The scammers operate under names such as U.S. National Bank, Federal Investigation Bureau and United Legal Processing, said West Virginia Assistant Attorney General Norman Googel.

The callers also have invoked the names of actors Denzel Washington and Steve Martin, people who've received calls tell ABCNews.com.

Googel said that the scammers have been impossible to track down, but ABCNews.com spoke to one man who claimed to be associated with U.S. National Bank. The man said he works for Financial Crime Division, a company he said provides services for USNB.

The man refused to give his name and gave little information about his company.

Steve Martin? What? When ABC tried to get the fake debt collector to tell them about his company, he responded in a thick accent: "It's not necessary that each and everyone knows about Financial Crime Division, and probably one of them is you." Yep. Definitely one of them is us. (To hear a clip of this conversation, click here.)

ABC says the scammers are targeting people who took out payday loans and have access to lots of personal information that may have been stolen from payday lending websites. One consumer who was interviewed for the report said that he was intimidated into sending the scammers $800. They claimed he still owed the money on some loans he took out in 2005. He had paid the loans off last year, but threats of arrest scared him.

"I was scared to death," he said. "Everything they said literally just stressed me out to the max."

The scammers like to use scary-sounding terms that are meaningless such as "downloading affidavits," identify themselves as "Denzel Washington," and say they are calling from "Steve Martin's office."

ABC says consumers with complaints about U.S. National Bank are encouraged to contact the FTC, and their state attorney general's office.

Fake Debt Collectors Terrify Consumers [ABCNews]
Attorney General McGraw Warns Public of Fake Internet Loan Collectors Impersonating Law Enforcement Officers and Extorting Money From Consumers [West Virginia AG]

"We're losing money as it is," founder Tim Westergren's told The Washington Post. "The moment we think this problem in Washington is not going to get solved, we have to pull the plug because all we're doing is wasting money," adding, "We're funded by venture capital. They're not going to chase a company whose business model has been broken. So if it doesn't feel like its headed towards a solution, we're done."

So where can you get your Pandora-like fix in the future? There's Nutsie, which streams a rough facsimile of your own music library to your phone, but when we tried it a year ago it was Symbian-friendly (albeit buggy) and now it seems to just run on Blackberry devices. If you've got the patience to upload all your music to the fee-based backup service mp3tunes.com, you can access your backed-up library from a PC (as well as several other types of devices) and stream the songs, but only files in mp3 format (no aac streaming for you!). There's always last.fm, a great recommendation service (I like it better than Pandora, actually) which now has the deep pockets of CBS to support it and seems to be working on a subscription model it will introduce sometime in the future. Or finally, SimplifyMedia offers a free application that will let you share your iTunes library across the web to other computers, your iPhone, and up to 30 friends. (NB:the iPhone version of the app costs money.)

"Pandora Could Be First Major Casualty of New Royalty Rates" [Wired]

The adjustments are outlined in an internal United Airlines memo that was distributed to flight attendants Monday and obtained by The Chronicle. The changes are all in the name of the "cost reduction and revenue-generating opportunities" United is focused on, the memo reads.

"In the wake of high fuel prices and a challenging economic environment, we must continue to examine every aspect of our business and find new ways to improve our day-to-day operations through efficiencies that still meet our customers' expectations," reads the memo, titled "Catering Changes Provide Value and Options."

"These are difficult but necessary changes," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, in Chicago. "We are looking at everything we need to do to offset fuel prices, which are still skyrocketing."

The memo also says that United plans to do away with complementary meals from Washington D.C. to Europe.

"We'll monitor customer feedback," said Urbanski. "The industry is changing."

Since they're so interested, we think you should let them know how you feel about this change. Is "buy-on-board" food a good way to offset fuel costs without raising fares?

United Airlines to drop free snacks (Thanks, Ari!)
(Photo: So Cal Metro )

The district manager of Open Pantry Citgo, 11216 W. Blue Mound Road, reported that 4,909 gallons of gas, valued at $19,374, was removed from the underground tanks sometime between July 16 and Aug. 13.

He told police the pressure of the tanks, supply and feed lines have been tested with no indication of cracks or seeping, and the petroleum supply company has verified the delivered amounts.

Police in Wauwatosa thing the culprits were customers who prepaid for their gas and then tampered with the pumps in order to "acquire more gas than the pumps should allow." Naturally, they didn't explain the details of this technique.

Gas Thieves Take Nearly 5,000 Gallons [WauwatosaNow] (Thanks, Austin!)
(Photo: northernplateguy )

First, I am active duty military and I only get so many days of leave; when extenuating circumstances happen to delay travel - I still get charged for the leave.

So there I was on Monday, 11 Aug in the Detroit Metro Airport which happens to be NWAs worldwide hub. I am there a little more than an hour and a half prior to my flight. I was scheduled to leave around 130p on a Monday.

When I checked in at the E-ticket console a message flashed stating that the flight was overbooked and that I was being offered a voucher. I arrived with the intention of checking my only bag because I needed to check a firearm - something that I have done several times. Current TSA policy on firearms is that they need to be in a hard-sided case and locked (my case was a standard manufacturer's case that is completely hard-sided and has been through airlines checks numerous times).

I usually have a lock, but TSA always ends up taking it off and telling me I don't need it. Of course this time I didn't take a lock. The NWA agent told me, after I informed her of my firearm, that TSA wouldn't check it because it didn't have a lock, I told her I would talk to them and see what they would say.

The TSA agent told me that she wouldn't take it without a lock. Trying to minimize time-damage, I asked her if a zip tie would do - logicizing (that absolutely has to be a word) that since law enforcement and military use zip ties in lieu of steel handcuffs to detain people, a zip tie should work instead of a mini lock that I could bend with my bare hands.

She said, mockingly, that I could not use a zip tie. I asked, "what constitutes a lock?" She replied, "A lock." I politely thanked her for clearing that up for me. The NWA agent, who was trying to be friendly and helpful at a very busy point in the day, actually left the desk to go look for a padlock that they could sell me.

Okay, fair enough, rules is rules—get your OP-blaming out of the way now, because this is where it gets very silly.

While [the NWA agent] was gone, the TSA agent told me that she "can't let this through, even if it has a lock on it it's still accessible".

I was confused and said that I did not understand what she meant. She again stated that the case was accessible even if it had a lock. I explained that I did not know what she meant but that TSA's policy and website state the only two requirements (ammo notwithstanding) are a hard-sided case and a lock. She said, "Even if this has a lock on it, I'm not letting it through."

I pulled out my 3g iPhone, pulled up TSA's website and found the firearm policy and showed it to her. She said, "TSA sometimes gives us different policies than they give you."

I responded, "Are you kidding me? I don't think when it comes to firearms TSA is going to surprise passengers with some magical policy to prevent them from checking firearms they're allowed to check." She responded with, "I'm not letting it through."

I asked, "Who do I talk to about getting this through?; she replied, "A supervisor." I asked if I could please speak with a supervisor and she said, no kidding, "I am a supervisor." Does anyone really believe that a supervisor of any kind is actually going to be on shift at the ticketing counter inspecting baggage and tossing it onto the belt?

