Reader Dan says he was walking home last night and got robbed at gunpoint, losing his iPhone, which he only got five days ago, in the process. He asks, “Any tips from you or readers? Can it be tracked using the onboard gps? This STINKS!”
complaints
By 2.5.09
../../../..//2009/02/05/are-you-a-new-jersey/
Are you a New Jersey resident who was screwed out of Springsteen tickets by the Ticketmaster/TicketsNow “technical glitch”? The state’s Division of Consumer Affairs would like to hear from you. There’s a small box on the lower right corner of the home page that will take you to a complaint form. [NJ Consumer Affairs via MetsPolice]
Seagate Censoring Posts About Barrucada 7200.11 500GB Drive Failures
By 1.29.09
A number of consumers are complaining about their Seagate Barrucada 7200.11 500GB hard drive failures, and the company is censoring them. While Seagate has issued a firmware upgrade, it doesn’t work if your drive has already been affected, like reader Danny, who just lost all his research material and papers for school. According to some posts on MSFN, moderators on the official Seagate forums are deleting user posts about the issue, and even going so far as to disabling links made on the Seagate forums to posts on other forums about the issue. Danny’s letter, inside…
Update: HP Laptop Runs 200°F, Support Says "Buy A Cooling Mat"
By 1.29.09
The boy whose HP was running 200°F and was told by tech support to “buy a cooling mat” used some of the higher-up phone numbers readers posted in the comment on the original post to get in touch with a Senior Case Manager. Despite being out of warranty, they reopened the case and had him send in his laptop. Lo and behold, they fixed it! “It is running great now,” writes Travis. Huzzah!
There Are Other Sizes Besides Medium And Large, Wendy's
By 1.28.09
Jeff says the Wendy’s he goes to is getting a little tricky with their upselling, creating the appearance of a universe where the only sizes are medium or large.
Virgin Atlantic Asks Complaint Writer To Be Taste Tester
By 1.28.09
The man who wrote the long, funny complaint letter to Richard Branson about the level of suck on his recent Virgin Atlantic flight has been asked to “come to the airline’s catering house next month, to help select the food on future Virgin flights.” Yeah, we know that it’s a publicity stunt, but an entertaining one. We hope the customer agrees, and hates the new food just as much. In fact, we wish he’d replace Toby Young on Top Chef; the dead hamster line would be a pretty good put-down on that show.
Is This The World's Best Airline Complaint Letter?
By 1.27.09
A disgruntled Virgin Air passenger sent an exhaustive complaint letter to Sir Richard Branson, supported by a series of incriminating photographs. We think it’s safe to say that he did not enjoy the in-flight food—which is surprising, because everybody likes a bit of mustard Richard.
By 1.26.09
../../../..//2009/01/26/contractually-speaking-a-cruise-doesnt/
Contractually speaking, a cruise doesn’t even have to go to where you paid it to go. The Kings paid $2000 and drove from New York to Florida to find this out, and all the got was a $25 “we’re so sorry but not really” on-board credit for their troubles. [elliott] (Photo: jemsweb)
Sears Calls Several Days After Purchase To Upsell Unnecessary Protection Plan With Lies
By 1.25.09
Sears tried to scare Anthony into buying an unnecessary protection plan several days after he purchased a new plasma tv. The sales rep who called explained that Anthony’s new plasma would need to be recharged every five years, which isn’t true. According to Consumer Reports: “There is no such thing as recharging a plasma TV with new gas. It is sealed at the factory.”
Orbitz: Act Fast, This Promotion Expired Four Days Ago!
By 1.25.09
Orbitz sent out an “email exclusive” advertising 20% off select hotel rooms, which might have been a decent deal if hadn’t expired four days before the email was sent.
Seven-Year-Old Writes Perfect Complaint Letter, Gets Park Fixed
By 1.24.09
Louisiana seven-year-old Sydney Hotard fixed her broken playground by writing a well-crafted letter to her Parish President. Hotard was concerned that the plastic slide needed to be “more slippery” and that a nearby exposed electrical panel might be “dangerus.” Upon receiving the letter, Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet was so charmed that he ordered municipal workers to immediately fix the playground.
Comcast Charges Hurricane Victim $24.95 For Calling Customer Service
By 1.24.09
Comcast charged Robert a $24.95 “Customertroublecall” fee after he called to ask why they were taking over a month to restore his service after Hurricane Ike swooped in and caused over $3,000 worth of damage. Robert wanted to know why Comcast was continually missing their scheduled service appointments and why they insisted on billing him for a service he couldn’t use.
Hundreds Confused As Hawaii Transitions To Digital
By 1.18.09
Hawaii last week became the first state to transition to digital television, leading hundreds of confused locals to call into the FCC’s help center. Though the transition appears to have been a technical success, the new digital signals mays never reach some of the 20,000 Hawaiians who rely on analog service.
Help, Starbucks Towed My Car While I Was Sipping A Latte!
By 1.18.09
Andrew’s car was towed from Stabucks’ parking lot as he sat inside enjoying his drink. The Portland Starbucks apparently has a contract with a local predatory towing company that allows them to walk in, call out a bunch of license plate numbers, and tow any car whose owner doesn’t speak up.
“Dell No Longer Believes In Compensation For The Purpose Of Customer Satisfaction”
By 1.18.09
After waiting 56 days for his Dell Mini 9 to ship, reader WantMyDellMini asked Dell for a little compensation, only to be told: “Dell no longer believes in compensation for the purpose of customer satisfaction.” The Mini 9’s shipping status has already changed at least ten times, but Dell claims that our poor reader has no choice but to keep waiting.
This Gym Membership Postcard Is Confusing And Full Of Lies
By 1.15.09
Aaron sent us this postcard he received from Work Out World. Amidst the grammatical landmines and asterisks to nowhere, it purports to offer membership for $9.99 per month with no enrollment fee and no commitment. Aaron even called to confirm that he had read the offer correctly, and was told he had. When he got to the gym, however, he ran into trouble.
Man Finds Meal Worms In Reese's Brownie, After Taking Big Bite
By 1.14.09
As if a big chocolate doodie drizzled in caramelized cheez-wiz wasn’t gross enough, Marc was dismayed to find his Reese’s brownie covered in strange webbing. Dismay turned to horror as he ascertained the white strings and brown pellets were related to the meal worms crawling their way through his sweet treat. When he took the brownie back to the deli, they opened the rest of the batch. It was a veritable meal worm polka party. The horror unfolds in photographic form, inside…
