complaints

Buy.com Ships Four Hard Drives In Four Over-Sized Boxes

Buy.com Ships Four Hard Drives In Four Over-Sized Boxes

Steven at The Jewish Channel ordered four hard drives from Buy.com, and got them, along with a packaging surprise. The packaging was very excessive. Each hard drive came in its a separate packing box 4591.75 cubic inches larger than the hard drive box it was meant to contain. In addition, that extra dead space was taken up by what amounted to a waterfall of brown packing paper. The containers, measuring 24″ x 18″ x 11.5″ could each have held six of the 10.75″ x 7″ x 5″ boxes. More pix inside. Steven writes:

Is Silicon Solar Ripping Off Its Customers, Or Is It Just Incompetent?

Is Silicon Solar Ripping Off Its Customers, Or Is It Just Incompetent?

Update: company co-founder Matt addresses some of the accusations in a comment below. Why are there so many complaints online about Silicon Solar? One customer, Dennis, told us how he was lied to by a salesman, then strung along by a woman in customer support until the 14-day return period had expired. A quick Google search turns up dozens of similar stories about being treated badly by customer service, receiving products that don’t work as advertised, and never being given the RMAs necessary to send items back. Writes one reviewer on DavesGarden.com, “I can’t express the anger and frustration I felt when dealing with this company.”

UPS Coughs Up $50 But Still Hasn't Delivered Your Daughter's Christmas Present

UPS Coughs Up $50 But Still Hasn't Delivered Your Daughter's Christmas Present

Reader Michael wants to know why it’s taking UPS almost a month to ship his daughter’s Christmas gift from Los Angeles to Seattle. Michael thinks his package might have been eaten by the snowstorm that broke Seattle a few weeks back, but UPS swears that they have the gift and that this is all a simple matter of “the driver forgot to put it on the truck.” Worried that it that it might have been faster for a messenger to walk between Los Angeles and Seattle with his daughter’s present, Michael decided to launch an Executive Email Carpet Bomb at UPS executives.

The "New" AT&T Sucks The Same

The "New" AT&T Sucks The Same

Even a TV producer with 5 years experience in doing consumer complaint stories is powerless against AT&T’s incompetence. Anderson writes:

Your Ticket: $60. Your Baby's: $1280

Your Ticket: $60. Your Baby's: $1280

When company policy has a head-on collision with absurdity. Your United Airlines ticket is $60. Your baby’s, who’s going to be sitting in your lap? $1,280. [Elliot] (Photo: moxythecat)

HP Laptop Runs 200°F, Support Says "Buy A Cooling Mat"

HP Laptop Runs 200°F, Support Says "Buy A Cooling Mat"

UPDATE: Problem solved.

Super 8 In Pasadena Is Super Run Down

Super 8 In Pasadena Is Super Run Down

You know you’re not in for a life-changing experience when you get a room at a Super 8 motel, but you at least expect that for $190 a night, there will be hot water and blankets big enough to cover both you and your girlfriend. And no plywood in the bathroom. And four legs holding up the bed. But not at the Super 8 in Pasadena, CA, according to Matt, who was just there for the Rose Bowl.

The 15 Grossest Stories We've Posted On Consumerist This Year

The 15 Grossest Stories We've Posted On Consumerist This Year

Here are our favorite disgusting stories of 2008. You’re welcome!

Best Buy Signs Man Up For Magazines Against His Will

Best Buy Signs Man Up For Magazines Against His Will

Buying something from Best Buy? Check your receipt, you may have been signed up for a magazine subscription and you didn’t even know it.

Go To The Black Macy's If You Want Plus-Sized Formal Dresses

Go To The Black Macy's If You Want Plus-Sized Formal Dresses

Amanda couldn’t find a fitting formal dress at Macy’s. Macy’s said they don’t cater to her plus-sized demographic, she should go to another Macy’s, which caters to more black women, who tend to be larger.

PIX: Ladybug Infested Macbook (And A Happy Ending)

PIX: Ladybug Infested Macbook (And A Happy Ending)

These are the ladybugs that infested Sam’s Macbook, the ladybugs Apple said must be his fault. Now, here is the update to Sam’s saga, and how he finally got justice from Apple.

Despite Addressing Reader Complaint In Front Of Staff, Circuit City CEO Still Wears Failpants

Despite Addressing Reader Complaint In Front Of Staff, Circuit City CEO Still Wears Failpants

David wrote a very angry letter to Circuit City’s CEO. The CEO responded, and used the letter as a learning point in his next staff Town Hall meeting, making David angrier than ever.

Apple Says You Put Those Ladybugs Inside Your Mac Yourself, On Purpose

Apple Says You Put Those Ladybugs Inside Your Mac Yourself, On Purpose

UPDATED. Sam loves his Apple products, but their blaming him for the big ladybugs inside his Macbook Pro? It’s enough to turn this fanboy into whatever is the clever name for opposite of a fanboy.

19 Most Popular Consumerist Reader Complaints Of All Time!

19 Most Popular Consumerist Reader Complaints Of All Time!

I love how this blog gives everyday people a big voice to tell the world what’s wrong. Here’s 19 of our reader’s original stories that drew the most buzz, and blood, online over the years…

Flagstar Bank: Give Me My Money, My Roof Has A Hole

Flagstar Bank: Give Me My Money, My Roof Has A Hole

Hurricane Ike left Mike’s with a hole in his roof. He needs Flagstar Bank’s holding onto his insurance company check like a hole in his head.

Amazon.com Emails Recommendation Ruins Christmas Surprise

Amazon.com Emails Recommendation Ruins Christmas Surprise

Rob is mad because Amazon, in the figurative sense, delivered his wife’s secret Christmas gift in a see-through glass box:

Reporter Pays Double MSRP For G1 Phone, Uses Flashmob To Get Revenge

Reporter Pays Double MSRP For G1 Phone, Uses Flashmob To Get Revenge

A Time Out New York reporter paid nearly double MSRP for a new G1 phone she bought off Times Square from Cellular Stop. After she realized she’d been had (internet access and texting were sold to her as “add-ons”), she went back to the store asking for an explanation. Instead, she says, six clerks began circling her and her friends, screaming and cursing and threatening to “break” their “fucking faces.” Her friend was tossed against a wall and another clerk tried to smash her camera.

Not Even Money Saves You From Foreclosure

Not Even Money Saves You From Foreclosure

Eric lost his home to foreclosure, but unlike other homeowners, he had actually been trying for the past month-and-a-half to buy it back from the mortgage company for more than the mortgage. The law firm that was handling it, however, wanted an extra $20k in fees to make that happen. He told the realtor that he would buy it for more than it was going to be listed for. The realtor told him that he couldn’t make a bid until it was “active,” which would happen on 11-29. On Sunday he tells the broker he;ll give an offer on Monday. Monday rolls around and they’ve already sold the house to someone else, for less than Eric was willing to pay. They said they “forgot” that he was going to make a bid. Eric is livid. His story, inside…