Verizon Wireless now says that the astronomical bills some customers received after making cell phone calls from Haiti shortly after the catastrophic earthquake there last month were due to a computer glitch. According to the Fayetteville Observer, mobile calls placed in Haiti showed up in their system as being placed in Jamaica. Calls from Haiti to the United States should have been free all along, and Spc. James Crawford does not owe Verizon almost $2,000 for phone calls he placed to his pregnant wife back in North Carolina. [More]
follow ups
Target Says Info From Demotions Post Tipster Is 'Completely Inaccurate'
By 2.8.10
A Target spokeswoman responded to Michael, the employee who claimed last week that the company is reducing 8,000 full-time employees to part-time. She writes: [More]
ING Apologizes For Screwup, Gets Me New Debit Card
By 2.5.10
Responding quickly to Noah’s gripe about ING Direct canceling his debit card without his permission, the bank called him and sent him a new debit card. [More]
Update On Woman Sent To Jail For Using Gift Cards At Best Buy
By 2.4.10 — Updated: 3.13.15
Last month, New York City’s NY1 news channel produced a news segment on the woman who was arrested for paying with AMEX gift cards at a Best Buy. If you read our earlier post with Ilona’s email, you already know most of the basics, but you can see the problematic gift cards and hear Ilona describe the experience in her own words. It turns out that after she was released, she went back to Best Buy for either a refund or the DVD player, but had to leave without either one–she was told she’d have to contact American Express to resolve the problem. [More]
Macy's Does Accept Cash Returns With Receipt
By 1.19.10
Reader Brian e-mailed with a tip — verified with a call to a Tucson location — that Macy’s does accept cash refunds with receipts, contradicting what Sandy told us — that employees told her the department store doesn’t give cash for returns under any circumstances. [More]
Brian Got His My Coke Rewards Points Back
By 1.18.10
Brian complained to us last week that Coke had zapped away his My Coke Rewards points while he was on vacation, but Coke has returned the points, thanks to advice from reader Fox Mulder: [More]
Verizon Customer's DSL Upgraded, House Still Not On Fire
By 1.9.10
Remember Michael? When he tried to upgrade his Verizon DSL, a customer service rep helpfully told him that 7 mbps was not only unavailable at his address, but it would burn his house down. After this slightly surreal exchange was featured on Consumerist, Michael reports that Verizon’s executive customer service got in touch with him and figured out the situation. Guess what? He could get the blazing fast DSL that Verizon had repeatedly refused him. [More]
T-Mobile Changes Mind, Lets Family Off The Hook For Stolen Phone Charges
By 1.8.10
Yesterday I posted about Zeb, a special needs guy whose phone was stolen shortly before Christmas. Between then and when his family found out about the theft and reported it to T-Mobile, the thief had made $6,000 in international calls and texts–and T-Mobile wanted Zeb’s family to pay $1,500 of that.
Today I received word from Zeb’s dad that T-Mobile has changed its mind and won’t hold Zeb or his family responsible for the bogus charges. His email is below.
Apple Says They're Investigating Stolen iPhone Claim
By 1.6.10
Alisa, who told us last week that Apple wouldn’t help her get back her stolen iPhone, has written to us today with an update.
This whole situation has turned out to be a happy story, e-mailing Steve Jobs actually turned out pretty well. I e-mailed him the same day I emailed you, which was the 30th of December, on the 2nd of January I got a phone call from the executive office of Apple.
Best Buy: We Won't Replace Your Broken Netbook, But We Will 'Service' It
By 1.5.10
UPDATE: Best Buy has replaced the laptop. [More]
Target Gives Ellen's Zhu Zhu Pet-Loving Son His Job Back
By 1.4.10
Ellen wrote us last week that her son was one of the Target employees fired for buying Zhu Zhu Pets too early but wasn’t hired back. [More]
Office Depot Offers Refund For Computer Ruined With Glue
By 1.2.10
Last week, we shared the story of Scott, whose computer was not quite repaired by Office Depot’s Product Protection Plan. We’re pleased to report that Office Depot got in touch with Scott through Consumerist and has given him a full refund for the computer that hey slathered glue on and mailed back to him. [More]
Sony Replaces Customer's Broken Reader
By 12.30.09
Earlier this week, I posted about Kate’s bad experience getting her Sony Reader upgraded. She hadn’t asked for an update, but was told by Sony to send it in, she says. What she got back was a busted Reader that wouldn’t work, and a demand from Sony to pay for any repairs.
Happily, over the past two days Sony reps have been in contact with Kate and made things whole again.
Allegiant Refunds Vegas Traveler For Hotel Bumping
By 12.18.09
Blogger Krystalatwork complained she was bumped from Harrah’s on a Vegas trip and had to stay at Flamingo, then was promised a refund that was slow in coming. [More]
Southwest: Here's $150, Forgive Us For Suspecting Your Baby Was 2
By 12.18.09
Southwest sent out a peace offering to Kris, the woman who was reduced to tears when a Southwest check-in agent stopped her from bringing her 7-month infant onto the plane because she couldn’t prove his age. [More]
Wells Fargo Steps Up, Animals Are Safe
By 12.11.09
Wells Fargo promised to secure care for the animals left without food and water when a Rhode Island sanctuary for abandoned beasts was foreclosed on. [More]
TiVo Restores Service, Refunds Gift Card
By 12.3.09
TiVo may not have treated Lee right, taking him for granted and unfairly billing him while cutting off his lifetime service. Maybe it even slept around with cocktail waitresses and D-list reality show stars. But TiVo stopped dragging its feet once Lee told us his story. [More]
Fry's Says It Will Give HDTVs To Stiffed Black Friday Customers
By 12.2.09
Jeff, who tried to buy a Samsung HDTV from Fry’s on Black Friday but was turned away after already paying for it, has written back to us with an update: [More]
