Consumerist reader William recently moved into a newly built house in New York City and his only available choice for an internet provider is Time Warner Cable, meaning that even after three unsuccessful attempts to get his building hooked up with web access, he had really no other choice but to roll the dice and make a fourth appointment. Unfortunately, the fourth time was most certainly not the charm, as William was forced to call the police to get the combative tech to leave his property. [More]
crime news
It Took Four Appointments And A Call To The Police To Get My Time Warner Cable Internet Installed
By 9.22.11
Comcast Installer Arrested For Exposing & Playing With His Cable In Front Of Customer
By 9.20.11
Whenever you open the door for a cable installer, plumber, contractor, etc, you are not only trusting that these people will do a decent job — or at least the job they are being paid to do — but that they won’t violate your trust by, ya know, exposing their genitals and masturbating in your living room. [More]
Two Denver Men Find Out That "Weekend At Bernie's" Isn't As Funny In Real Life
By 9.16.11
Even if you’ve never seen the 1989 comedy Weekend At Bernie’s — or its inexcusable 1993 sequel — it’s likely you’re at least familiar with its tale of two morons lugging around a dead body and hilariously pretending it’s still alive. And while it’s all fun and games when you see the film at 4 a.m. on TBS, two men in Denver found out it’s not only not-funny to do the same thing in the real world, it could also land you in jail. [More]
Shoplifter Sentenced To Life In Prison After Walmart Worker Dies
By 9.16.11
Last June, while attempting to heist a $348 TV from a Texas Walmart, a shoplifter knocked over a Walmart staffer, sending him to the hospital where he would die nine days later. Now that shoplifter has been sentenced to life in prison, even though he was never charged with the worker’s death and the medical examiner determined the actual cause of death was end-stage liver cirrhosis. [More]
Tennessee Judge Deems Urban Garden A "Nuisance"
By 9.15.11
For two years, a Tennessee high school teacher and a group of three neighborhood teens have been crafting and tending to a garden full of flowers and other vegetation like eggplants and peppers. But now it’s all going to have to come down after a judge has deemed the garden a “nuisance.” [More]
TSA Agents Accused Of Being Bribed With Gift Cards To Help Drug Dealers
By 9.14.11
The feds recently arrested 18 individuals accused of being involved in a mult-state drug trafficking ring. But along with the baker’s dozen of alleged drug dealers caught up in the scheme were five folks — three TSA officers and two cops — who are usually supposed to stop this sort of behavior. [More]
BP Station Employee Sprays Down Wannabe Robber With Gas
By 9.13.11
Earlier this year, BP was voted the Worst Company In America by Consumerist voters for its involvement in spilling oodles of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. But for one employee at a Massachusetts BP station, spilling a bit of petroleum-based product on the ground made the difference between being robbed and thwarting a crime. [More]
Man Arrested At Walmart For Sampling Raw Meat From Packages
By 9.13.11
A man in Pennsylvania was arrested yesterday after he allegedly chose to forgo the traditional route of shoplifting food from Walmart and instead decided to just chow down on some raw meat right there in the store. [More]
Wendy's Worker Attacks Pregnant Customer For Complaining About Cold Food
By 9.9.11
Last week, a pregnant woman in Illinois complained to a Wendy’s staffer about being served a cold burger. Little did she know that such a minor issue would lead to her being chased down in the parking lot. [More]
Video Released Of Walgreens Pharmacist Fired For Shooting At Armed Robber
By 9.8.11
Last May, a pharmacist at a Michigan Walgreens was dismissed from his job at the drugstore chain after he fired his own handgun at an armed robber. Now the man is suing Walgreens and his lawyers have released footage of the incident to defend their client. [More]
Driving Your Car Through The Door Is A Good Way To Get Banned From Every McDonald's In The UK
By 9.7.11
If you’re not happy with the service at your McDonald’s drive-thru, there are many, many ways to express your frustration. One that we most definitely do not recommend is repeatedly ramming your car into the building. [More]
Former Citi VP Admits To Stealing $22 Million From Bank
By 9.6.11
If you think you need Ben Affleck in a creepy nun mask to heist millions from a bank, there’s a former VP of Citigroup who can teach you a thing or two about a bloodless robbery. Of course, this guy also got caught and has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $22 million from his former employer, so he’s probably not one to look to for get-rich-quick advice. [More]
Walmart Shopper Borrows Electric Shopping Cart For 11 Days, Uses It Like A Car
By 9.6.11
You know those electric shopping carts you can use while shopping at Walmart? Then you likely also know that you’re supposed to return the cart when you are done shopping. You’re certainly not supposed to keep it for 11 days until you get ticketed by police for driving it down a public road. [More]
Staten Island Couple Tried To Evacuate Homes In Order To Rob Them
By 8.29.11
When you evacuate your home in advance of a hurricane, it’s bad enough you have to worry about coming home to find a new indoor swimming pool in your basement. You certainly shouldn’t have to be concerned that your stuff has floated away in the back of some thief’s truck — or that this thief is also the same person who knocked on your door to order you to evacuate. [More]
Newlyweds Shoplift Food For Reception, Spend Honeymoon In Jail
By 8.25.11
In these tough times, lots of engaged couples look for ways to trim the cost of their wedding reception. Here is one we most certainly do not recommend: shoplifting more than $1,000 in food from Wegmans. [More]
Walmart Shopper Sacrifices Minivan To Stop Shoplifters From Fleeing
By 8.24.11
A customer at a Florida Walmart was one of several people who spotted two women run out the store’s front door with a cart full of allegedly stolen merchandise. And when he saw this pair try to escape in a car, he decided it was time to intervene. [More]
Senator Wants Wireless Companies To Do More To Disable Stolen Phones
By 8.22.11
In an effort to discourage cell phone theft and fraud, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has asked wireless companies to do more than disabling a stolen phone’s SIM card. He wants the whole phone bricked so it can never be used again. [More]
Maine Couple On Trial For Redeeming Deposits For Bottles From New Hampshire
By 8.19.11
One of the more memorable Seinfeld episodes involves Kramer and Newman loading up Newman’s mail truck with bottles and cans and trekking to Michigan to get back double the deposit they would have received in New York. While it makes for funny TV, it’s not as hilarious to a couple in Maine who went on trial this week for redeeming a truck load of empty bottles and cans that had been brought from New Hampshire. [More]