I asked to speak to a supervisor, [and was told] iit would be 30 minutes before he arrived. Foreseeing a possible "late arrival" and subsequent loss of seat, I asked the same NWA agent if the vouchers were still being offered, she said yes and I asked if I could sell my seat back for one and she said, "No, you have to be at the gate."

This I know to be untrue for two reasons: I've done it before and it's a ticketing counter and I was asking for help with ticketing. I didn't contest; I waited a few minutes and then went back to her and asked if I could call the gate from the counter and try to do it over the phone; she said "No, you have to be at the gate."

Again, I know this to be untrue because I had just done it with NWA a few weeks prior, not even for me but on behalf of my fiancee. Regardless, I dropped it. The TSA supervisor was great: I gave him a quick explanation, asked him if my case was within policy, he said "Yes, what's the problem?" To which I responded, "Your agent doesn't know your policy and is trying to tell me that you guys have secret policies."

He essentially ignored that, [but] he actually went and got me a TSA lock and gave it to me for free, inspected my bag on the spot and checked it through. After asking, he agreed to escort me to the front of security so I wouldn't miss my flight.

Hooray! Through security! But of course they delay set up a chain reaction.

I asked the NWA agent for my boarding pass (she had taken it earlier when I'd asked for the voucher) - she told me I wouldn't make the flight - it was about 15-20 minutes prior to takeoff, she had told me that at 10 minutes you are checked as late and the seat is given away.

I told her I would still like to try because I still want to try for the voucher, I explained TSA was going to escort me right through security and that I thought I could make it. She said, again, "You won't make it," and she took it upon herself to cancel me off of my scheduled flight and put me on the 730pm flight.

So after I got through security, I went to the NWA customer service center, picked up a "reservation" phone that automatically dials a reservations rep and after a couple minutes of explanation to her she gave me the number of the NWA Detroit Director of Operations (I don't think she realized whose number she'd given me - especially considering the NWA agent at a desk didn't know the guys name when I told her I needed to call him). This guy didn't answer, I left him a message, I never got a call back.

I also called - because the TSA supervisor told me I might be able to get reimbursement - the Detroit TSA customer support manager. He called me back within an hour. I explained to him what'd happened. He stated that he would do an investigation and talk to his people to see what they say happened; gee, I wonder what they're going to say. I asked him what their reimbursement policy was, should he conclude that I was right, he said "we don't have one." He went on to say that his agents err on the side of security. I said, this is absolutely not a case of someone erring on the side of security, she flat out told me hat she didn't know the policy. He then changed his statement to "well, she erred on the side of safety." I laughed and told him it was still the same, that she essentially told me she didn't know the policy - not safety, not security. He said he'd do an investigation and get back to me, that was over a week ago.

I ended up volunteering for a voucher and was put up in a hotel overnight. I asked where my bag would be and was told it would be waiting for me in San Antonio. When I got to San Antonio, the NWA agent first told me it was on the carousel; the same agent, after the carousel was empty, told me she probably had it at the counter. When she finally met me at the counter, she told me she didn't have the keys to the room and I had to do a claim.

After all of that, there's a happy ending, but only because Matt wouldn't let the matter drop. Here's a good example of how persistence can pay off.

Later in the week I spent approx. an hour dialing various numbers and holding and pushing buttons until I finally got through to a person. At first, this woman was surprisingly friendly; she listened to my tale and told me that absolutely I should have been able to do the voucher at the ticketing counter; she told me she'd never heard a case like this, wanted to give me a voucher, but she said she had to go check with her "Sup"[ervisor] first.

When she came back, the warmth was gone and all I got was, "You were made late because of TSA, there's nothing I can do for you."

I told her I was delayed, but not made late and the NWA agent didn't give me a chance to get the offered voucher. She responded, "Yeah, you didn't get to the gate so it wasn't NWAs fault," to which I responded, "It was NWAs fault that I didn't get to the gate." I had to repeat that a couple time. She eventually said she would put down "rude behavior/treatment" by an agent and offered me a $75 voucher.

I said that I wasn't treated rudely, and that I should be getting the flight voucher. She repeated the usual, I said "I don't accept your premise" and she just stated that there was nothing she could do for me. I asked to speak to a supervisor - you know, the "Sup" she just talked to 5 minutes ago - and she said, I thought it was deja vu, "I am a supervisor." I almost laughed; confused by her short memory I asked if I could speak to her supervisor; she said she could do an "escalation," I said that would be fine; she took down my phone number and a good time to call and said that I would receive a call within 24 hours. I never received that call.

I waited a few days and then wrote an email to Kristen Shovlin (from your website) and Beth Reed (from some other website) - both listed as executive types. When I clicked on the "Beth" email link on the other site, Kristen's email address came up; I manually typed in Beth's. Within 3 hours I got a response from Jodee with the usual humminah humminah and I got the voucher.

Thanks for everything you do; hope this is helpful.

Matt

We won't reprint Matt's entire email, because we're running out of space on the web for this story, but basically it was a slightly shorter version of what you just read with the TSA part reduced to "TSA delayed me." At the end of the email, Matt states clearly,

I am sorry for my verbosity, but I feel strongly that I should receive a flight voucher. I tried all of the proper channels first and received essentially no resolution.

(Photo: Getty)

Anonymous writes:

I work at a Best Buy store and I discovered this bit of information while going through employee news. Whirlpool and Maytag top-loading washers will no longer come with the inlet water hoses (the hot and cold water hoses), but they will be sold separately. The loss of our free delivery, combined with the previous price hike for range and dryer power cords (from 19.99 to 27.99) a short while ago, irritated me enough to pass this along to you folks.

These two images are from the printout I made of the employee news item. I had to take them with my phone because my scanner is not working and I apologize for the bad quality but everything should be readable.

As far as I know, washer hoses will still come with Whirlpool and Maytag front loading washers.

A disarmingly unseasonal saleswoman explained that all Hobby Lobby locations now sell Christmas trees. They're not real, because real trees die after one month, nature's way of telling you to slow down and appreciate Thanksgiving. The saleswoman found nothing wrong with the new arrivals, and thought it was "great" that the trees were finally available in August. Reader Justin disagrees:

From a store I've never heard of called "Hobby Lobby" in the small town of Hutchinson, Kansas. This picture was taken on August 12th. Seeing the Christmas trees this early literally made me sick to my stomach.

Christmas is over four months away—126 days and counting—something we're going to remember and appreciate tomorrow as we relax on a hot sunny beach.

According to Hank's full story, the cruise was a magnificent blend of fine food, shambling old people, questionable musical numbers, and gorgeous scenery. It was only when he tried to leave before the date on his itinerary that the ship's pleasure police went into overdrive:

When we reached Juneau, I had to return to Los Angeles. But when I tried, with my luggage, to leave the ship along with the hundreds of other passengers disembarking to see the city, the ship's crew stopped me and informed me that I would not be permitted to leave the ship with my luggage. Then, in the rudest possible way and without explanation, the ship's security escorted me, as though I were a criminal, to the ship's Guest Relations desk, where the security officer informed the concierge that I had tried to escape.

