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After independent tests show lead in Walmart pet toys, Instead of solving the problem or even fulfilling a pledge to test the toys, Walmart summoned one of its PR minions from a pile of feces located under a cesspool in Chernobyl to try to bully ConsumerAffairs.com with legal threats and disinformation. [ConsumerAffairs]
“Addictive spending is often rooted in punishing feelings of low self-esteem and problems with impulse control,” says an addiction specialist in an MSNBC special report on compulsive spending. At its worst, it can wreak as much or more damage on your finances as any full-blown gambling, drinking, or drug addiction—and yet, a lot of people still consider it a moral failing that sheer will-power can prevent (just take a look at half the comment threads on this blog for evidence of that mindset). If you’re a compulsive spender, odds are you already know if you have a problem, even if you manage to hide it from everyone else. But here are ten ways to help get a grip on the situation.
Verizon can charge you $175 if they decide they feel like canceling your cellphone contract before the term is over.
An artist in Providence, Rhode Island was apprehended the other day by mall security as he left the secret apartment he’d built almost four years ago, in an unused utility space in the mall’s parking garage. The apartment had no running water (they used mall bathrooms), but it did include “a sectional sofa and love seat, coffee and breakfast tables, chairs, lamps, rugs, paintings, a hutch filled with china, a waffle iron, TV and Sony Playstation 2,” according to the Boston Globe.
Walmart will price match any store…except other Walmarts or Walmart.com. From KJRH:
Most hagglers are able to score reduced prices, according to a study to be published in November’s Consumer Reports. Here’s one of their tips for shaving off the dollars:
Deal with the decision maker. If a salesperson isn’t empowered enough to give you a discount, find out who is. At chain stores, that’s typically a manager or supervisor. If your medical plan doesn’t cover the entire cost of a procedure, talk to the doctor, not the office manager.
Survey respondants reported success not just with cars and houses, but also cellphone plans, doctor’s bills, and electronics at big-box retail stores. Are you a haggler? What are your stategies for success?
Money magazine tells us that a 2006 study reveals about one in eight American adults (26 million) live in households with no land line — they rely solely on a mobile phone. This is up dramatically versus three years earlier when only 2.9 percent had no fixed line. And in the next five years, nearly one in three U.S. households says they’ll cut the cord. — FREE MONEY FINANCE
According to Google, Sprint is the suckiest cellphone company. When you query “____ sucks,” filling in the name of different providers, Sprint returns the most results. Here’s how all the providers stacked up:
Christmas is threatening to swallow all the other holidays until there is nothing left! Help! This “holiday season” we’re asking our readers to document a phenomenon called “Christmas Creep.”
It almost goes without saying that you should never trust Gamestop, but you’d at least expect them to honor ads that they’ve approved and printed. Gamestop pre-sold a Consumerist reader the new Medal of Honor game for Xbox 360 back in August. Part of the deal—according to their ad—was a card good for 400 free Marketplace Points for use on Xbox Live. But instead, they cancelled the card from his order, then gave him an incorrect reason for the cancellation, then admitted fault and promised to make everything right. As of today—almost a full month since the game was released—he still hasn’t received the points.
It’s October, the new official start to the holiday shopping season. At least according to Walmart. They’re already discounting toys.
According to Google, Verizon is the coolest cellphone company. When you query “____ is cool,” filling in the name of different providers, Verizon is tits. Here’s how many results were returned for each company:
Greg Miller, the son of Bette Miller, the woman who is in a dispute with Bank of America over a $5,000 bond bought in 1984 from Rainier National Bank, has written in to tell his side of the story. Here’s his letter.
Mouseprint scanned through AT&T’s cellphone contract and found some very interesting clauses and restrictions:
Citibank is warning investors to expect a 60% drop in earnings due to “dislocations in the mortgage-backed securities and credit markets, and deterioration in the consumer credit environment.”
If you have a complaint with a company in any of the following industries
Part of 
