A man who paid nearly $400,000 in the late 80s for two lifetime passes from American Airlines is now suing the company, claiming they illegally revoked the passes after a supposed rule violation. The passes allowed him and a companion to travel anywhere they wanted in first class for the rest of his life, but AA canceled them after claiming he made “‘speculative reservations’ for companions.”
fine print
This Ace Hardware Promotion Requires That You Go Back In Time To Use It
By 3.2.09
Marketer: [gleam in her eye] …oh, I know how we can afford it. [cue evil laughter]
Facebook Will Let Users Help Draft New Terms Of Service
By 2.26.09
We are open to putting the documents up to a vote. The rules people must do when on the site and what we must do, a two way thing. There will be Comment periods, a council that will help on future revisions.
ThankYou Network Announces Changes To Its Rewards Program
By 2.25.09
What’s going to happen with Citibank’s ThankYou Network on March 1st? Is Vikram Pandit going to convert all of your points into executive bonuses? Will it be nationalized?!? Um, no, but here’s a copy of the letter one of our readers received today announcing the changes that are going in place next week.
Blockbuster Reduces Total Access Benefits, Disguises Change As "No More Due Dates!"
By 2.25.09
Blockbuster’s Total Access subscription service—their bid for relevance in the Netflix era—used to ship the next movie in your queue as soon as you dropped it off at a Blockbuster store in exchange for a free rental. Now the next movie won’t ship until you return that free store rental—in other words, now it will count as the next movie in your queue. Of course, in Blockbuster marketing-speak, that’s considered a great new benefit.
What Facebook's Users Want In The Next Terms Of Service
By 2.23.09
Now that Facebook has said they’re drafting a new Terms of Service based on community input, that community has eagerly put forth their proposals in the Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities Facebook group. Forum admin Julius Harper went through the 27 pages of feedback and pulled out the three major areas the community seemed most concerned about. Here’s what the people are demanding:
Facebook Reverts Back To Old Terms Of Service
By 2.18.09
It appears in the wake of global attention and outcry, Facebook has, as of at least 12:27 am, reverted back to the previous Terms of Service. Phew, now we can all go back to sending each other digital cupcakes without Big Brother watching us. This is a temporary move until Facebook can draft a new Terms of Service that addresses the users’ concerns. CEO Zuckerberg wrote a new blog post, and Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt released this statement:
Facebook Privacy Fallout Goes Nuclear
By 2.18.09
Online, in print and on TV, Consumerist’s Facebook terms of service change story, and the ensuing global uproar, has spread like Ebola in a monkey house…
Shrink Ray Now Hitting Rewards Programs
By 2.18.09
We’ve seen food items, airline mile programs, and credit card limits all shrink as the economy worsens. Now it’s time for other rewards programs to become just a little less rewarding—and somewhat sneakily, too, in these two stories recently sent in by readers.
How Does Facebook's TOS Compare To Other Social Networking Sites?
By 2.17.09
If you’ve been following the Facebook story over the past couple of days, you know by now that Facebook has said that they are not claiming ownership of uploaded user content: “We certainly did not—and did not intend—to create any new right or interest for Facebook in users’ data by issuing the new Terms.” But blogger Amanda French decided to actually compare the fine print for several social networking sites—MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Picasa—and she concludes that “Facebook’s claims to your content are extraordinarily grabby and arrogant.” Read her side-by-side comparison here.
Facebook Clarifies Terms Of Service: "We Do Not Own Your Stuff Forever"
By 2.16.09
Well, yesterday’s Facebook post certainly blew up today, and it looks like Facebook is currently preparing an official response. In the meantime, a Facebook rep has written to the Industry Standard to emphasize that all rights are subject to your privacy settings, so even if they don’t expire when you close your account, they’ll still be subject to whatever restrictions you had when the account was active. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has also posted a more philosophical response on the Facebook blog saying that while the new Terms of Service are “overly formal,” they’re only meant to give Facebook the legal ability to enable content sharing among users.
Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."
By 2.15.09
This post has generated a lot of responses, including from Facebook. Check them out here.
Free Subscription Offer From Stonyfield Farm Will Cost You Money
By 2.10.09
Someone needs to explain to Stonyfield Farm that free usually means that you don’t have to pay any money for the item in question. Especially in a case like this, where you’re already having to send in multiple proofs of purchase to prove you’ve “earned” the “free” item. What you find when you peel back the foil lid is some fine print that explains you also have to pay $2 for this free offer. SLR, who sent in this tip, adds, “I wrote to them via their web site asking what part of free don’t they understand, but received no reply.”
'My Coke Rewards' Program Grows Authentically Smaller, Less Rewarding
By 2.3.09
If you have a large number of points you better use them in the next few weeks, or be content with getting a large amount of Coke-branded clothing.
Chase Promises To Honor Promotional APR Until Balance Is Paid Off Or They Change Their Mind—Whichever Comes First
By 2.1.09
Chase doesn’t want to honor an old promotion promising to lock in a customer’s APR until their balance is paid off, so they’re just ignoring the original terms and jacking up interest rates. The bank wants to hike a promised 3.99% rate to either 7.99%, or 5% of the total balance plus a $10 monthly service charge, terms that are dull enough to put you to sleep until you receive the next month’s bill. Inside, Credit Slips walks us through how this is legal, along with tips for recapturing the stolen promotional rate.
When Buying Travel Insurance, Find Out What's Covered First
By 1.13.09
Richard is angry. He paid good money for travel insurance when he purchased tickets to Italy, and when he ended up having to work over vacation he canceled the trip and filed a claim. Access America denied it because being required to work during a trip isn’t covered by Richard’s benefit plan.
Home Depot Website Prices Have Nothing To Do With In Store Prices
By 11.15.08
Remember, Home Depot’s price match policy doesn’t apply to online listings, including its own website. At his local store, Michael paid more than twice the online Home Depot price for a coaxial cable, but Home Depot refused to refund him the difference. They even say as much in small print on each page of their website. With Home Depot, be sure to call and get a valid local price quote before heading off to purchase something you saw online.
This Shaw's Pizza Box Is Conflicted
By 10.1.08
Someone in marketing really wanted to show the handmade goodness of Shaw’s house brand pizza, despite the fact that there is no handmade goodness to the product at all. But not to worry! A little fine print takes care of any legal issues, and you’re good to go.
