Fear of the inevitably ginormous fine she’d face after hanging onto a Chicago Public Library copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde for 78 years too long kept one woman from bringing the overdue back to its proper place. But thanks to the library’s recent three-week amnesty period, the book has finally been returned. [More]
better late than never
Advocates: Now Is The Time To Reform Reverse Mortgages
By 9.4.12
A large chunk of the U.S. population is heading into what are supposed to be their golden years. But between financial hardship and shortsighted financial planning, many of these people are not able to retire comfortably, if at all. A reverse mortgage that allows homeowners who are at least 62 years old to borrow against the equity of their property may seem like a more appealing alternative to working into one’s 80s, but there are pitfalls involved — some of which can be fixed by a bit of reform. [More]
Man Pays Mom's $.10 Parking Ticket 57 Years After It Was Issued
By 11.4.11
Back in July, we told you about the Michigan man who finally paid a $1 parking from 1975. Well it looks like someone in Nebraska may have wanted to one-up that driver, paying off a 1954 parking ticket for a whopping ten cents. [More]
Chase Wants To Alert You To Important New Policy Change… Four Days After It Goes Into Effect
By 7.21.11
Consumerist reader JP is a Chase customer who uses his debit card to pay for gas. Thankfully, the folks at Chase sent him this e-mail today explaining an important change to how the bank processes “pay at the pump” charges. Of course, it wasn’t important enough for Chase to actually send the e-mail before — or even a couple days after — the policy kicked in. [More]
Parking Ticket Gets Paid, 35 Years Late
By 7.1.11
If you found a 35-year-old unpaid parking ticket pressed in a book that you bought in a garage sale, what would you do? An 89-year-old Michigan man who found such a ticket decided that it was his civic duty to mail the $1 ticket back with payment to Orlando, Florida, where it was issued in November of 1975. [More]
Guilt-Burdened Shoplifter Pays For Stolen Hammer… 25 Years Later
By 12.24.10
Earlier this week, we asked you to opine on the situation of a Target customer who had inadvertently walked out of the store without paying for a DVD. Many of you said he should return the disc or contact Target to pay for it. Now comes the story of another shopper so burdened with guilt that he recently sent money to a hardware store from which he’d stolen a hammer decades earlier. [More]
Why Did Toyota Wait 6 Weeks To Recall Venzas In The U.S.?
By 4.16.10
While we in the U.S. have become accustomed to getting things before the rest of the world, that doesn’t seem to hold true for Toyota recalls. Documents show that the car maker issued a recall for their Venza vehicle in December, but decided to wait six weeks to make the same decision stateside. [More]
Ever Used A Gift Card At Buy.com? Surprise, You May Owe Them Money
By 9.15.08
Seth was recently contacted by Buy.com and told that due to an error, an order he placed over a year ago had a balance due. They’ll be debiting his credit card “on or about 09/22/08.” Seth emailed them back to ask why they were just now settling the billing issue—surely it hadn’t taken them this long to notice it. Apparently, it had, and it’s not just Seth’s account that’s messed up.
