It’s not only brain-eating amoebas swimmers in warm waters have to worry about: Health officials in Florida are warning swimmers in the Gulf Coast about a flesh-eating bacteria in that ocean that so far has killed 10 people and hospitalized 32. [More]
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Gulf Coast Health Officials Warning Swimmers After Flesh-Eating Bacteria Kills 10, Hospitalizes 32
By 7.30.14
Loophole Allows Auto-Title Lender To Charge Triple-Digit Interest Rates Despite Law
By 7.25.14
Consumer advocates have long claimed that usury caps are the best way to protect borrowers from predatory lenders offering payday or auto title loans. But even those protections aren’t surefire. A title loan company in Florida has been skirting the state’s cap for the past three years. [More]
Dealership Gives Disgruntled Customer $100 Refund… In Loose Change
By 7.24.14
Usually when a consumer receives a refund from a company they get a check in the mail, or store credit, or a gift card. But for one Florida college student who got into a dispute with a car dealership, that refund came in the form of two bags full of scrounged-together change. [More]
Wanted: Neat Freaks To Live Cheaply In Mansions, Disappear On Command
By 7.10.14
Help wanted: must own enough upscale furnishings to fill a large house. Applicants must be meticulously neat and able to make a house look like someone lives there, but without making it look like someone lives there. Your compensation: being able to live in a luxury home for below-market rents. [More]
Who Breaks Into A House, Showers, Eats And Falls Asleep On The Couch? Not Just Goldilocks Anymore
By 6.20.14
Remember the saying “”Mi casa es su casa”?” Generally, that applies only to people you actually want in your home, but in the case of an unsuspecting Florida couple an unexpected guest apparently took the sentiment to another level. [More]
Do Not Punch Children And Trash The Store When You Can’t Cash In Your Change Jar
By 4.24.14
We’ve all been there: you’re out of cash for some reason, and have to raid your change jar for spending money. While it can be difficult to find a place to trade that money in fee-free, we do not recommend the method that a woman in Florida used. [More]
After Being Denied McFlurry, Woman Sets Car On Fire In McDonald’s Parking Lot
By 3.19.14
While I personally think the McFlurry is nothing special (probably because I spent the better part of my adolescence making top-notch Blizzards at Dairy Queen), even the world’s most ardent fan of the McDonald’s dessert would probably agree that it isn’t anything worth setting someone else’s car on fire over. [More]
Daughter’s Facebook Brag Costs Dad $80,000
By 3.3.14
You know all those times you read about lawsuit settlements where the financial terms are undisclosed? That silence isn’t a sign that no one wants to talk about how much they won or lost; it means that agreement will likely be nullified if people start blabbing about the money changing hands. And that includes a plaintiff’s teen daughter. [More]
AT&T Announces First Two Locations For Tests Of Internet-Based Landlines
By 2.28.14
In January, the FCC gave landline telecom providers the go-ahead to begin tests of Internet-based phone service intended to replace existing copper-line phone networks. Today, AT&T finally revealed the two locations in which it would like to kick off its testing. [More]
What Would You Do If You Found The Hotel Concierge Rolling Around In Your Sheets?
By 2.24.14
There’s a reason I always leave the Do Not Disturb up from the moment I check in until the day I check out — I just don’t like anyone touching my stuff and I’m perfectly fine with making my own bed. But while I’ve worried about thieves, vandals, and snoops, I’ve never thought about coming back to my room to find the concierge wrapped up in my linens. [More]
Two Terrible People Robbed Girl Scout Selling Cookies Outside Of Grocery Store
By 2.11.14
We all eventually learn the difficult lesson that the world is out to get us and our small electronics. One young girl in Florida learned this in an unfortunate time and place: two men took off with her cell phone while she and a friend sold Girl Scout cookies in front of a grocery store. [More]
If Walmart Won’t Take Your Printer Back, Don’t Throw It At The Customer Service Rep
By 1.17.14
When we advise unhappy consumers to escalate their customer service complaints, we mean to take your issue to a store manager or someone at corporate HQ. We don’t suggest that you ramp up your anger by smashing things and tossing printers at store employees. [More]
Who’s Your Doctor? Not This Guy: Supplement Dealer Faces Felony Charge For Second Time
By 1.15.14
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. In this case, the shame goes to…. a Florida dietary supplement marketer facing a reopened felony charge after he was found to still be misrepresenting himself as a doctor. [More]
77-Year-Old Walmart Shopper Attacks Man With Cart For Having Too Many Items In Express Lane
By 1.14.14
We’ve all been in the express checkout line, grumbling about the person in front of us who has more than the maximum number of items in his or her cart. We may have even said something to this person, or complained to the cashier. But I’m guessing that most of us have not been charged with assault for attacking that other customer with a shopping cart. [More]
Beer Thieves Drive Off With Walmart Manager In Back Of Truck
By 1.2.14
When a Florida Walmart manager followed a couple of suspected beer thieves out into the parking lot, he probably wasn’t expecting he’d end up going on a 12-mile ride in the back of their truck, tossing beer cans toward passing cars in the hopes of getting someone’s attention. [More]
Cops Play Santa, Hand Out Lotto Tickets Along With Speeding Tickets
By 12.26.13
A speeding ticket can be awfully expensive, but police in Melbourne, FL, were giving some lead-footed motorists a chance to win enough money to pay off their citations by handing out scratch-and-win lotto tickets and speeding tickets on Christmas day. [More]
Cable Company Cashes Customers’ Checks, Then Does It Again & Again & One More Time For Good Luck
By 12.6.13
Because consumers love nothing more than having their cable operator drain their bank accounts dry, the folks at Bright House Networks apparently decided to just keep cashing thousands of customers’ checks over and over again. [More]
Tomorrow Someone In Florida Will Lose The Chance To Collect $16M In Lottery Winnings
By 11.20.13
If you live in Florida you might want to start checking under the car seats, between the couch cushions and in the pocket of those pants you haven’t worn in awhile — there’s a $16 million Powerball jackpot sitting around just waiting for someone to claim it. But time is running out. [More]
