The dumb scams people try to pull never cease to amaze us. Take Chandon L. Simms, 23, of Monroe, LA. He walked into his local Walmart, grabbed a 42″ Sanyo Plasma TV, removed its price tag and affixed one that would scan for only $4.88.
bad consumer
By 6.28.07
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Michigan woman sues Starburst for $25,000+ for permanent personal injuries after biting into a Fruit Chew that she says pulled her jaw out of joint. Get bent, Starburst respectfully replies (VIDEO).
Kmart Employee Busted For Letting Relatives Walk Out With Shopping Carts Full Of Stolen Stuff
By 6.26.07
Employee theft is a serious problem for retailers. It makes prices go up and return policies more strict. So when we hear about an employee getting busted for such a spectacularly stupid, yet probably effective and routinely performed scam we are glad.
God Visits The Payless Shoe Source
By 6.18.07
Attention religious people: God has set foot among us in the form of a guy who wants free shoes and slippers from a Payless Shoe Source in Northwest Indiana.
More Than $3 Billion Stolen From Walmart This Year
By 6.13.07
According to the AP, so-called “shrinkage” at Walmart could rise to more than $3 billion this year. The shrinkage comes from a combination of supplier fraud, employee theft, bad bookkeeping and, of course, shoplifting.
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
Judge Orders Shoplifters To Wear Signs Reading "I Am A Thief I Stole From Walmart"
By 5.8.07
Don’t steal from the Walmart in Attala, Ala or Judge Kenneth Robertson Jr. will make you wear a sign that says, “I AM A THIEF I STOLE FROM WALMART.”
$50k For Injury Sustained Holding Open The Door Of A Pizza Hut?
By 5.3.07
Amanda Verett is asking a judge to enter a default judgment in her civil lawsuit againt Pizza Hut and the Pizza Hut customer she was holding the door open for. The co-defendant Clarence Jackson, has not responded to Verett’s lawsuit in the required 30 days.
Dude Busted For Running An Illegal Bank For Tax Evaders From His Suburban Home
By 5.2.07
An IRS investigator said Robert Arant had hundreds of customers, many of whom apparently used his bank, Olympic Business Systems LLC, to conceal assets for the purpose of evading taxes.
Calm Down, British Airways Looking To Hire "Air Rage Investigator"
By 4.30.07
The post has been advertised against a backdrop of a sharp rise in the number of air rage incidents. According to the Civil Aviation Authority’s latest statistics, the number of incidents has increased from one in every 27,000 flights in 2002-3 to one in every 16,000 flights in 2005-6.
Drunks On A Plane: Inebriated Concert Pianist Threatens To Murder Flight Attendant
By 4.20.07
David S. Howell must have thought he was so smooth: Sneaking a water bottle full of vodka onto a full United flight out of Chicago. Too bad he drank most of its contents in the first 30 minutes, then threatened to kill a male flight attendant.
Teen Chooses Walmart Electronics Department As Best Location To Set Himself On Fire
By 4.18.07
Reports said the man, from the 2000 block of Arlington Avenue, used a lighter and tissues stuffed in his pocket to ignite his jacket, which became “severely burnt.”
Bad Consumer: Throwing Taco Bell Food At The Manager Is Rude And Ineffective
By 4.3.07
The manager said two men in a green car ordered food just before midnight and she told them she was out of certain condiments they had requested. About 20 minutes later she said a man called yelling at her that he did not get all his food. She told the man the store was closed, but he could come by the next morning and talk to the day manager. Five minutes later she heard a loud bang at the drive-thru window and found food splattered outside, according to the report. The manager said she saw the same green car driving away toward Interstate 40.
We will concede the point that Taco Bell is nearly inedible without sauce so hot it is of significant interest to science. —MEGHANN MARCO
Sorry, Chase Does Not Accept $50,000 Checks From God
By 3.1.07
Police were called to Chase Bank, 1800 E. 80th, about 4 p.m. after Russell tried to cash the check, which was written on an invalid Bank One check with no imprint, White said. Russell had several other checks with him that were signed the same way but made out in different dollar amounts, including one for $100,000.
Who knew that the Lord and Savior had to worry about ID theft?—MEGHANN MARCO
A Humble Suggestion: Do Not Try To Trade Your Baby For A Dodge Intrepid
By 3.1.07
Police Sergeant Brett Wilson says the department was notified of the alleged baby swap yesterday morning. Within hours, they had mother Nicole Uribe behind bars and the baby safely placed with a foster home.
Angry Customer Sets Walgreens On Fire
By 1.3.07
Attention: This technique is not in the Consumerist Kit. Do not set the Walgreens on fire. Apparently the dispute was over correct change and she used a lit cigarette to start the blaze. —MEGHANN MARCO
Opiates Found in Taco Bell Taco; A Massachusetts Mystery
By 12.21.06
The Falls River Major Crimes Division has cleared Taco Bell in the case of the spiked taco. “Police reported “an opiate” was found in the half-eaten taco a Fall River man said made him sick after eating at the Taco Bell.” Unfortunately for local Fall River lawyers, it seems like the dude spiked his own taco. After the half-eaten morsel was analyzed at the state crime lab, the opiates in the taco were confirmed, but the alleged taco victim, “Phillip Daggett, 27, has declined to cooperate in the investigation and has refused to speak with a detective assigned to the department’s Major Crimes Division.”
Couple Bilks Target For $10,000 With Fake Coupons And Social Engineering
By 12.1.06
Bad consumer. Bad bad bad. — BEN POPKEN
