annoying

It's July, Time To Put Out The Christmas Decorations…

It's July, Time To Put Out The Christmas Decorations…

Reader Kelly wants to let us know that July isn’t too early for a candle store at her local mall to start its Christmas marketing push…

Dear Home Depot: I Do Not Want To Hear About Your Special Promotion For Home Owners

Dear Home Depot: I Do Not Want To Hear About Your Special Promotion For Home Owners

Reader G writes in to let Home Depot know that he’s really, really tired of hearing about their “special promotion for home owners” while he’s trying to shop.

Policy: Blockbuster Debits $1 To Test Your Card, Then Charges You For Your Rental

Policy: Blockbuster Debits $1 To Test Your Card, Then Charges You For Your Rental

For every debit or credit card transaction at Blockbuster, the company will now debit $1 to “test” your card. If the transaction goes through, they’ll then debit the full amount of your purchase. Blockbuster tells us your dollar will be returned in 3-10 business days. Reader Jason says he rented a game on Thursday and hasn’t gotten the dollar Blockbuster borrowed back yet. Will he get it before the 10 days is up?

Chase Telemarketing Tactics: Try Being Sneaky, Then Launch Vague Threats

Chase Telemarketing Tactics: Try Being Sneaky, Then Launch Vague Threats

A reader writes in to share his traumatic experience with a Chase telemarketer who first tried to sneak a sale into the one-way conversation, then launched into scare tactics like asking, “What are you going to do when someone steals your identity?” R. writes, “I feel like I need protection from Chase’s employees.”

United Airlines Will Not Let You Report Your Damaged Baggage For "Security Reasons"

United Airlines Will Not Let You Report Your Damaged Baggage For "Security Reasons"

Reader Sid is having a hell of a time reporting some damaged luggage to United Airlines.

Dear T-Mobile: Please Stop Sending 5 Text Messages At 5 AM Every Month To Say That My Billing Cycle Has Started

Dear T-Mobile: Please Stop Sending 5 Text Messages At 5 AM Every Month To Say That My Billing Cycle Has Started

Dustin is angry and tired because T-Mobile sends him five text messages at 5 a.m. on the 11th of every month to let him know that his billing cycle has started. He asked T-Mobile to stop sending the useless message, but they insist that the texts are a “feature” that can’t be disabled. Their solution? “Put [the] phone on silent on the 10th of every month.”

WaMu Enrolls You In A Program Without Permission, Then Charges An ETF

WaMu Enrolls You In A Program Without Permission, Then Charges An ETF

Reader Michael signed up for a new free checking account with WaMu and the person who opened the account for him (accidentally?) enrolled Michael in some sort of bullshit coupon program that costs $5 a month. Now WaMu has charged him a $10 early termination fee and is refusing to refund it.

Comfort Suite's Shady "Energy Surcharge" Costs You $144

Comfort Suite's Shady "Energy Surcharge" Costs You $144

Reader ds143 wrote in with a reminder to ask hotels about added fees before reserving a room. He booked a six-night stay at the Comfort Suites in the Bahamas for his family of four without realizing that the hotel levied a $6 per person, per night “energy surcharge.” The financial sucker punch set ds143 back $144.

When Someone With Your 15 Year Old Disconnected Phone Number Orders FiOS, You Get The Bill

When Someone With Your 15 Year Old Disconnected Phone Number Orders FiOS, You Get The Bill

Reader Joan once had a phone number. 15 years ago, she disconnected it. Now she’s being charged for someone else’s FiOS and she’s not happy about it. For the past 6 months she has called Verizon to ask that the error be fixed and each month she’s been told that the stranger’s FiOS has been removed from her bill and that she’ll be credited for the error. It hasn’t actually happened yet.

Despite Your Manly Bits, Art.com Signs You Up For Working Mother Magazine

Reader Brian doesn’t have a womb, so when he saw a copy of Working Mother magazine in his mailbox, he was pretty sure that he didn’t order it:

Last December I placed an order at art.com for a framed print which I intended to give as a Christmas present. I placed the order well within art.com’s recommended time frame for delivery in time for christmas. During the order they promised delivery by December 17th. Well, as you may guess December 17th came and went with no package (they shipped it on the 15th via DHL.) December 24th came and went with no package. DHL finally delivered it on the 26th after I had been forced to go out and purchase another gift to replace the one that had not arrived.

Best Buy: Name Your Own Price For This DVD

Best Buy: Name Your Own Price For This DVD

Reader Jared says:I was at Best Buy looking for ‘The Fountain’ on DVD. I found three copies in the drama section, and three different prices. No tricks here, no collector’s / special editions. Just the standard widescreen version at name-your-own-price. Guess they’re trying to emulate Radiohead?

AT&T Will Not Leave You Alone At Your Non-Existent Address

AT&T Will Not Leave You Alone At Your Non-Existent Address

Poor Dustin. AT&T won’t stop sending him junk mail at the wrong address. Sounds impossible, but one should never be too quick to judge with AT&T.

There Is A Guy Living In The Paramus, New Jersey IKEA

There Is A Guy Living In The Paramus, New Jersey IKEA

Remember that one guy who decided to visit all the Starbucks in NYC in 24 hours? Yeah, we’d forgotten about it, too. He’s convinced IKEA to let him live in their Paramus, NJ store for a week while his apartment gets fumigated.

Get Rid Of Telemarketers, Debt Collectors, And Other Vermin With Phone Tones

Get Rid Of Telemarketers, Debt Collectors, And Other Vermin With Phone Tones

Chris recorded a little sound file onto his answering machine that stopped a debt collector robot that kept calling him, seeking people who didn’t live there. This .WAV is the U.S. Special Information Tone signal for “vacant circuit”, which signifies and out-of-service or nonexistant number. You know it better as “boo-boo-BOOP!” Chris recorded a new message on his answering machine with the tones at the beginning and the next time the robot called, it thought it was getting a dead line and dutifully erased the number from its system. Voila, automatons be gone. Some places have autodialers that don’t (or have been tweaked) to respond to SIT tones, but if you’ve got a persistent unwanted robot caller, it’s worth a shot.

Easter Creep: Target Hauls Out The Easter Products On December 26

Easter Creep: Target Hauls Out The Easter Products On December 26

We’d love to tell you exactly what we yelled at our computer screen when we saw the above photograph, but it would probably set off your company’s web filtering software.

"Injected Pork Water" Is Completely Out Of Control At Kroger

"Injected Pork Water" Is Completely Out Of Control At Kroger

“At our local supermarket chain (Kroger), it is now impossible to buy any fresh pork product (except sausage and bacon, but what’s in them is a whole other story) that has not been “enhanced” by the injection of “up to 15%” of some kind of saltwater solution. Pork chops, pork loin, everything. And now chicken is getting this way, too – it is getting harder and harder to find any fresh chicken that has not been injected with “up to 15% chicken broth.” Even bone-in legs and thighs, now. When did this happen?

JCPenney Emails You To Let You Know You Requested They Not Email You

JCPenney Emails You To Let You Know You Requested They Not Email You

If you buy something from the JCPenney website and uncheck the box for receiving email from them, guess what they do? They promptly send you an email in which they point out that you have asked them not to send you an email. And then they ask you to click on a link in the email and participate in a survey. And then, just in case you’re not amused/annoyed yet, the comedy team in their marketing department points out that should you want to receive emails from them in the future, you can visit their site and sign up. They have a lot of emails they need to send to you, you see.