Consumer groups, which were not involved in the lawsuit, say more than 100 people have been killed or injured from scalding and burns caused by hot foods and liquids spilling from the stove top, or from being crushed by the weight of a stove that has tipped over.
Retail Services
Sears Settles "Stove Tipping" Class Action Lawsuit
By 2.20.08
The Great eBay Boycott Is Officially On, Will Anyone Notice?
By 2.20.08
Here we are a few days into a week-long eBay boycott over policy and fee changes and no one is sure if it is having any effect. It appears that listings are down 3%, but no one is sure if the drop is the result of the boycott.
Home Depot, Lord & Taylor, Walmart Hire Law Firms To Harass, Bully Alleged Shoplifters
By 2.20.08
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about retailers who hire law firms to engage in something called “civil recovery,” in which alleged shoplifters are harassed into paying thousands of dollars… even if the case against them has been dropped, or the retailer never intended to sue at all.
Home Depot Also Enjoys Printing Dirty Words On Receipts
By 2.20.08
Oh look, Americans also enjoy putting shocking phrases on receipts. Yesterday’s UK restaurant surprise reminded one of our interns of a receipt sent in a few weeks ago from Brad in California: “got this receipt from home depot today…. look closely just below the total and you will see something surprising…. lol.” Probably NSFW, unless you work at Home Depot or Joe Delucci’s Italian Restaurant.
Apple Demands ID With Credit Card Purchases, Violates Merchant Agreement
By 2.20.08
We received the following strangely awesome, if a bit strange, letter from a consumer who was not allowed to purchase something at the Apple store because he would not show ID. It was sent to Steve Jobs and William Rhodes (of Citibank.) Let’s listen in:
By 2.19.08
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Bank of America still isn’t giving customers, and now, reporters, a straight answer when asked why they’ve been jacking up people’s interest rates to 23, 29%. [Star-Telegram]
Walmart Is Starting To Worry
By 2.19.08
“I feel we are well positioned for an economic downturn,” Scott said. “Our low prices and low-cost business model should give us an advantage over other retailers if things get more difficult for consumers.”
By 2.19.08
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In response to consumer backlash, Verizon has decided to make it so alarms on its new phones don’t go off on its phones when you dial 911. This is so if you hide and call 911 when a prowler breaks in, you don’t give them a handy homing signal. [KOMO]
Morning Deals
By 2.19.08
Target Sells Most Complicated Napkin Holder Ever
By 2.18.08
Found this yesterday while at a Target in Troy, MI. Apparently this napkin holder has more features than most. (see description) apologies for the fuzzy photo.
The description reads: “Three yellow bow-tie sprinkler heads and 2 15′ lengths of garden hose. Each sprinkler covers up to a 24′ diameter. Attach to standard garden hose. Portable. Rain like spray.”
Ask The Consumerists: Why Is It Cool To Make Fun Of "Drunk" Irish People?
By 2.18.08
Reader Kyran sent this photo of a hat sold by Walmart and asked the following question:
Sprint Testing Unlimited Minute Plan
By 2.18.08
Just like it hinted, Sprint has rolled out an unlimited minute plan. For $119 per month, you get unlimited voice, texting, web, email and picture mail. However, it’s only available in the test markets of San Francisco Bay Area, Upper Central California, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Tampa. We actually got a tip about this four days ago on February 14th (it got lost in the email shuffle), so it looks like Sprint did in fact beat Verizon to the unlimited cellphone game and then forced Verizon to react to their offer, which, considering Sprint’s bottom-dog status right now, is a major coup for new CEO Dan Hesse. It remains to be seen whether these plans will actually be unlimited or if we will see the same secret caps that Comcast put on their “unlimited” broadband plans.
Verizon To Offer Flat-Rate, Unlimited Minutes Cellphone Plan
By 2.18.08
Starting February 19th, Verizon will begin offering a supposedly unlimited cellphone minute plan for a flat $99 per month. It’s only really a deal, though, if you use more than 1000 minutes per month. More important than the actual value is that a brand-name cellphone carrier is offering a flat-rate unlimited minute plan. Notably, Verizon’s move came on the heels of Sprint’s new CEO suggesting last week that Sprint might be headed in that direction. I predict a flurry of plan-matching by the other carriers. The breakdown of the various new Verizon unlimited plans, inside.
Analog Cellphones Are (Mostly) Dead
By 2.18.08
The lovely-sounding “analog sunset” — the day that the government allows phone companies to shut down their analog networks—is today.
Morning Deals
By 2.18.08
Forever 21: No, You Can't Bring Your Kid Into The Dressing Room
By 2.16.08
Forever 21 won’t let more than one person into a dressing room, a policy that extends to Aldys and her eight-year-old son. We remember being young, climbing things and looking to run away with strangers, so we were surprised that Forever 21 ordered Aldys to leave her child unattended while she tried on clothes. When she refused and brought her son into the dressing room, a manager called security and told Aldys she had thirty seconds to scram. She calls it as “the most embarrassing and humiliating moment of my life.”
Walmart: Thanks For Buying All Those HD DVD Players, We're Switching To Blu-Ray
By 2.15.08
“We’ve listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases,” Gary Severson, head of home entertainment for Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores, said in a statement.
By 2.15.08
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Best Buy’s sales are down.
Best Buy said it expects sales at stores open at least 14 months, or same-store sales, to fall slightly in the fourth quarter on lower revenue for advanced televisions, MP3 devices and video games.
