Reader Benjamin is pissed because Comcast in his town of Richmond, VA they raised his rates, and justified it by saying they have to pass on the cost of rising gas, technology, and health care. He writes “Gas is a Buck’ 69, they haven’t improved the technology in my area, and health care… Really? They might as well of added a $5 fee to restock the candy bowl in the break room of the service center while they are at it.” If that’s not fun enough, see what happens when he tries to file a complaint about it. They try to route him to the complaint line…but it’s been disconnected!
complaints
Mervyn's Charges $15 Fee To Talk To Customer Service
By 12.2.08
Reader Christi reports that Mervyns, a mid-range department store that is closing all its locations, now charges you a $15 fee if you want to talk to customer service over the phone. When Christi called a store to complain, they told her to call the number back, accept the charge, then ask them what the heck was going on. Thing is, Christi was just calling to make a payment by phone,
Walgreens Jerks You Around When You Try To Buy Plan B
By 12.1.08
A reader’s girlfriend tried to buy Plan B yesterday, but the Oxford, MS Walgreens pharmacy seemed to go out of their way to make it has hard as possible. Mere incompetence doesn’t explain what happened. Instead, it sounds more like a consciously decided system of policies designed to discourage people from buying the pill…
How To File A Lawsuit
By 12.1.08
Consumerist empowers consumers to take on bad companies, but sometimes even the negative PR that Consumerist can bring to bear is not enough to persuade companies to behave. When that happens, you might have to sue in order to get what you want. Here is a brief guide to your options when you decide you need to escalate your complaint to the courts.
Aliph Quickly Replaces Melted Jawbone
By 11.26.08
Marc is happy to report that Aliph really came through for him after he complained about Jawbone smoking and melting after he plugged it into his computer:
Geek Squad Calls To Ask If The Appointment That Never Happened Was Satisfactory
By 11.19.08
Reader James is upset. His TV is broken and Geek Squad can’t fix it. He bought the TV and Best Buy’s performance service plan — which hypothetically should replace his TV in the event that it cannot be repaired. Now, after 2 months, 27 days, a botched repair job and 6 unreturned phone calls, James is annoyed. He’s launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb on Best Buy and CC’d us. The best part comes near the end of the letter, when Best Buy calls James to ask if he was satisfied with a Geek Squad appointment that had never even happened…
Capital One Inspires Man's Loathing
By 11.19.08
Mr Bill says his latest dealings with Capital One have him “wanting to spit venom.” Whence this reptilian impulse? There is apparently no structure to refinance your loan with them. They consider it makes you a new customer, and they aren’t making any new loans. This takes several hours and several phone calls to figure out. There also seems to be no way to pay off a loan with a credit or debit card. This also takes several hours and phone calls to figure out. It’s really just totally frustrating for Mr. Bill. “What is this, 1987?” he writes. So he’s taking his business elsewhere. His misanthropic misadventure, inside…
US National Bank Scammers Still Extorting Hapless Consumers
By 11.13.08
“US National Bank” is still at it, calling up people and threatening them with jail time unless they pay up for debts they never took out and USNB doesn’t own. Here’s K’s story of how “Harry Wilson” called him up screaming and yelling. But after speaking to a consumer lawyer, K learned what he needed to say to get the extortionist to stop phone-harassing him. You’ll learn too after you read the story inside…
International Motor Productions Screws Reader Over $500 Deposit On Misrepresented, Wrecked, BMW
By 11.13.08
Aaron went shopping on AutoTrader and saw a BMW he liked sold by International Motor Productions. The lady over the phone, Brigette Brown, told him everything about the car was perfect. He put down a $500 deposit and flew down from Chicago to check it out with his friend Nathan. There he discovered the body panels didn’t line up and the tires were mismatched and worn. When he took it for a test drive, it pulled under acceleration and made horrible noises. He took it to a reputable dealer who inspected the car and assessed it had been in an accident and had frame damage. When he took it back to International Motor Productions and asked for his deposit back…
Red Lobster Waitstaff Talking About Diarrhea Turns Into Free Meal And Smiles
By 11.6.08
Reader Wormfather had an unsatisfactory Red Lobster experience with waiters joking about “diarrhea” and wanting “hot” customers, but after mentioning it to the manager, the couple left with satisfaction and smiles on their faces. His story, inside…
Best Buy Sells "New" Laptop Used By Employee
By 11.5.08
Best Buy sold Clif a “new” laptop one of their employees had bought, used, and returned. They made up for it by giving him an actually new laptop with a slightly better configuration, then tried to upsell him to the Best Buy extended warranty. Two things I enjoyed about this story: 1) The clerk he went to return the laptop to was the same employee who had used the laptop (Clif knew this because he saw the guy’s resume on the laptop) 2) Clif then subsequently asked to speak to the manager in private and explained the situation there. That’s the classy way to do it.
Circuit City Sells Counterfeit Camera For $1134.99, Customer Guilty Until Proven Innocent
By 10.31.08
Circuit City sold Ronald a fake camera for $1134.99, and now they’re holding the fake and his money hostage. The camera was no Kodak disposable, but a Nikon D90 Digital SLR. When he opened the box at home, inside was a D50 covered with crappy D90 stickers and affixed with a fake serial plate. Circuit City should give him his money back or a new D90. Why should Ronald be punished for Circuit City’s inability to maintain control over their supply chain? He shouldn’t. He should file a chargeback with his credit card company. Ronald’s letter of complaint to Circuit City’s consumer affairs group (consumer_affairs@circuitcity.com), inside…
How Midwest Airlines Is Like Schlitz
By 10.31.08
How is Midwest Airlines like Schlitz beer? A traveler angry over how Midwest’s wider business seats now cost an extra $50 explains. [Upgrade: Travel Better]
Credit Blemished Over Imaginary Credit Card
By 10.30.08
The NES collection agency is coming after Nancy for a debt on an account number she’s never owned. She’s trying to beseech BoA billing for a resolution and to fix her credit history. That may be completely the wrong way to go about it. Here’s her story:
How A Nigerian Steals Your Laptop
By 10.30.08
Molly’s laptop was stolen, and the thief didn’t even break into her house, or snag it from her at a coffeeshop, or hold a knife to her neck in a darkened alley. No, her laptop was stolen via email. In fact, she mailed it to thief, in Africa. OMG, you’re probably saying to yourself right now with your hands up by your face, how could this be? Discover the horrifying true story, inside…
Why Circuit City Is Dead
By 10.23.08
If you were confused about why Circuit City might close 150 stores, this customer complaint sent in by William O’Donnell makes it pretty clear: Circuit City sucks. They try to get out of price-matching with a nearby B&H, out of the 3 hard drives he went through, one was missing parts and one wasn’t even the right drive, and they try to tell him that it’s supposed to come missing parts. Basically, when they don’t know what they’re talking about, they just make some shit up to make their lives easier. That’s what happens when you cut costs by firing anyone who knows what they’re doing. Here’s Will’s tale:
Shipping Delays For Dell's New Mini Laptop?
By 10.23.08
Reader Steven wrote in to let us know that his Dell Mini’s ship date keeps getting pushed back and he’s starting to become annoyed.
