David is a little confused. First, because received a Comcast bill for two months of service, even though he already submitted a payment. Second, because some denizen of Kabletown has started turning ordinary customer service e-mails in to Mad Libs. Or spell check has gone horribly awry. Or…actually, we’re not quite sure what’s going on here. [More]
confusing
Hotel Issues Refund, Priceline Keeps All Of The Money
By 4.28.11
Wynn could use the services of a Priceline negotiator. He booked a stay at a Marriott through Priceline, but due to some confusion, the hotel put the price of the entire stay on his credit card. The hotel promised Wynn a refund of the incorrect charge, and didn’t end up charging Priceline for the hotel stay, either. That was incredibly nice of them, but leaves Wynn with a problem: Priceline still charged him, and simply kept all of the money. [More]
In Search Of The Mythical 10% Additional Borders Discount
By 4.6.11
Do you live near a closing Borders store? Did you receive an e-mail last week promising 10% off in addition to rewards-card discount and liquidation markdowns? Devin did, and he and other customers were frustrated when Borders employees wouldn’t give him the discount promised in the e-mail. Except the message didn’t promise any additional discount. Or maybe it did. [More]
Car Insurance Companies Keep Calling With Rate Quotes I Never Asked For
By 3.17.11
James thinks that he might be the victim of a scam. Or a prank. Something strange is going on, with fraudulent credit card charges and phone calls from car insurance companies that he never requested. He’s not sure whether the two things are even related, or what they could mean. [More]
Guess Which Charter Envelope Has Important Billing Information?
By 9.29.10
Here’s an excellent example of how a company will put more effort into getting you to notice its junk mail than any important account related information. David says this happens to him all the time, and it’s usually a serious notice (as in “impending disconnection”) thanks to a recurring billing error. [More]
Samsung Not Sure Where Its Samsung Apps Will Work
By 9.15.10
James wanted to buy a new Samsung Blu-ray player that could download and run Samsung Apps, which are widgets that can connect to the Internet or–in the case of the Hulu Plus app–stream video content. He tried to make sure he knew what he was doing before making a purchase, because his whole point for upgrading was to access Hulu, but he still chose the wrong player. Or did he? No, he did. Right? [More]
American Express Says You're Over 30 Days Late When You're Only 7
By 9.7.10
If you pay your American Express bill 7 days after the due date, the credit card company says you’re over 30 days past due. Every other issuer only says you’re 7 days late. What gives? [More]
Watch Out For Dell's Imaginary Shipping Time Trap!
By 8.6.10
Jason has a warning for you if you plan to order any computers from Dell, but need the system urgently: believe nothing that your online shopping cart tells you. The estimated shipping date for your system may or may not reflect reality. Then, like Jason, you may find yourself with an unacceptably long time frame only after the order is finalized and your credit card charged. [More]
Price Is No Object At These Best Buy Stores
By 4.21.10
From separate Best Buy stores, in different parts of the country, David and Adama sent us these two pictures of deeply confusing, Target-worthy sales. Would you like to buy a Blu-Ray of “The Fugitive” for only $14.99? Or you could go a few inches away, where it’s $14.99. If you need something to play it on, you can get a Blu-Ray plater for 50% off its original price if you buy a TV. That original price is either $129.99 or $149.99 depending on where you look. [More]
Amazon.com Rep: "Your Package Has Been Eaten By An Alligator"
By 3.28.10
Sometimes calling customer service just leads to theater of the absurd. Earlier today, reader Will blogged about his recent interaction with Amazon customer service. He writes that when he called up Amazon to find out the location of a missing package. The rep informed him that the package had been eaten by an alligator. [More]
Watch Baseball With No Blackouts – Blackout Restrictions May Apply
By 2.26.10
Andrew sent us this perplexing banner from MLB.tv. He saw it on the Atlanta Braves’ web site. “NO BLACKOUTS!” it proclaims. Then at the bottom: “Blackout and other restrictions apply.” Well, at least the banner ad is honest. [More]
Wachovia Tricked Me Into Overdrafting
By 2.15.10
Sean is accusing Wachovia of using tricky online transaction posting that makes it difficult to tell when you’re in danger of slipping into the red. He says that although his account never appeared to be overdrawn, but he was still hit with overdraft charges thanks to funny accounting. He writes: [More]
Office Depot Can't Decide If Assembly Is Free, Or $8
By 10.9.09
Reader David found this puzzling display at his local Office Depot. On one side, the card says “Free Assembly On All Chairs In Stock,” on the other side, the card claims that a “smart idea” would be to pay $8 to have your chair assembled.
US Postal Service Redefines "Contiguous" United States
By 10.2.09
Steve was mailing some packages from his home in Virgina to various points in the country, and noticed something strange on his receipt. The packages destined for Pennsylvania and Washington state are leaving the contiguous United States. What?
Flashlight Was Proudly Made In The United States Of China
By 9.19.09
David is a little bit confused by the labeling on the flashlight he bought recently. Is this the product of a confused designer, an error, or a vague attempt at social engineering?
Play Doh Ads Make Crying Out For Help Fun
By 9.16.09
These Play Doh ads from Singapore don’t seem to be aimed at kids. Then again, the message “safe no matter what you make” seems to be aimed directly at parents of kids who play with Play Doh, which leads us back to our initial thought, which is wtf kind of kid requiring parental supervision is shaping eerily realistic looking bottles of pills and razor blades for fun? Play Doh, the fun sad toy that tastes like tears!
Target Charges $1.50 For Free Nalgene Bottle
By 8.30.09
Regular Consumerist readers are familiar with our exposure of Target’s absurdist pricing policies, and this is a particularly confusing example. Reader Rob in Minnesota noticed a nice promotion on a 3-pack of Brita water filters, which came with a free small Nalgene water bottle and a few packets of drink mix. Nice deal, but he couldn’t help noticing that the identical 3-pack of filters without the “free” water bottle cost $1.50 less. See a bigger picture and a twist to the story, inside.
Apple's Color Coded Employees Confuse Shopper
By 8.28.09
An Apple store in Ohio doesn’t want to clutter up its elegant store layout with signage, so you have to rely on a color coded system to find the appropriate employee to ring up your purchase. It’s like the Homeland Security Advisory System, retooled to measure how inconvenienced you’ll be.
