Ride-hailing apps ask us to get in strangers’ cars, something that our parents specifically warned us against. Now a new generation of gig economy apps asks us to let strangers into our homes and take our pets on walks. While most walks and boarding stays using services like Wag and Rover end well, enough have resulted in lost or killed pets that investors are becoming skittish, and maybe customers should be. [More]
Merkts Cheese Spread Recalled After Reports Of Plastic Pieces
By 10.16.17
Drop the cracker! Put down that little spreader knife! Before you keep snacking, make sure that your tub of spreadable cheese isn’t the port wine flavor of Merkts spread that has been recalled after customers found plastic pieces mixed in with the cheese. [More]
T-Mobile Does Away With Unlimited LTE Data In Mexico And Canada
By 10.16.17
Here’s some bad news for T-Mobile customers who like to travel around North America while streaming Netflix. As of next month, the carrier is ending one of its more interesting perks on most plans: Unlimited LTE data in Canada and Mexico will no longer be available. [More]
Hyatt Reports Another Payment Card Breach Affecting 41 Hotels In 11 Countries
By 10.16.17
For the second time in two years, global hotel operator Hyatt has been hit by a far-reaching breach of its payment card system. The latest attack involves the financial information of guests who stayed at any one of 41 Hyatt properties in 11 different countries. [More]
H-E-B Recalls Shredded Beef That May Contain Potential Plastic Pieces
By 10.13.17
While people may disagree about the best ingredients for their favorite barbecue dishes, everyone can agree that pieces of plastic do not belong in pulled beef. That’s why grocery chain H-E-B is recalling 6.4 tons of shredded beef with barbecue sauce shipped to its stores. [More]
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By 10.13.17
Here are twelve of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last three weeks, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness. [More]
Diono Recalls Nearly 520,000 Child Car Seats Over Concerns About Restraint Strength
By 10.12.17
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced today that Diono has recalled 519,052 child restraint and booster seats sold since 2014 because these seats may not restrain some children sufficiently in a crash. [More]
MoviePass Needs More Movie Theater Pals To Keep Price Low
By 10.12.17
MoviePass, the startup that lets subscribers go to a movie a day, recently dropped its monthly rate to $10, resulting in a flood of sign-ups for the plan. While the slashed price might have drawn a lot more attention to MoviePass, it could also be an albatross around the company’s neck. [More]
New Service Promises To Hold Your Digital Movies, Let You Watch Them On Multiple Apps
By 10.12.17
While there are plenty of places to buy movies and TV shows online, one minor problem is that you’re forever stuck having to watch that video on the platform where you purchased it, whether it’s Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, etc. But a newly revamped service claims to let you stash digital videos from various sources into one place. [More]
Cascadian Farms Granola, Whole Foods Raisin Bran Recalled For Undeclared Nuts
By 10.11.17
Peanut and tree nut allergies are sneaky and can be life-threatening, which is why foods that might have even traces of them are supposed to have declarations on their packages. Two different companies, Cascadian Farms and Whole Foods, have recalled cinnamon raisin granola and raisin bran respectively, because they may be contaminated with different nuts for very different reasons. [More]
Owner Of Dozens Of Malls Says They Won’t Be Open On Thanksgiving This Year
By 10.11.17
Though many of the big box stores now open for Black Friday at some point on Thanksgiving, some retailers and mall owners have fought back against this trend. For the second year in a row, one of the nation’s largest mall operators has declared that its properties’ doors will remain shut this Thanksgiving. [More]
4 Adults Arrested In Yet Another Kiddie Party Brawl At Chuck E. Cheese’s
By 10.11.17
Chuck E. Cheese’s slogan might be “Where a kid can be a kid,” but it might also be called “Where that kid’s parents will probably get into a brawl, ruining everyone’s nights, including the cops who have to come out and break up a youngster’s birthday party.” [More]
Chicago-Area Soda Tax Fails After Only A Few Months
By 10.11.17
Cook County, IL, which includes the city of Chicago, recently became the largest local government in the country to successfully impose a tax on sweetened beverages. Now the same County Board of Commissioners that approved the tax has repealed it, only a few months after it went into effect. [More]
Hulu Offers 1-Year Price Cut To New And Returning Customers
By 10.10.17
Did you cancel your Hulu subscription, but are thinking about going back? In a deal that just happens to begin at the same time as Netflix’s upcoming price hike, Hulu is offering a discount on its service for new and returning subscribers for the coming year. [More]
Bankrupt Sears Canada Asks Court For Permission To Liquidate, Shut Down
By 10.10.17
Like its American cousin, Sears Canada is in financial trouble. Unlike Sears Holdings, it doesn’t have a vast real estate portfolio that it can sell to raise cash. To that end, the company announced today that there is no way to keep the business going, and it will close all stores and liquidate. [More]
Discover Freaks Out Customers With Email About “Recent Data Breach”
By 10.10.17
Imagine that you open up your email and find a message from your credit card company with the attention-getting subject line, “Important: What you can do now about the recent data breach.” Would you think that Discover had had a customer data breach? You wouldn’t be alone. [More]
Want To Know Oreo’s New Stunt Flavor? You’ll Have To Buy It
By 10.10.17
Oreo’s stunt flavors are now a normal part of the cookie landscape, with snack giant Mondelez announcing new limited-time flavors like cinnamon bun or fruit punch every few months. Now the company has taken stunt food even farther, introducing cookies with “mystery flavored creme” and asking the public what flavor it is. [More]
Playtex Recalls Kids’ Dishes That May Peel, Creating Choking Hazard
By 10.6.17
Do the construction or the princess kids’ dish designs that accompany this post look familiar? Does your child have a similar plastic plate, bowl, or eating set that features animals, superheroes, or other kid-friendly themes? If so, check over those plates and bowls: They may be one of millions of dishes that could have its plastic coating peel off, posing a choking hazard to the child. [More]