Apparently, some brain-dead U.S. lawmakers in 2006 passed the Jones Act, which among other things, fines foreign cruise ships that allow a ship passenger to disembark from a ship in a state different from the one from which he originally boarded. Because most cruise ships, including the one I was on, operate under a foreign flag to avoid being subject to a number of U.S. laws, the cruise line wouldn't let me off the ship. I was afraid I would be trapped on a huge floating city, being forced to "enjoy" a pleasure cruise where I could eat, swim, eat, and learn about nature as much as I wanted — for all of eternity. I imagined being locked in the theater with Brett Nixon yelling at me, "You will stay, stay, stay, stay, stay on this amazing pleasure cruise, and you will like, like, like, like, like it and Alaaskaaah!"

For over an hour, Celebrity Cruises held me on the ship against my will as I argued with them about the ridiculous bureaucracy of it all. Finally, they agreed to release me from their custody after fining me $200 and sending me to U.S. Customs (though I had never stepped foot on foreign soil, being on the foreign cruise ship evidently required me to "reenter" the United States through Customs). The way the cruise line's security had treated me, it was though I had tried to steal their precious waffle-making apparatus from the waffle bar and smuggle it off the ship. Except I was just trying disembark and return home, in my own country.

Eventually, I escaped their clutches. At U.S. Customs, they barely looked at my paperwork and let me continue on to the airport. But I miss the waffles.

"Held captive on a ship with delicious waffles by Celebrity Cruises" [withoutbaggage]
(Photo: trialsanderrors)

1. Authorizing transactions via debit card even if it triggers an overdraft fee
"Debit card use triggers 46% of all overdrafts, according to the Center for Responsible Lending," writes SmartMoney. Keep an eye on your spending and never trust the bank to let you know if you've spent more than you have. As a "courtesy," they'll approve your transaction, then apply a fee.

SmartMoney suggests you ask your bank to set your debit overdraw amount to zero, so that any transaction that would be rejected in the real world will also be rejected by your bank.

2. Reordering transactions to maximize the number of them that can be considered overdrafts
"Banks justify the practice as a way to ensure the most important debits get processed first (say, so a mortgage payment doesn't bounce)." This is utter bullshit. Banks do this for one reason—to generate more revenue in overdraft fees from customers who screw up. Here's an example:

Say you start the day with $100 in your account. You buy a latte ($5), fill up on gas ($50), buy groceries ($35), swing by the drugstore ($8) and then the dry cleaner's ($25). Processed chronologically, only the last transaction triggers an overdraft. Reordered from high to low, however, three purchases do.

SmartMoney suggests two things to protect against this:

• Keep an extra $100 or so as "buffer money" in your account, and never plan on using it.
• Always make sure any deposits have shown up as available funds before you rely on them.

3. Extended overdraft fees
If you take too long to pay an overdraft fee, your bank may attach a second penalty fee. One suggestion is to attach a line of credit or savings account to automatically pay overdaft fees—but don't use the line of credit for anything other than overdraft protection.

4. High daily maximums
Many banks will allow you to generate multiple overdraft transactions in a single day—Chase, for exammple, sets no limit on the number of times they can charge you, and they increase the charges after the first transaction. SmartMoney suggests you negotiate these fees away by pointing out that the trouble stemmed from a single incident, and that the entire unpleasant affair is a rare occurrence for you. (It is rare, isn't it? Otherwise you're just giving money away to the bank.)

5. Taking a day or more to release funds on hold
This last one is triggered by merchants—hotels, gas stations—who place holds on your account before you complete the transaction. Banks, however, apparently have no technology available to release those holds in a timely manner, despite the fact that they're initially placed in mere seconds. If you conduct any business that generates holds on your funds, assume that money is spent until you can confirm it's been released again.

SmartMoney suggests you use a credit card to pay for things that trigger holds—"While it still counts against your available credit, it's more likely that account can withstand a tighter balance for the 24 hours or so it takes for the hold to clear."

Notice a trend here? Most of the suggestions SmartMoney makes to protect yourself amount to little more than socking more money away at the offending bank, or setting up more potential ways for something bad to happen in the form of unexpected fees. If your bank is practicing more than one or two of these bad habits, your best bet is to start looking for another bank or credit union, one that doesn't view you as its own personal ATM machine.

"5 Sneaky Overdraft Traps" [SmartMoney]
(Photo: Getty)

Under a Chowhound post titled "Nectarine Dessert at Zuni Is Just That," the poster praised Zuni's "ethos of simplicity in flavors and cooking," but thought that this was going too far. We agree. It's no $55 mac and cheese, but it seems a bit ridiculous to charge $8 for a piece of fruit that isn't a mangosteen.

UPDATE: Commenter Michael Belisle writes that someone from Zuni left a comment on a message board claiming the nectarine should have only been $4.50, which is less ludicrous, although still fairly pricey for a food whose only preparation was putting it on a plate. Thanks, Michael!
Nectarine Dessert At Zuni Is Just That [Chowhound via Serious Eats]

The sales rep did his song and dance and insisted that I test out the phone service for 2 weeks. I said no a few times but he wouldn’t hear it. Well, he gave me 2 phones and 2 phone numbers. No credit check, no money whatsoever. I walked out of the store with 2 free phones and some paper work.

Now Rob can't give the phones back. After several fruitless visits where the store manager told Rob he had to talk to the original salesman (who was never there) to return the phones, Rob simply left them on the counter. A few days later, they arrived at his doorstep via FedEx—along with a photocopy of another customer's driver license.

Here's the full story of what happened after Rob brought the two phones home back in July:

Seven days later we returned to the same store to drop the phones off. They hadn’t been opened or anything. Previously in the week I was cleaning and probably threw out a white piece of paper with what phones we had.

...I had to speak with the exact rep because I didn’t have the all important white piece of paper and there was no way to look at what I had. The rep was not working that day and was told to return Tuesday during the afternoon. I refused because I don’t drive and I'm not taking a bus to a mall from the southern part of the twin cities to the northern part just to drop phones off.

We return that next Sunday (27th) and again were told we can’t give back the phones because the rep isn’t working. I demanded to speak with a manager. I tell him my story, and he finds it interesting about how I got the phones and service. I made a point to say "I said no," and he said, “Yeah he does that a lot.” He mutters something about letting him go and says he can’t do anything because I don’t have the piece of paper.

Flash forward to August 11th, almost a full month after getting the phones, my fiancé and I finally have time to go back to the mall (she works nights I work days). I walk in with the phones. The manager sees me, throws his hands up in the air and says "Not you people again." He tells me to stand over out of the way while helping people. We wait for 15 minutes. Only one person approaches us, some sales rep, and I explain the story and he’s dumbfounded. Finally I walk up to the counter and put the phones on the counter and explain again what’s going on and all I want to do is drop them off. I was assured that it would be taken care of.

Later that night my fiancé and I went to a real T-Mobile store and purchased our phones and service.

On August 15th, a Fedex box is sitting on my door step. Not expecting anything, I open it—what do you know they sent the phones back to me! But whats this, there is more then just two cell phones. The missing piece of white paper they said they don’t have, the whole reason I couldn’t return the phones. But wait there is even more! Two other identical pieces of paper but with others people’s phone information / plan information and a copy of someone’s drivers license!

