listens without interruption and says, "Okay, let me verify all of this while I put you on hold." He is of course calling the store, or so I assume. I am thinking he is going to contact the manager and then the manager will fold under pressure thinking I wouldn't really call, and certainly not call while I am there in the store no less. So at this point, I am on hold for about 10 minutes. The consumer hotline guy comes back on the phone and says the story checks out and that he just got off the phone with the manager. I tell him "Great, I am so glad we can finally get this resolved." and I kind of laughingly tell him "This is so crazy isn't it?" He kind of laughs and goes "Yea....crazy.....but you need to buy Saw IV......"

Wow......I just went through all of the channels.....I followed the system the way a customer is supposed to........and the system failed.

I tell the guy on the phone that this is really crazy now. He tells me the store manager has final say over all transactions in the store. That's the boast that "Brian the Manager" had made. So now I am in the understanding that Brian is basically all powerful, even over corporate. Wow. I stand corrected. I should have never doubted the power of "Brian the Manager." I tell the guy on the phone that this is now totally unacceptable and I wasted an hour and a half of trying to get two movies advertised for $25. The guy tells me he can't help me to resolve the matter and that he's sorry for my trouble, but to take advantage of the promotion, I would need to buy Saw IV. Now I go off on a mild rant about how this is 2008 and I am standing in a retail store trying to resolve a matter based on the idea that "the customer is always right" and I have a corporate employee at the consumer hotline for one of the largest retail chains in the country and they are telling me they can't help me. Knowing that I am at my wit's end at this point, the guy on the phone finally makes me an offer to send me a $15 gift card in the mail to make up the difference in me buying the two DVDs. I say that's finally at least SOMETHING, but how does that resolve the matter right now? I don't even want the gift card (and who knows if I will ever see it), I just want them to honor the deal right now and then we can call it a day. He says the manager refuses to honor the deal. I tell him, fine, give me a $15 gift card in the store right now and then I can use it at the register and the guy on the phone tells me he can't do that, he can only issue one in the mail. I am still not satisfied and I go off on a rant again about how I could post this whole story on the internet and that if they just resolve my issue, we could all save ourselves a lot of trouble and hassle. The guy on the phone still says he can't resolve it and can't help me. I ask him if they are going to pull the in-store promotion to not mislead people and he says "No, those are produced by corporate and will be left in the store unless the manager sees fit to remove them." Wow, the manager STILL is all powerful. So finally, I go off on another rant about how this whole scenario is one of the most ludicrous experiences I have ever had and finally the guy on the phone basically tells me that he doesn't really care about the advertising or anything at this point and that the absolute most he can do (to get me off the phone) is to up my gift card to $25. I finally concede defeat and say, "Fine, send it." He verifies my address and we hang up.

Here's where the cherry is put on top.....as I hang up the phone......the manager walks out from the back and looks at me across the store and gives me this smug look of "I win." That's what kills me.

I begrudgingly go and buy one copy of the movie for $19.99 and leave the store because I needed the birthday present regardless of the outcome. Now some people may feel like I won this battle because I came out ahead financially, but I don't feel that way. I still feel like Best Buy won overall because they are still promoting misleading, inaccurate in-store advertising and not honoring it. I also went into the store again the next day to pick up the promotional advertising pieces to write this article and needless to say they were still up throughout the DVD section.

So take a look at these advertisements and you guys tell me if you think these two things are the same. What conclusions would you draw if you saw the in-store promotion and had never seen the circular mailer?

Best Buy could easily have defused the situation. Jason didn't want a $25 gift card. He wanted an apology, and for someone to acknowledge the first rule of customer service: the customer is always right.

When Gonzalez explained that he is disabled and was training Mason to help him, the manager responded that dogs were not allowed in the store and that Gonzalez would be escorted out, Gonzalez said.

The manager was "very firm, and I felt embarrassed and ashamed," Gonzalez said. "I felt like I was disrespected."

Dillard's officials say Gonzalez never identified himself as disabled and only indicated that he was training the dog.

"On a daily basis Dillard's welcomes customers with service dogs into many of its stores across the country," Johnson said.

