Like the fly-by-night carnival in Something Wicked This Way Comes, seasonal Halloween costume and decoration sites that pop up on dirty online street corners are irresistible to bargain hunters. Although you can find good deals at the retailers, the Better Business Bureau warns you to beware of poorly-constructed materials and shady return policies. [More]
better business bureau
Overstock Accepts Returned Sony Reader But Charges $93.41 For Missing USB Cable
By 8.8.10
If you ever wondered why Sony eBook readers cost so much, it’s apparently because of the included mini USB cable—at least according to Overstock.com. When reader Matt forgot to include the cable when returning his $147 Sony Reader Touch Edition, Overstock smacked him with a $93.41 charge. [More]
The Top 5 Consumer Complaints About Satellite TV Providers
By 8.6.10
After seeing our story from yesterday about a DirecTV subscriber misled into believing he was signing an 18-month contract, the folks at the Better Business Bureau sent us their recent research on the complaints they’ve received about DirecTV, Dish Network and other satellite providers. [More]
Watch Out For Too-Good-To-Be-True Car Deals Online
By 7.2.10
The Better Busines Bureau warns against flim-flam folks who pretend to sell cars, posing with websites with syntax close to the names of reputable dealers. These guys aim to take you for a ride all right. [More]
Look Out For iPad Scams
By 4.7.10
The BBB put out an alert warning consumers against falling for “test & keep” iPad scams that ask suckers to give them their email addresses and passwords. While anyone dumb enough to fall for such a ruse almost deserves to be victimized, the advice is worth a look, if only to chuckle at examples of the wild scams criminals concoct. [More]
BBB: You Complain A Lot, Especially Against Cell Phone Companies, Banks
By 3.9.10
People stood up for themselves and went to the Business Bureau 10 percent more often in 2009 than they did in 2008, according to BBB’s figures, which also say complainers focused their ire on cell phone companies and banks. [More]
Better Business Bureau Kicks Out Four Businesses
By 7.9.09
What can you do if you’re too small to have a shot in our Worst Company In America contest, but too awful to not earn some sort of notoriety? Well, you can get your BBB membership revoked and earn a big fat F ranking. It’s no golden poo, but it’s a start.
No, You Can't Get Rich Quick Via Twitter
By 7.7.09
The Better Business Bureau warns job-hunters and other money-seekers that no, you can’t earn massive amounts of money through secretive Twitter tricks.
That Probably Isn't Really Michael Jackson's Stuff You're Buying, BBB Warns
By 7.1.09
We know how it is. As soon as a big star dies, you feel the immediate urge to buy his old stage-used sweat rag on Craigslist.
Ticketmaster Tries To Evade California Law By Calling "Gift Card" A "Discount Card"
By 5.3.09
See this gift card, the one that says “GIFT CARD” in big letters? Ticketmaster insists it’s really a “Discount Card,” and thus, not covered by the California law preventing gift cards from expiring.
Big Publisher's Clearing House Scam Drop Hits Mailboxes
By 4.7.09
Call your grandma: the BBB reports a big mailing of Publisher’s Clearing house scam letters went out on March 6th and March 20th, promising people big bucks in exchange for a hefty up-front fee. The fraudulent letters use the name Publisher’s Clearing House and Reader’s Digest but are sent by flim-flammers, not these organizations.The prize never materializes and the scammers dematerialize after you stop forking over bogus processing fees. One grandma, thinking she won $1 million, got taken for over $4,000. The fraudsters sent her a “downpayment” check of $6,000 and told to deposit it and send $3,700 of it elsewhere to claim her million-dollar-prize. Inside, what the scam letter and check look like so you know what to call your grandma and tell her to watch out for.
Dell Hasn't Refunded Money For 45 Days
By 2.23.09
Rob bought a monitor from Dell. Not just any monitor, a defective one. Ok, he didn’t specifically request it to come defective, but that’s how it did. So did its replacement. “The backlight was flickering constantly and it made me feel nauseous just looking at it,” writes Rob. He’s returned the monitors but Dell has yet to give him back his money. Every time he calls, they tell him it will be just 7-10 days more and that he paid with two credit cards is complicating things. So far it’s been 45 days.
BBB Will Now Give You An "F" Just Like Your Algebra Teacher Used To
By 1.8.09
Gone are the days of “unsatisfactory” ratings by the BBB — they’ve switched over to a letter grading system designed to provide consumers with “more detailed insight into a business’s track record.”
Credit Cards Scammers Pretend To Be From BBB
By 10.22.08
Robo-scammers are ringing up consumers and pretending to the Better Business Bureau, saying, “We’re from BBB – Because of bailout, we can offer you a low-rate credit card.” In this iteration, we see several three common scam characteristics combined: *Unexpected communication * Automated communication * Mention of topical event * Use of recognizable institution’s name * Money-saving opportunity. Investigators were unable to tell the exact nature of the scam. It could be been to steal your account numbers, or it might have just been a marketing affiliate’s sleazy way of generating leads for a credit card company trying to get people to transfer their balances. Complaints have been received about the scam at a BBBs serving Washington, West Oregon and Northern Idaho, as well as Midland,Texas.
By 9.19.08
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This Saturday (September 20th) is the Better Business Bureau’s “Secure Your ID” day: in select cities, “bring up to three boxes or bags of paper documents that contain your personal information and we’ll shred them.” Or, you know, just do it yourself all year long. [BBB]
BBB Warns Consumers: Stay Away From TicketsMyWay
By 9.9.08
[Parent company] Event Tickets LLC has an unsatisfactory rating from BBB due to its performance, which includes nearly 100 instances of non-delivery of tickets, nearly another 100 complaints involving refunds and exchanges, and on about 200 occasions, the company has failed to even respond to BBB or consumers to resolve issues.
Beware The "Fannie Mae" Prize Draw Scam
By 7.30.08
Scammers love to tap into national trends to put a new face on an old scam, and the “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Equity Prize Draw” scam spotted by the Louisville, KY BBB is no exception.
Do You Know What Grade Of Beef Taco Bell Uses? Do They? Does Anyone?
By 5.8.08
A reader sent us the contents of a Better Business Bureau complaint filed against Taco Bell. It describes how a customer tried repeatedly to find out what grade beef Taco Bell uses in its food, and how nobody at the company was able or willing to provide an answer. Not surprisingly, the BBB complaint also went unanswered. Let’s just hope they’re not sourcing their beef from forklift cattle, which is like downer cattle but has odd prong-shaped bruises on the side.
