An American Airlines passenger says they had to sit through an entire flight in a seat soaked with urine from a previous passenger, the Fort Wayne Observed blog reports. Here’s an excerpt of the complaint letter they emailed the airline:
complaints
WaMu Doesn't Care You Could Be Stranded In Himalayas With No Money
By 6.3.08
Lila got her Washington Mutual debit card pickpocketed while traveling in India. Naturally, her account was drained. She filed a fraud report with Washington Mutual and a got a temporary credit issued on the account while the case was investigated. Less than 3 days later, the credit was reversed without warning. It’s not WaMu’s policy to reverse provisional credits in these matters before 30 days have passed to investigate, and not without warning. None of the various reps and fraud personal could explain why this happened, nor could they give her her money back, nor could they connect her with anyone who would or could do anything. Supervisors are mysteriously never around. It’s a good thing she already had some Rupees in hand when the theft occured, or Lila could have been stranded in the Himalayas while WaMu reps were busy playing Snood. Her complaint letter, and our advice on how to be more effective, inside…
Bank Of America Tries To Ruin Your Vacation For Your Own Protection
By 6.2.08
Reader Drew went out of his way to ensure that he’d be able to get money from ATMs (using his Bank of America card), while on vacation. Despite his best efforts, he learned that a) putting a note on your account saying that you’ll be in England and b) drawing less than the maximum daily amount from your account is still not enough to keep BoA from putting a hold on your account. He’s written in with some advice for other Bank of America customers who are planning on traveling soon…
Chili's Chips, Now With Savory Chip-Warmer Knob
By 6.2.08
As if to prove that their chips are served warm, Chili’s is now serving their chips complete with the temperature control knob from the chip warmer. Reader Jared describes his chips with a twist, inside…
AT&T Shipped Me An Empty Plastic Bag Instead Of An iPhone!
By 6.2.08
David ordered a refurbished iPhone from AT&T. What he received was a brand new empty plastic bag. Apparently, AT&T has 500 backorders for refurbished iPhones, so for some completely unknown and nonsensical reason, they’ve decided to start shipping empty plastic bags. Let’s join David as he tries to track down the iPhone he ordered…
My Wife Was Attacked In The Parking Lot And Rite Aid Won't Help!
By 6.1.08
Virginia police are unable to track down the creep who grabbed Michael’s wife in a Rite Aid parking lot because Rite Aid is refusing to hand over its security tapes. Even worse, the store manager apparently knows the creepy grabber guy and is also refusing to help. Michael wrote to Rite Aid’s corporate office begging them to cooperate with law enforcement. He hasn’t heard back in two days.
Dear Greyhound: Thanks For Ditching Me In Philadelphia. May I Please Have My Bags Back Now?
By 5.31.08
Greyhound ditched reader Austin at a Philadelphia rest stop on the way from Chicago to New York. During the previous stops, the driver clearly announced that the bus was about to depart. This apparently wasn’t necessary in Philadelphia, even though Greyhound ordered off all the passengers so the bus could be cleaned and refueled. After thirty minutes, Austin quickly dashed into the bathroom. When he returned, the bus had disappeared with his bag. Now, Greyhound’s executive office is refusing to talk to Austin, or provide any compensation for his missing bag.
Sam's Club Won't Let You Buy A Wii Because They're Saving It For Later
By 5.30.08
Shawn is a Sam’s Club member and on a recent shopping trip to buy a Wii he thought he’d snagged the very last one, but when the cashier tried to ring the item up something went wrong. Turns out that Sam’s Club was “saving” that Wii for a “Grand Re-Opening” party and refused to sell it to Shawn and his girlfriend.
UPDATE: Comcast Responds To Yesterday's Article, Waives $1.99 Fee
By 5.30.08
If you read our story “Canceling HBO Costs $1.99 But Canceling Comcast Is Free, Which Do You Choose?” you should remember Jonathon who was trying to cancel his HBO with a Comcast online CSR that was offering very little help. Jonathon wrote back to us to let us know that after our story ran he received a call from a Comcast supervisor who apologized and said that the online CSR did in fact have the authority to waive the $1.99 fee. Jonathon’s letter, inside…
Canceling HBO Costs $1.99 But Canceling Comcast Is Free, Which Do You Choose?