"If a person wishes to seek to train a dog in a Dillard's department store, the respective store manager needs to be contacted so that the best time can be established for both parties."

After leaving the store, Gonzalez contacted Hurst police. Officers talked with Gonzalez and the manager and determined that the dispute was a civil matter. Police say there was a report of the dog causing a disturbance in the store, which gives the business owner a right to ask the animal to leave.

However, if a business owner is suspected of discriminating against a disabled person with a service animal, the business owner can be ticketed for misdemeanor discrimination, police said.

Store boots disabled vet and his service dog [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: D.J. Peters/Star-Tribune)

LTD is said to be taking the federal action "seriously," and that, "One complaint is one too many."

Debt collector settles charges for $1.3 million [Star-Telegram] (Thanks to David!)

RELATED: Things Debt Collectors Can't Do
Sample Letter For Disputing A Debt Collection Notice
Sample Letter For Telling A Debt Collector To Drop Dead

1) Walk around in the parking lot with said toy gun out in the open, uncovered.

2) Return the gun at 4 am.

An unidentified man from El Paso, TX could have used this advice. He caused a panic at his local Walmart, according to the El Paso Times.

The incident began shortly before 4 a.m. at the Cielo Vista Wal-Mart store when someone spotted a man in the parking lot with a gun.

Responding police officers evacuated the store and began a search.

The purported gunman was found and questioned at the scene.

He was released a few minutes later when it was determined that the man was not intending to commit a crime.

Police: Wal-Mart gunman was returning toy gun [El Paso Times]
(Photo:greenmelinda)

Arnie writes:

He refunded me the cost of the new tire and the alignment I had never authorized. He admitted that they did not handle the road hazard warranty correctly and said that he had already sent someone over to the store to do further training with the employees on how to handle road hazard warranties. He also called me again the next day to make sure that everything went ok when I went to the store to obtain the refund money. Wonderful handling of the complaint, I was very impressed!

Learn how to launch an Executive Email Carpet Bomb of your own.

Pep Boys seems to be scamming Arnie on the tires he bought from them and trying to cheat him out of his road hazard warranty after he got a nail in them. So he's sending off an executive email carpet bomb, reprinted inside. Road hazard, indeed.

To: William_Leonard@pepboys.com, Harry_Yanowitz@pepboys.com, John_Mitchell@pepboys.com, Jeffrey_Rachor@pepboys.com, Michael_Odell@pepboys.com, Mark_Bacon@pepboys.com, Scott_Webb@pepboys.com, Tony_Fee@pepboys.com, Joseph_Cirelli@pepboys.com cc tips@consumerist.com, info@fwbbb.org date: Sep 29, 2007 5:50 PM subject: Pep Boys Store Issue

Dear Pep Boys

In May of 2007 I came to realize that the tires on my 2004 Scion XB were quite worn and in need of replacing the full set. I price shopped many other tire outlets and found that Pep Boys not only offered the lowest price but also had a current promotion that would provide a rebate on one full tire. I also found that they were open on Sunday while most tire outlets were not and that was of great convenience to me. So I called the store, verified that the tires I wanted were in stock and headed into the store to purchase the tire set. This was the Bedford Texas store on Harwood Rd.

When I reached the store I was instantly unimpressed with the associate behind the counter whom I later found out to be the Service Center Manager. Jeff Whitman was his name and when I approached he was on the telephone. I patiently waited while he finished the call. He then took a moment to take a bite of a hamburger and greeted me with his mouth full of food. He took 3 phone calls while he was assisting me which I felt was highly unprofessional seeing as how, I was a customer who had taken the step further to come into the store and make a purchase. We agreed on the tires I would purchase and the price and I signed the work order. I was going to be leaving the car and I left my cell phone number with him to call when the work was complete. I also told him I was on a strict budget and if there was any cost above the price I signed for I must have a phone call from him before he did anything.

