Having just arrived in Paonia, Colorado for the summer, reader Ashlee thought she should get her oil changed. Not yet familiar with the area, she went with a name she recognized–Walmart. The oil change seemed to go fine so Ashlee and her friend decided to embark on a trip to Denver. Thirty minutes into the road trip, she heard a strange noise coming from the engine. She pulled over and intuitively checked the dipstick which revealed zero oil. Ashlee then looked underneath her car and saw oil covering much of the undercarriage. Eventually, she got the car to town where a mechanic discovered that the oil cap had been put on improperly, allowing the oil to escape. Later, she received an estimate from GMC of $5,875 to replace the engine. Ashlee’s letter, inside…
complaints
80-Year-Old Woman Files Lawsuit Over $6 Sears Datebook
Margaret Vail (pictured left), an 80-year-old woman from Mansfield, OH., is fed up with Sears and the numerous collection agencies that claim she ordered a $6 datebook back in 2003. According to the Mansfield News Journal, Margaret never ordered the datebook, yet Sears sent her one anyway and put it on her Sears charge card. Her local store won’t accept returns on mail-order merchandise and she refuses to pay shipping to return it. Over the years, the balance has ballooned to $130 which doesn’t faze Margaret who is spending over $200 in fees to file her lawsuit. Details, inside…
Carnival Cruise Lines Turns Away Pregnant Woman At Dock
Huey Tsao, an expectant mother, was looking forward to a family reunion aboard the Carnival Glory. Along with her boarding pass, she received a document entitled “Welcome Aboard: Things to know before you sail” which stated that guests who are 27 weeks into their pregnancy are not permitted to sail because of the risk of premature labor. Huey was not concerned because she was only 26 weeks and had a note from her physician stating that she was fit to travel. She and her family arrived at the dock only to find out some very bad news. Unbeknownst to Huey, Carnival had changed their no-sail pregnancy policy from 27 weeks to 24 weeks. Despite her doctor’s note and attempts at escalating the issue, she was denied passage onto the boat. Her letter, inside…
Eforcity Bribes User To Remove Negative Amazon Feedback
Sarah bought some car chargers from Eforcity through Amazon, and was disappointed to find that the charger plug doesn’t stay in the phone unless you hold it in. She said as much in her Amazon feedback. In response, Eforcity said they would be happy to give her a refund, as long as she deleted her negative feedback. In other words, a bribe for self-censorship. Eforcity’s email, inside…
UPDATE: Consumer Takes Sleazy Prius Salesman To Court
23 months after we first posted her story, Angela Weigold writes in with the latest update about a Prius salesmen who left multiple harassing phone messages daily, calling Anela a “whore” and put her phone number on online escort websites.
Public Storage Closes Early And Locks You Inside
Do you ever feel trapped by a company because of their ineffectual and unsympathetic ways? Reader Josh had that feeling because he and his friend Omar were literally trapped inside Public Storage for an hour-and-a-half when the facility locked its gates 10 minutes early. Omar called Public Storage’s 800 number, and after waiting on hold for 20 minutes, he was told to call a different number which also placed him on hold. Meanwhile, Josh decided to call the local police department who told them they had no way to open the gate. While searching the facility for a place to escape, they discovered the trailer where the manager lives. She was none too happy to help Josh and Omar and told them that their release would result in an extra charge on Omar’s bill. Josh’s letter, inside…
Comcast Won't Stop Sending You Junk Mail Because "You Might Move"
UPDATE: Comcast has now removed Brad from its mailing lists for really reals.
Dear United Airlines: "You Have Designed Your Customer Service To Piss Off Your Customers"
After a mechanical snafu grounded his flight to Zurich, Aaron received several vouchers and an upgrade as compensation from United Airlines. Unfortunately, the vouchers and upgrades proved so difficult to use that he has given up and is now publicly vowing never to fly United Airlines again.
