Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shut down Guaranty Bank, which also did business as BestBank. While the shutdown and transfer process is supposed to be relatively simple for bank customers, they’re facing long lines at the remaining banks. [More]
failures
Takata Must Pay $70M Fine For Failing To Report Deadly Exploding Airbag Defect, Repairs To Be Made By 2019
By 11.3.15
UPDATE: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday ordered Japanese parts maker Takata to pay $70 million – and an additional $130 million if it fails to abide by the agreement – marking the agency’s largest civil penalty in history. The regulator also announced it would use its authority to accelerate recall repairs to millions of vehicles equipped with shrapnel-shooting airbags for the first time. [More]
Nation’s Biggest Employment Background Screeners Must Pay $13M Over Inaccurate Reports
By 10.29.15
Before offering a prospective employee a job, many companies will first perform a background check. As with credit reports, any inaccuracies in these transcripts can affect an applicant’s eligibility for employment. To that end, federal regulators have ordered two of the country’s largest employment background screening report providers to pay $13 million in penalties and refunds for providing inaccurate information. [More]
Early Lawsuits Regarding GM Ignition Switch Defect Often Fell Through Cracks In The Court System
By 12.30.14
Since General Motors began recalling millions of vehicles for defective ignition switches earlier this year, several reports have surfaced that show the car maker and federal regulators knew of the deadly issue but failed to address it. While they almost certainly dropped the ball, a new report shows that the country’s legal system also failed to protect consumers by creating an environment in which legitimate lawsuits involving deadly crashes of affected GM vehicles fell through the cracks for nearly a decade. [More]
E-Trade, Borders And Frontier May Vanish This Year
By 1.21.11
Get ready to say goodbye to the E-Trade baby and Frontier Airlines. According to 24/7 Wall Street, the two businesses are among their 10 picks for companies that will not survive the year. Others that may not be long for this world: Sara Lee, Gateway and Office Depot. [More]
Without Proof Of Purchase, Your Warranty Options May Be Limited
By 2.10.10
Rob’s digital photo frame stopped working a few days ago, so he contacted Kodak to see whether they could help him. He writes that he knew it was at least one month out of warranty because the warranty is for one year, and he’d been given it as a gift a year ago on Christmas. Still, he was hoping Kodak would cut him a deal or do some sort of above-and-beyond thing.
Instead, he found out that as far as Kodak was concerned, it had been out of warranty for over two years
Sony Asks Customer For Her Reader, Breaks It, Then Sends It Back
By 12.28.09
I’m not usually amused at the customer service horror stories that arrive in our in box, but this one is just so over the top that I can’t help but laugh incredulously. The lesson here, which Kate sadly learned for all of us, is if Sony ever asks you out of nowhere to send in your Reader for an update, run away. [More]
Nokia Breaks Customer's Phone, Wants Money To Fix It
By 11.24.09
A couple of months ago, Nokia ruined the Wifi capabilities on Chris’s phone, and now he can’t get them to fix it. Well, actually they told him they will fix, but only if he pays for the “repair.” Ah, I see–this is a good secondary revenue strategy, Nokia. Sort of a protection racket! Well played! [More]
Bank Of America Posts $1 Billion Loss In Third Quarter
By 10.16.09
Do you hate Bank of America? Well take today’s earnings report and wallow around in it like Ann-Margret in beans, becuse the bank has posted a loss of $1 billion before dividends to preferred shareholders—”When those dividend payments are included, the loss was $2.24 billion,” reports the New York Times.
Mow-It-Right Mows Down Vegetable Garden, Won't Replace It
By 7.16.09
Jason hired a lawn company in Memphis, Tennessee, and then recommended them to a friend. He regrets that now, because they mowed down the friend’s vegetable garden, and seven weeks later they still haven’t replaced it and have stopped communicating with the garden’s owner.
By 6.1.09
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Want to see the top 10 biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history so far? [Fortune]
BankUnited Fails, Gets Sold
By 5.21.09
BankUnited FSB, a Florida-based bank with $12.8 billion in assets and $8.6 billion in deposits, today became the latest bank to fail, thanks to its massive undercapitlization. The Office of Thrift Supervsion closed it, the FDIC was the receiver, and a group of private-equity firms bought its remains. The dour news had no effect on the companies website, which remained a cheerful display of sunny beaches and palm trees. An online poll asked customers, ” Memorial Day is next weekend. What is your favorite way to celebrate? A. Cooking out in the grill B. Going to the beach C. Getting away for the weekend D. Chaining the doors shut and getting a direct flight to Anguilla.” What happens when a bank fails and what do you need to do? 60 Minutes has the answer.
Video: The Brooklyn Target, "An Abortion Of Retail"
By 1.20.09
Here’s part 2 of FIPS investigation into why the Target at the Brooklyn Atlantic Center is the Worst Target Ever Created. Their video crew probes more into the shelves that are at best, disheveled, and at worst, empty. When we posted the first video, some said Target should get a break, they’re recovering from the holidays. Well, this one was shot 15 days after the holidays. It still looks like crap. It also looked like crap before the holidays too. The real culprit? Management that doesn’t care and poorly trained employees. C’mon, Target Corp, you need to send an attack squad to fix this store. It looks like a freakin’ TJ MAXX. Video inside [NSFW, curseywords].
"Why Circuit City Failed"
By 1.19.09
Now that Circuit City has finally sputtered out, it’s fun to talk about what did them in—see their firing-your-best-employees stunt a few years back, for example. But what do former Circuit City employees think? This guy worked with them from 1997 to 2002, and he says for one thing, they should have never stopped carrying appliances.
The Worst Target Ever Created: The One At The Atlantic Center Mall In Brooklyn
By 1.6.09
The FIPS blog, via undercover video (which contains NSFW curse words in textual format), attempts to uncover why the Target at the Atlantic Center Mall in Brooklyn is the absolute worst Target ever created. See, you people in the suburbs, with your nice Targets where products are arranged on the shelves in a sensible matter and the floors are clean and the lights are bright, probably don’t get it. This Target is like a Kmart that got too depressed to be physically able to put its shoes on in the morning. I know of this particular Target and speak from experience. So the FIPs people don’t get anywhere close to finding out why the Target is so bad, but they do approach its pathos. (The girl in the video blames the disarray on “the weekend” and “time of year.” Not true. It’s ALWAYS like that). Video inside…
Citigroup Buys Wachovia
By 9.29.08
Part of Wachovia will remain independent — including its massive brokerage business which ballooned after it purchased AG Edwards in 2007, as well as its Evergreen investment management division.
National iPhone 3G Activation Failure Due To Apple's "Short Tether" System?
By 7.11.08
When I heard that the iPhone activations were completely borked, I thought, man, that’s what you get for partnering with the Death Star. But from what reader Justin heard from an ATT rep, oh-so-pristine Appple might actually be the one with blemishes. He writes,
iPhone 3G Activations Fail Nationwide
By 7.11.08
A nation-wide epic fail of the iPhone activation systems has gutted the release of the new iPhone 3G. Here’s an account from reader Tyler:
