The popular online video game distribution system Steam was hacked and a database containing user names, passwords, user credit card information was compromised. [More]
consumer alert
Thieves Stealing Pickup Truck Tailgates
By 10.24.11
The movie “Gone in 60 Seconds” is a lot more plausible if instead of stealing the whole car, you only focus on one smaller aspect of it. That’s what thieves in Oswego, IL are doing, stealing just the tailgates from pickup trucks. [More]
Martha Stewart Tables Are Still Exploding Glass In Your Face
By 6.27.11
FOX31 reports a family in Colorado was just chilling on the porch during a barbecue when all of a sudden their Martha Stewart glass table exploded, sending shards of tempered glass flying all over the place. The son and his girlfriend bled from cuts and lacerations after they were hit by the glass. This is a line of tables that have racked up similar exploding glass complaints for years and though they are not being sold any more, there are some still out there in people’s homes, ticking glass bombs waiting to go off. [More]
Updated: Buy Gas From Shell Last Weekend? Check Your Card For Double Billing
By 2.3.11
If you filled up with gas from Shell on Saturday, January 29 2011, (update: readers report double-billing throughout the whole weekend and Shell says they’re looking to expand the affected time period) and paid with plastic, you should check your card statement to see if you got double-billed. StorefrontBacktalk got hold of a confidential memo which said that a telco outage resulted in 401,120 double-billed transactions having to be reversed for a total of $12,135,608.19 in refunds. While the reversals should be automatic, some people with low balances did get charged overdraft and other fees because of the mistake, fees they should not have to pay [More]
1 Million Maclaren Strollers Recalled After 12 Finger Amputations
By 11.9.09
Following 12 reports of accidental finger amputation, stroller company Maclaren is recalling 1 million strollers. Every single Maclaren stroller sold since 1999 is included in the recall.
Pistachios Recalled For Salmonella
By 3.31.09
The FDA recalled three different kinds of pistachios this week for salmonella. [Consumer Reports Safety Blog] (Photo: ?o??ƒx™)
"Affordable" Health Insurance Can End Up Costing Big Bucks
By 2.23.09
Some health insurance plans marketed as “affordable” are as affordable as buying a “cheap” car that doesn’t have any wheels or seats. While the price is low, they can offer extremely limited coverage. One plan for instance, has a max of 30 hospital days at a max of $750. I think that about covers the cost of getting pushed from your room to the OR. for what to look for when considering these plans.
Chinese Poison Drywall Creates Sulfuric Acid Inside Homes
By 1.5.09
You know what would make for some good drywall? The waste materials from scrubbers on coal-fired power plants. That’s apparently what some Chinese manufacturers thought during the housing boom. When they leak and combine with the moisture on AC coils, the result is sulfuric acid, according to complaints by some Floridian homeowners. The acid dissolves the coils on the AC units and in some cases the units fail. Imagine what it does to your lungs.
Traveling In Cargo Can Be Deadly To Pets
By 12.17.08
Caution if you’re putting your pet in cargo while flying, persian cats and short-nosed dogs are particularly vulnerable to DEATH during flight, especially during the summer. Better, don’t put them in the belly at all.
Your PS3s Are Stuck In The UK And You Have To Buy Four More
By 11.21.08
Mea culpa. It sounded like a good idea, but the “people-powered” comparison shopping site we wrote about, beatmyprice.com, got one of our readers scammed when she used it in a non-savvy fashion. Rebecca ordered a PS3 from the sketchy-as-hell looking “omexelectronics.biz” for $260. After she ordered it with her Discover Card, she got an email telling her to complete the transaction via Western Union instead. She did so. Big mistake.
Fear For Your Rebates: Largest Mail-In-Rebate Processor Missing $9 Million?
By 11.14.08
Allegedly, the largest rebate processor in North America, Continental Promotions Group (CPG), owes about $12 million in consumer rebates, but only has $3 million available. According to an insider tip received by [H]Enthusiast, CPG is telling its customers, among whom are some of the largest consumer electronics retailers, to regive it the money necessary to pay out all these rebates. Otherwise, all your little rebate checks might start bouncing. Assuming, of course, you were ever able to get them in the first place…
Goldman Furious Over Our Posting Insider's Confession About Ripping Off Non-Profits
By 11.12.08
Goldman-Sachs read my post, “Goldman Rips Off Non-Profits, Endowments, Foundations, And Charities” about a conversation I had with a Goldman-Sachs trader where he boasted about ripping off charitable organizations with excessive fees, and they’re hopping mad. Here is the lovenote sent by Melissa Daly, VP of Corporate Communications:
Martha Stewart Dodges Questions On-Camera About Exploding Glass Tables
By 11.4.08
When Fox5 confronted Martha Stewart on the street about tempered glass patio tables branded under her name that have been exploding all over customers since 2000, in some cases causing cuts, bleeding, and scares, she offered only denials and deflections. She said the glass cracked like a windshield, as opposed to the imploding documented in case after case, and said she had never heard of any injuries, despite that Fox5 had a copy of an email sent by her asking her company internally what they were doing about the “shattering” tables. The problem seems to be that the tempered glass table has jagged, rather than smooth, edges, and these grind against the metal frame and weaken the tabletop. A class action suit is in the works. [More]
Walmart Sells Lead-Tainted Facepaint For Kids
By 11.2.08
This facepaint for kids, sold by Walmart, contains lead. It says it right on the package. What the hell?! Maybe it’s the tubes that contain the lead, not the paint? Doesn’t sound right. Well, at least it doesn’t smear. Large version, inside.
CPSC Issues Warning For Carter's Tagless Babyclothes Causing Rashes
By 11.2.08
The CPSC has issued a warning about Carter’s “tagless” clothes causing rashes. The warning was made on Oct 24, Consumerist first told you about it on September 5th. Carter’s tagless clothes’ claim to fame is that instead of an irritating flappy label, they use a flat label embedded in these clothes. It’s this very label that’s causing the rashes. The warning only applies to the Carter’s Fall 2007 line which has a raised surface with a solid, instead of a stenciled, background.
Consumerist Attends Robert Allen's Get Rich Quick In Real Estate Seminar
By 10.23.08
I wanted to find out what Robert Allen’s “get-rich-quick in real estate with no money down” promise was all about, so when I saw a full page ad in the Daily Post advertising one of his free seminars recently, I went and checked it out. I’ll give you a full run-down later, but here’s the quick and dirty, and what I can tell about how the darn thing seems to function.
