The Midlothian, IL Chief of Police thinks it’s appropriate for his officers to help local businesses collect private debts. Midlothian’s local mechanic, Merlin’s Muffler and Brake, performed $500 of work for Angela Proctor, who paid back all but $108 before falling into financial trouble. From The Star:
BLOGS
By 7.27.07
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It’s expensive to run an airline, which is perhaps why American Airlines in-flight radio offered to interview Freakonomics co-author Steven D. Levitt for the price of $3,995. [Freakonomics]
By 7.27.07
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Debt isn’t just for the poor: This guy’s household makes $163,200, but they’re over $536,000 in debt. [Saving Advice via Mighty Bargain Hunter via Blogging Away Debt]
3 Negotiation Techniques For Scoring Better Deals
By 7.25.07
Moneycrashers shares three methods for getting better deals in sales situations:
By 7.24.07
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Craigslist, Netflix and several other websites are down following six successive power outages in San Fran’s SOMA ‘hood. [Boing Boing]
Ritalin Stunts Growth, Study Finds
By 7.24.07
Kids taking ADHD drug Ritalin are about an inch shorter and 4.4 pounds lighter than their friends, according to new study. It won’t be clear until two years from now whether the children’s growth is permanently affected.
By 7.24.07
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United and American Airlines introduced new business class seats. United’s let you lie completely down. [Upgrade Travel Better]
By 7.24.07
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Most so-called “free credit report” sites are total fucking scams. [The Red Tape Chronicles]
The Triumphant Return of Guest Blogger Mark Ashley
By 7.23.07
For those who don’t obsessively read the bylines at the bottom right of every post, to see who offered up the pro-consumer post of the moment, you may not have noticed an additional name — Mark Ashley — in the roster of Consumerists today. (It’s been a few months since I’ve posted here.) My normal blog home is Upgrade: Travel Better, where the subject is travel, the outlook is always pro-consumer, and the motto is “Living the First Class Life… at Coach Prices.” Consider this your personal invitation.
Would UPS Lie About Delivering Harry Potter To Stay In Amazon's Good Graces?
By 7.23.07
Jason Kottke was home Saturday at 3:36 pm when UPS claims they attempted to deliver his copy of Harry Potter. No notice was left on Kottke’s door; the neighboring doorman saw no UPS truck; UPS’ own website shows that the package never transitioned from the penultimate status of “In Transit To Final Destination” to “Out For Delivery.” Why would UPS lie about delivering a copy of Harry Potter?
How To Save On Funeral Expenses
By 7.21.07
Dearly beloved, we gather here today to remember that the funeral industry is a sales-based profession with tips and tricks like any other. Consumers often lower their guard in deference to the pain and reverence that accompanies funeral planning; yet just because you are bereaved, doesn’t mean you should be taken for a sap. Here are a few tips to keep funeral costs manageable:
Don't Activate Comcast's Internet Service Yourself Or They Will Block Your Modem
By 7.21.07
Why wait for Comcast to set up your internet service when you can activate it yourself? That’s what Alex and his roommates thought when they activated their service in June, unaided by a tech. Comcast had scheduled a tech to install Alex’s service, but the tech didn’t show until several days after his appointment, when he was told his services were not needed. This greatly angered Comcast:
“because [Alex’s roommate] called Comcast himself to set it up (in effect doing exactly what the tech would have done, had he bothered to show up), no one was being billed for our internet! So, instead of notifying anyone, they flipped the switch and turned it off.”
By 7.19.07
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$250 in gift cards, one domestic airline ticket, or 25,000 membership reward points for AMEX signup. [Bargaineering]
Manufacturer Claims eBaying Its Car Parts Violates "Intellectual Property Rights"
By 7.18.07
Manufacturers are getting eBay auctions canceled for selling their products “too cheaply,” reports the Consumer Law & Policy blog…
9 Airline's CEO Email Addresses, And Other Useful Complaint Resolution Contact Info
By 7.18.07
Travler’s friend site Elliot.org has these great customer service “cheat sheets” to help you if you have a dispute with your airline. CEO contact info, how to hack their phone trees, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, it’s all there.
By 7.17.07
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Get $100 from for opening a Citibank “Ultimate Savings Account.” [Poorer Than You]
Get $40 Off Your Verizon Landline Bill
By 7.16.07
You can call 1-888-226-0799 and request a $40 Customer Appreciation Service Credit off your Verizon landline, says Huster $$$ Blog. Just tell ’em you got a promotional notice in the mail. It’s said to have been tested and to work for California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. We tried it this morning and got the credit, $10 off for the next four months. They tried to pitch us DirecTV but we told ’em we just read books and newspapers.