I received no phone call about the car, ever. Not even to tell me it was ready. I decided to come back to check on it about the time they were closing and it was ready. Jeff informed me upon my return that I needed an alignment so they went ahead and preformed it and I now owe them for the alignment as well as the tires. I told him I did not want the alignment and did not authorize it and he refused to take it off, but did offer a discount on the price of the tires. I agreed to this and he took the discount on the tires. However, later when I went to get my rebate, I was then shorted on my rebate because he took the discount on my tire price and I was only eligible for the price he adjusted them to.

I let this entire situation slide and never complained further to Jeff Whitman despite my general unhappiness with the entire experience. Then on September 29 th, 2007 I returned to the Bedford, Texas store with a nail in the tire. I had purchased a road hazard warranty with the tires. The new service manager Mr. Fernandez was there to assist me. I asked several questions when I brought the car in and none of which could he seem to answer for me directly. He said things like, " I am not sure, we will have to see, maybe we can" all evidence to his seeming lack of confidence in what he was telling me. I left the car and when I returned he told me that the nail was in the side wall and the tire could not be repaired. I said fine, I assumed that I was covered by my road hazard warranty seeing as how I had only driven approximately 5,000 miles on the new tires. Mr. Fernandez informed me that I was only covered by a pro-rated amount on the tire because I had only 6/32 of tread left on the tire and that I had already used 80% of the tire's life. I purchased the tires with 50,495 miles on the car and the mileage upon return with the nail in it was 54, 986.This was a 60,000 mile tire how could 5,000 miles have been 80% of the tire life? Again he never answered any question I asked directly or confidently. He told me he would enter it as 8/32 of tread to make it a lower price for me. I paid for the tire and drove 2 businesses down to a competing tire outlet and had the tread on the other 3 tires measured. They measured my tread at 12/32 on all 3 other tires. That is quite a large difference from what Mr. Fernandez measured (26/32).

So now I am coming to you, looking for satisfaction in this situation. I feel like I have been quite taken advantage of by the Bedford Texas Pep Boys automotive. I would like to have a refund of the alignment and the road hazard warranty. I feel like I was mislead on both of these purchases. I will post this letter as it reads to "the consumerist" ( www.consumerist.com) as well as the Tarrant County BBB also and if this is handled in an appropriate manner from this point forward I will sing your praises for handling the compliant professionally.

I thank you for considering my complaint and I hope that you can restore my confidence in Pep Boys.

Amie Trainor
Fort Worth, Texas

RELATED: How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet Bomb
(Photo: klynslis)

North Texas Towing Company Impounds Cars Illegally [cbs11] (Thanks to Reni!)

UPDATE: Midas had her car towed from her driveway because she bounced a $39.50 check for a state car inspection.

No doubt Jordan Fogal signed something very similar, if not the same,
before Tremont Homes sold her a self-destructing lemon house. In both cases the arbitration firm is the American Arbitration Association.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND CONDITIONAL SALE TO BUILDER AGREEMENT ADDENDUM

SELLER: STANDARD PACIFIC HOMES OF TEXAS, INC.
BUYER'S FULL NAME:
LOT: BLOCK: SUBDIVISION:
SECTION: PLAN NO: JOB NO:
STREET: CITY: FORT WORTH
COUNTY: TARRANT, TEXAS ZIP CODE: 76248