So I quickly called Mobile Solutions HQ and talk to some girl in California. I explain the situation and she says, “Well we need those phones back. I’m shipping you out some prepaid UPS labels.” I asked what about me getting other people’s identification information. “Well I’m not there so I don’t know what to do.” I look at the address of the license, and it turns out the woman on the license only lives about a mile and half from me if that.

My fiancé and I get in the car and we drive to her house. I knock on the door, ask her if she is so and so on the card she says yes. I asked her if she purchased a phone from the Mobile Solutions in Northtown Mall in Blaine? Again she says yes. I then ask, “Does this look familiar?” showing her her license. Her jaw is on the floor. She exclaimed, "How in the world did you get that?" I explained to her how it came in a Fed Ex package and she was very grateful and thanked me several times, and she was also upset and said she would call Mobile Solutions promptly.

So now I’m still stuck with 2 phones, 2 lines of service that I’m sure still runs if I cared to try and other people’s information. What should I do now?

If Mobile Solutions doesn't have any of your personal information where they can't ruin your credit, return the phones via the UPS labels and promise us you'll never step foot in that store again.

If they have a copy of your drivers license or other important personal info, it's time to make it very clear to Mobile Solutions that you have no intention of being their customer, no matter how hard they make it for you to return the unopened phones. This is a funny story, but it sounds to us like they're trying to force a sale on you, which is criminal rather than incompetent.

Contact Mobile Solution Corporation's main office in San Diego and file a complaint against the Blaine store. Make it clear that you have tried three times to return the phones, and that they are refusing to accept your return. You should also make it clear that the only acceptable resolution for this issue is for Mobile Solutions to accept your return and promise to leave you and your credit history alone. Look at our various EECB posts for more information on how to effectively communicate with a business.

Mobile Solution Corporation
3030 Plaza Bonita Rd
National City, CA 91950
(619) 472-1018
(619) 479-1648

You may also want to contact the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General and file a formal complaint against the store for its business practices, even if the corporate office in San Diego is able to resolve the problem for you. We suspect the Blaine store has some rotten apples on staff and you may help future customers by sounding an alarm now.

Update: Rob sent the following information to us after we posted the story.

As an update I called back the corporate # and [they] didn’t find it cool I wanted to sell the phones. There is some sort of investigation being done and the original salesmen has been fired. After reading some comments I could have been more clear. The only info they got was a copy of my State ID which had my current address on it. I also signed a piece of paper saying “You have two weeks if you don’t return them the phones in two weeks we can charge you blah , blah, blah.” Well, they never took money or a credit card.

Anyway people have been in contact with me. I took the phones because the guy kept insisting and I wanted to be nice. At best I thought what's the worst can happen? I keep the phones for a week bring them back unopened and that will be that.

We still think you should make sure the company accepts a full return and absolves you from that signed agreement, because even without a credit card they may still try to bill you, then eventually send the bill to a collection agency.

Consumer Reports' Happy Refrigerating Tips:

1. Clean the compressor coils every few months or so. (The coils typically are at the bottom of the appliance, though on some older models they are behind the box and on some built-ins they are behind a grille at the top of the unit.)
2. Keep gaskets on the refrigerator and freezer doors clean with mild detergent and water, not bleach. This will ensure a good seal and prevent wasted energy.
3. Check the gasket seal by closing the doors on a dollar bill; replace the gasket if the bill falls out or can be easily removed without opening the door.
4. Be sure the refrigerator is level; if not, the door might not close properly. Most refrigerators have adjustable feet or casters.
5. Before you open the door to retrieve items, decide what you want. Every time you open the door, up to 30 percent of the cooled air can escape.
6. To maximize the storage life of your food and use the least energy, keep the refrigerator temperature at 36º to 38º F and the freezer at no colder than 0º to 5º F.
7. Try to keep the refrigerator compartments full to limit temperature fluctuations.
8. If you have a choice of location when remodeling your kitchen, keep the refrigerator away from direct sunlight and heat sources.

For more information and tips about your fridge, check out this blog post.

Protecting your investment: Refrigerators [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: Meggito )

From the Washington Post:

Tightwad Bank may be quirky and unproven, but it is a genuine bank with a real charter and a real vault and a pair of real bankers in charge. For good measure, the business cards say: "Tightwad Bank. Member FDIC."

"We're seeking the customers with a sense of humor," said Donald S. Higdon, 54, who opened Tightwad with his business partner in May after they grew bored with running a sober-sided bank in neighboring Kansas. "We thought the downside was limited, the possibilities were reasonable and the amount of fun was limitless."

If the concept does not work out — this is the second attempt at making a bank called Tightwad profitable — Higdon jokes that he can turn the place into a drive-through liquor store.

We hope it works out.

In Rural Missouri, The Place to Bring Your Cents of Humor [Washington Post]

1. You can't have everything you want.
2. Financial institutions are not your friends.
3. Nobody is going to teach you personal finance.
4. You are your own worst enemy.
5. You need to stop watching TV.
6. Personal finance is easy.

What? Personal finance is easy? Yep:

You already know what you need to be successful in personal finances. All you need to do to get your personal finances in order is spend less than you make. It's a concept that even a child can comprehend. Unfortunately, knowing and implementing it are two separate issues.

Much like people wanting to lose weight know that that they need to consume less calories than they use, actually doing it is a lot harder than merely realizing it. Yes, implementing the knowledge is more difficult than simply having it and will require some effort on your part, but that's not an excuse to claim that it's too difficult because the reality is that it is not.

The interesting thing about #3—that nobody is going to teach you personal finance—is that in a related article Strain writes, "Don't spend time learning how to invest." He explains:

When you are first starting to improve your finances, don't make learning how to invest a priority. Instead, put your investing on autopilot and follow the advice of Warren Buffett: "The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund."

Once you've mastered your finances and have saved a nice nest egg, then you'll have time to research individual stockts. Until then, your time will be much better spent on improving your finances through other means.

"Six Awful Truths About Personal Finance" [TheStreet.com]
"7 Counterintuitive Ways to Improve Finances" [TheStreet.com]
(Photo: Getty)

Reader Nyck1118 says:

Just received this today. I giant box...on a pallet sent via a freight truck (not UPS or Fedex) a freight truck.

Contained inside: One 8 lb server rack shelf.

We asked Nyck if he was serious. Just a shelf? On a pallet?

That's all that was in it. We were amazed, one of our techs actually fit in the box himself and hes a large guy.

Hi Consumerist, I figured I'd soon be writing you when I found out my only choices for Internet and TV in my new house in Manassas, VA were Comcast and Verizon DSL. Argh. I had already ditched Verizon's utterly worthless service for Cox cable in my old home, so I decided to bite the bullet and go with Comcast. As a daily reader of your site, this instilled quite a bit of dread.

The installer appointment was pretty typical: he shows up four hours late, doesn't bring a HD receiver with HDMI out, sets up his own cable modem on my account after I already told him I have my own modem that's sitting right next to him, and tries to close the appointment after setting the office (which has no TV) to receive TV channels, rather than the living room where I initially pointed out my big, obvious plasma TV and stated "I'll need to receive channels down here." I make sure to send him off with his own cable modem.

