This is, unfortunately, becoming one of the most predictable stories of the early 21st century. It goes something like this: new tech product comes on the market. Consumers, finding product solves their problem, eagerly buy. Then the company that made the product turns off the server that made the thing “smart,” and suddenly early adopters are up a creek with no recourse. [More]
Cuba Gives Final Approval For First Commercial Flights From Florida
By August 19, 2016
If you’ve had your bags packed and been ready to go to Cuba, there’s good news: the island nation’s government has have given the final go-ahead for commercial flights taking off from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. [More]
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By August 19, 2016
Here are nine of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness. [More]
Eddie Bauer Removed Malware From Payment Systems In All Of Its Stores
By August 18, 2016
In today’s spin of the Wheel of Cybercrime, the affected business is…Eddie Bauer, a clothing and housewares retailer with more than 350 stores across the country. The company confirmed today that its point of sale systems were infected with malware, which has now been removed, and customers’ payment card information may have been compromised. [More]
9 Things We Learned About Walmart’s Relationships With Local Police
By August 18, 2016
Walmart just shared its quarterly results with investors and with the world, and its sales and profits are up. Great news! Only a lot of the chain’s profits have come because of aggressive cost-cutting, and its cutbacks in security have meant increases in petty and violent crimes that can be a burden on local law enforcement. [More]
Student Loan Borrowers Face Needless Hurdles When Trying To Reduce Payments
By August 18, 2016
It’s a fact of life: if you take out thousands of dollars in federal student loans to attend college, you have to pay them back. While the government offers borrowers some relief through free income-based relief, a new report shows that getting that assistance is often a test of patience for consumers, with servicers providing incorrect information or creating difficult hurdles. [More]
Justice Department To Phase Out Use Of Private Prisons
By August 18, 2016
Around 15% of the nearly 200,000 inmates in federal custody are housed in privately operated prisons that have come under fire for allegations of poor treatment of prisoners and less stringent security measures — all at a yearly price tag to taxpayers of $639 million. Today, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced plans to phase out the Justice Department’s use of private facilities over the coming years. [More]
The Mail Carrier Hall Of Shame Inducts A New Member Accused Of Interfering With Mail
By August 18, 2016
Are we shocked to hear that a Florida mail carrier was accused of unloading hundreds of pieces of mail into a pizzeria’s trash bin? Not so much, because we’ve seen this happen enough to induct this latest suspect into the Mail Carrier Hall Of Shame, which is a thing we just made up. [More]
Hey, Sprint Has Some New Unlimited Plans, Too
By August 18, 2016
This morning, we shared the news that T-Mobile USA was doing away with the entire concept of mobile plans, and instead putting all postpaid users on plans with unlimited voice, messaging, and data. Competing small carrier and erstwhile merger partner Sprint doesn’t want to be left out, and announced its own unlimited plan today. [More]
Online Lender Claiming Tribal Affiliation Must Refund, Cancel $11.6M In Payday Loans
By August 18, 2016
For years, online lenders have claimed affiliations with tribal groups in order to skirt state laws related to short-term, high-interest loans. Today, the state of Minnesota came to a settlement over a years-long, so-called “rent-a-tribe” loan scheme with CashCall, ordering the lender to pay $11.6 million in relief to borrowers. [More]
Can Maker Of Web-Snooping Software Be Held Liable For Jealous Husband’s Wiretapping?
By August 18, 2016
When you find out that someone is using computer software to listen in on your emails and instant messages, your first instinct — after wanting to swat them with a wet newspaper — may be to sue the snooper for illegal wiretapping, but should the company that made that software also be held accountable? [More]
Gawker.com Shutting Down After Bankruptcy Sale To Univision
By August 18, 2016
Gawker Media declared bankruptcy in June after losing a major lawsuit. The company went up on the auction block this week and Univision bought it up. And while the company likely has plans in mind for at least some of what it paid for, the flagship site isn’t going with: Gawker.com is shutting down. [More]
Harley-Davidson To Pay $15M To Resolve Creation Of “Super Tuners” That Violate Emission Standards
By August 18, 2016
Turns out that the use of so-called “defeat devices” to cheat federal emissions standards isn’t just relegated to four-wheeled vehicles made by Volkswagen. Harley-Davidson today agreed to settle charges it violated the Clean Air Act by paying $15 million, as well as buying back and destroying nearly 340,000 “super tuners” that emit higher amounts of certain air pollutants than what the company certified to EPA. [More]
If You’re In The Market For A WWII-Era Tank, This French Museum Has The Auction For You
By August 18, 2016
After failing to attract enough visitors to keep it afloat, the Normandy Tank Museum has decided to sell of its entire collection of tanks, military vehicles, trucks, aircraft, and motorcycles in an auction next month. [More]
Petsmart Opens New Spa-Themed Prototype Store
By August 18, 2016
If you were to ask my dog what she wants out of her experience at the groomer, “no bath” and “no haircut” would probably be at the top of her list. She would be less interested in a more spa-like entrance with a concierge desk and free coffee beverages for humans. In a prototype store on New York’s Long Island, the big-box pet store is experimenting with a new store that focuses on pet services in a more fancy manner. [More]
Netflix Is Coming To More Hotels Near You
By August 18, 2016
Who wouldn’t want to catch up on a few episodes of House of Cards or Stranger Things while biding time in your hotel room waiting out your latest business trip? A new partnership between Netflix and in-room entertainment platform Enseo means chances are better that you’ll be able to do just that. [More]
Of Course People In Wisconsin Are Getting Wedding Cakes Made Entirely Out Of Cheese
By August 18, 2016
Usually, the topic of wedding trends makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a wire hanger dipped in hot tar, but when you introduce cheese into the picture, well, that’s another matter entirely. [More]
