Reader Greg accidentally ran his iPhone through the washing machine. Whoops. Luckily, he still had his old BlackBerry from his days with T-Mobile, so he swapped in his AT&T SIM card to the BlackBerry and fired it up. Unfortunately, his BlackBerry was still locked by T-Mobile, and they didn’t feel like helping a former customer.
Retail Services
Morning Deals
By 7.9.09
- Lane Bryant: [Apparel] $25 Off $75 Purchase w/ Coupon 025009972
- Walmart: [Health] Free Nivea Body Wash for Men (Sample)
- Dell: [Blu-Ray Player] Sharp Aquos Blu-Ray Player for $139.99 w/ Free shipping
Banned Bank Of America Customer Says His Credit Is Clear
By 7.8.09
Earlier this week we wrote about how BoA told Jesse he could never have an account with them, but they wouldn’t give a specific reason. A lot of readers and tipsters suggested ChexSystems was the culprit, so we asked Jesse if there was something in his credit past causing the problem.
Bank Of America: "That's Why You Don't Open New Accounts Online"
By 7.8.09
After reading about how Jesse was banned for life from Bank of America for no clear reason, other readers wrote in with similarly bizarre BoA stories. Wayne was locked out of his new account after he opened it and charged a $75 overdraft fee. Chris was sent checks linked to a duplicate account and then charged penalties when the checks bounced. Edward’s new account was closed but the CSR refused to tell him why, and he was charged a $60 “research fee” for the closing. When Edward went to a BoA branch to clear things up, he says the employee there told him, “That’s why you don’t open up accounts online.”
Morning Deals
By 7.8.09
- OvernightPrints: [Printing] Free 5×5 Photo Book or $10 off any other product through July 19th with coupon code ONPFREEFIVE
- Dairy Queen: [Ice Cream] $1 Off DQ Blizzard Printable
- Shutterfly: [Photo Prints] Save 10% to 30% off 4×6 Digital Photo Prints
- Buy.com: [Light] Energizer Hard Case Rugged LED Flash Light $8 Shipped
The Federal Government Has Had Enough With Cell Phone Exclusivity
By 7.7.09
Annoyed by cell phone exclusivity deals? The federal government may agree with you. The FCC and Department of Justice are both looking into the issue, concerned about limitations on consumer choice and good old-fashioned competition.
Best Buy Ties Up A Grand Of Guy's Money For A Month
By 7.7.09
Disregarding our sage advice, former Best Buy employee Patrick wanted to cash out his 401(k) when he left the company. But he found getting ahold of the money was tougher than getting out of the store without being offered an extended service plan:
Be Careful, Costco Backdates Renewals
By 7.7.09
If you let your Costco membership lapse, then 2 months later renew it, Costco will backdate it to day it lapsed instead of the day you renew. The result: your 12 month membership suddenly shrinks to 10 months for the same price. Consumer Reports notes that Costco used to backdate renewals by as much as 5 months before a recent class-action settlement.
Morning Deals
By 7.7.09
- National Geographic: [Education & Entertainment] Summer Sale: Save up to 70% off Books, DVDs, & More
- Meritline: [Toys] Double Tank Water Gun for $1.99 w/ Coupon MLC40037050P w/ Free shipping
- Toys R Us: [Game] 15% Off One Video Game w/ Coupon (In-Store) Printable
Kmart Launches Christmas Site In July
By 7.7.09
You know “Christmas in July?” Kmart does. They sent a mailing out to customers today about their new site, Christmas Lane. It promises “the best deals for Christmas, 5 months early.” To us, that’s more of a threat than a promise.
Bank Of America Bans Customer For Life
By 7.6.09
Jesse tried to scam Bank of America. No, wait. He tried to open two accounts at once! No, that’s not right either. He did something wrong, that’s obvious. Isn’t it? Hello? Please tell us what Jesse did wrong, Bank of America. Your lifetime banning confuses us.
Best Buy Shrinks Reward Zone Program
By 7.6.09
Reader IfThenElvis forwarded us the following email he received alerting him to changes in the Reward Zone program from Best Buy. He adds, “I can’t tell if this is good new or not. I suspect not.” It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it definitely marks a slight constriction in the program.
Morning Deals
By 7.6.09
- Super Media Store: [Electricity Monitor] Kill A Watt P4400 $18.99, free shipping on orders over $25.
- Babies R Us: [Baby Care] Graco Glider Stroller for $50.99 w/ Coupon 928555 w/ Free shipping
- Buy.com: [Toys] Walter the Farting Dog 8″ Plush Doll for $8.02 + $2.85 Shipping
- Amazon: [Hard Drive] 1 TB Seagate External Hard Drive $99 + free shipping
Everyone Knows How To Handle A Stolen Checkbook Except For Verizon
By 7.3.09
Yesterday I was musing that Time Warner Cable was passing the cost of customer care off to other businesses, by requiring customers to take half-days or full days off of work just to wait for a cable repairman. Today I think I stumbled upon another hidden economic impact of bad customer service: it’s responsible for generating a lot of the “free” content online. The next time you’re reading an IMDB entry about “Damages” or “Big Love” for example, you can thank Verizon’s collection of angry, confused, and possibly insane employees, and all the idle time they create for a customer who has to deal with them.
By 7.3.09
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Here’s another free game for iPhone/iPod Touch owners to pass the time this weekend: Wild West Pinball. If you’re a Blackberry owner, Bplay has a 30% off sale going on right now—enter JULY in the code box at checkout. [IntoMobile]
Bank of America Charges Guy Twice For Money Order, When Told, Corrects Problem With Ninja Reflexes
By 7.3.09
Nathaniel got a money order to pay rent, and noticed Bank of America charged him twice for the transaction. He placed a call to customer service expecting a long, difficult battle, but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome:
ASCAP Wants Royalties On Ringtones
By 7.3.09
Not content to let the RIAA get all the recent publicity for stupid lawsuits, ASCAP has sued AT&T over sales of ringtones, saying each time a ringtone plays it’s a public performance and royalties should be paid. Luckily (?) for consumers, ASCAP wants AT&T, not individuals, to pay—although we wonder what they’ll say when you take a track from your own library and make a ringtone out of it.
Morning Deals
By 7.3.09
- Banana Republic: [Apparel] New Banana Republic Coupon Code Extra 15% Off Sale + Free Shipping $100+
- Nabisco World: [Grocery] $55 in Kraft Coupons and Free Calendar with sign-up
