After successfully redecorating his office, merging Merrill Lynch with Bank of America, and then getting fired — John Thain is once again a CEO. This time he’ll be heading up a recently-bankrupt commercial and consumer finance company, CIT. [More]
Retail Services
Bundle Lets You Spy On What Your Neighbors Buy
By 2.8.10
Why should banks have all the fun monitoring consumers’ purchases? Bundle is a nifty service that lets you drill down and see what people are buying in your hood. [More]
Will A Human At BofA Finally Please Modify My $160,000 Underwater Mortgage
By 2.5.10
Jim and Susan’s mortgage is underwater by $160,000. They want to live up to their obligations, they want to keep their home, but they can’t do it with a $370,000 mortgage on a house that’s only worth $210,000. An attorney told them to send some “jingle mail,” just pop the house keys in an envelope, mail it to the bank, and move away. What they really want is a modification so they can stay in their house, but Bank of America has been jerking them around and they don’t have faith that this last hurdle will actually get them a mod. Isn’t there a decision-making human at BofA that can finalize this deal for them? [More]
Is Google Planning To Add Store Views To Google Maps?
By 2.4.10
A store in New York City called Oh Nuts, which apparently sells nuts and nut-based goods, told the blog Search Engine Land that someone from Google showed up and took a series of photos of the interior as part of an upcoming “Google Store Views” service. Google has officially said no comment, so I guess now it’s a waiting game to see if this shows up as an offshoot of Google’s street view offering, or if Oh Nuts reports in the next few days that they’ve had their entire inventory stolen by nut fiends who knew the layout suspiciously well. [More]
Update On Woman Sent To Jail For Using Gift Cards At Best Buy
By 2.4.10 — Updated: 3.13.15
Last month, New York City’s NY1 news channel produced a news segment on the woman who was arrested for paying with AMEX gift cards at a Best Buy. If you read our earlier post with Ilona’s email, you already know most of the basics, but you can see the problematic gift cards and hear Ilona describe the experience in her own words. It turns out that after she was released, she went back to Best Buy for either a refund or the DVD player, but had to leave without either one–she was told she’d have to contact American Express to resolve the problem. [More]
Light Bulb's Promises Are True Only Where Nighttime Lasts Three Hours
By 2.4.10
Rick bought a light bulb at Home Depot that turned into more of a geography test. The question it poses: is there anywhere in the world that has an average of three hours of darkness year-round? The answer: no. Which means that the claims on the front of this light bulb package contradict each other. [More]
This Suitcase Is Yours For Only $27,100
By 2.4.10
There are some cases in which a suitcase can be worth $27,100: If the banker on Deal or No Deal offers you that amount, if it’s full of $27,100 worth of drugs and there are not snipers waiting for you to hand over the cash before they take you out (but there always are snipers there) or… yeah, that’s basically it. But CNN contributor Bob Greene found another suitcase that costs that much, although whether or not it’s actually worth the price is dubious. [More]
Best Buy Sends Customer To Jail For Paying With AMEX Gift Card
By 2.2.10
Update: The news channel New York 1 has prepared a video segment about Ilona’s experience with Best Buy and the NYC police.
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A shopper just told us that last night last month at a Best Buy in NYC, she was taken to a back room, then cuffed by police officers and taken to a precinct for “further investigation,” because she tried to pay with an American Express gift card her father had bought for her.
Citibank Postpones New Checking Account Fees For Newer Customers
By 2.2.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo got Citibank to agree not to implement its new monthly fees on formerly free checking accounts, at least for some customers. If you signed up for one of Citibank’s EZ Checking or Access Checking accounts between January 1, 2009 and November 5, 2009, the new monthly service charge will be waived until this time next year. If you’re one of those customers, there’s nothing you have to do–you’ll get a notice in the mail from Citibank. [More]
Walmart And Best Buy Bail From Video Game Trade-in Market
By 2.2.10
Best Buy and Walmart have backed off on their challenges to GameStop’s used game racket, both shelving their short-lived tests of trade-in kiosks, Industry Gamers reports: [More]
Six e-Readers Compared
By 2.1.10
If you’re thinking of buying a digital reader in the next six months and you’re wondering what device to get, here’s a handy chart that compares six of the most highly publicized models side by side. As you might guess, bigger screens and more flexibility with file formats means higher prices. Also, the iPad is sort of a misfit here as it’s the only device that’s not a dedicated ebook reader. [More]
Man Jailed For Threatening To Rob BofA After They Robbed Him
By 2.1.10
An unemployed 40-year old mechanic is in the clink after he threatened to rob Bank of America as revenge for an erroneous service fee. He’s in jail on $75,000 bond, which neither he or his 72-year old frequent surgery recipient mother can afford. The man he was arrested after he called a local news channel and told them to show up tomorrow as he was going to rob the bank. It was unclear how he planned on pulling off the heist. Maybe he was going to raise their APR without notice?
Man Infuriated By Overdraft Fee Jailed After Threatening To Rob Bank [Huffington Post]
Wii Fit Plus Shortage May Be Rocking The Nation
By 2.1.10
Marcus wants a Wii Fit Plus game that includes the balance board and retails for $100. Problem is, he can’t find it anywhere. Third-party sellers are charging $150 and more on Amazon for the exercise game, which was the second-best seller in December, and everywhere he checks seems to be out of stock. [More]
Customer Escapes Best Buy Laptop Purchase Without Optimization Fees
By 1.31.10
During a recent trip to Best Buy to purchase a new laptop, Kristene was pleasantly surprised. She discovered that what our anonymous employee tipster told us in the post “Employee: Best Buy Scrambling To Clean Up Optimization Mess” is true, and customers at at least one Best Buy aren’t being forced to buy optimized computers. [More]
Employee: Best Buy Scrambling To Clean Up Optimization Mess
By 1.29.10
A mysterious email from someone claiming to be a Best Buy employee has emerged from the mist of our inbox. In it, the sender claims that Best Buy is threatening termination for employees that try to force the optimization fee on unwilling customers… [More]
23 Things Restaurants Do To Save Money
By 1.29.10
Coupon Sherpa put together a list of 23 ways restaurants cut costs. [More]
New BofA CEO Makes Less Than Ken Lewis, More Than You
By 1.28.10
Bank of America’s new CEO, Brian Moynihan, didn’t bother to ask what his salary would be when he accepted the job late last year. In fact, he’s been working for almost a month without knowing how much he’s getting paid. Maybe he assumed he’d get a deal like predecessor Ken Lewis, who earned an annual salary of $1.5 million (plus bonus), and pocketed over $50 million to walk out the door at the end of last year. Well, Brian, here’s why job coaches always tell you to ask about money upfront: Instead of $1.5 million, you’re stuck with a meager $900,000 this year. And your bonus? Yeah, we’ll get back to you on that. [More]
Should Home Depot Tell People This Freezer Has No Warranty?
By 1.28.10
Braxton came across a great deal while shopping for a new freezer. However, being a good Consumerist, he writes that he went home and researched the product before handing over any money. What he learned was that the freezer had no warranty…a fact that Home Depot conveniently forgot to disclose. [More]
