Reader Jerry wants to warn you about his shocking problem with his Bose in-ear headphones. If he goes for a walk with them, they shock his inner ear. Ouch! Jerry wrote to Bose, telling them about his problem, and Bose wrote back, “Yeah? So?”. Apparently, occasional shocks to your inner ear aren’t a problem, or a design flaw, they’re a feature! See what Jerry has to say about this, inside.
complaints
E*Trade Holds Your $3,195 Hostage
By 4.24.08
After eight months of calling and writing, Reader Brice finally annoyed E*Trade enough to close his account. At least that’s what the letter from E*Trade said; in reality, Brice never received a check for his balance, and although he couldn’t access his $3,195, his account is still earning interest.
It Takes Two Subpoenas And A Contempt Threat To Get A Response From WaMu
By 4.24.08
Washington Mutual will give you a copy of the check that you’ve been requesting for a year, but first you will need to subpoena them twice and attempt to have them held in contempt of court. That’s what one reader experienced when her employer, a law firm, needed a document from the megabank. As she puts it: “If a law firm with the power of a subpoena behind them can’t get WaMu to cough up a document in a timely manner without a massive amount of headache, I’d hate to see what the average consumer has to deal with.”
UnitedHealth Unapproves Surgery From 2 Years Ago, Wants $7700 Back
By 4.23.08
United Health Care, not content with merely denying life saving cancer procedures or refusing to pay for basic (covered!) checkups, took things to a new level by retroactively un-approving procedures they paid for in 2005. They sent reader Suzanne a letter and a bill for $7700, claiming the pay-out was an “administrative error”, and she needed to pay up. Check out the details, inside.
Dell Celebrates Earth Day By Sending Me Junk Mail After I Said Stop
By 4.22.08
Despite my repeated requests via online form and phone, and even a few posts about it, including one where I made a photo spread of burning the offending items, Dell keeps sending me catalogs. So here is another post for the online pillory, but, in celebration of Earth Day, instead of burning these catalogs, I have recycled them (see above). Their inability/indifference is all the more stupid because two different Dell execs contacted me to say they would look into the issue. They even had me email them the cryptograms on my address label to help remove me from their mailing system. Dell, please, help me save the planet and take me off your stupid catalog lists. Otherwise I guess I’ll just have to deem your material “pornographic” (hey, I know it when I see it, right?) and use USPS form 1500 to get you stop. When you decided to get people to lust after your XPS line, that probably isn’t what you had in mind.
Comcast Skips 3 Appointments, Hangs Up On You 6 Times, Makes You Want To Cry
By 4.21.08
Reader Stephanie wants to cry because of Comcast:
I HATE dealing with tech support. This time, I bit the bullet because my internet connection wasn’t working.
Microsoft Keeps Your Repaired XBox For 4 Months, Calls You A Thief For Wanting It Back
By 4.19.08 — Updated: 3.10.13
[protected-iframe id="b8f18f624db3162ddc3edeca28b1ece8-40783744-40309798" info="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.php?u=http://digg.com/xbox/Help_Microsoft_Thinks_I_m_A_Thief_For_Wanting_My_XBox_Back" width="55" height="82" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"]Microsoft hasn’t returned Tiffany’s XBox 360 for four months because they think she is a thief, even though she has her original receipt and a credit card statement proving that she is the console’s rightful owner. Microsoft repaired the XBox back in January and tried to return it via FedEx, but a shipping snafu landed the box back at Microsoft’s service center. Tiffany has called repeatedly. She even sent a letter to Microsoft’s legal department, after sending her receipt and statement, asking how else she could prove ownership. That was 22 days ago. She has yet to receive a response.
Pilots Complain That Cash-Strapped Airlines Are Skimping On Fuel
By 4.19.08
What’s the surest way to save money on rising fuel prices? Don’t use it! MSNBC has gathered pilot complaints from a database NASA maintains for the FAA, and they show that airlines are challenging pilots’ refueling decisions, urging them to carry only the minimum fuel required by FAA regulations in…
Amazon Screws Up Refund, Charges $2,288.44 for $750 Of Gym Equipment
By 4.18.08
Reader Craig ordered some gym equipment from Amazon, but he accidentally used his debit card instead of his credit card. Realizing his mistake, he immediately tried to correct the problem. He went through the change payment process right away and figured all was well. Of course it wasn’t, and he ended up getting charged $2,288.44 for $750 worth of equipment when Amazon got the refund process backwards. Twice. See how it happened after the jump.
