The New York Times has an article about Justin Kurtz, the college student who angered the owner of T&J Towing by creating a Facebook page about the company and who is now fighting a $750k defamation lawsuit. That sort of lawsuit–the kind meant to intimidate an opponent into silence–is called a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” or Slapp. Now two Representatives are sponsoring a bill that would create a federal anti-Slapp law to protect consumers from vengeful businesses. [More]
bad publicity
Art Institute Of Pittsburgh Sees Our Post, Fixes Student's Billing Issue
By 4.19.10
Last month, Daniel wrote in to complain that the Art Institute Online, which is part of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, had completely jacked up his final semester with them. When he wrote to us, he had no diploma, and he was being charged nearly $3,000 for undisclosed course requirements that the school had promised to comp. Fortunately, he’s written back with some good news. [More]
Sears Driver Runs Over Customers' Dog, Inspires Website
By 12.11.09
What do you do when a Sears delivery driver runs over one of your dogs and kills it, but all Sears will tell you is that it’s your fault for letting your dog out of the house? You start a website called searskilledmydog.com. Update: There has been a reconciliation between the owners and Sears. I’ve included a statement from Sears below. [More]
Planet Fitness Publicly Shamed Into Refunding Dead Member's Fees
By 11.25.09
Gregory Rowell has been dead for nearly two years, but no one knew that he’d set up an auto debit with Planet Fitness on a second checking account. The gym continued to debit his account each month until a bank employee notified the victim’s mother, Patricia Rowell. When she provided the death certificate and asked them to refund the money, they not only refused, but said it was her fault and offered her a six month membership instead. That’s when Rowell took her story to the local newspaper. [More]
Freescore.com Sues Yahoo To Reveal Blogger's Identity
By 9.28.09
Freescore.com is one of those online companies that offers a free trial, and then attempts to enroll its customers in a $30/month subscription service. Now they’re suing Yahoo in an attempt to reveal an anonymous blogger who quoted a Reuters article when criticizing the service, and who pointed out that Freescore is owned by a company with a reputation for billing customers without permission.
Spirit Airlines Tries To Charge Cancellation Fees On Passengers It Put On Flight 1549
By 1.19.09
Update 3:10pm ET: the airline has said it won’t charge the men after all.
Spirit Airlines wants $90 each from Rob and Jeff Kolodjay, two of the passengers in last week’s U.S. Airways flight 1549, because they’re not using the return leg of their tickets. Rob and Jeff were on flight 1549 in the first place because Spirit canceled their original flight.
