While it’s nowhere near as embarrassing as the Walmart Nazi skull shirt fiasco of 2007-08, the folks at Target are more than a little red in the face after having to pull a shirt featuring the former flag of Spain, which is now closely associated with murder-happy dictator General Francisco Franco. [More]
No, seriously. According to taste tests performed by wine experts at Consumer Reports, Yosemite Road chardonnay–which is sold by 7-Eleven for around $5 a bottle–is among the top four “very good” recommendations by the magazine in its July issue. [More]
This is truly sad news for those of us whose best memories of weekend mornings is waking up to the smell of Jimmy Dean sausages wafting up from the kitchen. The man behind the delicious dishes has passed away at the age of 81. [More]
Chris and his wife got a Walmart Money Card as a gift and thought they’d go spend it, but the money was buried under so many layers of red tape that they weren’t able to use it. To activate the card Chris was told he had to give up a litany of personal info, including his social security number. [More]
While Walmart’s clothing department is going back in time a decade with its decision to focus on its historically strong underwear, socks and tee shirt market other, more fashion-forward brands and retailers are going back a lot further for their latest lines. [More]
Is ripping off Best Buy destined to be this summer’s hot new felony? Just last week, an Illinois couple was convicted of bilking the retail giant of $41 million over a four-year period. Now, a Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to scamming Best Buy for a more modest $900,000, by submitting false invoices for electronics equipment. [More]
While Walmart may currently be the most popular shopping destination in the country, it still hasn’t shaken the stigma among many clothing customers of being a place you go for cheap sweats, underwear and tee shirts. And after years of trying to remove that taint, the retail behemoth has thrown up its hands and admitted defeat. [More]
David writes that he recently had a confusing experience at a gas station, and he wanted some clarification. He’s used to receiving a cash discount when he pays with his debit card at gas stations, but came across a gas station owner who wouldn’t give a cash discount for anything but actual greenbacks. Are this gas station’s policies illegal, David wonders? [More]
Roger, whose Hollister shorts shrank a full size after he had the audacity to wash them, sent us an update. He writes that his situation has a happy ending: the company refunded his entire purchase, not just the shorts, and claim that they’ll be taking the opportunity to make sure to train their employees to see what a pair of washed shorts looks like. See the effect a good complaint can have…once you finally get through to someone with power? [More]
INC has an article penned by Zappos CEO and newly-minted-book-author, Tony Hsieh detailing the decision to sell Zappos to Amazon.com after initially turning them down. According to Hsieh, he made the decision in order to preserve an experiment in happiness, not a shoe company. [More]
The FTC says that Countrywide (now part of Bank of America) has agreed to pay $108 million to settle charges that the company “collected excessive fees from cash-strapped borrowers were were struggling to keep their homes.” So, what exactly did they do? Well apparently, while acting as a mortgage servicer, the company actually hired vendors to service properties after the homeowners had fallen behind on their mortgages, marked up the cost of the services (lawn mowing and property inspections, for example,) and then passed the cost along as fees. Doesn’t sound legal? It wasn’t. [More]
We’ve written a lot over the years of consumers’ displeasure with Best Buy and Geek Squad. But here’s a story about a couple from Illinois who actually screwed over the chain of retail stores… by overcharging for $41 million worth of computer parts. [More]
You remember last week’s story of the former Citibank employee who claimed she was fired for being too sexy? Of course you do. Now she’s claiming that her current employer, JP Morgan Chase, has asked her to stop her public campaign against a fellow banking giant. [More]
Last month, a business improvement group in Ardmore, PA issued $15,000 in local currency, which citizens bought at half the face value and which can be spent like real money in stores and restaurants in the downtown area. Strangely, despite the 50% savings promised only $2,900 of it has been spent so far, with thrift stores receiving more than any other type of business. The group is going to launch another money printing campaign in November to try to boost holiday sales, preferably of new things. [More]
While the rest of the federal government seems to be wrapped up in cleaning up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Dept. of Agriculture has had its laser beams set on oil from a different source — olives. [More]
As part of a $1.7 million settlement, over 40 major retailers and apparel manufacturers have agreed to cut back on the amount of lead used in handbags and other accessories. [More]
Roger would like the readers of Consumerist to know that clothing retailer Hollister, part of Abercrombie & Fitch, doesn’t stand behind its products at all. He writes that he ordered a pair of shorts online, which shrank significantly after the first time they went through the laundry. (Yes, he followed the care instructions.) The company refused to remedy the problem or issue Roger a refund, because the shorts weren’t returned in their original, untouched, tags-on condition. Wait, isn’t that the point? [More]
We’ve all been there — You’re in a rush at the store and the person in front of you is trying to redeem too many coupons, or there’s a problem with a coupon, etc. You get irritated, might even grumble something under your breath. But I’m guessing it’s never come to fisticuffs. Unfortunately for shoppers and employees at a Super Kmart in Ohio, one customer couldn’t manage to show such restraint. [More]
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