A couple weeks later, the only TV channels I can receive are a few soap opera channels and what seems to be the dedicated Air Wolf channel. Work and my chimney falling off my roof kept me too busy to worry about it for another two weeks, at which point I scheduled a service appointment. I went to work extremely early so I could leave in time for a promised callback so they can note what few channels I'm receiving and be there for the tech. Of course, I never receive a callback and the tech never shows up. Three calls to customer service at about two-hour intervals after the expired window all resulted in the same response: "Don't worry, he's just running late, he really will be there, we promise! Dispatch will call you in a few minutes." I was given a $20 credit on the first call.

11:00 pm rolled around and I was dreading losing time at work to a series of no-shows (which my boss had just recently experienced with Verizon FiOS). But then I remembered Comcast Frank! I browse the Comcastcares group on Twitter and see recently activity, so I figure what the hell, it can't hurt to try. I sign up and post a quick message saying the tech never showed up and I left work early for nothing. Within four minutes, Frank responds and after talking back and forth for a few minutes, determines the problem is either the cable box or the splitter. The coax cable at the splitter was tight, so I asked him if the box needs to be replaced, can I get one with an HDMI out? He replied that he'll request one and make sure I'm well cared for. Sure enough, the next morning I get a call from an exceptionally nice customer service agent named Rose who took down my info. Shortly afterwards, I was also called by Jeff, the district tech manager who was quite apologetic and unhappy that I was never contacted by the tech who missed my appointment. He scheduled another appointment for the exact time that worked best for me and the new tech, who was much nicer and far more competent, called me 15 minutes or so before he arrived and showed up exactly on time. The cable box wasn't the problem but he swapped it out for me anyway with one that had HDMI out, and fixed the wiring problem outside.

It would have been nice to have the problem fixed the first time around, of course, but thankfully Frank was there (late at night, no less!) to instantly cut through the BS and give the best customer service I've ever seen. If only more companies had a crack CS team like this, the world would be a better place. Thanks, to you too, Consumerist! Keep up the good work!

—Jeff

P.S. Oh, Frank is totally not creepy!

If you'd like to pester Frank about his company's crappy customer service, you can reach him at Twitter. Tell him we said, "Hi!"

...there is no way to describe these lists except as ones that are trying very hard to look official. They have a fax send line at the top of the page (who on earth faxed these, if not the schools?). They not only state the school, but also the grade level and they have various lists based on teacher. Each teacher has slightly different supplies required. If that doesn’t look like something official from the school, I’m not sure what would. Perhaps adding a medieval wax seal to each list?

Kelby was told by her daughter's school that Walmart just makes up the lists on its own. That's twisted.

Is this one rogue Walmart or some kind of systematic evil?

Truth About Wal-Mart Back to School Lists [Kelby Carr via BoingBoing]
(Photo: cupcake revolution )

11 Least Fuel Efficient Hybrid Vehicles

1-2) (tie) Chrysler Aspen Hybrid & Dodge Durango Hybrid 19 MPG

3-5) (tie) Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Lexus LS 600h L, GMC Yukon Hybrid 21 MPG

6) Lexus GS 450h 23 MPG

7-8) (tie) Lexus RX 400h, Toyota Highlander Hybrid 26 MPG

9-11) (tie) Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid 32 MPG

Hybrid Cars [HybridCars]

I've been a faithful Xbox Live Gold member since I first bought my Xbox 360 a few years ago. When I first signed up for my account I chose the annual option, so for the past two years I've paid my $49.99 like a good little gamer.

This year was probably going to be no different, but my billing ran into a little snag when my credit card on file was replaced. I started receiving emails from Microsoft telling me that I needed to update my card info so that I could be charged for the next year, but I kept forgetting. I finally received a final email saying that my account had been closed and at that point I could no longer sign onto Xbox Live. Honestly I couldn't care less about having a Live account, but I have a good amount of DLC, so I immediately gave Xbox Support a call so I could at least get switched to a free silver account so I wouldn't bork what I had already bought.

After a minute or two on hold (I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX) I got through to a very nice woman. I explained to her that my account had lapsed and that I just wanted to convert my Gold account to a Silver one. She said no problem, but informed me that I would need to speak with billing. "Not a problem," I thought, and I got forwarded immediately.

After another minute on hold I was through to the billing department. I was pretty impressed at the lack of hold time, considering it was a Sunday night, and I even made a comment to my brother over IM saying, "Wow, Xbox support is pretty good." Needless to say my comment was a bit premature.

I again explained my situation to the billing rep, and he asked me to sign on to http://billing.microsoft.com so I could update my billing information there. That seemed like a pretty simple request, and he said he would stay on the line with me to make sure that everything got updated properly. Again, I was impressed because most reps would just tell you where to go and hang up. He verified that my billing information was updated, and he told me that I would be charged $49.99 because I had an owing balance on my account. While all I wanted to do was convert to a Silver account (hopefully for no charges), I was half expecting this since my account had technically lapsed in June. I asked if it was possible to just pro-rate the two months that I was given service after my account lapsed, and I was told because I'm an annual member that wouldn't happen. Alright, fine, no big deal – it's just $50. The charge was put through and I figured all was set. Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: Alright, so my account is settled. Since my account lapsed in June I'm assuming I should have about 10 months left of Xbox Live Gold service, right?

Rep: No.

Me: Ummm… what do you mean no? When I paid the $50 I was paying for service from June 2008 to June 2009. I understand that I won't get a full year of service from today, but how come you're telling me I'm not going to get Gold service at all?

Rep: By paying the $50 you settled your account. Your account has been reactivated as a Silver account.

Me: Okay, I understand that my account is now settled, but I just paid for 12 months of service. If you date that from June 2008 I should have a Gold account until June 2009.

Rep: No. When you paid the $50 that was just to settle the account and bring it current. Your account was almost sent to collections, so your payment stopped the process.

Me (Getting very pissed off right now): Okay, so what you're telling me is that I just paid $50 so you wouldn't send me to collections? With Xbox Live service you PRE-PAY for the service! If I'm paying you $50 I just PRE-PAID for services that you owe me. Now you're telling me all I did was stop you from sending me to collections?

Rep: Yes. However, now that your account is settled you can go ahead and purchase a Gold account if you want.

Me (To the point of ripping my hair out): So what you're telling me is that I just paid you $50, and if I want to get a Gold level account I will need to pay again for it even though I just paid you $50?!?

Rep: That would be correct sir.

Me (Trying not to yell at the guy so I can ask pertinent questions): Okay, that makes no sense, but let's continue. Can you tell me exactly what I was charged for? Was the $50 I just spent for Xbox Live Gold service, collections fees, account reactivation… what?

Rep: The charge will be for Xbox Live Gold service.

Me (Ready to rip his throat out through the phone): You just said that I was being charged for Xbox Live Gold service. If that's the case then how come I am not getting the balance of the months?

Rep: Because that charge was to bring your account current.

This ordeal continued for another 10 minutes. He told me that my payment was solely to bring my account "current." His rationale for not giving me the balance of the months on my account was that my account was almost sent to collections. Well, first off, my account was never sent to collections, so that's the biggest BS story I've ever heard. Second, how can you send me to collections on a debt for services that I was never given? Microsoft cut off my account when it went delinquent, and at the very least I got a free month out of them. I absolutely understand them wanting me to pay for that, but how can you send me to collections for an entire year of service that I haven't even used yet? I also asked him that if I had called last month to settle my account would I have been given the balance of the months. His answer? Yes. Rationale? Because my account wasn't being sent to collections last month.

