What would you do if you were withdrawing cash from the ATM outside your bank, and received a note pleading for help along with the receipt? That scenario played out in Texas this week as a man sent to change a lock behind a Bank of America ATM instead locked himself inside without his phone, and had to plead for help from what we’re guessing were some very confused bank customers. [More]
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Uber Now Has An 800-Number For Non-Emergency Situations
By 3.11.16
Since Uber began shuttling people from one place to another with the tap of an app, we’ve heard stories about rides gone wrong — assaults, harassment, and hostage situations — that often end with the customer having a difficult time reaching an actual human working for the ride-hailing company. That’s apparently changed, as the company quietly issued an phone number for passengers to contact them back in October. [More]
Netflix Streaming Is Down, But Everything Will Be Okay
By 10.15.15
We know that you just settled down to watch episodes of “Criminal Minds” while you eat dinner or whatever your weird personal ritual is, and were horrified to see that Netflix is down. Don’t fret, little consumer: everything is going to be okay soon. Soon-ish? [More]
Quick Fixes For When Your Air Conditioner Isn’t Working Like It Used To
By 8.8.14
We’re almost through the entire summer: has your air conditioner worked hard for you through the whole season? If it is no longer performing like it used to, here are some quick fix-it-yourself ideas from our optimal-temperature colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports. It’s possible that you don’t need to junk your A/C: just check a few things that you can probably handle yourself. [Consumer Reports] [More]
Meijer Gives Video Game History Lesson, Plays Mass Effect Trailer On Loop For 7 Years
By 7.8.14
This bit of video game lore in a discount store isn’t fodder for the Raiders of the Lost Walmart, because it isn’t something for sale. It’s not a retail antiquity, exactly, but a display in the video games section of a Meijer store that features a bafflingly old game. [More]
8 Retailers That Have Your Back When You Forget Your Coupon
By 2.5.14
Retailer coupons can be your ticket to great deals, but what happens when you forget to clip or bring along your coupon? If you know when to ask, sometimes the store will have your back. If not, these stores often have coupon-stuffed flyers at the entrances, or smartphone apps you can use to dial up your own. [More]
In Case You Were Wondering, Holiday Shopping Starts On October 28
By 11.5.12
We’ve always wondered precisely when the “holiday shopping season” starts. For us at Consumerist, it’s when we receive the first press release that contains the phrase “stocking stuffer,” beginning the cold clench of dread in the pits of our stomachs. But that’s us. For the rest of the world, it begins before Halloween. So says Kohl’s, in this festive door sign. [More]
I Go Out Of Town, Landlord Crashes In My Bedroom
By 2.29.12
Z picked up and moved to a new city for work, and rented a room in a three-bedroom house with an out-of-town landlord. He found the rental on Craigslist. Not his dream home, but not so bad either. Until he came home from a conference and found that the landlord came to visit, and stayed in the house. With all three bedrooms rented out, where did she crash? Z’s room, of course, which she also rummaged through and rearranged the furniture. [More]
What's The Best Way To Help Manage A Relative's Finances Without Jeopardizing Your Own?
By 9.14.10
A tipster wants to know whether adding his name to his mother’s accounts will open him up to credit issues should something go wrong. [More]
DOT Updates 'Fly Rights' Airline Consumer Guide
By 9.7.10
The Department of Transportation has updated its consumer guide to air travel, which provides a quick summary of what to look for when buying a ticket, and what protections you have during travel. It’s also a good starting point when you have an airline-related problem and need more information before deciding what to do next. [More]
Use This Chart To Pick The Best Smartphone
By 6.30.10
Lifehacker reader Apollo Clark has put together a matrix that compares seven of the most popular and/or feature-packed smartphones on the market, as well as the iPad for some reason. If you’re planning on trading up to a fancy new phone/multimedia device in the next couple of months, it’s worth checking out to see which phones best align with your wish list. [More]
What Should I Do About The Stinky Oil Change From Hell?
By 6.14.10
Reader Chris got the oil change from hell from a Ford dealer and now doesn’t know what to do about his stinky car and wants your advice. [More]
It's National Consumer Protection Week!
By 3.8.10
The FTC has designated this week National Consumer Protection Week, so all scams will be put on hold and businesses won’t overcharge you until next Sunday. What, no? That’s now how it works? Ah… it looks like it’s more about consumer education, which is also a good thing since that will help consumers protect themselves year round. For adults, here’s a whole page of various scam prevention tips, fact sheets, and videos. If you’re an educator, you can enroll in the National Financial Capability Challenge and get an “educator toolkit” to help you teach students how to be smart consumers. There’s a section for businesses too, with information on how to protect customers’ personal info and deter ID theft. [More]
Help Your Friends Avoid Online Scams While Insulting Them
By 12.7.09
Lifehacker has put together a nice guide to avoiding on-line scams that you could share with those people you felt were likely to fall for them — if Lifehacker didn’t make it so obviously insulting by titling it “The Complete Guide to Avoiding Online Scams (for Your Less Savvy Friends and Relatives).” [More]
How To Navigate Our New Site
By 11.24.09
Thanks for all of the great feedback on our new site! One reason for our redesign was to make it easier for readers to access our archives, and expand the kind of information we can offer. The navbar on every page is our first effort in that direction, and we thought it might be helpful to explain a little bit about what’s behind each button on the bar. [More]
New FoodSafety Website Helps You Stop Accidentally Poisoning Your Family
By 9.10.09
The USDA and Health and Human Services (HHS) today unveiled a new website focused on food safety at foodsafety.gov. It’s got lots of info on how to keep food from spoiling, but better still it’s a good launching pad for filing complaints, or keeping track of what’s going on in your state (check the “state agency” widget in the bottom right column).
"What Do I Do When My Lender Isn't Playing Fair With Loan Modification?"
By 9.4.09
Yesterday, the New York Times wrote about a judge in Arizona who forced Wells Fargo to explain why it keeps stalling and being uncooperative with a customer who has been trying to get a loan modification request approved. Sadly, in the past week we’ve gotten two separate emails from homeowners who are also having trouble with getting banks to approve their requests for the government-sponsored loan modifications. “Who can we contact to complain?” asks one frustrated customer.
Shut Out The Worst Ad Offenders With These Firefox Tricks
By 8.31.09
If advertisers and websites would play fair with their readers, we wouldn’t need to apply various filters and blocks to them. But when you’re trying to read an article and every sixth word is hotlinked with a pop-up ad, while the FavIcon in the browser window blinks at you like a traffic light, while loud video clips start auto-playing when the page loads—well, it’s time to shut it all down. Lifehacker has put together a great list of all the ways to reclaim your sanity when you’re online.
