Today is a big day for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). Starting at 11am, the Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will kick off a series of hearings examining the toy industry’s seemingly magnetic attraction to lead paint. Durbin, whose Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s budget, will grill toy industry representatives, consumer advocates, and members of the government over plans to protect America’s children from the dangers silently lurking on toy shelves by establishing an independent testing regime.
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How I Lost 14.6 Pounds Sitting In Front Of A Computer
By 9.9.07
After a year-and-a-half of blogging out of the comfort of my apartment, I was out of shape and overweight. I’m 5’11” and I weighed 220 lbs. Pants weren’t fitting. I learned that buttons popping off pants didn’t just happen in the cartoons. My family noticed my doublechins, my dad worried I had diabetes.
13 Step Method For Buying A Car While Controlling The Sale And The Price
By 9.5.07
Commenter Keter posted a completely kick-ass 13 step guide to buying a car while maintaining total and absolute control over the sales process. It was so good we’re lifting it and posting it to the front page.
How To Kick A Scammy Car Dealer In The Nuts
By 8.20.07
While we spend a lot of time on this site talking about the importance of writing a good complaint letter, of finding the executive contact info, and cc’ing letters to appropriate regulatory bodies, sometimes the best way to win is to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy and start playing hardball. Demonstrate, in no uncertain terms, just how much more costly it would be for the business to ignore your complaint than to resolve it. That’s the lesson learned from, Unscrewed: The Consumer’s Guide To Getting What You Paid For.
Got An Inactive Macy's Store Account? Here's Your New Citibank Mastercard
By 8.20.07
Recently, a Consumerist tipster sent in an internal memo from Macy’s explaining that the store was “flipping” 3.5 million inactive store accounts into Citibank Mastercards. The memo reads:
“Approximately 3.5 million inactive (24-48 months) Macy’s accounts have been selected to “flip” to the Citibank Mastercard. That means the customer will be sent a Citibank Mastercard to replace their inactive Macy’s card. “
Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On The Chinese Poison Train
By 7.18.07
Join us at 10 am as we liveblog the progress of the Senate Commerce Committee’s China-bashing posse. Though common sense, and a report from the New York Times, shows that the U.S. imports tainted goods from several countries, the committee, and its smorgasbord of panelists, will only discuss the problems plaguing goods from China.
Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Number Portability
By 7.12.07
Join us today at 10 am Eastern as we liveblog the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on telephone number portability. These are the laws and procedures governing your ability to take a phone number started with one carrier to another. Historically, telephone companies have sought to limit customer’s portability rights.
How To Repel Mosquitos Without Bleeding Your Wallet
By 6.18.07
If you, like me, are a mosquito magnet, summer weather brings with it a particular kind of dread. Though my Brooklyn neighborhood would hardly be confused with “nature,” our wee outdoor space can feel like the Everglades. Since I tend to obsess about spending summer as bugless as possible, I thought I’d share a few tips for fellow urbanites.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Confession
By 6.8.07
After only three days with Midtown Promotions, I could already tell that I’d wait weeks, maybe months or a full year before coming upon hard evidence of fraud, if I found any evidence at all. After leaving James and Doreen in the Bronx, I took the afternoon off and went to work on these diaries.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meltdown
By 6.7.07
From the moment I met up with James, and Doreen, who was going our way, things began to fall apart. Eric told me to follow James, not Carl, who was going solo. I was to listen to James’ instructions, follow his example, and go to wherever he decided we should spend the day. Today was Mt. Vernon, NY, almost 90 minutes from the offices of Midtown Promotions.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Status Report
By 6.7.07
If you’re just now tuning in, we’ve been doling out daily pieces of our multi-part investigation into IDT-Energy. They’re an energy reseller in the New York area and we’ve received multiple complaints about their salesperson’s dressing as ConEd workers and doing other funny stuff at the door to get people to sign over. So we sent in Brian Fairbanks undercover to get hired at Midtown Promotions, a direct-sales marketing company IDT-Energy contracted to get subscribers.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meeting
By 6.6.07
Before the morning meeting started, I left my man-purse on a set of boxes right by the blackboard, with the microphone discreetly poking out of the pocket.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Day Of O
By 6.4.07
I sat in the offices of Midtown Promotions, watching the receptionist field calls from job prospects, still surprised at having been one of those callers not even twenty-four hours prior.
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Job Interview
By 5.31.07
Midtown Promotions has no yellow pages entry, no website, and no apparent internet job postings. Cruising their profile on Rip Off Report, a site where, natch, consumers file complaints against companies they feel ripped them off, I found a number for Midtown Promotions main office. It took several discussions with the editor of The Consumerist before we felt we nailed down the approach to the first phone call…
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Day One
By 5.30.07
For months, readers have told The Consumerist of fake Con Edison employees showing up on their doorstep. The story is always the same; they open their door to find people in Con Ed outfits almost demanding that the customer sign a form to save 7% on their bills. The “Con Ed” employee then demands to see the bill and thrust their fingers at the part where it says you can save by switching to an alternate energy supplier. But they don’t actually work for Con Ed; in fact, they work for IDT Energy.
Why Is Gas So Freakin' Expensive?
By 5.29.07
Did you know that gas price gouging almost never occurs as prices rise? Rather, it’s most often when dealers keep prices artificially high even as their costs fall.
Why Is Crunch Gym Forcing Spiderman 3 "Marketing Experiences" On Their Spinning Classes?
By 5.4.07
Yesterday we followed up on reader’s bad experience at Crunch Gym by calling 2 of their locations, the corporate office and interviewing Angie, our reader.