After all of this I informed the rep that I would dispute the charge with my credit card company. He told me, "Fine, we get that all the time. However, we always win because we will show that it's a legitimate charge." I tried to argue with him saying that yes, while the charge itself is legitimate (I did authorize it), Microsoft is refusing to give me the services that I paid for, and that is grounds for a dispute resolution in my favor. He didn't really seem to care and I knew I was getting nowhere, so I just hung up at that point.

So where do I stand? Yesterday I was charged $50 for 12-months of Microsoft Xbox Live Gold service which should have been dated from June 2008. However, my account is currently at a Silver level, and the only way to upgrade the account is to pay again for Gold service.

There are several problems that come up with this entire phone call. First, I only had the choice to pay $49.99 to bring my account current even though there are monthly and quarterly payment options available. If I had been a month-to-month member I probably would've just paid for a single month and lost a month of service, not 10. If I had been paying via Xbox Live Cards that you buy at retailers nothing would've happened because there are no recurring payments. So for the most part, a dedicated customer who makes an annual commitment to the service gets screwed the hardest. Thanks Microsoft!

Yuck. You should probably call your credit card company and talk the issue over with them. We wouldn't be surprised if you were able to do a chargeback.

(Photo: Tengaport )

UPDATE: This complaint has been resolved.

I try to preempt nasty smells in the refrigerator by buying one of those handy Fridge-N-Freezer baking soda boxes where you can simply tear off the sides and allow it to absorb odors. But in the past three months, it looks like marketing got a hold of the packaging, and suddenly baking soda only works for one month instead of three! Arm & Hammer say that they are "America's #1 trusted baking soda brand," but I'm not really feeling the trust anymore...

How very, very odd. Arm & Hammer says that their baking soda is 100% pure sodium bicarbonate, so we're assuming they haven't changed the recipe. They also haven't updated their FAQ. It still recommends changing the box every 3 months.

Adam says:

I've been mulling this one over for awhile, and by "this one" I mean what I want to do about my experience last week on Virgin America's anniversary flight from JFK to LAX. I flew out on one of the first last year and had an awful experience, which involved a four hour delay and a MacBook Pro power adapter that melted on me, and received a free flight as an apology. I really didn't mind the delay or the melted power adapter. Chances are it wasn't their fault as Apple makes crappy adapters, and they handled the delay very well. One year later it seems they've forgotten how to operate as an airline that serves its customers to the point that I've decided any compensation on their part would be unsatisfactory. Well, that's not entirely true, but it would involve cash and lots of it. But really I'd rather they get a bit of bad press and hope they change their ways. They should be the best airline around.

I got on the plane around 11:00am on Friday, August 8th. I didn't get off the plane for a little more than ten hours later. When we boarded we had a 30-40 minute delay that one should be accustomed to if they've ever flown out of JFK before, but by the time it was our turn to leave one of the air conditioning units broke. So, we went back. They figured it would take about half an hour to fix but quickly realized it would take much longer. They informed us we'd be let back into the airport to hang out in comfort but the messages stopped and the pilot went radio silent. The flight crew didn't know what was going on and no one was let off the plane for a good hour and a half. Those who were finally let off were not let back on. The rest of us, who stayed, ended up waiting well into the afternoon when the plane took off five hours late.

Fine, delays happen. However, you'd think during the delays that someone from the flight crew would have the opportunity to stock the plane with food. Apparently they were only able to grab a few sandwiches and chips. Being a vegetarian I could only have the chips. My fault for my abnormal ethics, I suppose, but they were almost out of sandwiches when they got to my row. I was in row 10. By my estimation, half the plane went without food. To their credit, they did have plenty of water. For ten hours most of us didn't eat or had very little. I always bring a few snacks on board just in case there isn't much to eat but nothing to survive for an entire day. Luckily I did bring plenty of entertainment because their entertainment system was down as well. We never got the free movie we were promised. Supposedly we were given a $25 flight credit none of us will ever use, but I haven't bothered to check.

All of this I can deal with. I had no intention of complaining. The whole event, thus far, was almost a blessing in disguise as I wasn't looking forward to being in Los Angeles and by the time the flight was over I couldn't have felt more glad.

Then I got my luggage. One of my bags had been ripped open. It could have easily been unzipped, but it was ripped. I'm not going to speculate as to how it happened but only my Apple TV and some DVDs were missing from the bag. No clothing or other small items fell out, oddly enough, but I wasn't in the cargo bay of the plane so I can't say whether or not it was stolen or simply lost via bag damage during the trip. Either way, I wanted someone to check and see if it had fallen out on the plane. I walked into the bag office and Joyce greeted me, before I said anything, with "all I can do is file a courtesy claim."

Throughout our conversation she continued to tell me there was nothing she could do when all I asked is that she call baggage and make certain they hadn't found any stray items. After half an hour she finally called, but this was long after her numerous accusations that I was trying to defraud Virgin America by claiming they stole my items. To be fair, those are my words and not hers. What she said to me was that her experience can rule out the TSA and airport employees so the only possible option is that it was my fault.

I asked her why she thought it was okay to accuse me and not them. She said, "you want me to accuse the TSA of stealing from you?" I told her "no, I don't want you to accuse anyone at all," at which point she decided to start filling out my claim. Throughout the process she asked me the same questions repeatedly. Given this is the sort of thing you do to a criminal I pretty much assumed she wanted to make sure I remembered my answers, but maybe she was just a complete moron. I feel I should give her the benefit of the doubt there. I could go on endlessly with examples of why this woman was horrible and cruel for no good reason other than what joys one might assume her job can bring, but I would like to mention one more thing. When I let her know which items were missing and how much they cost she laughed at me. She actually laughed at me.

I had a nice cab driver. The cab was cheaper than expected. Those are my silver linings. That and the plane didn't crash nor was anything else of value stolen or lost. What a great day. Thanks Virgin America.

Hey, why not let the DOT know about your baggage complaint? They keep track of that sort of thing. The TSA has admitted that it has a problem with theft. You should give them a heads up as well. Finally, when your baggage seems tampered with, you should report it to the airport authorities so they can investigate. A spokesperson from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport once said: "We find that people often make a claim for an item to the airline, but never report it to the airport or the police, and then we don't know that a theft problem is developing."

(Photo: Maulleigh )

While we do recommend you pay for large purchases with a credit card and then pay it off immediately in order to take advantage of the credit card's various warranty/ purchase protection benefits, we sort of suspect that Home Depot is suggesting something else.

So how about you answer Home Depot's question in the comments. What are the benefits of paying cash?

The lawsuit alleged that department stores and cosmetics companies conspired to sell products at the manufacturers' suggested price only - never at a discount. It also alleged that special promotions were coordinated in a way that ensured there would be no competition among stores.

In addition to the $175 million giveaway, the department stores and cosmetics companies agreed to pay up to $24 million in attorney fees, and enter a court order that prohibits them from engaging in price-fixing schemes and certain marketing practices.

