Online “marketing” company Webloyalty has settled with the New York AG for $5.2 mil. You know how when you buy movie tickets and at the end it says, “You won a free $10 gift certificate!” And then if you read the small print it says that if you accept the gift certificate you get signed up for a discount club that charges a monthly fee? Yeah, that was their game. [More]
fees
US Airways: Sorry Your Sister Is Gravely Ill. $30 To Sit Together, Please.
By 9.24.10
Bernadette writes that when sister-in-law was gravely ill on the other side of the country, her husband booked an expensive last-minute flight to bring her back to the East Coast. He was alarmed to learn that U.S. Airways couldn’t guarantee that he and his sister would sit together on the flight from California to New Jersey…unless he paid an extra $15 “choice seating” fee on each ticket. It’s a relatively small amount of money, but the family found it heartless under the circumstances. [More]
Consumerist On Marketplace: Bank Gives You 24 Hours To Fix Overdrafts
By 9.20.10
I was on Marketplace on public radio this morning, chiming in about Huntington Bank’s new 24-hour grace period they’re giving customers who overdraft. If you deposit the funds you’re lacking within a day, no fee, but if you don’t, you’ll get a $23 charge. This program is automatic, you don’t need to be enrolled in overdraft protection. Sounds nice and innovative, but I’d rather the bank deny the charge and get no fee instead. Here’s the audio: [More]
Sprint's Premium Data Plan For Samsung Epic Has Slower Upload Speeds Than Regular 3G Phones
By 9.20.10
Yesterday, the blog Explain the Fee noted that Sprint customers with the new Samsung Epic 4G, who have to pay an extra $10 a month for a premium data plan, are reporting upload speeds slower than phones they had 3 or 4 years ago–with upload limits seemingly capped at 150kps. [More]
Chase Just Goes Ahead And Adds Overdraft Protection To Your Account
By 9.16.10
Lori called up Chase to tell them that she was traveling internationally in the next few weeks. She wanted them to note her account so there wouldn’t be any blocks when charges from far-away countries started appearing. Then the fast-talking rep just sort of added overdraft protection to Lori’s account, just casually worked it in there, like she was doing her a courtesy. [More]
DirectBuy Won't Let Me In Their Showroom Without My Husband
By 9.15.10
Reader Stacy writes in to let us know that DirectBuy refused to let her tour their showroom without her husband.
Bank Screws Man For $900, He Tells Others, Ultimately Costing Bank $100,000 In Lost Business
By 9.8.10
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and when it comes to the bank who jacked him for $900, Justin is a master chef. [More]
AT&T Customer Service Rep Says Store Employees Are Commission-Chasing Liars
By 9.7.10
One of our readers just switched over from T-Mobile to AT&T, but he discovered that pretty much everything the salesperson promised him at the retail store turned out to be a lie. At least, that’s what the angry AT&T customer service rep told his wife when she called in to dispute her first bill. [More]
PayPal Says Man Owes Nearly $300 For Dispute That He Won
By 8.30.10
Kentaro already went through a dispute resolution with PayPal for an HTC Droid Eris he sold on eBay. He says the reason for the dispute no longer exists, and anyway, he won and that was supposed to be the end of it. But now he owes $287, according to PayPal. [More]
Hertz Alienates Longtime Customer With $10 Convenience Fee For 75 Cent Toll
By 8.27.10
It’s pretty convenient to not have to pay tolls when you’re renting a car. Bruce tells Consumerist that he rented a car from Hertz that was enrolled in PlatePass, a service that scans a rental car’s license plate and automatically charges the toll to the renter’s credit card–along with a $10 fee. This fee is probably more convenient and less infuriating if you rack up more than 75 cents in tolls during the course of your rental. [More]
Holiday Inn Will Pay Your Baggage Fees If You Stay With Them
By 8.24.10
In an attempt to alleviate the annoyance of checked baggage fees, all while drumming up some business, Holiday Inn — along with other IHG-brand hotels — will pay up to $50 of your fees if you book a weekend stay with your Visa card. [More]
Reader Gets $40 Per Month Knocked Off FiOS Bill
By 8.19.10
Reader Shelve says he was able to get Verizon to give him $40 per month off his FiOS bill. How? [More]
American Airlines To Charge Extra For Seats Closest To Exit
By 8.18.10
In a move that’s sure to screw cast members of The Amazing Race, American Airlines is now charging extra for seats that are closer to the exits. They’re calling this money grab “express seating.” [More]
CitiFinancial Auto Keeps Deducting Payment On Zero Balance Loan, Triggers Overdraft Fees
By 8.18.10
Marc’s monthly budget just exploded into a mess of overdraft fees thanks to CitiFinancial Auto’s negligence, and now he’s not sure how to get them to actually do anything to fix it. [More]
Look Out For These Fees As Bank Legislation Goes Into Full Effect
By 8.16.10
This is the first business day financial institutions have been required to give existing checking account customers the choice to opt in to overdraft protection. Since banks are looking for ways to make up for the lost revenue by sticking it to customers in other ways, they’ve dreamed up some new ways to trick you out of your money. [More]
Got Refund After Comcast Charged Me $28 To Fix Their Mistake
By 8.13.10
Roger got Comcast to refund a $28 fee they charged him after they came out and fixed his lines that were not connected to his house properly. Even after they reversed the charge, they wanted to charge him a $1.99 monthly fee for a “protection plan” which would protect him from being charged $28 fees. Here’s how he defeated them: [More]
Wells Fargo Ordered To Pay $203 Million For Processing Transactions High To Low, Maximizing Overdraft Fees
By 8.11.10
A California judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay California customers $203 after finding that the bank had deliberately manipulated the way it processed transactions in a way that turned one overdraft fee into as many as 10, at $35 a pop. [More]
Banks Told To Target Financially Unsavvy For Overdraft Reup
By 8.10.10
Consulting firms are telling banks to hone in on the financially precarious to sign back up for costly overdraft protection that will only further erode their bank account. Here are some quotes from their strategies: [More]
