Madam, this yarn is defective.
consumerist kit
Fight Debts With Snow
By 9.29.06
Stop debt collectors before they start. Pay your bills on time, sucka. To help you do that, the Debt Snowball Calculator helps you figure out which ones to pay first. Generally, these are the ones with higher interest rates. The calculator does the math for you, freeing your brain for higher level tasks like applying for more credit cards with your new and improved credit rating.
Don’t Pay For Your Credit Report
By 9.13.06
This month marks the one year anniversary of Congress granting consumers the right to one free credit report per year. You can get yours at AnnualCreditReport.com. Anyone else, including and especially FreeCreditReport, run by none other than credit reporting company Experian, asking for money, is a ripoff.
See Only Craigstlist Pictures
By 9.8.06
Shopping for stuff on Craiglsist is an enjoyable way to meet strangers in parking lots and get jacked for all your goods, but you have to click in and out of listings in order to see the pictures. No longer, Listpic grabs the Craiglistings and shows only the pictures. You can click on the pictures and the original post text, with all the contact info, pops up. Neat!
Remove Yourself From Online Info Directories
By 9.6.06
Ever try to look up someone online? You usually wedge in a few seconds to vanity search and may be surprised to find how extensive your online profile is on sites like Anywho, Peoplefinder or 411info. Lifehacker points to a great chart on The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse which shows you how to opt out of all these fine services.
HOWTO: Rebate Whore
By 8.31.06
Matt is a self-described Rebate-Whore. He owns and operates his own tech support business and orders many items for his customers. He shares his tips for how he “leverages his Ninja-Geek skills” to make sure he gets his rebate bucks.
Feature: Converting Credit Card Reward Points Into Free Flights
By 8.31.06
An impassioned plea, sent weeks ago to our tips box. A certain level of confused hysteria is evident. “If I have a credit card with reward points, should I convert them into miles? When? How to tell whether I’m getting a good rate? Help!”
Check The Pump Button
By 8.30.06
Gabe reports going to his local Sunoco and pressing the button for 87 Octane. When he checked his receipt, he found he was being charged $3.16/gallon instead of the expected $2.96/gallon
The Best Time To Buy Tickets, Explained By Smarty Man
By 8.11.06
Yesterday, our pallid flesh dripping off our bones, melted from the burn we had received at the hands of Upgrade Travel when they expertly flamed our Buy Flight Tickets at Midnight post, we petulantly retorted: “Okay, smart guy, when is the best time to buy a ticket?”
Get Ready to Sue a Telemarketer
By 8.10.06
There’s a special place in hell reserved for telemarketers; for the rest of their eternal damnation, they’re forced to be a telemarketer. Until then, you can use the questions prepped by Junkbusters to either screw with telemarketers’ minds or record the information needed to sue their ass.
Clever Gambit For Debating CSRs
By 8.10.06
You wouldn’t think that making a cellphone call in your own bedroom would get charged as ‘roaming,’ but that’s exactly what happened to Andrew W. One side of his room is bathed in Sprint coverage. If he shifts to the other side of the bed, all of a sudden he’s roaming, and getting charged for it.
UPDATE: Actually, Don’t Buy Tickets At The Midnight Hour
By 8.10.06
Yesterday, we claimed that sitting around bleary-eyed until midnight would net you the best airline ticket prices. Upgrade Travel read it; they snickered contemptuously, sending guffaws of elite contempt in our direction. Then, Mortal Kombat style, they ripped the dripping spine out of our hopes and dreams of cheap nocturnal airfares:
Top 50 Online Stores’ Sales Tax Policies
By 8.9.06
Is it better to order online that Oozinator from Amazon, or from Oozinator’s R Us? The deciding factor may the sales tax. Figuring out that last surcharge can be a chore, but How To be Websmart has done it for us in a new article.
EXCLUSIVE: Every Phone Number For TWC Level 3 Tech Support
By 8.4.06
Your Time Warner Cable is messing up. It can’t be fixed by merely turning the modem on and off. You’ve called technical support but they’re useless. You need Level 3 Tech support. That’s the tier at which they can actually help you with the more difficult technical problems.
Even More Ways To Actually Use Your Miles
By 8.4.06
Our buddy Mark over at Upgrade Travel was a great help to us when we put together our recent How-To: Actually Use Your Frequent Flyer Miles.