The settlement was originally reached in 2004, as reflected by the dated registration site, but the giveaway will start in January 2009. Consumers will be required to sign a form declaring that they purchased the covered products between May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003 in order to receive free merchandise worth up to $25.

To sign up for giveaway notifications, call (877) 604-5776 or visit the settlement's website.

A sweet deal in antitrust case [The Boston Globe]
Cosmetic Cases Information Website
(Photo: Getty)

Dale sent us his lengthy missive to Steve Jobs:

I am writing this in regards to an issue I have had with an iPod nano, first generation. I have included the relevant pictures of my iPod after this incident and links to related issues.

I had plugged the iPod in to charge on Saturday August 16, 2008. I was using the USB cable that came with the iPod and charging via the USB port on my PC. After being plugged in for somewhere between 5-10 minutes I heard a sizzling sound. I looked down on the iPod just in time to see it explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke. I managed to unhook the iPod from my computer's USB port immediately. I had noticed that a small fire had started on the table I had the laptop and the iPod sitting on, and I managed to extinguish those flames quickly before any apparent damage could be done to my laptop. Unlike in other cases, I've read about, my iPod continued to spew smoke and spit sparks while throwing out some kind of sooty substance from the inside of the iPod for several minutes after removing the cable from the computer. I moved the still spitting iPod from the table and placed it on a book case across the room. I noticed that while doing this, the iPod was still extraordinarily hot to the touch.

I immediately called up the apple tech support line while I opened a window to clear the smoke out of my apartment. After weeding through their electronic menu, I was put on hold for around 15 minutes. This gave me some time to calm down, and after telling the representative that my iPod nano exploded, I was transferred directly to the customer support supervisor at the time. His extension is X86702. He walked me through a 20 minute survey regarding the issue before putting me on hold again to contact the "engineers". After this, he informed me that he did not get through, but would hear back from them that evening for certain. I was also informed that Apple would replace my iPod regardless at this point even though it's older. I have to take a few moments to commend him as he seemed to genuinely want to help me. I had asked what I could do to get a replacement iPod ASAP. I was told to go to the nearest apple store and they should be able to replace it. I also asked if it was ok to make an appointment for that evening, and I was told it would be fine as we should have heard back from the "engineers" by then.

After waiting several hours and not hearing back from the supervisor, I attempted to contact him at the extension and number I was given. This was transferred directly to his voicemail and I did not hear back from him that night. I had then traveled to the local apple store in Pittsburgh, PA to see what could be done about the iPod. Here I was told that "it's been submitted as a request to the 'engineers' and can't be handled". The support tech at the Genius Bar seemed genuinely concerned and opened a separate case file to see if he could do anything to help me out. He found out that all he could do was submit it to the engineers who would NOT be in until monday. At this point, I became overly frustrated that the original tech had led me to believe this issue could have been sorted out that day. Also I do not think I'm being unreasonable by asking a company to replace the iPod with a different iPod product, as I could easily have been hurt or injured by the one that had malfunctioned!

I had asked the tech if there's any way he can replace it as the guy on the phone had told me that the local store could swap it out. He then went into the office to confer with the manager and the GM via phone. He returned to tell me that they can NOT exchange the iPod, and can only escalate the claim to the "engineers". At which point, I became upset that, once again, the original tech was wrong that this could be handled on-site at the local apple store. I once again asked if they could do anything as I'm overly frustrated with the service I'm receiving; I was told that the iPod would be replaced regardless. At this point, the tech went back to the office to confer once again with the manager.

The manager comes out with the tech shortly after and explains to me that no one at apple has EVER heard of this happening (although, I have found articles that counter this), and that she did not believe there was anything that she could do. She asked me to "do her a favor" and wait until monday night (EST) to handle this matter. I informed her that I understand that she's stuck in a hard situation, but I was promised by someone in the support that this could be handled at a local store, and that the iPod would be replaced. She walks back into the back room, and shortly returns with a phone number. She calls up the GM and puts him on the phone with me. At this point, I want to commend the in-store staff as they seemed concerned about this issue and really wanted to make it right. I really do not wish to paint the store employees in a bad way as they had really tried to help me. The GM is, of course, another issue.

The GM gets on the phone and tells me who he is and he's sorry to hear this. He goes on to inform me that they CAN NOT and WILL NOT give me another iPod. He mentions that this has to go to the engineers first before he will even CONSIDER dealing with the issue. I mention that I have read the reports of this happening before, and that there are numerous instances. He scoffs at this and implies that this is a completely unusual occurrence and no one he knows of has heard of it.

I mention to him that the guy at tech support had told me this can be replaced at the local store. Once again, he says that NOTHING will be done until the engineers look at the iPod, and until he talks with them on monday. I ask why that is, and he says "to make sure there are no safety issues or concerns." I asked what were the issues regarding the safety, to which he replied "there are numerous things that could probably cause this". I asked him to name a few, and was met with "the list is too long to mention." I found this odd, as he had told me before he had never heard of this issue, yet could think of a long list of things that could cause an iPod to explode and catch fire.

I continued to ask what the safety issue would be if he just replaced the iPod. To which he said "it could be the cables". I told him that the tech support on the phone informed me that i should not use those cables, and that they would be replaced when the iPod is. The GM informs me that they DO NOT replace cables. I continued to say, but, if he was to replace the iPod and the cables, that it would eliminate any safety risk. He assured me that was not the case. I then informed him that it sounds like he was accusing me of intentionally doing this to my iPod. He claimed he wasn't, but I pointed out that if you replace any and all apple hardware involved, there's no safety issue, UNLESS the issue is with my existing hardware that's not apple. he informed me that that was not the case. I informed him that if this was due to a defective iPod, replacing the iPod eliminates the safety issue. He told me that it might not be that case. To which I asked, what exactly safety issue there was if the fault was NOT with apple software. He repeated that they need to look over the iPod to determine any safety issues before even considering replacing the iPod. I became very frustrated at this point that he was trying to use double speak in order to make excuses and push the blame onto me.

At this point I offered to leave the faulty iPod with the apple store to send off to the engineers as needed, but that I wanted my iPod replaced as I was promised by the tech on the phone. The GM informs me that the tech was in no way, shape, or form allowed to make that guarantee to me. At this point, and I am ashamed to say, I lost my temper with the GM. I told him that I was not pleased at all with this service since I was promised that the iPod would be replaced, and yet it was not going to be. The GM informed me that he wasn't even sure if it NEEDED to be replaced let alone if apple WOULD replace it. After this turn, my language became peppered with profanity. The GM continued on to tell me that he's not going to do anything about the issue, and that I could sit there all night and tell him how he should handle it, but it is NOT now he will handle it.

In other words, the GM wanted to take up more of my time in order to try and push the blame on me for the iPod breaking, completely negate anything I was told originally by tech support, and try to get me out of their store as quickly as he could without doing anything to resolve the issue.

After reading another issue or two, it appears as though apple is now saying that even if it is a faulty piece of equipment and does damage to other objects or people, that it is NOT their responsibility to replace it unless you have a current warranty. I had not picked up the extended warranty due to the fact that, at the time, I had not received word of any issues. Now, I am fully regretting that decision as I'm sure that they would not allow me to take out a warranty now to cover the issue. This upsets me as they have made a precedent to replace products, even out of warranty, if the issue is due to a severe product malfunction such as this.

