The nation’s largest bank is trying to get a wee bit smaller — at least in terms of payroll. A newly uncovered memo reveals that Bank of America plans to cut at least 3,500 jobs in the upcoming months, with the possibility that thousands of additional positions could also be eliminated. [More]
Retail Services
Amazon Super Saver Shipping No Longer Available In US Territories
By 8.18.11
Bad news for regular Amazon.com shoppers who live in United States territories: the online retail behemoth now limits their free Super Saver shipping to only residents of the fifty states. Reader Barbara in Puerto Rico wonders why this is. “They ship all their stuff through USPS anyway,” she points out, “so the postage difference is zero!” [More]
Costco Shopper Writes Insane Fake Shopping Lists For The Amusement Of Others
By 8.18.11
Over at Reddit, a contributor says they have discovered a new way to amuse themselves — and hopefully others — while shopping at Costco. [More]
Amazon Gives Me Price $50 Refund On PS3 Even Though It Doesn't Have To
By 8.17.11
As you may have heard, Sony has slashed the price on its PlayStation 3 gaming consoles by $50. For Consumerist reader DT, who had just received a PS3 from Amazon earlier this week, this good news came a few days too late. Or did it? [More]
Consumerist Techniques Land Reader Free Home Depot Tools
By 8.17.11
Andrew stared at the row of tools on the shelf at Home Depot and sighed. He had a big new job to do, but after getting all his tools from Home Depot for the past 20 years, there was but a paltry selection. No open stock items and the sets were incomplete. He wouldn’t be able to get all the tools he needed. So, drawing on what he’d learned from reading Consumerist, rather than an EECB, he crafted an email to a specific person at Home Depot corporate he thought might help. [More]
Chase, Bank Of America, Citi & Wells Fargo Allowed To Start Foreclosing Again In New Jersey
By 8.16.11
It’s been a quiet 2011 on the foreclosure front in New Jersey, as several banks froze seizure proceedings late last year following the revelation that foreclosure documents were being rubber-stamped by untrained “robo signers.” But a judge in the Garden State has given the go-ahead for Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo to resume uncontested foreclosures. [More]
"I Don't Doubt It" Is BofA's Response To You Saying They Transferred You To Foot Fetish Phone Line
By 8.16.11
When David tried to report some fraudulent activity on his debit card, Bank of America transferred his call to a 1-900 type phone line that specialized in feet-related activities. [More]
Target Fires Employee Who Attempted To Unionize NY Store
By 8.16.11
Earlier this summer, employees at a Target store in the Long Island community of Valley Stream voted against forming a union, but the fallout from the push to unionize still lingers, as the employee behind the movement has recently been let go from her job at the store. [More]
Bank Of America Customer Gathers 10,000 Signatures In Attempt To Save Home & Business
By 8.15.11
After 18 months of trying to get a loan modification from Bank of America, the owner of a Seattle-area property that includes both her nursery business and her home, decided to get a little help from 10,000 of her friends, hoping that a hefty petition would help convince BofA to modify the mortgage. [More]
Restaurant Requires You To Sign Contract Forbidding Use Of Phones & Cameras
By 8.15.11
The biggest hassle of dining at a buzzed-about restaurant is usually just trying to score a reservation. But one eatery in Washington, D.C., is going the extra step and requiring diners to fill out and sign a two-page contract that covers everything from its cancellation policy to cell phone use. [More]
California "Free Store" Has Best Prices In The Neighborhood
By 8.15.11
With the motto “Share what you have, find what you need,” the Long Beach Free Store in California isn’t your conventional retail outlet. In fact, while everything in the store is for sale, there are no price tags because everything is free. [More]
Ohio Convenience Store Plays Classical Music To Curtail Loitering
By 8.15.11
The eternal dilemma for convenience store managers is how to rid the store of undesirable, customer-intimidating loiterers and panhandlers. Someone at a shop in Ohio may have figured out the secret: Play music that repels the unwanted wallflowers. [More]
Get Your Christmas Creep Gift Cards At Sam's Club
By 8.15.11
If you’re planning to give a Sam’s Club gift card to someone you care about (or someone to whom you’re obligated to give a gift) this winter gift-giving season, Sam’s Club has you covered. Now. In mid-August. “It’s going to be over 100 degrees outside ALL WEEK..and has been the past 2-3 weeks,” writes Joel, the blogger who noticed these cards at his local Sam’s. “100 degree heat, drought, and Christmas Gift cards. Go Texas?” [More]
Could Bank Of America Put Countrywide Into Bankruptcy?
By 8.12.11
Three years after breathing life into a drowned Countrywide Financial, Bank of America is probably wishing it had just let the lender sink. BofA has already lost $8.5 billion in one lawsuit, with others still pending that could more than double that amount. So what’s the nation’s largest bank to do? Maybe put Countrywide in bankruptcy. [More]
Costco's Lifetime Return Policy Only Applies To Actual Members
By 8.11.11
When one of the suitcases from Jon’s decade-old Kirkland (Costco house brand) luggage set broke, he didn’t fret. Why, Costco has one of the greatest return policies in the world! Maybe in the universe! When he attempted to bring the item back, though, he learned the hard way that the famed warranty only applies to the original member who bought the item. Which can be a little awkward when the item was a gift. [More]
Sears Customer Service Just As Broken As My Garage Door Opener
By 8.11.11
Kristi’s garage door opener is from Sears’ venerable Craftsman brand. When the chain assembly broke, logically she contacted Sears to come fix it for her. The repair-scheduling website was slick and easy to use, perhaps lulling her into a false sense that she was in for a professional and logical commercial transaction. Then, it was time for the garage door repair person to actually show up. [More]
Walmart Closing MP3 Store — Wait, Walmart Has An MP3 Store?
By 8.9.11
Back in 2003, when iPods didn’t make phone calls and people still bought music on something called Compact Discs, Walmart apparently launched an online MP3 download store to compete with Apple’s iTunes. And while Big W is the nation’s largest retailer, it failed at unseating King Apple from the throne. Thus, today it announced it would close the store for good later this month. [More]
Septuagenarian Walmart Greeter Chases Down Bike-Riding Shoplifter
By 8.9.11
Here’s a lesson to all would-be Walmart shoplifters out there. Just because that greeter is above the standard retirement age and looks like a kindly old grandpa, doesn’t mean he can’t chase you down — even if you’re trying to escape on a stolen bike. [More]
