Payday lending is illegal in more than a dozen states, including New York, but some lenders manage to fly under the radar by operating online or hiding their loans as part of another business. In an effort to crackdown on loans that violate state laws, New York has created a database for banks to use to help identify sketchy lenders, and Bank of America — no stranger to the issue of questionable loans — is the first to sign on. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Stupid Shipping Gang Sends Box That Fits Supplements, Wads Of Paper, Cats
By 6.16.14
Markian ordered some jars of dietary supplements from Walmart.com, and they arrived in a large box. The box was notable because it had enough space to accommodate the supplement jars and a massive wad of brown paper. If he removed the paper, the box had enough room to fit at least one of his cats, which he included in the photos for scale. [More]
Markdown At Lands’ End Means You Pay $20 More
By 6.16.14
Reader Beth was browsing the markdown rack at Lands’ End, in the space that the retailer now leases from Sears, when she noticed something strange. A sweater she wanted was on markdown, but somehow the price was going up. How did that work? [More]
Target Says Glitch That Caused Sunday’s Long Lines Was Not Result Of Hack
By 6.16.14
If you shopped at Target yesterday evening, there’s a chance your wait in the checkout line was longer than usual after a vague “glitch” caused long delays at a number of stores around the country. The retailer is now proactively trying to calm concerns by saying that the hiccup was not related to any sort of data breach. [More]
OSHA Issues Citations Following Worker Death At Amazon Warehouse
By 6.13.14
Following the December 2013 death of a temporary worker at an Amazon fulfillment center in New Jersey, the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration has issued citations to five companies involved in staffing the warehouse, while also revealing that it is investigating another death at an Amazon facility in Pennsylvania. [More]
Here’s What Happens When A Dead Mall Has A Fake Facebook Account
By 6.12.14
Today, there was a festive groundbreaking ceremony at the Latham Circle Mall near Albany, NY. A dead enclosed mall was demolished and will be replaced with a strip center of big-box stores in Nowheresville, USA: why is that interesting? It gives us an excuse to highlight the mall’s very unofficial Facebook account, a funny local prank that transcends its region. [More]
Amazon Creates Streaming Music Service, But Don’t Expect To Hear New Releases
By 6.12.14
If you’re a fan of six-month old music releases and happen to have a Prime membership, then Amazon’s newly launched streaming music service might be for you. [More]
Best Buy Delivers Your Appliance For Free, Power Cord For $70
By 6.11.14
Reader Christopher decided that it was time to buy a new dryer, largely because Best Buy had a great sale and offers free delivery for appliances. It sounds like that might be, indeed, the best buy. Only when he put all of the needed parts in his virtual cart, he noticed something strange. He had to pay an extra delivery charge…for the power cord. [More]
Report: Amazon Testing Marketplace That Connects Consumers To Local Service Providers
By 6.11.14
Move over Angie’s List and Yelp, Amazon is reportedly launching a new marketplace to connect consumers with everyday service providers such as plumbers, babysitters and magicians. [More]
Amazon Is Only Hurting Itself In Standoffs With Book, Movie Companies
By 6.11.14
Amazon is an incredibly important player in retail, especially when it comes to selling books and movies. But its ongoing efforts to strong-arm publishers and movie studios into better wholesale pricing are going too far and may only end up biting the e-tailer in the butt in the future. [More]
4 Home Depot Exclusives For Shoppers To Avoid
By 6.10.14
While many of us go to stores like Home Depot for brands of tools, paint, flooring and other products that you could buy at other retailers, the Depot has several labels you won’t find elsewhere. Unfortunately, not all of these exclusive brands are worth the trip to the Despot. [More]
Spend $5 Extra To Get $5 Gift Card At Target
By 6.10.14
Target is a successful retailer, which is impressive considering the company’s collective poor grasp of math. Reader Mireille was shopping for diapers there and spotted an interesting deal on diapers. If customers bought two boxes and paid $2.50 above the listed price on the shelf tag for each, they would get a $5 gift card. Wait, what? [More]
Sears Reminds Customers: Only 199 Shopping Days Until Christmas
By 6.9.14
Reader Andy sent us this e-mail he received from Sears as an example of Christmas Creep. He was confused that the retailer has already started its holiday marketing. A look through the Consumerist archives leads to a different perspective. It indicates that maybe Sears has figured out when the major gift-giving holidays actually are. [More]
Amazon Launches PayPal-Like Payment System For Consumers, Businesses
By 6.9.14
Amazon is quickly turning itself into an online one-stop-shop for consumers. Next up for the e-tail giant? Entering the e-commerce fold with a new payment product system that puts it in direct competition with PayPal. [More]
Use The Abandoned Kmart Parking Lot, Get Your Car Towed
By 6.9.14
The signs in the parking lot warned that it was only for Kmart customers and employees. If the Kmart store had long since closed, does that mean that it’s OK to park there? The $200 towing bills that four friends each received after leaving their cars there say “no.” [More]
More Mystical Secrets Of Retail Price Codes
By 6.6.14
Last fall, we posted a handy cheat sheet to price tag codes that can tell you whether an item is on its first or last markdown, or even whether it’s on clearance or just plain on sale. Want to learn some more codes? Of course you do! [More]
Target Security Officer Finds Loaded Gun In Toy Section
By 6.6.14
Playskool makes a wide variety of fun and adorable products, but they don’t make a 9mm Lugar pistol. Yet a Target employee found a loaded gun sitting out in the toy department last Friday, and want the public’s help to find a man who was in the toy department acting in a suspicious manner around the time that the gun was left behind. [More]
Bank Of America May Pay At Least Another $12 Billion For Mortgage-Related Hijinks
By 6.6.14
Bank of America has already agreed to mortgage meltdown-related settlements totaling more than $50 billion, so what’s another dozen or so billion dollars heaped on top of that pile? That’s the latest figure being thrown about in the seemingly never-ending series of complaints and settlements tied to the bank’s bad behavior in the home loan business. [More]
