A maintenance worker in Syracuse, N.Y. claims that he won $5 million on an instant lottery ticket. He took it back to the store where he had purchased it, and the store owner’s son told him that he had only won $5,000. The man offered him for $4,000 in cash for the ticket. The store owner’s two sons sat on the ticket for six years, then turned it in to the state lottery. The lottery sensed that something was not right here. [More]
Government Policy
Cashier Allegedly Scammed Lottery Winner Out Of $5 Million Ticket, Waited 6 Years To Cash It In
By 11.16.12 — Updated: 7.23.13
5-Hour Energy Cited In Reports Of 13 Deaths
By 11.15.12
Only a few weeks after it was revealed that FDA incident reports linked Monster Energy drink to five deaths in recent years, it’s come out that the heavily advertised 5-Hour Energy “shots” have been cited in 13 deaths and dozens of hospitalizations since 2009. [More]
TSA Will Let You Fly With Your Precious Snow Globes This Holiday Season
By 11.14.12
Until the Transportation Security Administration started cracking down on liquids in carry-on luggage, we never knew how desperately attached travelers are to their prohibited snow globes. It seemed a bit of a cruel ban — who doesn’t love staring at fake snow gently falling on some idyllic scene? But this year, be prepared to celebrate snow globe freedom with the TSA’s updated holiday travel rules. [More]
Toyota Recalling 2.77 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Steering Snafu, Water Pumps
By 11.14.12
Toyota announced it’s voluntary recalling a total of almost 3 million vehicles worldwide for steering and water pump issues that have popped up recently, which will make this the second multi-million vehicle recall for the company in just over a month. There haven’t been any accidents or injuries reported thus far from the problems, which can be fixed relatively quickly but will likely cost Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars to repair. [More]
Buy Lengthy Legal Document, Get Free Space Heater
By 11.13.12
Robbie is very pleased with his new DeLonghi Mica Panel heater. Attached to the cord, though, is a tag the size of a small flag covered with warnings. This festive decoration exists to cover the company in case a customer does something stupid with their heater. That makes sense. Robbie wonders, though: at what point do we accept the limits of human stupidity and stop warning against every thing that could possibly go wrong? [More]
Nestlé Recalling Nesquik Drink Mix Because Chocolate Milk Shouldn’t Contain Salmonella
By 11.9.12
Chocolatey Nesquik, that beloved after school treat, wouldn’t be such a delight if it contained say, salmonella. Nestlé has issued a voluntary recall of some of its batches of the chocolate drink mix because there’s the possibility of salmonella contamination in one of the ingredients used to make the powder. [More]
Jeep Recalls 745,000 Vehicles In U.S. After 50 People Injured By Air Bags
By 11.9.12
Because air bags are not supposed to go POOF! all up in your face while you’re driving, the folks at Chrysler have announced a recall of 745,000 model year 2002-03 Jeep Liberty and 2002-04 Grand Cherokee vehicles. [More]
What To Do If You’re Still Getting Calls From “Rachel At Cardholder Services”
By 11.7.12
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission shut down five operations responsible for untold number of scammy robocalls from “Rachel (or one of many other names) at Cardholder Services.” But several readers have written in to say that these calls have not ended. [More]
AT&T To Refund Cash To Customers Forced Into Monthly Data Plans
By 11.7.12
Back in Sept. 2009, AT&T began requiring new smartphone customers to have monthly data plans, but existing customers with pay-as-you-go data plans were supposed to have been able to have their plans grandfathered in. Yet a number of customers who had their devices replaced either through insurance or warranty were mistakenly forced into monthly plans. Now AT&T has agreed to let these people change their accounts back and receive refunds for the error. [More]
FTC Hangs Up On “Rachel From Cardholder Services”
By 11.1.12
For several years, American consumers have been receiving unwanted robocalls with a recorded message from “Rachel” or one of her fictional co-workers at the vaguely named “Cardholder Services.” Not only are these calls often in violation of do-not-call regulations, they are also a scam to trick people our of their cash. Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had pulled the plug on five companies behind these scammy robocalls. [More]
How To Figure Out If A Charity Might Be A Scam
By 10.31.12
It’s not just home-repair scams that pop up in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. There will also be grade-A-holes out there trying to trick consumers out of money by pretending to be raising money to help those hurt by the storm. [More]
Tax Collectors Using The Power Of Peer Pressure To Get People To Pay Delinquent Taxes
By 10.29.12
Peer pressure can work wonders when it comes to convincing us to buy certain products, dress a certain way or even decide to start cooking kale even though we don’t totally get it. But taxation experts are hoping it will also do the trick to encourage people to pay up on their delinquent taxes. And maybe start wearing friendship bracelets to show how cool they are. [More]
Posing Problems For PreCheck: Smartphones Can Scan Boarding Pass Barcodes
By 10.25.12
You’ve lost that random feeling, ohh that random feeling, now it’s gone… gone… gone. Security experts say a flaw in airline boarding passes that allows their barcodes to be scanned with smartphones makes the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck system not very useful. If PreCheck passengers can scan their barcodes ahead of time and see if they’ll be screened routinely or [More]
Sherwin-Williams, PPG Agree To Stop Lying To Consumers About ‘Zero VOC’ Paints
By 10.25.12
Many interior paints contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the form of solvents, some of which can be harmful to your health. So when a container of Dutch Boy Refresh paint proudly declares “Zero VOC,” one might reasonably think “Yay, no volatile organic compounds for me.” Well… maybe so, maybe not. [More]
Apple Announces iMac Hard Drive Replacement Program, Runs Out Of Hard Drive
By 10.25.12
Apple has recalled Carla’s iMac. Specifically, the hard drive, which was made by Seagate, and has has a record of failing more than a hard drive should. Customers were told to bring their computers in so that Apple could swap the hard drive for a nice new one. Carla made her appointment as instructed, but when she got to the store, learned that the replacement hard drives were out of stock and they’d have to hold on to her computer for a week while waiting for them to restock. [More]
Sallie Mae The Subject Of Nearly Half Of Student Loan-Related Complaints
By 10.24.12
The recently released annual report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman looks at the variety and nature of complaints filed with the CFPB’s student loan complaint portal since it launched earlier this year. Not surprisingly to many people with these loans, Sallie Mae’s name comes up in almost half the complaints. [More]
Court Says Berating TSA Officers During A Pat-Down Is Disorderly Conduct, Not Free Speech
By 10.24.12
While we’ve heard about cases where you can say, strip down naked in front of the Transportation Security Administration, an act that a judge found to be protected speech under the First Amendment, it’s a different matter when it comes to using your words to express your thoughts about pat-downs. A mom who reportedly berated TSA officers attempting to pat-down her daughter found that out the hard way. [More]
The World May Never Know Which Company Filed This Lawsuit To Block Consumer Safety Complaint
By 10.23.12 — Updated: 12.13.12
If a manufacturer has an unresolved issue with a complaint lodged with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s saferproducts.gov database, it has the right to take the CPSC to court and prove its case. But should that same company be able to litigate the matter anonymously, keeping its name and all relevant court findings under seal? [More]