Spirit Airlines' Customer Service Number Leads To Phone Sex Line
When you fly an ultra low budget airliner, you expect ultra low service, but even under that business model, it seems reasonable to assume that calling customer service won’t take you to a phone sex line. Reader Barbara would agree. She writes:
Wal-Mart Fails To Change Your Oil And Lies About It
Tipster Toland pointed us toward the Stonecipher Report which contains an entry about a weary traveler who, against his better judgment, decided to get his oil changed at Wal-Mart. After his car was returned, he noticed that his oil monitoring system was still indicating 10% oil life. He asked the Wal-Mart employee if the oil had actually been changed to which she replied, “Yep, I know it was, cause I did it myself.” He then went to go check the dipstick and discovered the oil hadn’t been changed after all. His post, inside…
NCIC Airport Payphones Are A Ripoff
Reader Victor wrote to alert us to NCIC payphones which are charging outrageous rates and fees in various airports across the country. At first, Victor used some spare change in an NCIC payphone and received a reasonable long distance rate of about $1 for 4 minutes. But Victor ran out of change and used his credit card to make 3 more quick calls. When Victor received his bill he discovered that he’d been charged $11 per call. He directed us over to ripoffreports.com and as far as we can tell, he got off easy. We read numerous reports of customers being charged exorbitant rates for local and long distance calls. The amounts that their customers are being charged vary so wildly that we’re not even sure what NCIC’s rates are supposed to be. Victor’s letter, inside…
Why Won't Krystal Respond To Their Customers?
Hey! Krystal! Are you there?! Reader Josh sent two letter complaining about his local burger franchise and hasn’t heard a peep in response. Not even “we’re taking it seriously” or “your opinion is important to us.” Nothing!
UPDATE: Arby's Responds To Roast Beef Confetti Query
A few days ago, we told you about Mark’s Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich which was made with beef-confetti rather than the slices of beef which are normally served. Mark fired off a letter to Arby’s and actually received a reply. In case you were losing sleep thinking about how such an enigmatic sandwich came to be, Arby’s supplies an explanation. Original not-safe-for-lunch photo and Arby’s response, inside…
Zales Store Receipts Really Don't Mean Anything
Reader Taylor had purchased wedding rings from Zales with a payment plan that allows him to make payments over the course of a year. One day, Taylor went to the store to make a payment of $160 and received his receipt for the cash transaction. A few days later, he received a call from the store manager who said that she believed that Taylor had only paid $60 and cited a surveillance video which, according to the manager, shows their sales representative counting only 3 bills. Even though Taylor was certain that he paid $160 and has a receipt to prove it, he asked to see this intriguing video, but the store manager has been giving him the run-around ever since. Taylor’s letter and our advice, inside…
![Adobe: "It Would Have Been A Pleasure To Assist You With This Issue. [Unfortunately, We're Totally Incompetent]"](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/failwoman.jpg?w=158&h=225&crop=1)
Adobe: "It Would Have Been A Pleasure To Assist You With This Issue. [Unfortunately, We're Totally Incompetent]"
If you produced expensive, frequently pirated software, you’d probably want the process for buying it to be as easy on the customer as possible, right? If you’re Adobe, not so much. Yet another reader writes in to share her frustrations with trying to buy Adobe’s Dreamweaver.
A Tale Of Two Apple Stores
Even at Apple where consistency practiced and preached, not all Apple Stores are created equal, just ask reader Adam. The Bluetooth capability on his Macbook Pro was malfunctioning and because he relies on his Macbook for work, he couldn’t simply drop it off for a week to be repaired. Fortunately, Adam had a 1-week vacation ahead, so he left the Macbook at the Millenia Apple Store in Orlando, FL. who promised him that the repairs would be made before the end of his break. Adam returned to pick up the Macbook and discovered that not only had it not been fixed, nobody had even attempted to diagnose the problem. Adam could not afford to miss any work, so on a whim, he brought it to a different Apple Store which produced a dramatically different result. Adam’s letter, inside…