Time Warner Wants $9,060 To Let You Have Cable
By 4.18.08
Reader “phillipe23” wants cable service, but because of his rural location it will cost him $9,060. He already has satellite, but his reception is very spotty. It seems that when the bad weather rolls in his service goes out. Clinging to the the hope that cable could be the answer to his problems, he contacted Time Warner for some relief. So what did the ever-sympathetic cable giant have to say? phillipe23’s letter, and our advice, inside…
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
By 4.17.08
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway:
Only Sirius's CEO Knows Where The Extra Tape Is
By 4.17.08
Reader Hayden had to email the CEO of Sirius radio just to get them to ship him some replacement adhesive backing for his car radio. Every homebrewed solution he tried couldn’t get his Sirius radio to stick to his dashboard. When he called Sirius, he got bounced around between disconnections, robots, people who couldn’t speak English, a guy who insisted Sirius didn’t have stock any replacement tape. So Hayden kicked it straight to the man at the top with a nice cogent complaint letter, cc’d to us, various Sirius execs, the BBB, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, and some popular gadget blogs. Apparently that’s what it takes to get some replacement tape. His complaint letter, inside…
Oxford Tweaks Rules So It Can Double Your Monthly CoPay
By 4.16.08
Kristine writes:
Oxford healthcare recently updated its policy to read that no dosages of prescriptions exceeding 31 days would be processed. In the case of a patient receiving injectable solution, this may mean that their reconstitution device will give them 18 days of dosing, meaning that they will have to pay two copayments per month in order to receive ample supply of their medication…
This Earthbound Farm Organic Salad Comes With A Free Dirty Glove
By 4.16.08
Reader Justin claims he discovered this gray glove in a package of Earthbound Farm organic salad. Salads, organic or otherwise, do not typically contain prizes, and Justin’s reaction (“I was mortified”) is understandable. The experience has scarred Justin’s psyche and he is left wondering, “How many times was I one package away from eating glove?” Additional picture inside.
Ask Comcast Tech To Move His Van, Mysteriously Lose Signal
By 4.15.08
Reader Daniel lives in San Francisco, where parking is notoriously impossible. He came home one morning to find a Comcast van blocking his drive way, and politely asked the driver to move. Ten minutes later he lost his internet and TV signal. Mysterious coincidence, or malevolent tech? Check out the details, inside.
Why You Should Buy A Backup Harddrive
By 4.15.08
Waffling about whether to invest in a backup harddrive? Maybe this story will help convince you:
I am crawling under my desk in my work clothes before I have to take children to school and then run for the train. There is a phone wedged under my ear and a bowl of cereal in one hand. With the other, I am trying to pull a cable from behind my computer while a customer service rep for Treo (like a Blackberry, but worse) attempts to diagnose why the computer just wiped out every article I have ever written and my appointments through next year. She is in Bombay. My children are in my kitchen. They are yelling for me.
Hard drives WILL fail. It’s just a question of when. Protect your sanity, and your work clothes from getting wrinkled, and get a backup harddrive.
It's Been 4 Months, GEICO, Where's My Money?
By 4.15.08
Jonathan writes:On January 1st, a friend of mine went to visit another friend in CT (I am from NJ), and unfortunately hit black ice, and proceeded into a guardrail.
Sallie Mae Has No Idea Where Your $1500 Is
By 4.15.08
Then I finished my enlistment, was honorably discharged, and waited for the last payment to come in. It was 4 months late and when it got there (mid-December), it looked like it was $1500 MORE than what was left owed on my account. I called the Army and they confirmed that they had payed the correct amount they owed me, taking interest into account. The overpayment belongs to me. Yay, more free money!
