- “Today, I got a call from AT&T’s billing department. The lady wanted to know when I was going to pay the past due amount of $477.82. I paid this, I responded. She begged to differ.
complaints
AT&T Billing Can’t Find Man’s $475
By 3.28.06
DSL: For a Few Dollars More
By 3.28.06
In some of the more epic consumer complaints we receive, its evident that the customer service gotterdammerung became about more than just the money. The flaw is not with the Indian service rep’s but rather, there is perhaps a greater flaw in the universe, somehow the world is fundamentally askew for these disgruntled people. In setting right these corporate wrongs, we wonder if some consumers are fulfilling a greater quest for justice.
Mechanics’ Hubris in Humble, Texas
By 3.28.06
Margaret L. writes in an all too typical complaint of car mechanics taking the elderly for a ride.
Monday Morning Reminder: Write Us!
By 3.27.06
Just our Monday Morning Reminder that we want your tips, experiences, complaints, comments, suggestions, criticisms, naked pictures, death threats, bank account details… just about anything you’re willing to send us over at tips@consumerist.com.
Consumerist Complaints: Stolen FedEx Package
By 3.22.06
Reader Clare P. wrote in with her tale of anguish and woe after a Tivo that she’d ordered through HDEasy was stolen from her doorstep after being delivered by FedEx. Adding to the frustration, Clare’s been having an aggravating game of phone tag with the support lines for Tivo, FedEx and HDEasy, trying to figure out the process for filing her claim and getting a replacement.
Why Rebates Suck: TigerDirect and OnRebate
By 3.16.06
Look, you guys are all savvy, so there’s no need to remind you: never buy anything because it is on rebate. Don’t even factor a rebate into your purchasing equation: nine times out of ten, rebates are scams.
When Is An Audio CD Not An Audio CD?
By 3.16.06
Reader Matt V. called our attention to Ben Laurie’s blog. Ben recently purchased a Beth Orton CD from Amazon, only to discover that it had DRM on it that prevented him from playing it on his computer. Ben has since returned the CD to Amazon and filed a complaint against them with the Trading Standards Authority (a UK consumer rights organization) that Amazon is dishonestly calling it an “Audio CD”. Ben argues it isn’t an Audio CD, because he can’t play it on his computer.
Complaints: Verizon CSRs on Motorola V710
By 3.15.06
Business as usual for Verizon Customer Service Representative #1: a customer writes in, frustrated but polite, with a cogent complaint. When shopping for their phone, they were misleaded and/or lied to about the phone’s functionality by a Verizon employee. While the customer does not demand a refund, they are looking for some sort of acknowledgment that they have been wronged and want to know what Verizon is going to do in the future to prevent their sales reps from selling products based upon misleading and dishonest claims.
Why Starforce Sucks: DRM CSR Idiot Pirates
By 3.14.06
A brief history: for those of you who aren’t into video games, you might not have heard about Starforce, a Russian company that has become infamous amongst the gaming community for an extremely invasive and draconian copyright protection system that has, according to numerous forum posts, completely broken many customer’s computers. Starforce denies these claims and smugly mention that they recently held a contest for $10,000 dollars to prove in their office that Starforce breaks systems. According to them, no one won. The problem? They required you to demonstrate it in some Muscovite office complex, under their supervision. We doubt many people were twitching to fly to Russia just to lose a $10,000 bet on some dreamed-up technicality.
Underworldly Camera Shop PriceRitePhoto is Back
By 3.13.06
In the immortal words of LL Cool J, “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.” Yes, our friends, PriceRite Photo, has returned to online commerce!
Monday Morning Reminder: Consumerist Wants Your Tips
By 3.13.06
Just a reminder that if you’ve found a story you’d like to see here, have an anecdote (bad or good) about a company or just want to give feedback about the tone and direction of this site, The Consumerist wants to hear from you.
I’m Hungover. Also, Michigan Wine Wholesalers
By 3.13.06
John Brownlee here. As you can tell from the alcohol-oriented nature of the last two posts, I’m a tad hungover this morning. You know, when I moved to Ireland, got a job and called in sick for the first time, I was surprised to note that my boss instantly assumed that I had “gotten a dirty glass” the night before (no one in Ireland ever gets drunk or hungover: the most that ever happens is that our systems react unfavorably to the dust at the bottom of our twelfth pint of Guinness) and that, furthermore, being drunk was a perfectly acceptable excuse in the Irish business world for calling out sick that day.
CompUSA, “Brother, Can You Spare a Paperclip?”
By 3.10.06
Mike writes in tale of CompUSA exhibiting classic “bullet in foot” syndrome.
Consumer Complaints: Google Bills Incredulous Non-Customer for 3 Grand
By 3.8.06
Yikes. Reader Charlie Flint just wrote in with this horror story. The short: Google bills him $3,000 dollars for an Adwords account that he doesn’t actually have. To our untrained eye, this sounds very much like someone has gotten his bank details somehow and is using Google Adwords to funnel money out of his account, but we’re no experts. Can anyone with similar or not-so-similar experience tell Charlie what the hell is going on and what he can do about it?
Tin-Foil Hat File: Chattanooga McDonald’s Complaints
By 3.8.06
Most of the time, we get some truly excellent horror stories from our readers. Compare for a second the comments section of, say, a site like Superficial to our own. On the former, you will find dozens of gelid shut-ins feverishly describing what it might be like if Jessica Alba were to sit on the tip of their penis. On the latter, you will find thoughtful, engaged discussion. We love you guys.
HOWNOTTO: Buy a Laptop
By 3.6.06
UPDATE: Patricia wrote in how she purchased a defective laptop from the Uniwill corporation who didn’t respond to her requests for them to live up to their warranty for on-site service. Even after finally getting through to the repair center and sending her laptop in, it was sent back in exactly the same condition: it powered down whenever a CD was inserted.
Monday Morning Reminder: tips@consumerist.com
Just a Monday Morning reminder that Gawker has two starving bloggers to feed in The Consumerist and we simply can not feed both ourselves and Ben Popken’s Eraserhead-like progeny without hearing from our readers.