After this, I can fully say that I am not pleased at all with how this issue has been handled by apple. I have been informed of an email address within the Apple company, and I plan on sending a copy of this email, along with the pictures to that address also. From the various stories I have read, of which I have included links, it has been made clear that this is NOT an isolated incident as Apple would have me believe. I do not feel that Apple has been doing a sufficient job of resolving this matter in any way, shape, or form. Based on the other reports, I do not have much hope that this matter will be resolved in any timely fashion, that my iPod will be replaced, that I will be compensated for anything, that I will get an apology for their tech support making claims that they were not permitted to, or for the store obviously not being on the same page as tech support. Frankly, in my search for information regarding the iPod, I've found other reports that claim this type of fault for other issues. This ranges from problems with computers, to mp3 players, and even to censoring comments and forum posts regarding bugs with their products. By bringing this up, I hope to make it known that these type of issues appear to be common with apple. Like other manufacturers, they sometimes produce faulty products, however, they seem to want to protect their corporate image and pockets more than make up for their faulty product. In this case, it was a known issue with this model of iPod and the company did not seem to make any motions to address the issue. I hope that by making this public, people may be able to avoid this issue happening with their own electronics, and that they may be prepared for what they would have to deal with in the process of attempting to resolve the issue. While Apple may produce numerous ad campaigns that make them seem almost invincible, their products are like any others: buyer beware.

The fiery Nano:

Dale's burnt desk:

The pictures look awfully similar to other iPods that have spontaneously combusted.

This iPod exploded yesterday and we don't see the harm in giving Apple a day to sort out what went wrong. Still, we're not sure how the engineers can do much without the physical unit, and it would seem wise for the Apple store to have an unspoken policy of 'Return Exploded iPod, Get 1 Free!'

Update: Apple agreed to replace the iPod.

Mark Watts summed up the experience for CBS:

Abandoned! We're here in like, a foreign country, you know. And we're sitting on the ground by the tarmac with a roof over our heads with no sides on the building, and we refuse to get on a bus that was going to take us to the front of the aircraft to give us our luggage and say "see you later." And it's dangerous, man!"

Passenger Mike Maney sent us this brief missive from the island nation:

Battery dying but usairways is abandoned 200 of us in Dominican republic and saying we have to leave airport without any hotel. Pasengers including kids concerned about safety.

He later added:

We're still in the airport after being kicked out of the airport last night by armed security (they threatened to arrest one passenger who was demanding answers. We ended up sleeping in a bus because they couldn't find any hotel rooms. Seemed all they wanted was for everyone to leave the airport. Rather than fly in a fresh plane US air left 274 passengers scrambling all night to try to get back home. Sounds like all flights are overbooked. US air should be ashamed more than I suspect it normally is, as should the Dominican republic tourism agency.

And:

Also, we were told at first it was weather related but also that the crew had burned through their hours. Flights were going in and out. Absolutely no acceptable excuse on either the airline's or the airport's part. The weather only exacerbated the logistical and human incompetence of both organizations.

It is unclear when the passengers will be able to return to the United States.

Dozens of Philadelphians Stranded in Paradise [CBS3] (Thanks to Tim!)

Now—right before California decides whether to ban BPA in children's products—the FDA has revisited its earlier studies and reaffirmed that "the trace amounts of bisphenol A that leach out of food containers are not a threat to infants or adults."

Critics are saying the FDA is cherry-picking what studies to consider in its decision:

"It's ironic FDA would choose to ignore dozens of studies funded by (the National Institutes of Health) — this country's best scientists — and instead rely on flawed studies from industry," said Pete Myers, chief scientist for Environmental Health Sciences.

Myers said the agency disregarded recent studies of bisphenol's effects included in the National Toxicology Program's April draft report.

That group's review of animal studies suggested low doses of bisphenol can cause changes in behavior and the brain, and that it may reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses. A final version of the group's findings is expected next month.

Commenting on those studies in its 105-page assessment, the FDA said they had "inconsistencies and inadequacies which limit the interpretations of the findings."

We're not sure what sort of effect this will have on the pending lawsuits or on California's potential ban, but the BPA debate should take on new energy next month, when the National Toxicology Program's final report is released and the FDA brings in outside "advisors" to debate its own findings.

"FDA says chemical found in plastic bottles is safe" [Associated Press]
(Photo: Oop)

"IMPORTANT: Your DVD Shipments Have Likely Been Delayed

We're sorry to report that since Tuesday we've been experiencing issues with our shipping system, so many of you have not received DVDs in a timely manner and many of you have not received emails letting you know we got a DVD back from you.
We pride ourselves in delighting you, and we've let you down. We apologize and are working around the clock to restore normal operations. To all of you whose shipments have been delayed, we'll be automatically applying a credit to your next billing statement. Or, if you are new to Netflix and your first shipments have been delayed, we recognize that this is not a good way to begin your Netflix membership and we'll automatically extend your free trial.
Our goal is to ship DVDs as soon as possible and to keep you updated. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience we've caused you and thank you for your patience.
The Netflix Team"

I actually didn't even notice that my Netflix had been delayed until checking the website, but I appreciate that they are straightforward about the issue. -Kristin

Unlike the J. Crew "We've made some mistakes..." notice, Netflix here acknowledges the cause of the problem, that the company is working to fix it, and offers customers compensation. -Brent

I'm HAPPY about how well the service provider is handling the outage, mostly because other service providers handle things like this SO poorly. -Steve

While my personal experience hasn't been affected by this shipping delay, I am still pleased by their efforts to publicly own up to an error. Not to mention their effort to smooth things over for anyone bothered by the hiccup. I have always been pleased with Netflix and their customer service, and this is just another instance that tells me I've chosen to give my business to a great company. -Annie

1- they admit they messed up (I hadn't even noticed)
2- they said they were sorry
3- they will be crediting me for the error

I'm left happy, even if I need to wait an extra day or two for the new Harold and Kumar movie. -B.

If something did happen, I haven't noticed. Thank you once again Netflix for rising above my expectations. You quickly own up to a problem and provide the appropriate compensation without making me get into a verbal fist fight with a CSR. -Eric

Way to go, Netflix. Now fix your site!

(Photo: corsec67 )

"We do not agree with the FAA's [latest] findings and characterizations of American's action in these cases," the airline said in a statement. "We believe the proposed penalties are excessive."

The FAA defended the fine in a statement of its own:
"The FAA believes the large total amount of the fine for these violations is appropriate because American Airlines was aware that appropriate repairs were needed, and instead deferred maintenance."

As for the drug testing issue, the FAA wants to fine AA $1.7 million for warning its employees ahead of time when they were scheduled to be tested. The tests are supposed to be unannounced.

The FAA proposed $7.1 million in fines against American for violations that included:

•$4.4 million for improperly deferring maintenance in December

•$1.7 million for problems with its drug- and alcohol-testing program

•$1 million for operating planes without properly inspecting the emergency- path lighting system

American Airlines faces $7.1M in fines for safety violations [Dallas Morning News]
(Photo: Joshua Davis jdavis.info )