Who wouldn’t want to start their prom by watching a stretch limo cruise down their street an hour and a half late before crashing into their parent’s car? Apparently a bunch of high school students in Washington state, that’s who. And they’re not the only ones angry that they booked with Blessed Limo. The notorious local operator apparently has a knack for showing up late and then stranding kids at prom. Complaining to state authorities only goes so far because these guys don’t even bother with bureaucratic backaches like “operating licenses.”
complaints
U.S. Fidelis Hires Former Attorney General Ashcroft's Law Firm
By 5.14.09
U.S. Fidelis, the auto warranty company that’s currently being investigated by 40 state attorneys general for questionable business practices, has hired the law firm headed by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The firm won’t represent the company in litigation, but is supposed to provide an internal review of their practices. They’ll also provide draping cloths for any immodest statuary, and wiretap kits for employees of interest. Hey, it’s hard to do topical humor on someone who’s been out of office for 4 years.
Verizon Loses The Broken Phone You Returned, Suspends Your Service
By 5.10.09
Luis dropped his busted LG EnV in the mail at the end of last year and tracked its progress as FedEx delivered the package to Verizon. Verizon, apparently unfamiliar with tracking numbers, doesn’t believe that Luis ever returned the phone, and insists that they’re owed a $320 replacement fee. Luis disputed the charge, but rather than investigate his claim, Verizon decided it would be easier to suspend his service. Now they want Luis—a customer of seven years who pays over $350 across six phone lines each month—to pay another $15 to reconnect the service they should never have disconnected in the first place. He writes:
Comcast Lowers Your Bill, Then Charges Early Termination Fee
By 5.10.09
Comcast agreed to lower reader O.’s monthly cable bill to $40, but they didn’t warn him that the new, lower price would come with a hefty $150 early termination fee. O. could barely afford Comcast’s service before, and wouldn’t have agreed to the lower fee if he knew about the surprise fee. Comcast is telling him that he has no choice but to pay, and won’t even let him return to his previous plan.
Pinkberry Apologizes For Website Error By Offering To Shower Your Office With Freebies
By 5.9.09
To thank Kelly for pointing out an error on their website, Pinkberry offered to come to her office bearing “a few yogurts and toppings for some of the hard working people that you work with.” What error could prompt such an over-the-top apology? Kelly tried to visit two separate Pinkberry locations at 11:30 a.m., which Pinkberry’s website lists as the store’s opening time. But! The store’s don’t open until *gasp* noon!
Hey Skype, If You're Going To Sell Other People's Numbers, At Least Have A Customer Service Department
By 5.9.09
George’s outgoing Skype calls properly display his SkypeIn number, but if anyone tries to call him back, they’re connected the number’s rightful owner, a nice old woman in Raleigh, NC. George wants to know why Skype sold him someone else’s number, but the internet telecom apparently doesn’t pay anyone to answer their phones.
Save Money On ProFlowers Roses, Re-Gift Last Week's Flowers Instead
By 5.8.09
Why pay for ProFlowers when you can get the same effect by dumpster diving for old arrangements that look just as good? Our reader Hakoken3 paid ProFlowers $92 so they’d deliver 18 roses to his girlfriend this morning on her birthday. He paid extra to ensure that the roses would be delivered by noon, and at 12:01 they showed up. Unfortunately, they were so wilted and near-death that they looked like hand-me-down flowers that some luckier person had thrown out.
UPDATE: USPS Agrees To Pay Insurance Claim On Lost Laptops
By 5.8.09
After our story about USPS losing a reader’s five insured computers then only valuing them at $74 generated a lot of response (and turned into a vowel-less debate on health care), a couple readers sent us the contact info for the insurance agent who denied our reader’s request.
GameFly Accuses US Postal Service Of Breaking, Losing, And Stealing Its Game Discs
By 5.6.09
Late last year we pointed out that GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, was beginning to develop a reputation for rotten service and slow turnaround. It looks like the United States Postal Service may be partly to blame, at least as far as GameFly is concerned. They’ve filed a complaint against the USPS over lost, stolen, and damaged discs, as well as discriminatory treatment when compared to Netflix and Blockbuster.
Linksys, LinkSucks
By 5.4.09
Christoff knew the dangers, but he went ahead anyway. He bought a Linksys router. And lo, it broke. The day had come for him to deal with their outsourced tech support. Over four hours of conversation and hold time, mainly hold time, later, he has a 2nd replacement router. Both replacement routers had the same problem as the first. Read of his trials and tribulations, inside…
Swine Flu Fanatics Kick Man With Sniffles Off Airplane
By 5.4.09
James says he got ejected from his United Airlines flight because he had a cold and some of the other passengers wigged out, fearful of becoming swine flu victims. His letter, and its surprise ending, inside…
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.
Watch Out For Foreign Transaction Fees When Booking With Foreign Carriers
By 5.3.09
Cliff logged on to his U.S. internet connection to use his U.S. credit card to buy airline tickets on Aer Lingus in U.S. dollars, a transaction he assumed wouldn’t incur a foreign transaction fee. Nope! Citibank slapped a 3% fee on the $2,600 purchase, something Cliff feels the airline should have warned him about.
Man Sends Silly Complaint Letters To Companies, Receives Silly Responses
By 4.30.09
“Chad Bradley” likes to write letters to companies. Unlike a normal crank, however, his letters are filled with complaints about surreal or nonsensical things, or they offer useless ideas for product improvements. (To the makers of Connect 4, for example, he suggests a new game called Connect 1.) The letters are entertaining enough on their own, but what’s even better is sometimes the companies write back.
T-Mobile Keeps Charging For Canceled Service, Refuses To Issue Full Refund
By 4.25.09
Taylor just noticed that T-Mobile has been billing him $19.99 for a data package he asked them to cancel seven months ago. Yes, Taylor should’ve caught the mistake sooner, but now that he’s found it, he wants T-Mobile to refund the $140 in unauthorized charges. T-Mobile, citing policy, is only willing to credit him $60.
Got A Verizon Installation Problem? Tell Us Where It Took Place
By 4.18.09
Might I make a suggestion for further Verizon Customer Issue articles? It would be helpful to know where the incident took place. As I’m sure you know, different parts of the county have different installation teams. Here in the New England region, installations are handled by real Verizon employees. Where in other areas, they contract installations to a third party that pass themselves off as Verizon. Also most regions have a VP email address for employees to help expidite such issues.
Banana Republic Lowers Credit Card Limit From $1000 To $100
By 4.13.09
It’s no surprise that a popular purveyor of work-suitable vestments suck lowered a reader’s friend’s store credit-card limit, but to go from $1000 to $100, that’s cold, Banana Republic. Danielle writes:
United Airlines Won't Help Rush You To Your Dying Mother's Bedside Because "It's Time For The Ticketing Agent's Break"
By 4.12.09
Mike rushed his girlfriend to the airport to catch a flight to see her dying mother, only to watch her miss the flight because United Airline’s ticketing agent refused to help because “it was time for her to go on her break.” Passengers waiting in line were more than willing to let Mike’s girlfriend skip to the front of the line, but her sad situation apparently wasn’t enough to earn the agent’s sympathies. When his girlfriend finally reached the gate in time to watch her flight depart, the gate agent defended his colleague’s lack of sympathy, saying “management really makes us work some unreasonable schedules.”
