Last week Meg McLain’s story lit up the internet. She says she was cuffed, her ticket was ripped up, and she was kicked out of the airport after she refused the body scanner and tried to ask questions about the pat-down. The TSA took it seriously enough to quickly post security footage of the incident on their blog. I reached Meg by phone to find out more about what happened, and, especially, why she refused the body scanner in the first place. Here is the interview, which has been condensed and edited. [More]
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You Are Not Alone, iPhone Auto-Correct Does That To Other People Too
By 11.8.10
Do your friends without iPhones wonder why you randomly send them texts with the word “utter” or “boner” in them? The answer, as you’ve explained over and over again, is iPhone auto-correct. [More]
Glossary Of Coupon Ninja Message Board Terms
By 9.16.10
You want to get in on the hot coupon action. You read stories like the one yesterday about the lady who bought 51 items for $45.56 using coupons and you think, damn, I want to go to there. The best deals are getting swapped among elite coupon freaks in online coupon forums where they trade the latest coupons, tips and tactics and refine their deal strategies. But penetrating these zones can seem daunting for the novice, especially when they speak in their own coded language. DND9? OOP? WYB? To help out, here’s a big glossary of common coupon terms and abbreviations to help get you started and not come off as such a newbie. [More]
Why Paying More For Brand Name Drugs Is Folly
By 5.26.10
There are some people out there who just don’t get how much crazy money you can save with buying generic drugs. For those folks, this infographic was crafted by Mint.com. To illustrate the cost-savings possible, they took a look at Advil. For the same 200 mg of isobutylpropanoicphenolic acid, people are willing to pay over $8 more per box. Those pretty graphics aren’t going to chase away your headache any faster, honey. Let’s take a look: [More]
HDTV Lies Exposed By Industry Expert
By 5.24.10
The next time you go shopping for a new HDTV, keep in mind that the brightness and contrast settings don’t adjust brightness and contrast, and most of the fancier-sounding image quality controls don’t do anything except possibly degrade the image. Also, motion blur in live video is largely imaginary, which is good because advertised response times are highly exaggerated. And hey, that impressive “dynamic contrast ratio” the manufacturer is crowing about? Most of the extra contrasty goodness happens when there’s no image on the screen. [More]
Top 7 Legalized Ripoffs
By 5.7.10
We busted the trusts! Oil! Rail! Coal! Kapow! You just got Tafted! Yeah, but that was a century ago. Industries have had more than enough time to mutate and adapt, especially when it comes to technology, and figure out new anti-consumer ways to develop and maintain hegemony. You get higher prices, lower product quality, and fewer rights. They get more yachts to waterski behind. In no particular order, here are some of the top 7 legalized ripoffs consumers face today: [More]
30 Ways You Can Spot Fake Online Reviews
By 4.14.10
Last week we showed you a few ways to spot fake online reviews and asked you to submit yours. We got some really great stuff! Here’s the tips and techniques savvy Consumerist readers use to ferret out the shills, sockpuppets and charlatans when cruising online reviews of products and services. Get yer learn on! [More]
Hey Google, Hows About An Auto-Harass Button For Gmail?
