I know a lot of your readers believe that local, mom and pop operations are the way to go — that big corporate companies are universally evil and local is almost always filled with nice, smiling workers who are far superior to their sell-out counter-parts. I’m here today to show you that, at least in banking, size doesn’t matter.
complaints
Eloping Nearly Ruined By Bank Blocking The Entire "State" Of Las Vegas
By 6.25.07
DirecTV Installer Needs Electrical Tape, Prefers Coke To Water, Is Concerned About Your Parenting
By 6.25.07
Christy is having the best time getting DirecTV installed in her home. Highlights of her hilariously tragic email include:
Memo To Circuit City Store # 3554: You Must Honor Prices As Marked On The Shelf
By 6.23.07
I took my nephew to our local Circuit City in Bainbridge Twp, Ohio on Thursday June 21st, 2007. He checked the website the night before on what he was going to get and when he went to go get the product off of the shelf the price was posted wrong on the shelf. He took it up to the register and the lady that waited on him said that will be $184.99 with $25.00 rebate.
Returning Gifts At Best Buy Is A Big Pain In The Butt
By 6.22.07
Let me state clearly what they are having us do: I had to return the camera at the store, the cost of which will be refunded to my brother’s card. Then I have to call my brother and explain to him why I am exchanging his gift and ask him to please go back online and purchase a different camera for me. Talk about a pain for my brother who was just trying to get me a nice wedding gift!
US Airways Partners With Bait And Switch Credit Card Sales Company
By 6.22.07
So tonight, I was unpacking, I got the calculator out of the box, and – surprise – I find out that I’d applied for a Master Card with Barclays Bank. Not just any master card, this one had an APR of either 18.24% or 20.24%. What a deal – about double what any of our cards are right now…
File A Complaint With The FCC
By 6.22.07
If you have a complaint about anything that happens over a wire or is otherwise communicated, you can file one with the FCC. Telephone, cable, debt collectors, and more all fall under their jurisdiction.
Target's Everyday Ineptitude Reminds Me Why I Like Online Shopping
By 6.21.07
I wanted to buy a softball glove for a game today. I called my nearest Target to find out if they had any in stock. The operator tried transferring me to the sports area three times but no one picked up. She asked me to call back. I asked if she had a fancy device for looking up the in-store stock. She said to do that she needed a specific item number. Online, Target’s wares have 3 numbers: a category #, an ASIN, and a DPCI. She needed a DCPI. I gave her one for this glove. She said they didn’t have any in stock. I then tried to look at other gloves, but the two or three that I tried didn’t have DCPI numbers…
UPDATE: Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
By 6.21.07
We posted about how Ian started blogging his quest to get Sears to make up for delivering the wrong dryer, repeatedly. Now, the executive customer service types are ignoring his requests for a refund, despite their promises to do so in full. Ian has vowed to take Sears to small claims court-the last recourse for aggrieved customers.
Continental Airlines Sewage Flight, Eyewitness Account
By 6.20.07
“To be blatantly honest, I was more nervous than I had ever been on a flight,” said [passenger] Collin Brock. “I’ve never felt so offended in all my life. I felt like i had been physically abused and neglected. I was forced to sit next to human excrement for seven hours,” said Brock.
Here’s what happened: Mid-way through the flight, the toilets stopped working. The flight made an unscheduled stop in Shannon, Ireland to fix the problem…but the problem wasn’t fixed. Shortly after take-off a sewage geyser started, and this time Continental didn’t turn back.
Sir, That's Not Fecal Water Flooding Your Cruise Ship Stateroom, That's Brown Glue
By 6.20.07
I and my family recently took a cruise with Holland America Lines to Alaska on the ms Statendam. Two days into the cruise my brother’s stateroom was affected by an overflowing toilet one room down. The ship’s response? Put big fans in the room and not acknowledge it or apologize in any other way.
This Walmart Birthday Cake Shows Excellent Craftmanship
By 6.18.07
Hey consumerist just thought I’d let you and every other customer out there know that Wal-mart sucks at making cakes! It was my daughter’s 3rd birthday yesterday (06.17.07) and my wife ordered a cake a week ago to be made for this date. When we picked it up with a little less than an hour until the party started, we were extremely disappointed to say the least. We complained and they gave us 20% off but that wasn’t enough as far as we were concerned. I told customer service “We shouldn’t have to pay more than half for a half-assed cake” (I just couldn’t resist making a pun haha). All they said was “twenty percent is the most we can give you”. We didn’t have time to get another cake and just went ahead and bought it but we will never buy another cake from Wal-Mart again that’s for damn sure. I mean look at at it, it looks hardly anything like the advertisement! That strip with black lines on it, yeah that’s supposed to look like a film strip. Oh and to boot my wife ordered butter cream filling and they put strawberry instead. Is it really that hard to follow directions and deliver a worthy product? Apparently.
Indeed, that cake is pretty weak. They should probably get rid of the picture if they can’t actually make that cake.
TSA Uploads Video Of "Sippy Cup" Incident On Special "MythBusting" Website
By 6.16.07
The TSA has uploaded the incident report and surveillance video that they claim shows the “sippy cup terrorist” Mom intentionally dumping her child’s water on the floor of the airport after having claimed “she was an officer and flashed her Secret Service badge and credentials and said that she should be exempt from all this and this was a stupid policy and this whole thing was [redacted].” We’re guessing that last word was bullshit, but like we said, that’s just an educated guess.
What's The Matter With American Air Travel?
By 6.15.07
The Economist has a special report that considers the various problems with the American airline industry. Of particular interest is a survey of 519 airline passengers that posed the question, “What, if anything, do you dislike about taking a trip by plane?” The answer, overwhelmingly, was “Security measures.”
Epic Battle For Raspberry Syrup Ends With Starbucks Apology And Gift Card
By 6.14.07
Andy and his partner would just like some raspberry syrup in their Iced Venti Raspberry Soy Mocha, but in the midst of a change from old raspberry syrup to something called “juicy” raspberry… chaos at Starbucks. The use of juicy raspberry before the “juicy raspberry” promotion was simply not allowed. Attitudes were copped. Customers were offended. Business was lost. Apologies were issued. Gift cards were mailed.
DISH Runs Away With Refund Spoon
By 6.14.07
UPDATE: 6/18/07:
Thank you for your help! However – I just wanted to let you know that I did finally receive the refund check in today’s mail. While it turned out your help wasn’t necessary after all, it was a great relief just knowing that you were there and willing to look into the situation.
More Helio Hell
By 6.14.07
If you cancel Helio because their customer service is run by jackholes, be sure to check you really are canceled. Stella writes:
…they neglected to cancel my account after I returned the equipment and canceled my service — and didn’t send me any bills/communication, only to report me to a collection agency a few months later. It was a big and annoying ordeal, I already didn’t like the company and lack of customer service which is why I originally canceled, but after this situation, to say I have lost respect for them is just not enough.
Then again, if their call centers are bollocks, then what’s to say they’ll give you the right answer when you call? Guess the only solution is to not sign up with those pack of Scientologists in the first place. — BEN POPKEN
Helio Baits Customer With 1-Year Contract, Switches Him To 2-Year
By 6.14.07
I wanted to sign up for the Ocean on May 13th, but I noticed that on the web site, the only option for contracts was a 24 month agreement. Given that Helio is a new company, I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to two years. I called Helio to find out if I could get a one-year agreement. The customer service rep that I spoke to was very accommodating and said I could have a one year deal. I mentioned a web promo code that would get me some other discounts, including the $30 activation fee waved, and $25 off the first four months of service, and she said that I could have all that, as well as a nice discount on the phone itself. I signed up then and there.