THIS DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND CONDITIONAL SALE TO BUILDER AGREEMENT ADDENDUM TO HOME PURCHASE AGREEMENT ("Dispute Resolution Agreement") constitutes a part of the Contract between Buyer and Seller pertaining to the Property. THIS DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT HAS IMPORTANT LEGAL CONSEQUENCES AND SHOULD BE READ THOROUGHLY BEFORE SIGNING. BUYER IS ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT AN ATTORNEY PRIOR TO THE EXECUTION OF THIS DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used as defined terms in this Dispute Resolution Agreement shall have the meaning given to such terms in the Contract.
1. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Dispute Resolution Agreement only: (i) "Seller" means and includes Seller, any director, officer, partner, member, employee, agent, or representative of Seller, any affiliate of Seller (other than affiliated mortgage lender) and any contractor, subcontractor, consultant, design professional, engineer, or supplier who provided labor, services or materials to the Project and who is bound or has agreed to be bound to the following dispute notification and resolution procedures; (ii) "Dispute" means any and all actions or claims by, between or among any Seller party and any Owner, arising out of or in any way relating to the Property, the Project, the Contract, liquidated damages issues under the Contract, the Limited Warranty, and/or any other agreements or duties or liabilities as between any Seller party and an Owner relating to the sale of the Property, or regarding the use or condition of the Property; or the design or construction of or any condition on or affecting the Project, including without limitation construction defects, surveys, soils conditions, grading, specifications, installation of improvements, or disputes which allege strict liability, negligence or breach of implied, express or statutory warranties as to the condition of the Property or other portions of the Project; (iii) "Owner" means Buyer, any individuals or entities comprising Buyer, any representative of Buyer acting with respect to Buyer's rights (including without limitation any class representative or homeowners' association so acting), and any successor or assign of Buyer with respect to the Property, the Contract, the Limited Warranty, or any other agreements or obligations with respect to Seller, the Property, or the Project; (iv) "Project" means the development, construction and marketing of the Property, and the community of which it is a part; and (v) "Limited Warranty" means, when used in the context of a dispute arising prior to the Closing, that certain form of Home Builder's Limited Warranty attached to the Contract as Exhibit A and means, when used in the context of a Dispute arising after the Closing, that certain Home Builder's Limited Warranty issued to Buyer after the Closing substantially in the form of Exhibit A to the Contract.
2. ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES
(a) ARBITRATION UNDER LIMITED WARRANTY. WITH RESPECT TO ALL DISPUTES (WHETHER OR NOT RELATING TO THE LIMITED WARRANTY), SELLER AND OWNER SHALL COMPLY WITH THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES AND PROVISIONS SPECIFIED IN THE LIMITED WARRANTY. THE LIMITED WARRANTY GENERALLY PROVIDES FOR BINDING ARBITRATION CONDUCTED BY CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATION SERVICES, INC., OR SUCH OTHER REPUTABLE ARBITRATION SERVICE AS PWC (THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE WARRANTY PROGRAM) SHALL SELECT. THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE DESIGNATED ARBITRATION ORGANIZATION, AS IN EFFECT AT THE TIME THE REQUEST FOR ARBITRATION IS SUBMITTED, WILL BE FOLLOWED. A COPY OF THE APPLICABLE RULES AND PROCEDURES WILL BE DELIVERED TO BUYER UPON REQUEST. BUYER CAN REVIEW THE LIMITED WARRANTY FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
(b) GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION AND AAA ARBITRATION. IF THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURES AND PROVISIONS SPECIFIED IN THE LIMITED WARRANTY CANNOT BE USED BECAUSE THEY ARE DETERMINED TO BE UNENFORCEABLE OR THE FORUM SPECIFIED IS UNAVAILABLE, SELLER AND BUYER SHALL COMPLY WITH THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES AND PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN THIS PARAGRAPH 2(b), WHICH PROVIDES FOR GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION FOLLOWED BY BINDING ARBITRATION WITH THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION ("AAA"), IF NECESSARY.
(i) Good Faith Negotiation. In the event of a Dispute, the party asserting the claim shall notify the other party in writing of the Dispute. The writing shall reasonably describe the nature of the claim and any proposed remedy (the "Claim Notice"). Within a reasonable period (not to exceed 60 days) after receipt of the Claim Notice, the parties shall meet and negotiate in good faith, recognizing their mutual interests, in an attempt to reach a just and equitable solution satisfactory to both parties. The provisions of this Paragraph 2(b)(i) shall not apply to a Dispute subject to the provisions of the Texas Residential Construction Liability Act ("RCLA") or the Texas Residential Construction Commission Act ("TRCCA").
(ii) AAA Arbitration. If the parties to the Dispute cannot resolve the claim pursuant to Paragraph 2(b)(i) or Paragraph 2(b)(i) does not apply because the Dispute is covered by the provisions of RCLA or TRCCA, the Dispute shall be submitted for resolut