Even the hearty television presence of Alan Thicke couldn’t help Consolidated Resorts, Inc., a company owned by Goldman Sachs that sold timeshares, from going belly up. An anonymous tipster emailed us yesterday to say that they “just laid off most of their staff, including all collections, customers service, marketing, information technology departments.” And according to this insider, this is good news for consumers.
confessions
More Insider Tips When Buying From Radioshack
By 6.17.09
There’s clearly no love lost between D. and D’s former employer, RadioShack. A little over a year ago, D. sent us some insider tips on what to watch out for when you shop at RS. Now here comes a follow-up, with more information on cell phone sales tricks, warranty pitches, and used merchandise.
Dusty PS3 Inspector Threw Dirt On PS3 So He Wouldn't Have To Repair It
By 6.10.09
Well well well. New information from an inside source says that the tech threw dirt on the infamous “dusty PS3” to deny the warranty claim because he didn’t feel like repairing it. Shocking! His confession, inside.
Insiders: Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans
By 6.8.09 — Updated: 11.9.12
The Wells Fargo racist sub-prime mortgage lawsuit reminded me of an old post we did where an ex-Countrywide employee alleged that that loan company had racist practices too. Here’s the insider email we posted back in February, 08:
Hank Paulson Admits He Never Really Understood How Mortgage-Backed Securities Worked
By 5.25.09
Here’s more proof that the people who probably should have known how they were making all that housing bubble money never did—even those who personally made tens of millions off of it. The Business blog at The Atlantic notes a quote Hank Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Treasury Secretary, gave Newsweek: “I didn’t understand the retail market; I just wasn’t close to it.”
How To Shut Webloyalty Down For Good
By 4.7.09
A retail insider tells us why Webloyalty/Reservation Rewards stays in business, and how you can stop them by cutting off their juice at the source:
Bad Idea: Confessing To Your $100,000 A Year Shoplifting Habit On National TV
By 4.2.09
All the clever shoplifting tricks in the world won’t save you from yourself if you decide to reveal your secrets on Dr. Phil. Last week a fraud task force raided the home of Laura and Matthew Eaton, who appeared on an episode in November to show the audience how they did it and to say they were going straight.
10 Confessions Of A Cash4Gold Employee
By 2.2.09
UPDATE 3: We did a feature investigative article on Cash4Gold, entitled, “The Article Cash4Gold Doesn’t Want You To Read.”
6 Liquidation Sale Tips From A Circuit City Employee
By 1.22.09
Sam, a reader who says he is a current Circuit City employee, writes in to offer his advice on navigating the liquidation.
12 Confessions Of A U.S. Bank CSR
By 1.13.09
A customer service rep (CSR) for U.S. Bank’s 24-hour banking hotline has stepped forward from the shadows to reveal 12 tips that can save customers money and time. Insider tips on how to get fees refunded, how “available balance” is a lie, and why you should demand the Portland call center when you have a fraud problem, inside…
Call Centers: Teleperformance USA Is A Cancer
By 1.5.09
“Thank you for holding, your call will be answered in the order it was received by an incompetent drug-addict whose training consisted of watching funny stuff on YouTube.” That’s the substance of this insider confession from a former trainer at Teleperformance USA, one of those outsourced call centers that turns your customer service call into the modern-day version of The Trial. Hear about the restroom sex, drugs sold on-site, and employees getting away with writing down and running off with customer’s credit card numbers, inside…
Insider: Smart Shoppers Are Going To Circuit City Stores That Aren't Closing
By 11.10.08
An employee of one of the closing Circuit City stores tells us that they were offered “big bonuses” for sticking around until Dec 31 instead of looking for a new job — but when the liquidator showed up the “bonus” was $0.75 an hour. Ouch. Oh, and yes, the liquidator is raising prices according to this now disgruntled employee.
Beware Items Without Pricetags At Liquidated Circuit City Locations
By 11.6.08
A former Circuit City employee says he visited some of his old coworkers and found out about a trick the liquidators are using that you should beware:
How Outsourced Call Centers Are Costing Millions In Identity Theft
By 10.27.08
A former Chase call center rep tells the story about this one thief who was able to rip off one customer for over $40,000, thanks to his constant outwitting out the internationally out-sourced security department. It wasn’t that hard. Over and over again, he was able to commit credit card fraud just knowing the guy’s name, social, and mother’s maiden name.
What It's Like To Be A Flight Attendant
By 9.25.08
“Who would have thought, after 30 years, that we’d be a flying 7-Eleven,” Becky Gilbert, a three-decade veteran of the industry told me during a break in our training session in Fort Worth.
Home Mortgage Collector Confessor Responds To Your Comments
By 9.12.08
In response to some of the comments posted on 12 Confessions Of A Home Mortgage Collector, the confessor has sent in a followup letter to answer your questions, and clarify some of his statements.
Why I Quit Staples Easy Tech
By 9.11.08
Sick of seeing customers screwed over and billed for unnecessary repairs by undertrained technicians, a Staples tech writes in to tell the incident that made him quit. See this picture? This is the floor model computer where he was told to copy all of a customer’s hard drive data as part of their diagnostic process, then he had to leave the area and leave all the data up on the screen for any customer to see or snag with a thumb drive. The full story, inside…
12 Confessions Of A Home Mortgage Collector
By 9.10.08
A former Wells Fargo Home Mortgage home collector has stepped forth from the shadows to tell you what’s really going on. Here’s his confession:
