Sigmund, a resident of Brooklyn, is hearing a piercing alarm-type sound that lasts anywhere from minutes to hours on end. The sound can be heard with the windows closed. Upon complaining about this noise to the police and local authorities,Sigmund was told that unless other people complained… nothing could be done.
complaints
How I Became A Music Pirate
By 3.20.07
Does DRM drive even honest well-meaning people to piracy? Yes, of course it does.
5 Tips For Complaining To Airlines
By 3.20.07
The Wall Street Journal has several tips today on effectively complaining to airlines.
By Air, Boat, Or Plane, Paypal Sucks For Transaction Disputes
By 3.17.07
How is that Paypal gets away with having a customer service system completely unreachable by humans?
UPDATE: Delta Finally Refunds Man Who Tracked Down And Got Prosecuted Baggage Handler Who Stole His Camera
By 3.17.07
Remember our reader, Charles, who got his camera stolen by a Delta baggage handler? And how Charles found the camera on eBay and got the guy tracked down, fired, and arrested? And how Delta didn’t give a shit and wasn’t going to refund Charles any money? After we ran his story, the fine folks at the PeterGreenberg radio show stepped in, and Delta agreed to reimburse Charles for the full cost of his original flight. Here’s what they said:
Complaints Work! Time Warner Cable Exec Fired After An Avalanche of Customer Complaints
By 3.16.07
They have a tall order ahead in repairing strained relations with customers and winning back the more than 10,000 people who have canceled their subscriptions since October.
WaMu's Support System Is Really Pathetic
By 3.16.07
Looks like even if WaMu’s Consumer Lending Department isn’t closed, they still have no clue what they’re doing. After La Boy transferred money from his Bank of America Account to his WaMu, he was essentially accused of trying to steal from himself. It took numerous calls to Washington Mutual to get it resolved, and most reps were more interested in passing the buck than resolving the issue.
Target Ships Couch With No Screws Or Legs, Wants You To Return It To The Store
By 3.16.07
This story is precisely why we’ve decided to avoid buying furniture from any store that doesn’t specialize in furniture. Christian and his wife bought a couch from Target and had it shipped to the house for $100. It turns out that “Target Ground” was really just UPS, and the 6 foot couch took no less than 3 boxes and 2 drop-offs for UPS to deliver in its entirety. Oh wait. They didn’t deliver it in its entirety because they forgot the screws and legs needed to put the couch together.
WaMu Unstrands Credit Card Theft Victim
By 3.16.07
Marty, the traveler stranded overseas after his credit cards were stolen and Washington Mutual refused to help him, has a happy update to his blog. The morning after he posted his blog entry, Rosie from WaMu Executive Customer Service called him. She apologized profusely for the poor level of customer service and stepped in to resolve his problem with speed. WaMu removed all the fraudulent charges, save 29 cents.
Mexican Hertz Charges $499.48 For A Flat Tire
By 3.14.07
For a pre-paid one month economy car rental for $632.03, on January 16th Hertz rented me a 2007 Blue Chevrolet , Lic#5981AVB in good condition at the Los Cabos airport. I declined to purchase insurance. Late on the night of January 20th, during a rainstorm, a tire blew out on the vehicle; so, after exchanging the tire with the spare the following morning, on January 21st, I returned the vehicle to the agency at their suggestion and wrote a full report. The agency assured me there would be no problem of any charges.
USAirways Loses Costumes, Ruins Carnivale
By 3.13.07
Some of my friends and I went to Venice for the Carnivale last month, and we wound up without our costumes, due to incompetence or theft overseen by US Airways….We were trying to connect from a US Airways flight to Philadelphia onto another airline, we got separated from our bags, and only the bag with “boring” contents came through – the suitcase containing the “interesting” contents has somehow still not been located!
Man Blogs Suing Allied Interstate For Jacking Up His Credit Report
By 3.13.07
One man is blogging about his suing of Allied Interstate in small claims court for jacking up his credit report.
Statistically Speaking, His Check Was Fraudulent
By 3.12.07
Checking systems’ vagaries make them susceptible to scams, so we can understand why Walgreens might want to protect themselves against our reader by denying his drug purchase.
Two Years Later, WaMu Unable To 'Integrate' Acquired Card Division's Support System
By 3.12.07
Here’s some insight into why WaMu was screwing Marty so hard last week when he had his credit cards stolen overseas. If you recall, Marty canceled all his cards but still saw $5800 in fraudulent charges rung up on his WaMu card. When he called, WaMu was most unhelpful, refusing to help him as the “Consumer Lending Department” was closed for the weekend.
Getting Metlife Dental Coverage Is Like Pulling Teeth
By 3.12.07
Why are insurance forms and regulations written at the 27th grade level? We’re not sure if even Metlife knows. Reader Tim certainly doesn’t, all he knows is Metlife can’t figure out how to get his dang teeth replaced. Sadly, the three teeth wouldn’t need implants if it weren’t for the first dentist delaying in removing the first tooth.
To Whom Do You Complain About The FTC's Broken Complaint Form?
By 3.12.07
The FTC runs a web app that is supposed to allow consumers to complain to the FTC and clue them into stuff they might want to investigate, with the link to it on the page at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
WaMu Screws Customer Stranded Overseas After Credit Cards Stolen
By 3.9.07
Marty was stranded in Greece after his credit cards got stolen on the metro. He called WaMu to cancel his cards and then when he tried to confirm they were closed, he got transferred from department to department. In the meantime, thieves continued to run his bill up to $5800. Marty’s cellphone minutes continued to drain. No one could help him because the Consumer Lending Department “was closed over the weekend.” WaMu must believe that identity theft is only committed during the weekday.
UPDATE: Be Friends With Eddie's $8,677.29 Cingular Bill
By 3.7.07
Now my bill went from an average monthly bill of less than $100 to $8,677.29. It had something to do with my data transfer rate. Obviously, they did not give me my original plan. Instead they gave me some $8,677.29/month plan.
