Here’s the recording of us, spruced up by the visual wizardy of our video slave Alex Goldberg, calling Investor Relations (480-693-1227) yesterday, pressing 0, and brute forcing our way to somebody, anybody, any live person to help us just file a simple (and yes, probably totally hopeless) Lost and Found request.
complaints
Home Depot Accuses You Of Attempting Return Fraud
By 6.12.07
Here at the Consumerist we realize that return fraud is a very serious problem for retailers. Nevertheless, this story puzzles us. Dana bought a thermostat from Home Depot, but it turned out to be incompatible with her heating and cooling system. When she brought it back, the customer service person accused her of bringing in an empty bag and receipt, shoplifting a thermostat and then trying to return the stolen unit. It’s a common scam…. but…
Man Escapes Working For DS-MAX-esque Charity Scam, Lives To Blogs His Tale
By 6.12.07
A reader who used to work for Quantum Marketing, one of the “Aftermax” companies, (the term for companies that old DS-MAX (now known as Innovage) spawned), wrote several posts describing how his company scammed people who thought they were donating money to D.A.R.E.
US Airways Lost And Found: "That's Pretty Low On Our Priority List"
By 6.12.07
We’re not the only ones confounded by US Airways disgustingly broken Lost and Found system. Randy writes:
UPDATE: US Airways Broken Lost And Found Page
By 6.12.07
We reported to US Airways how their online Lost and Found form leads to a 404 error, and this is the response we got:
Dear Ben Popken,
US Airways Numbers That Don't Work Quite Right
By 6.12.07
US Airways’ phone system is jacked up and many publicly provided numbers don’t seem to go to the right place. Par example:
- 866-523-5333 – Customer care. Press 3 to leave a comment or complaint about a previous flight, stay on hold for 30+ minutes and/or get told they’re really sorry but there just doesn’t seem to be anyone around to help you.
Ask The Consumerists: What Do I Do About Credit Cards I Never Requested?
By 6.12.07
I’ve gotten two of these unwanted cards in the last 12 months after signing up with two different financial institutions for two different reasons. The first was a mortgage I signed, the second for a business checking account where I was the primary account user. I’ve worked hard all my life to maintain good credit, and I don’t want these things to affect my excellent rating. What should I do now?
Read Beau’s letter and our advice, inside.
Helio Call Centers Still Staffed By Nincompoops
By 6.7.07
Not only does virtual cellphone carrier Helio work by piggybacking off Sprint’s network, it seems to have leased their call centers’ famous dedication to customer service as well.
ASAP Van Lines Dispute Resolved In Favor Of Consumer
By 6.6.07
The results of a reweigh yesterday showed that ASAP Van Lines mistakenly overcharged Candace for her shipment.
Wachovia Demonstrates How To Lose A Customer
By 6.5.07
We have more than a passing interest in customer service over here, so it always amuses us when a company loses a customer simply because they’re too stubborn to apologize for messing up.
Contact Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
By 6.5.07
It’s not a direct line, but you’ll get to the admin secretary closest to Steve Ballmer. If you have a longstanding Microsoft issue that multiple trips to the MS customer service line haven’t solved, try pitching her your problems.
Always Be Closing: IDT Energy Salesmen Interrupt Man In Shower
By 5.30.07
Max from Queens tells us what it’s like to have IDT Energy knocking on your door:
My front buzzer rang a little while ago while I was in the shower. I figured it was UPS, and that my roommate would go out to get it. A short while later, the bell on my apartment went off, and I guessed that he had forgotten to grab his keys on the way out. So I grabbed a towel, and went to let him in. Instead of my roommate, there was some dude with a binder.
Update On That ASAP Van Lines Dispute
By 5.30.07
The reweigh for the reader in a dispute with ASAP Van Lines over her moving bill has been moved forward to sometime after June 3rd .
Verizon Retail Salespeople Randomly Access Your Account, Add Features
By 5.30.07
Christy is upset. She got a call from a strange Verizon sales rep who claimed he had sold her a phone. (He didn’t.) The stranger told her that she could have VCast free for one month. She declined.
Office Depot Executive E-Mail Carpet Bomb Scores Direct Hit
By 5.30.07
One of the best techniques for escalating a seemingly hopeless customer service problem is the “Executive E-Mail Carpet Bomb,” or as we lovingly refer to it, the EECB. Phill ran into some problems with his Office Depot order, so he followed our instructions for launching an EECB.
How Many Hours On The Phone Does It Take For Microsoft To Fix A Simple Problem?
By 5.30.07
Meet Tim. Tim has a simple request. He’d like to run Windows XP on his new laptop and Windows Vista on his old laptop. This requires him to switch the operating systems. Sounds easy. It’s not. Tim writes:
So, I’m running XP on the new laptop and Home Premium on the old laptop. I have the Dell OEM Home Premium disk and the Windows Anytime Upgrade disk with a CD key.
Don't Let Crunch Gym Crunch Your Bank Account
By 5.23.07
The following is reader David’s consumerist report on how Crunch Gym stole from his bank account and how he made the bastards pay, a process akin to squeezing sweat from a stone.
