Leesha says her local post office has gone upsell crazy. They wouldn’t let her mail a letter without sitting through an extended spiel about express and upgraded options. When she tried to fast-forward through the song and dance, the guy behind the counter snapped. Or, as the saying goes, “went postal.” [More]
complaints
Price Chopper Supermarket Emails Customer's Employer, Demands Disciplinary Action For Negative Tweet
By 9.21.10
Last week, a customer at Price Chopper in upstate New York tweeted a relatively mild insult about the store: “Every time I go to @PriceChopperNY I realize why they r not @wegmans. Tonight -bare produce areas & this sign 4 ex http://yfrog.com/2tfj9sj.” In return, Price Chopper contacted the man’s employer and complained about him. [More]
Chase Just Goes Ahead And Adds Overdraft Protection To Your Account
By 9.16.10
Lori called up Chase to tell them that she was traveling internationally in the next few weeks. She wanted them to note her account so there wouldn’t be any blocks when charges from far-away countries started appearing. Then the fast-talking rep just sort of added overdraft protection to Lori’s account, just casually worked it in there, like she was doing her a courtesy. [More]
24-Hour Fitness Would Rather Lose 2 Members Than Let You Use Your Free Pass
By 9.14.10
Thanks to a policy-lovin’ member-hatin’ front-desk bizzatch, 24-Hour Fitness is losing two annual members. But hey, at least they didn’t get scammed by someone trying to redeem a 7-day pass, right? [More]
Store Says Mother Is "Too Fat" To Enter Warehouse
By 9.13.10
Alexis said she went to an appliance store and was invited to come into the back warehouse to look for a washer, but her mother was forbidden as she was “too fat.” [More]
Sprint Customer Finds Naked Pictures On Her Repaired Cellphone
By 9.13.10
A woman in Colorado had her eyes burned out by images of “nude women and male genitals” on her cellphone’s new(ish) memory card, reports KRDO.com. She says the Sprint employees who worked on her phone must have known it was there, since they’re the ones who swapped in the new card. She’s pretty upset: “If [young family members] had seen those pictures, it could have ruined them for life.” [More]
AT&T Thinks 0 Kbps Counts As DSL Service
By 9.8.10
AT&T wants to charge Derek a $100 early termination fee even though the DSL they’re giving barely even works. His downtime is almost 12 hours a day, and on the rare occasions it does work, it’s only 100kbps. It’s like watching taffy grill on a Georgia sidewalk. AT&T says they’ve lived up to their part of the bargain, with one customer service rep telling him, “If AT&T were to provide a constant speed of 0 Kbps this still qualifies as service within our contract,” and so now he must pay his contractually stipulated ETF. Also, he must have imagined that a technician came and visited his house. [More]
Mirror Shatters To Floor, Installer Shrugs
By 9.8.10
Alan and his wife awoke to a giant crash from their bathroom. Their 3.5’x5′ plate glass mirror they had professionals install 12 years ago had fallen, shattering all over the tile. [More]
Q: "Currently Receiving The Washington Post?" A: "Currently, I'm Trying To Have My Supper"
By 9.7.10
This is pretty much the perfect reply to an annoying telemarketer, and the perfect complaint letter to send when he cusses you out. [More]
DOT Updates 'Fly Rights' Airline Consumer Guide
By 9.7.10
The Department of Transportation has updated its consumer guide to air travel, which provides a quick summary of what to look for when buying a ticket, and what protections you have during travel. It’s also a good starting point when you have an airline-related problem and need more information before deciding what to do next. [More]
Mom Threw Away Blackberry, T-Mobile Charges For $6,000 In Fraudulent Calls
By 9.3.10
Before leaving the country, Fermin left his Blackberry on his table along with some junk mail. His mother came over while he was gone to clean up, and swept up the phone along with the junk mail and tossed it. Someone found it in the garbage and used it to make $6,000 in fraudulent calls. Fermin negotiated with T-Mobile to pay $2,000, then they changed their minds without notice and decide to hold him on the hook for $4,000. What’s a consumer to do? [More]
Xbox Suspends Gay Gamer For Calling Himself A "Homosexueller" Who "Likes Cupcakes"
By 9.2.10
Despite Xbox recently changing its policy to allow folks to describe their sexual orientation in their gamer profile, Super Street Fighter IV fan Shmoo found his Xbox Live account suspended for breaking their Code of Conduct. His gamer bio states, “Bio Ich bin ein homosexueller Mann in einer großen schlechten Stadt. Ich mag kleine Kuchen und Cheeseburgers.” Which translates from German to, “I am a gay man in a big bad city. I like cupcakes and cheeseburgers.” This, apparently, was verboten. [More]
U-Haul Makes You Drop Off At Other Location, Then Charges You For It
By 8.31.10
Christina went to return her Uhaul rental, but when she arrived at her scheduled time, she found the lot was already closed. Customer service told her to return the truck to the nearest nearby Uhaul place, a chore in and of itself. Then she got charged for returning it to the “wrong” location, and all-told her $19.99 rental has blossomed into $220 that navigating the twists and turns and delays of customer service hasn’t gotten her refunded. Here’s the letter she wrote to Joe, the CEO of Uhaul. [More]
3 Ways To Ineffectively Complain
By 8.26.10
When you call up customer service, would you like to hang up with your issue not fixed at all? How about leaving the conversation angrier than when you started it? Here are three excellent tips for not getting what you want whatsoever when you complain to a company: [More]
Woman Says Donald Duck Groped Her
By 8.16.10
Did Disney’s eternally overreacting duck mascot put the moves on a woman visiting Epcot Center a couple of years ago? That’s what the woman claims happened; in her lawsuit, she says a park employee dressed as Donald Duck grabbed her breast and molested her, “then made gestures making a joke indicating he had done something wrong.” She’s asking for $50,000. [More]
Got Refund After Comcast Charged Me $28 To Fix Their Mistake
By 8.13.10
Roger got Comcast to refund a $28 fee they charged him after they came out and fixed his lines that were not connected to his house properly. Even after they reversed the charge, they wanted to charge him a $1.99 monthly fee for a “protection plan” which would protect him from being charged $28 fees. Here’s how he defeated them: [More]
Mall Skin Care Kiosk Hustles Mentally Disabled Man For $300, Refuses To Refund
By 8.11.10
Audrey’s mentally disabled uncle was snookered by a mall skin care kiosk worker into buying $300 worth of product he doesn’t need. When his niece found out, the kiosk refused to do a refund saying it was “against policy.” Now her special needs uncle has only $40 left to live on for the week and the kiosk manager is ducking her calls. [More]
Citibank Yanks Your 87,000 Rewards Points And Closes Account Without Warning
By 8.10.10
Andy and his wife were just about to use their 87,000 accumulated rewards points to take a vacation when all of a sudden Citibank closed the account and took away all their points. According to customer service, there’s nothing that can be done. [More]
