Comcast customers in Tucson, AZ watching the Super Bowl saw more pigskin than they bargained for when 30 seconds of a porno movie cut in to the final minutes of the big game. “I was watching the game with my family, Larry Fitzgerald scores the go ahead TD – then bam, penis,” writes reader David. A Comcastic Fight Club homage, perchance?
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Walmart Sells You An Empty Box Instead Of A Laptop — But You Bought It With Stolen Credit Cards
By 10.14.08
You know how sometimes in football both teams will screw up on the same play and the penalties will offset? We’ve just found the fraud version of that situation. Three men brought a laptop computer box to Walmart and said that they’d been sold an empty box. Walmart thought they were being scammed, so they called the police. That’s when all hell broke loose.
Toys"R"Us: You Are Too Young For A Grandparent's Discount
By 9.13.08
“It’s discriminatory,” Peters said. “How do you put an age on a grandparent or a mother or a father, for that matter?”
Broken Scales Help Airlines Profit On Fraudulent Baggage Weight Fees
By 5.30.08
Before leaving home, Shawn’s bags weighed 44 pounds. At Chicago, the airport scale said they weighed 44 pounds. When lifting off from Phoenix, the airport’s scales said the bag weighed 52 lbs, incurring at $50 fee. When he landed in Chicago, he weighed the bags again at the check-in counter. 47.5 pounds. “Her bag had lost 4.5 pounds on a 3 1/2 hour flight,” Shawn told Elliot.org. After writing a complaint letter, Shawn received a $50 voucher from American Airlines who defended their fraudulent scale by saying they were in “full compliance with the policies for scale calibrations.” So apparently the policy allows for defrauding passengers. The voucher is nice, but I would want my actual money back. And what of all the other travelers who didn’t pay attention or didn’t complain? Pure profit.
Attention Counterfeiters: Don't Put Lincoln On The $100 Bill Or You Will Be Arrested, Tasered
By 2.20.08
37-year-old Mesa, Arizona resident Scott Martin didn’t understand why a shop owner wouldn’t sell him a watch in exchange for two $100 bills bearing Abraham Lincoln’s watermark. The shop owner gently explained that President Lincoln appears on the penny and the $5 bill. This was enough to start a fight that ended with the shop owner tasering Martin.
When fire rescue personnel arrived, they cut off Martin’s shirt to treat him, and three more counterfeit $100 bills fell out, the document said.
Walmart Ignores Widow's Letter Asking Why It Took Employees 9 Hours To Find Her Husband's Body In A Bathroom Stall
By 2.3.08
Karen Turner wants to know why Walmart employees told her that their bathroom stalls were unoccupied, even though they contained the body of Karen’s husband, 41-year-old airline mechanic Steven Turner. Karen needlessly spent hours searching for her husband, who went missing after dropping off his car that morning for an oil change. Walmart has yet to respond to a letter Karen sent in September. No condolences, no explanation. Nothing but silence.
US Airways Passenger Who Died In Airport Holding Cell Was On Her Way To Rehab
By 10.2.07
This story just keeps getting sadder. Carol Anne Gotbaum, the passenger who got into a screaming match with US Airways gate attendants and later died in a holding cell after being arrested, was on her way to an alcohol treatment center in Tucson to seek help. She was also the stepdaughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
US Airways Passenger Dies In Holding Cell After Airport Arrest
By 9.30.07
A US Airways passenger who was late for her flight and denied boarding by the gate crew became agitated and caused enough of a stir that she was arrested, according to USAToday.
By 8.24.07
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When riding a taxi, it’s a good idea to see if the meter has a sealed wire hanging from the meter, which shows the meter hasn’t been tampered with, especially when riding in the Wild Wild West of taxi cities, Phoenix. [The Arizona Republic]
Airport Scales Are Often Innacurate
By 7.11.07
Many airlines are charging travelers for having overweight bags, but a KNVX investigation found that 90% of the scales were malcalibrated. And when they accompanied an Arizona Department of Weights and Measures inspection of United Airlines scales, they found all but one to have errors.
Subway's "3 Foot" Subs Are Shorter Than 3 Feet
By 7.10.07
Apropos of our post on new Subway Super-Stuffed Subs, the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures sent us this KNVX investigative news clip into sandwiches that weren’t quite measuring up…
We got a complaint about six months ago concerning six-foot subs that weren’t six feet long. Subway’s response was to change its advertising – in Arizona at least – but not address the issue that its six-foot subs were about four inches short of the advertised length.
Our favorite part is when the calipers show Subway’s three-foot sub box isn’t even three feet long.
Home Depot Accuses You Of Attempting Return Fraud
By 6.12.07
Here at the Consumerist we realize that return fraud is a very serious problem for retailers. Nevertheless, this story puzzles us. Dana bought a thermostat from Home Depot, but it turned out to be incompatible with her heating and cooling system. When she brought it back, the customer service person accused her of bringing in an empty bag and receipt, shoplifting a thermostat and then trying to return the stolen unit. It’s a common scam…. but…
Safeway Recalls Ground Beef Due to E. Coli Contamination
By 6.7.07
If you live in Arizona and bought ground beef at Safeway, you’ll want to return it for a refund or discard it.
Gas Station "Skimmers" Steal Your Credit Card Info When You Pay At The Pump
By 6.1.07
In case you weren’t aware, a skimmer is a tiny device that reads your credit card number and delivers it to the bad guys.
Trouble With Your Movers? Call The Department Of Weights And Measures!
By 5.18.07
We save an average of $1,400 for consumers. In the past year we’ve saved them more than $100,000. A few weeks ago we saved one consumer $11,000.
Who knew the Department of Weights and Measures was so heroic? For more info, Steve provided a link full of good information for consumers.—MEGHANN MARCO
Bones Of 10,000 Year Old Camel Found On Walmart Site
By 4.28.07
Workers digging at the site of a future Wal-Mart store in suburban Mesa have unearthed the bones of a prehistoric camel that’s estimated to be about 10,000 years old.
