The FCC handed out a whole basketful of fines to electronics retailers today: $1.1 million for Sears and Kmart; $992,000 for Wal-Mart; $712,000 for Circuit City; and amounts between $168,000-384,000 for Target, Best Buy, CompUSA, and Fry’s Electronics. What made Christmas come so early? They were all failing to warn consumers that analog-only TVs and tuners will stop working on their own when the digital switchover comes next year.
Retail Services
Sears, Best Buy, Wal-Mart And Others Fined For Not Warning Consumers About Analog Obsolescence
By 4.10.08
Sprint Forces You To Pay $988.00 For A Phone You Never Used
By 4.10.08
Here’s a sad story from reader Kristin:
This Toys "R" Us Discount Is Of Dubious Value
By 4.10.08
Dylan writes:
I saw this today at the Toy”R”Us store in Elizabeth, New Jersey and though you folks would be interested. This Lego kit (the Exo Force Sentai Fortress Battle Set) has a sign that indicates its original price was $19.99 and that it is on sale for $69.98. The sign helpfully indicates that this is a savings of negative $49.
We’ve seen fifty-cent adjustments in the wrong direction, but fifty dollars? That’s pushing it.
A Tale Of Two Target Managers And A PS3 With Mismatched Serial Numbers
By 4.10.08
A reader who would like to be called CrazyNJConsumer writes in with another one of those “mismatched serial number” PS3 stories. The scenario usually goes like this: You buy a PS3. It’s broken. You return it. The store checks the serial number and finds that it doesn’t match. They accuse you of swapping your old broken PS3 for a new one and refuse to take the return. You are very sad.
30 Years Of Confidential Walmart Videos For Sale
By 4.10.08
The Wall Street Journal says that a video production company that earned 90% of its revenue from taping Walmart’s internal meetings over the past 30 years has lost the Walmart account–but retained the rights to the video library.
Sears Takes Customer Account Security 80% Seriously
By 4.10.08
On Wednesday, April 9th you received an email with the subject line “Get $25 From Citibank”. We recently discovered that the email we sent to you incorrectly contained the salutation “Dear Donna Robinson” rather than “Dear MATTHEW F”. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused and want to assure you that the email is a legitimate Sears card email.
Oh Sears. Well, according to Matthew F, at least the account number was his.
Round 20: Wellpoint vs Charter Cable
By 4.9.08
This is Round 20 in our Worst Company in America contest, Wellpoint vs Charter Cable.
Wellpoint: is a health insurance company that’s part of BlueCrossBlueShield. They don’t believe anesthesia is necessary for colonoscopies. That pretty much encapsulates all you need to know about them.
7 Confessions Of A Sears Electronics Salesperson
By 4.9.08
A Sears electronics salesperson has generously offered to share some insider knowledge of how the game is played at Sears.
Avoid Eating Stale Candy By Learning The Secret Candy Codes
By 4.9.08
Reader Leo writes in with some helpful information that will allow you to avoid stale candy:
I work at a small-volume store in the midwest, and the other day my supervisor asked us to check all of the candy in the checkout lanes to see if it had expired. M&M Mars and Hershey brand candy both had different, indecipherable codes on the back which tell the expiration date. After calling the 1-800 number and finding out what the codes meant, we discovered that most of our candy stock was expired by a year or more. We even found candy that went bad from 2004. I figured I should share the codes, so people won’t buy expired candy, because it’s out there.
Morning Deals
By 4.9.08
Kenneth Cole: 50% off clearance saleDell: XPS M1530 Core 2 Duo 2GHz 15″ Laptop for $955 + free shippingTurboTax: 10% off TurboTax Online Federal ProductsHighlights From DealhackOneida: Spring Cleaning Sale: Save up to 75% off Cutlery & Dinnerware DirectMacMall: MacBook Air up to $125 off + Free…
Kmart Will Trade You A Bottle Of Coke Or Free Candy For A Sears Credit Card App
By 4.8.08
Dan sent us this pic he snapped in a local Kmart and writes, “I remember a previous post on a Wal-Mart card that offered a 2-liter bottle, but I guess inflation caught up with big K as they are only offering 20-oz.”
Round 19: Dell vs Home Depot
By 4.8.08
This is Round 19 in our Worst Company in America contest, Dell vs Home Depot.
Dell: Formerly the king of direct to customer PC sales, Dell now has a well-deserved reputation for abysmal bad customer service ever since they outsourced their Home and Home Office customer service departments (secret trick: always order from Small Business, it’s US based and the reps and techs still know what they’re doing). Horror stories of botched warranty repairs abound. Just Google “Dell Hell” and you’ll know what the company is so reviled.
Old Wal-Mart Man Attacks Older Wal-Mart Man With Pricegun
By 4.8.08
A 70-year old Wal-Mart worker beat a 81-year-old fellow employee with a pricegun inside a Florida Wal-Mart.
Dennis O’Brien and John Esposito began arguing Sunday and O’Brien swung at Esposito with the tool in his right hand. Authorities say Esposito suffered a swollen left eye and cuts on his nose and mouth. Esposito said both he and O’Brien worked at Wal-Mart. He would not discuss the nature of their argument. The report says O’Brien told a sheriff’s deputy he acted in self-defense, but security tape showed O’Brien raising his hand first, striking Esposito in the face and then pushing him to the ground. Officials booked O’Brien into the Palm Beach County Jail on aggravated battery charges.
Since they were both employees it couldn’t have been about a receipt check, so I’m really at a loss as to what they could be arguing over.
Morning Deals
By 4.8.08
Woot: Jabra BT135 Compact Bluetooth Headset – 2 Pack for $17.99Tanga: Blue Panther High-Quality Piecepack, use it to play 150 public domain board games (or invent your own)Shirt.woot: Global Warming Isn’t So Bad tshirt for $10.00Highlights From DealhackNewegg: Sansui 26-inch HDTV with Built-in DVD…
How To Research An Unknown Online Retailer
By 4.7.08
So you just spotted that gizmo you’ve been lusting for at unbeatable price, but the only problem is it’s for sale at an online retailer you’ve never heard of. How do you know if they’re trustworthy?
Citibank Will Apply Your "No Interest Financing" Payments Anyway It Wants
By 4.7.08
Reader D has a Worst Company In America-themed success story. D writes:
The information on your website helped me get an error corrected with how Sears/Citibank credited my Sears credit card payments. Since you have Sears and Citibank going against each other today in your “worst company” tournament, I thought you might like to hear my story.
Round 18: Sears vs Citibank
By 4.7.08
This is Round 18 in our Worst Company in America contest, Sears vs Citibank.
