If you want to feel old, ponder this: the teens now taking the roads as learners and as licensed drivers were born in the year 2000. Maybe the real surprise is that it took this long for populous New York state to accidentally issue a permit with an extra century tacked on to the driver’s age. [More]
error not in your favor
Former Verizon Wireless Customers Receive $2 Million Bill, Are Slightly Confused
By 9.24.15
A couple in Oregon started mobile phone service with Verizon Wireless, then decided not to stick with the company after some billing weirdness. Something obviously wasn’t right when they received a first bill of $698, so they decided to return their phones and bail. Now, almost a year later, Verizon claims that their account has an outstanding balance of $2,156,593.64, which is one heck of an early termination fee. [More]
At Kohl’s, 60% Off Then 25% Off Means 85% Off
By 2.4.13 — Updated: 2.11.13
Garrett understands math. And he knows that 60% off, then 25% off does not equal 85% off. That’s what the signs at Kohl’s said, and he assumed that was the discount he would get. No, the items he bought rang up at the lower price. He wrote to Kohl’s, thinking maybe that they would say, “Oh, yes, customer, you’re right; we just had the wrong signs up.” Not so fast! They insisted that the wrong math was really right. [More]
Travelocity's 'Confirmation' Doesn't Mean You Really Booked A Hotel Room, Silly
By 5.8.12
The idea behind booking a hotel room or other travel through a site like Travelocity is that they’re supposed to, um, actually book the travel that you pay for. They didn’t manage to do that for the hotel room Graham tried to book in Maine. He booked nine weeks ahead, then learned that the reservation was imaginary two weeks before the trip. [More]
Best Buy Sells You Appliances, Then Sells Them To Someone Else
By 11.2.11
John got a great deal on a floor-model washer and dryer unit at Best Buy. But he wasn’t the only one. After he completed the purchase, Best Buy sold the units out to another customer, delivering them to the other purchaser before reaching John. That’s a simple enough error that could have been easily fixed by, say, offering a significant discount on another set of the same model. But that’s not possible at this Best Buy. [More]
You Meant A $15 Starbucks Gift Card, Not $50? That's Too Bad
By 12.17.10
It was an understandable mistake: Ann writes that she asked for a fifteen-dollar gift card from Starbucks. The person at the counter processed a fifty-dollar gift card instead. But the Starbucks point-of-sale system isn’t set up to handle this kind of unforeseen circumstance, so Ann is out fifty bucks for the next month or so while Starbucks customer service sorts this out. [More]
Chase Returns Retired Teacher's Stolen $6,200
By 3.10.10
For some reason, Chase bank decided to take a second look at the $6,200 an unidentified person removed from Bronx retiree Ernest Nitzberg’s checking account. It just might have been the outcry after he shared his story with a global audience on the Huffington Post. [More]
Pizza Hut Throws Away Your Online Order And Sends You Home
By 2.25.10
Reader Jason says he ordered a pizza through Pizza Hut’s website. Everything went through fine, except when he showed up to get the pizza they told him they’d thrown it away because they stopped doing carry-out orders at 10. He says he ordered the pizza at 9:50 and the website confirmed his pick-up time of 10:19. [More]
Utility Claims 99-Year-Old Used 139,876 Gallons Of Water In 1 Month
By 6.20.09
Meet 99-year-old Jeanette Cohen, a Washington resident who either lives in her shower or is the recipient of the more bizarre bills spat out by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. Cohen normally pays $30 to use about 3,000 gallons per month, but the utility insists that she used 139,876 gallons of water last month and now owes almost $1,200.
ImLive.com: Disputing An Erroneous $450 Porn Charge Is A "Serious Violation Of Our Terms Of Use"
By 5.16.09
Someone hacked reader E’s account on the adult site ImLive.com and bought up $450 worth of credits. By the time E. caught the charge, half of the credits had already been used. When E. informed the site that he was planning to file a chargeback with his credit card company, he was warned that doing so would be “considered a serious violation of our terms of use.” The site’s suggested alternative was simple: they would restore the used credits, and E. could watch lots and lots of porn.
Microsoft And The $1,632 Copy Of Vista
By 5.24.08
Microsoft charged Bill $1,632 for a single Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade license. Each time Bill, an IT Manager, tried to his enter his payment details through Windows Live Marketplace he was told that Microsoft could not be contacted, and to “please try again later.” What Microsoft really meant was, “Ha! Got your money! How ’bout some more?!”
Best Buy Emails To Let You Know They Won't Be Honoring A Mistake In Their Ad
By 9.21.07
Several of our readers received this email from Best Buy, explaining that they won’t be honoring a mistake in the upcoming September 23, 2007 Best Buy ad.
