As the news breaks that Angelo R. Mozilo, the curiously orange former CEO of Countrywide Financial, has agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines, we decided to take a walk down Countrywide’s Memory Lane… which happens to be a street littered with abandoned and foreclosed houses. [More]
Bastard Ex-Countrywide CEO Must Pay $67.5 Million
By October 15, 2010
Angelo R. Mozilo, former CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp, winner of the 2008 Worst Company In America award, and oddly orange-tinted bastard, has settled with the Security and Exchange Commission and will to pay fines and forfeit ill-gotten gains in excess of $67 million. [More]
Worst Company In America Trophy Mailed To Comcast
By October 5, 2010
We are super-duper late in mailing out Comcast’s Worst Company In America trophy so we decided to spice it up with a disco lightshow for the award and a nice congratulatory letter. [More]
The Best Person At Comcast Just Quit
By July 16, 2010
Frank Eliason, the best person who works at Comcast, has decided to leave Kabletown, USA in order to return to banking, where he’ll again be working in a social media capacity. We wish him the best, as he has always done his best to help our readers, despite the massive amount of abuse we have lovingly heaped upon him. [More]
Ben Popken On NPR This Morning Re: Comcast NBC Merger
By July 13, 2010
I was on NPR this morning chiming in about the Comcast NBC merger that’s hurtling like a freight train through Washington (spoiler alert: not a fan). Here’s the clip. At the end, the reporter says that when he asked Comcast about their coming first in our Worst Company in America contest, they dismissed the entire affair as a “cheap stunt.” We take offense. A trophy that cost $30 and had to be air-mailed from Japan is not cheap. [More]
FTC: Countrywide Mowed Your Lawn, Marked Up The Cost And Called It A Fee
By June 7, 2010
The FTC says that Countrywide (now part of Bank of America) has agreed to pay $108 million to settle charges that the company “collected excessive fees from cash-strapped borrowers were were struggling to keep their homes.” So, what exactly did they do? Well apparently, while acting as a mortgage servicer, the company actually hired vendors to service properties after the homeowners had fallen behind on their mortgages, marked up the cost of the services (lawn mowing and property inspections, for example,) and then passed the cost along as fees. Doesn’t sound legal? It wasn’t. [More]
Comcast: Sorry We Never Installed Your Cable Correctly
By May 6, 2010
Reader K. wants to let us know that our tips for writing an effective complaint letter helped her solve her parents battle with Comcast. For months they’d been complaining about faulty internet service — only to be told they had the best signal they could get. Turns out, however, that their cable had never been installed properly. Whoops! [More]
Verizon Rubs Comcast's Face In Worst Company Win
By April 26, 2010
For anyone who thought that mammoth megacorporations behaved anything like adults, they should just check out the Twitter account for Verizon, who saw fit tonight to have a little fun at the expense of Worst Company In America winner Comcast. [More]
Comcast: We Don't Want To Be Worst Company In America Again
By April 26, 2010
After two years as a bridesmaid in Consumerist’s Worst Company In America tournament, it was finally the cable company’s time to walk down the aisle when it was handed the WCIA crown this morning. And now that Comcast has tasted victory, it’s not asking for seconds. [More]
Congratulations Comcast; You're The Worst Company In America!
By April 26, 2010
After four rounds of bloody battle against some of the most publicly reviled businesses in America, Comcast can now run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hold its hands high in victory — it has bested everyone else to earn the title of Worst Company In America for 2010. [More]
Worst Company Final Deathmatch: Ticketmaster VS Comcast
By April 23, 2010
Hide your children and gird your loins, because just like The Highlander, there can be only one. From the depths of the stinking swamps of mergepocalypse, come our two ignoble contenders. First, the dread pirate Comcast, known throughout the land for gobbling up all companies that are foolish enough to sail through its treacherous waters. Second, Ticketmaster, Lord of Tickets, Duke of fees, Master of… tickets. After forming an unholy alliance with LiveNation, Lord Ticketmaster has united the forces of darkness in a quest to force all people of this good land to pay $2.50 for the use of their own printers. [More]
Worst Company In America Overtime Rules
By April 22, 2010
Bank of America and Ticketmaster have been within 10 votes of one another for like, 24 hours now, which is just unprecedented in the history of this contest. As of this post, they are exactly tied. So here’s what we’re going to do. At midnight in the central time zone, we are going to close the poll. [More]
Worst Company In America Final Four: Comcast VS Cash4Gold
By April 22, 2010
Well, well, well, what do we have here? It’s our nation’s largest cable company and harbinger of mergepocalypse doom, Comcast, VS a certain little company from Florida. [More]
Worst Company In America Final Four: Bank Of America VS. Ticketmaster
By April 21, 2010
Two of last year’s WCIA Final Four return to square off as Bank of America, who thumped Time Warner Cable in the Elite 8, goes up against Ticketmaster, fresh off its victory over Anthem BCBS. [More]
Catch The Golden Poo On Your Local News This Morning
By April 21, 2010
The golden poo and I are beaming live into a few local news stations this morning pump the Worst Company in America contest. Here’s when and where we’ll be: [More]
Meet Your Worst Company In America 2010 Final Four!
By April 21, 2010
After three rounds of voting, 28 of the most despised companies in the U.S. have fallen, beaten and bloodied as they attempted to win the coveted title of Worst Company In America and the elegant golden poo trophy that goes along with it. Now, with just days left in the tournament, only four remain. [More]
Worst Company In America Elite 8: Cash4Gold Vs. PayPal
By April 20, 2010
Here it is folks, the final match-up of the WCIA Elite 8… And it’s a doozy. Hailing from sunny Florida is the king of undervalued bling, Cash4Gold! And flying in from the West Coast just to prove they know a thing or two about horrendous customer service and questionable business practices, it’s every Internet user’s frenemy, PayPal! [More]
Worst Company In America Elite 8: Comcast Vs. Apple
By April 19, 2010
This one should be very interesting, as perennial WCIA fave Comcast — who has stomped on DirecTV and United Airlines in earlier rounds — faces off against this year’s giant killer, Apple. The iCompany has gone all Little Mac on both Microsoft and AT&T, but will they be able to get in the right punches to beat the Philadelphia Kid? [More]