By 3.23.10
Morten Just complains that Gmail doesn’t have a feature that lets you resend messages to those who haven’t responded to you within a week. [More]
Make Sure You Know Which Version Of Android Is On That Phone Before Buying It
By 3.15.10
That brand new smartphone you want to buy may not be running the latest version of Android, reports Wired, and the manufacturer or cellular provider might like it that way. It costs money to push updates out to existing customers, assuming the hardware is compatible. Besides, carriers can charge extra fees for add-on services (like turn-by-turn navigation) that newer Android OS versions include free of charge. Check out Wired’s article for a comparison chart of the Android version on each handset. [More]
Man Out For Repoman's Blood (Listen To Their Calls)
By 2.10.10
Some “pal” of Mark’s put him down as a reference on a motorcycle loan with Freedom Road Financial and fell behind on his payments. So now the company is making harassing phone calls to Mark and his elderly mom, almost giving her a heart attack, telling them that Mark is in “serious trouble,” that he’s “a party” to the “stolen motorcycle.” They wouldn’t stop even though he told them to, and now an “investigator” identifying himself as “Marshal Davis” is also making calls, threatening to send “people” to his home and office. Mark recorded a conversation with Michelle Peacan at Freedom Road Financial (FRF) and we liked it so much that we added some funny photos, and uploaded it to YouTube. Then we reached FRF for comment. [More]
Consumerist's Top 10 Ads Of 2009
By 12.30.09
Advertising is all about optimism, aspiring to a better tomorrow that’s just a barcode scan away. So just because the economy is in the tank doesn’t mean we stop selling dreams, it just means we have to pimp a littler harder, together. For America. Common among this year’s best ads, in my view, is that they acknowledged the retardedness of their medium, and then got really real, or completely ridiculous. Here’s the top 10! [More]
How To Save Money Using A "Clean" Credit Card
By 12.29.09
If you’re the type of person who carries debt on your credit card from month to month, you should always have one “clean” credit card in your wallet, says Bob Sullivan of Red Tape Chronicles in his new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed, and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal. A “clean” credit card is one that you know can always get paid off in full if you use it, and you only whip it out for emergencies. For some consumers, this results in paying less interest and fewer penalties. In an excerpt he’s sharing with Consumerist readers, Bob explains how it works: [More]
Videodrome #3: Paper Puppet Reenactments Of Removed YouTubes
By 12.14.09
Faster! Leaner! Meaner! Ben Popken rounds up Consumerist.com’s top stories of the week, from psychotic stewardesses to deadly foreclosures. This week we introduce a new feature: printing out the internet and turning it into a puppet show. [More]
28 Cash-Saving Ways To Get Your House Winter-Ready
By 10.26.09
Brrrr! It’s getting cold and it’s time to get the ol’ homestead ready so Jack Frost isn’t picking your pocket through your unsealed windows and faulty furnaces. In the comments section on the popular “9 House Fixes To Save $ Before Winter Starts” post you guys left lots of great ideas on how you’re getting prepared this winter, so here’s 28 of the best of them so we can all learn and save together.
5 Legal Ways To Get Windows 7 For Under $120
By 10.21.09
Windows 7, Microsoft’s big bucket of bugfixes, hits stores tomorrow. If you had enough foresight to take advantage of Microsoft’s public beta and pre-order discounts earlier this year, you may already have a cheap version of the new OS. If not, here are a few ways to pick up Windows 7 now, without having to hand over $120, the lowest official price for an upgrade.
Consumerist Videodrome #1
By 10.15.09
It’s Consumerist Videodrome #1! Wherein I make several important announcements about new changes coming to the site and show off my new cat.
The Article Cash4Gold Doesn't Want You To Read
By 9.2.09
By Ben Popken and Meg Marco
If you have any broken, ugly jewelry lying around in a drawer somewhere, you’ve probably taken notice of a company called Cash4Gold that promised to pay “top dollar” for your not-so-precious precious metals. If you’re like us, you might have even seen a post on ComplaintsBoard.com by a former employee exposing Cash4Gold.
The whistleblower’s post appeared on ComplaintsBoard last November. We featured it this February, as part of our ongoing coverage of Cash4Gold, after the company raised its public profile with a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad. The post was indeed written by an ex-employee, Michele Liberis, who is now being sued by the company for defamation. Recently, Cash4Gold added Consumerist and ComplaintsBoard as co-defendants in its lawsuits (PDF) against Liberis and another former employee, Vielka Nephew (PDF), in an attempt to force us to take the information down. Liberis and Nephew have chosen to stand up to Cash4Gold’s legal attack, and so have we.
Identity Theft Hysteria Overblown, Watch Your Debit Card Instead
By 7.16.09
If you need the straight story on issues of credit card, debit, and banking fraud and security, something more than “we’re taking it seriously,” Avivah Litan, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner research is your go-to-gal. I recently interviewed her over the phone about consumers can protect themselves in an era where just keeping your mother’s maiden name a secret doesn’t cut the mustard. I learned that you can buy a credit card number for a few cents, losing your Social Security Number is NOT the most dangerous fraud that is likely to happen to you, and how Obama’s helicopter plans got stolen thanks to P2P music-sharing software…
