Verizon is pretty much over this whole “FiOS” thing. They still support their existing networks, of course, but they’re pretty much done building out new ones. That, however, does not sit well with the city of New York, which is still waiting for Verizon to finish the city-wide build they promised to have done by last year. [More]
broken promises
Bank Of America Ordered To Repay Consumers $727M For Sketchy Marketing Practices
By 4.9.14
Bank of America just received a hefty bill from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to repay $727 million to consumers wronged by the bank’s deceptive marketing practices regarding credit card add-on products. [More]
Gym Told Me I Could Quit Paying If I Moved Away, Fibbed
By 7.26.10
John signed up for a Gold’s Gym membership with the understanding that he wouldn’t have to fork over the $25 monthly fee after he moved away for college. He was told that would be fine, but the manager he spoke to reneged on the deal and now he’s stuck paying for something he can’t use. [More]
Delta Plays Airport Roulette When Flying Into D.C.
By 6.15.10
On Sunday, Andy emailed us from his seat on Delta Flight 2744 from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., to let us know that he had no idea where his flight was going to land. The ticket he purchased said he was flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport, but Delta said it would all depend on whether they could beat their scheduled 10:19 arrival time and get there before the ten o’clock airport curfew–otherwise they’d have to land at Dulles. Strangely, they didn’t mention this 10 p.m. curfew to Andy before he bought the ticket. [More]
Slim-Fast Thinks Its Shakes Are Worth About 29 Cents A Can
By 1.11.10
Daniel agreed to throw away 35 cans of Slim-Fast after the company announced a recall last month over fears of contamination. He called the number provided by Unilever and provided his address, and then waited for the full refund they promised. What he got was a check for $10.20. [More]
Why Is Sears Being So Sneaky On This Dishwasher Rebate?
By 12.4.09
On Black Friday, Sears offered free installation on select Kenmore dishwashers in the form of a rebate coupon. The coupon is pretty simple to understand as far as these things go–buy one of the listed models, and Sears will pay for the installation. According to William, however, the listed model that he wanted remained out of stock only for the duration of the coupon. When he asked Sears to honor it the next day, they agreed to–but then after he bought the dishwasher they told him he had broken a nonexistent rule and therefore had voided the coupon. [More]
FTC Files Contempt Charge Against BlueHippo For Continuing To Rip Off Customers
By 11.12.09
Today the FTC lodged a contempt charge against scammy no-credit-needed electronics seller BlueHippo, saying that the company hasn’t honored its prior agreement to stop scamming customers. BlueHippo agreed to pay back $3.5 million nearly two years ago to reimburse customers who never received the computers they pre-paid for, but the FTC says since then the company has sucked another $15 million out of customers.
HP Refuses To Make Good On $100 Cash Back Promise, Won't Explain Why
By 11.2.09
David is trying to reach HP executive customer service. He wants to find out why they reversed the $100 cash back offer they’d originally extended through a promotion with Microsoft’s new search engine Bing, and why the only reasons they’re giving him are either inapplicable or demonstrably false.
Home Depot Drives Away Another Customer Forever
By 10.21.09
Two months ago, Mike and his wife decided to re-do their floors. They’re expecting a child in November, so they made sure that they ordered the materials in plenty of time to get everything taken care of before the end of August. Mike even scheduled time off work and had family members come in from out of town to help out.
Class Action Suit Against Apple And AT&T For Lack Of MMS On iPhones
By 8.21.09
No matter how awesome the iPhone is at multimedia, gaming, or taking money out of your wallet and mailing it to AT&T and Apple, it still doesn’t let you use multimedia messaging service (MMS)—you know, that thing where you send a photo to a friend over text message. Earlier this year AT&T finally said it would happen by the end of summer, but now a group of customers in Louisiana are tired of waiting.
Invasion Of The Pod Movers Has Disastrous Consequences
By 8.6.09
Matt and his family used the portable storage company PODS for their recent move. The company rents you a storage container, then stores it or moves it around on a truck for you. Their system sounded pretty great, but then things started to go wrong. Very, very wrong. What followed was a tale of broken promises, underestimations, and their belongings being held by the police (!) that would put fear into the heart of any person planning a move.
Mow-It-Right Mows Down Vegetable Garden, Won't Replace It
By 7.16.09
Jason hired a lawn company in Memphis, Tennessee, and then recommended them to a friend. He regrets that now, because they mowed down the friend’s vegetable garden, and seven weeks later they still haven’t replaced it and have stopped communicating with the garden’s owner.
What Do You Do When Family Friends Don't Provide The Furniture You Already Paid For?
By 6.12.09
Ryan is stuck in a bad situation. His father is friends with a the guy who owns a local furniture store, and the store has failed to deliver some custom-made furniture that was fully paid for up front as a goodwill gesture. Now Ryan wants the order canceled, but the owner and his wife are refusing to cooperate.
U-Haul Forgets Customer, Forgets Guarantee, Then Forgets Extra Day Agreement And Threatens Criminal Charges
By 4.20.09
Consumerist reader Dionicious and his brother tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul over the weekend. First they were faced with a closed location, then they had to ask before the company followed through on its $50 “Right Time, Right Location” guarantee. They hoped that was the end of the screw-ups, but the next day an angry employee called and threatened to file criminal charges against the brothers. Too bad there’s not some sort of $50 “We Threaten You, We Pay” guarantee.
This Florist Has A Loose Grasp Of Geometry, Flower Arranging
By 4.10.09
Erik ordered an unusual flower arrangement for his wife earlier this week. [More]
This Is Why You Don't Order From Fad Diet & Wellness Sites
By 3.18.09
Christina decided to give the famed acai berry a try. What the heck, she must have thought, it won’t cost me that much ($10) and the site’s refund policy clearly indicates when I can return the product, cancel the “subscription,” and move on. She knew the cancel-by date and was prepared to follow the rules. AcaiBerryUltimate.com had other plans, which are best summed up by this email they sent to her: “You can get your refund in hell. haahah.”
Sears Can't Get Its Story Straight Regarding Rust And Craftsman Tools
By 3.13.09
C’mon Sears, rust isn’t a magic brown fairy powder that you can sprinkle over any warranty issue to deny coverage. Brian was told he couldn’t have his worn-out sockets replaced because they were rusty. He pointed out that he needed them replaced because they were worn out, not because of some cosmetic damage due to oxidation. Now Sears has officially told him that any rust on a Craftsman tool automatically voids the warranty—which is not what Sears told us two years ago.
Craftsman's "Lifetime Warranty" Depends On Tool Associate's Mood
By 3.13.09
Brian tried to trade in some old Craftsman tools, the ones that come with a lifetime, no-questions-asked replacement policy. Unfortunately, the Tool Associate at Sears deemed Brian unworthy of the Cratfsman guarantee and refused him. That’s why he’s the Tool Associate.
