Is Chase enrolling customers in paperless billing without their consent and then charging them late fees when they fail to pay? That’s what seems to have happened to Jack, who writes:
Retail Services
Retailmenot Coupon Site Redesigned: Prettier, More Useful
By 5.16.07
Retailmenot, the online coupon site built by the same fine folks behind BugMeNot, have kicked up their design and usability with a fresh new look.
Shopping Online: More Revenue From Clothes And Shoes Than Computers
By 5.16.07
In 2006, revenue from skirts, suits and shoes reached $18.3 billion, surpassing that from PCs, printers and word-processing programs, which totaled $17.2 billion, according to a report to be released today by a major trade group.
Best Credit Cards For Foreign Travel
By 5.16.07
What credit cards charges the least for overseas purchases?
Watch Out If Your Credit Card Gets Sold To SST Card Services, Cause They're A Total Freakin' Scam
By 5.15.07
Consumer complaints are mounting against SST Card Services for deceptive and unlawful billing practices.
LEAKS: Yahoo Photos Closes September 20th
By 5.14.07
Yahoo Photos will close on September 20th, according to this internal Target newsletter. Users will have until that date to move their online scrapbooks to a partner site, like Flickr, Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, Photobucket
Cingular Charging Me $349.99 For Phone I Already Returned
By 5.14.07
Chris exchanged his messed up Blackjack with Cingular (now the new AT&T) under warranty replacement. Now Cingular (now the new AT&T) can’t find the phone that he sent back and keeps trying to bill him $349.99 for it. Repeated calls to customer service are unsuccessful and provide contradictory information.
Walmart To Sell Skype Gear
By 5.14.07
“We think there will be a lot of Wal-Mart shoppers who will not be familiar with Skype,” said Don Albert, general manager for Skype North America, a unit of eBay Inc.
Sears Tells You Your Order Is In Stock, Even If It's Not
By 5.14.07
Here’s a good way to lose customers. Tell them that their order is in stock and ready to be picked up, even though it is not. Hey, at least they came in, right? Maybe they’ll buy some gum on their way out of the store… forever.
How To Avoid The Upsell
By 5.14.07
But we don’t have to take it. These companies take our valuable time and energy trying to get us to buy one more thing. Instead of simply grinning and bearing it, here’s some advice to help us avoid the upsell:
Washington State Bans Texting While Driving
By 5.14.07
Starting in January 2008, it will be illegal to text while driving in Washington State. The measure signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire also bans talking on a cellphone without a hands-free device while driving. Violators will be punished with a fine, but only if first pulled over for another reason.
Under the new laws, drivers who read and compose text messages or talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device could face a $101 ticket. The text-messaging ban takes effect Jan. 1; the cell-phone law will be enforced starting in July 2008.
Drivers will be exempt in “some situations, including emergencies.” — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Walmart Evicts Shoplifters Wearing Signs Reading "I Am A Thief I Stole From Walmart"
By 5.13.07
Convicted shoplifters are no longer welcome at Walmart, even if they wear signs proclaiming: “I am a thief, I stole from Walmart.” Walmart was initially gung-ho about the decision to publicly shame the thieves, and even planned to keep the signs for future use. Their dreams of shoplifter shame now lie slightly worn at the return desk after a Walmart attorney told Judge Kenneth Robertson that the shoplifters were persona non grata at Walmart.
Robertson said the attorney said WalMart was afraid “that people might try to run [the shoplifters] down or throw something at them.”
Walmart does not want blood on their hands parking lots. Judge Robertson has ordered the shoplifters to finish their sentence outside his courthouse, where they apparently can’t be run down or have things thrown at them. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Citibank's "All-Electronic Program" Sends Paper Notice Stating Account Is Available To View Online
By 5.12.07
After enrolling in Citibank’s “All-Electronic Program,” FiveCentNickel was surprised to find the following notice in his mailbox:
Your Citibank statement is now available at http://www.citicards.com/. This notification is part of the All-Electronic Program you enrolled in to receive your statements online only instead of in the mail.
How counterintuitive. If Citi needs to send mail, why not send the account statement, rather than a notice that the statement is available online? Better yet, send neither. Or at least change the name to something more accurate, like the “Mostly, But Not Quite All-Electronic Program.” — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Cingular Admits Store Salesmen Add On Features You Didn't Ask For, Just To Make More Commission
By 5.11.07
Matt’s voicemail stopped working so he called up Cingular to get it fixed, and while he was there he had them check out the rest of his account to make sure everything was ok, but they found something disturbing.
Deadly Recalled Toy Still Available At Walmart, Target, Kohl's And More
By 5.11.07
Magnetic toys that killed one boy and injured more than 2 dozen others are still available for sale in many Illinois stores according to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The attorney general’s office found the recalled toys at several stores all over the state, and a Chicago Tribune reporter was able to purchase the toys Wal-Mart, Target and Big Lots stores in the northwest suburbs.