By 5.29.08
Reader Jonathon wanted to cancel his HBO so he contacted one of Comcast’s infamously useless online customer service representatives. CSR Adam informed Jonathon that to cancel HBO would cost him a fee of $1.99. He asked to speak to a supervisor to get the fee waived but CSR Adam said that would be impossible. The CSR then pointed out that there would be no charge to cancel Comcast’s service altogether. Decisions, decisions. Jonathon’s letter and chat log, inside…
UPDATE: Sears Changes Its Mind About The Definition Of "All"
By 5.28.08
If you read our story from this morning “Sears Kicks Off Holiday Weekend With False Advertising” you should remember Nazar who couldn’t get the advertised discount on his garage storage. He wrote to us with the following update:
1-800PetMeds' Relentless Spam Email Makes Your Mother Cry
By 5.28.08
Consumerist Forums moderator Brian is moderating a problem of his own. His mother, who is mourning the recent loss of their dog Mandy, is receiving a relentless flood of spam email from 1-800 PetMeds with titles such as: “Take Mandy on a picnic this Memorial Day Weekend!” and “Summer showers are around the corner, make sure Mandy is dressed properly!” Considering the fact that Mandy passed only a few days before, the emails are causing Brian’s mother a great amount of grief and tears. He has set up email filters to block the email, but like an intelligent virus the email changes its signature to bypass the filters. Unfortunately, he cannot simply filter the word “Mandy” because his mother is still sending and receiving email regarding her demise. His letter, inside…
IDT Energy Still Scamming New York Residents
By 5.28.08
It looks like IDT Energy sales reps are back to their old tricks of getting customers to switch from ConEd by posing as ConEd workers and using misleading sales tactics. S.J. in Brooklyn has the report…
The Art Of Ordering A McDonald's 2 Cheeseburger Extra Value Meal With No Cheese
By 5.28.08
At some undefined point in our fast food history, there was a brief flash and the 2 Hamburger Extra Value Menu slipped into extinction. One theory is that it is McDonald’s attempt to involuntarily up-sell us to cheese. The casual observer might conclude that the customer must certainly be able to order a 2 Cheeseburger Extra Value Meal minus the cheese, even if said customer has to pay for the cheese. It is not that easy. “At McDonald’s, if there’s no button for it on the register it doesn’t exist,” says “Bagumpity,” a Consumerist Forums reader. Not content with letting McDonald’s play God with his 2 Hamburger Extra Value Meal, Bagumpity discusses the strange world of confusion and twisted logic he is forced to enter each time he tries to order a 2 Cheeseburger Extra Value Meal with no cheese. His letter, inside…
Sears Kicks Off Holiday Weekend With False Advertising
By 5.28.08
Like many consumers, reader Nazar hoped to get in on some money saving deals over the holiday weekend. He spotted this advertisement (pictured above) in the Sunday paper for Sears, which clearly reads “ALL Garage storage on sale, 50% off – excludes closeouts.” Nazar headed down to Sears and picked out a garage storage unit, (not on closeout) but at checkout the Sears manager refused to give him 50% off citing that the sale was for the pictured unit only. Nazar’s letter and our advice, inside…
BBB Works Against Sprint
By 5.28.08
Some people think the BBB doesn’t work. They do, but only if the company cares about keeping a clean record. See when you look up a company in the BBB database it shows you how many complaints have been filed against the company, how many were answered, how many did the consumer report as being satisfactorily resolved, etc. So if you have a valid complaint, file it with the BBB, and the company cares about its BBB record, you have a decent chance of getting a solution. You might not believe it, but it turns out Sprint is one of those companies. Here’s Kevin’s story of how the BBB got his erroneous text message charges refunded and let him leave contract early without early termination fee…
Everydaydeals Bribes User To Remove Neutral Feedback
By 5.27.08
After receiving two defective “new” headsets and a third one that was missing packaging materials, Lance left EveryDayDeals neutral feedback. EverydayDeals then offered to give Lance a partial refund, but only if he withdrew his non-thumbs-up feedback. Lance’s email, and EveryDayDeals bribe note, inside…
