One month ago, GMAC/Ally was the first major mortgage lender to freeze foreclosures and foreclosure sales in about half the U.S.. But the day after Bank of America announced it was thawing its foreclosure freeze, GMAC followed suit. Meanwhile, the White House has warned all lenders that it will go after banks who are found to employ any of the tactics that got them into this mess in the first place. [More]
Retail Services
Confessions Of Walmart Employees
By 10.19.10
Over at our former sister site Gawker.com, several Walmart employees open up about everything from the reality of “rollbacks” to the poo problem. They also share a handful of helpful tips for Walmart shoppers. [More]
Samsung Disses Toshiba, Says Common Glasses-Free 3DTVs Are At Least 5 Years Off
By 10.19.10
It’s a safe bet that 3D TVs that require buzzkilling glasses won’t catch on in mainstream living rooms, so all eyes are on the next wave of technology — the 3DS-like goal of TVs that let you see Vikings battling dragons in 3D without the burden of eyewear. [More]
Bank Of America Gets Back To Foreclosing In Some States
By 10.18.10
Ten days after announcing a freeze to foreclosures in all 50 states, Bank of America announced on Monday that it was time to get back to the business of foreclosing on homes in 23 of those states. [More]
Potential Pancake Disasters: Walmart's Cooking Spray Looks A Lot Like Their Furniture Polish
By 10.18.10
You know, this can of Walmart cooking spray looks a lot like this can of Walmart furniture polish. To avoid any potential pancake disasters, it might be time for Walmart to start introducing some variety in how they design their in-house store brand of “Great Value” products. Also, you probably shouldn’t keep your furniture polish next to the syrup and pan spray in your cupboard at home. [More]
Walmart Said I Needed Wisconsin Driver's License To Buy With Credit Card
By 10.18.10
Matthew says a Wisconsin Walmart demanded not only an ID with his MasterCard purchase, but a Wisconsin state driver’s license. Because Matthew is from out of state, he was out of luck. Read on to see whether or not Matthew escaped the store with his munchies: [More]
Some Walmart, Kroger Store-Brand Peas & Mixed Vegetables Recalled Because You Are Not Supposed To Eat Glass
By 10.18.10
On Friday, the Pictsweet Company of Bells, TN, announced a recall of some of its products containing green peas — and sold under the store brands of Kroger and Walmart — after the company learned that some of the packages may contain glass fragments. [More]
14 Reasons Why Countrywide Is In The Worst Company Hall Of Fame
By 10.15.10
As the news breaks that Angelo R. Mozilo, the curiously orange former CEO of Countrywide Financial, has agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines, we decided to take a walk down Countrywide’s Memory Lane… which happens to be a street littered with abandoned and foreclosed houses. [More]
Bastard Ex-Countrywide CEO Must Pay $67.5 Million
By 10.15.10
Angelo R. Mozilo, former CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp, winner of the 2008 Worst Company In America award, and oddly orange-tinted bastard, has settled with the Security and Exchange Commission and will to pay fines and forfeit ill-gotten gains in excess of $67 million. [More]
Target Thinks Your Mom's Homemade Halloween Costumes Suck
By 10.15.10
The staff and the readers of The Consumerist share a love of cheap, homemade Halloween costumes. That’s why we’re a little disappointed in Target’s holiday ad offering, which features a creative (if fragile) homemade Iron Man costume made by a proud mom and worn by a dismayed little boy.
[More]
The Portable Armrest
By 10.14.10
What does it say about our society that it has invented this, the portable armrest? [More]
Walmart Realizes Buying Local Produce Can Be Good For Business
By 10.14.10
Now that Walmart has become the world’s largest grocer, it has realized there are both economic and environmental reasons to purchase and re-sell locally grown produce. As part of its latest sustainability efforts announced earlier today, the retail behemoth detailed a plan to increase the percentage of its produce that it gets from local growers. [More]
Overstock And Amazon Comically Overpackage Readers' Orders: Newegg, Not So Much
By 10.14.10
It’s time for another installment of the Adventures of the Stupid Shipping Gang! We’ve packaged three reader stories in one post to make sure they stay extra-secure. In this edition: Amazon overestimates the fragility of Pyrex, Newegg underestimates the fragility of computer parts, and Overstock sends someone an awful lot of crumpled-up paper. [More]
Banks Hired "Burger King Kids" To Process Mortgages
By 10.14.10
JPMorgan & Chase had a cute name, the “Burger King Kids,” for the workers with little no experience or qualifications it hired to process the reams of mortgages it plowed through at the height of the housing bubble. These walk-in hires “barely knew what a mortgage was,” writes the NYT. The newbies Citigroup and GMAC/Ally Bank outsourced the work to sometimes tossed paperwork into the garbage can. [More]
For Some Reason, Mexican Reader Finds This Halloween Costume Offensive
By 10.14.10
Javier, a Consumerist reader who lives in Mexico, crossed the border to do some shopping at Walmart. He noticed this costume in the Halloween section. He finds it offensive. “I was wondering if we might also find a costume like this,” he writes, enclosing an old photo of a white performer in blackface. [More]
5 Of The Most Expensive Cars To Insure
By 10.14.10
The more a car is worth and the more likely it is to get into an accident or be stolen, the more expensive it is to insure. The rates also have plenty to do with the driver’s age and driving history. [More]
Walmart Removes Lead-Tainted Toys From Shelves, But Only In California
By 10.13.10
Recent tests by the Center for Environmental Health found lead levels in excess of allowable amounts in toys and baby products sold at Walmart and Target. But while Target has agreed to stop selling the items at all its stores, Walmart has only agreed to pull the products in question from stores in California. [More]
Things To Buy Exclusively At Warehouse Stores
By 10.13.10
Warehouse stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club like to lull you into a false sense of security, sure that everything you see on shelves is cheaper there than elsewhere. But in many cases, warehouse prices are unbeatable. [More]
