Kayla left her phone off and safely stowed away during her Caribbean cruise, where it couldn’t run up roaming charges high enough to ruin any vacation. When she learned that there had been a minor earthquake and a hurricane back home, she decided to eat the roaming charges and pay the high per-minute prices to check in with her loved ones. Everyone else on the ship evidently had the same idea, and it was difficult to get a call through. When her bill came, Kayla learned the hard way that T-Mobile, at least, imposes that $4.99 per minute roaming charge on calls that don’t complete. [More]
hurricane irene
The Limited Uses Hurricane Irene To Promote Sale
By 9.6.11
Seems The Limited is taking a page from the Spirit Airlines marketing playbook. On Friday the clothing store sent around an email with the subject line, “Take that, Irene! We’re offering 40% off again.” [More]
Irene Expected To Wash $1.5 Billion Away From Taxpayers
By 9.6.11
Efforts to clean up the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Irene will charge a tab of $1.5 billion to taxpayers. The White House budget director released the estimate, which adds to $5.2 billion needed to mop up other disasters. The problem is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s funds are tight until Oct. 1, when the new budget kicks in. [More]
American Airlines Disputes Survey Saying It Had Crappiest Call Wait Times During Irene
By 9.1.11
American Airlines issued a statement disagreeing with a STELLAservice survey that placed its average customer service hold times in last place during Hurricane Irene. During the eight calls placed by the survey team, the average hold time they experienced was 1hr and 32 minutes, while American Airlines say their internal metrics showed an average hold time of 21 minutes. [More]
Buyers, Beware Of Irene-Damaged Used Cars Flooding Dealer Lots
By 9.1.11
Even if you live thousands of miles away from where Irene hit, that’s no guarantee that you won’t run into a storm-damaged car on the used car dealer lot. These cars could be salvages or total losses, with screwed up engines and rotting components. Here are signs to watch out for. [More]
American Airlines Had Crappiest Call Wait Times During Irene
By 8.31.11
The already not known for being similar to Speedy Gonzalez airline phone lines were put to the test during Hurricane Irene when travelers tried to reschedule canceled flights en masse. The call centers were also put to the test by STELLAService, which “mystery shopped” the airlines’ customer service lines to see which had the shortest hold times. American Airlines came in dead last, beating out the second-to-last place Delta by almost an hour. [More]
Irene Knocked My Neighbor's Tree On My Deck, But He's Run Away From His Foreclosure
By 8.31.11
Irene blew a listing tree onto Brian’s property from his neighbor’s yard, smashing both his deck and fence. A seeming wrinkle is that his neighbor has long ago skipped town, leaving behind his foreclosed house with its drowsy trees untended. Brian wants to know how he can track the guy down, private eye style, and get reimbursed for the tree removal. [More]
Wells Fargo And Chase Waive Fees For Irene-Affected Customers
By 8.30.11
Wells Fargo and Chase announced that they are waiving some fees for customers in NY, NJ and CT to help them out after Irene. [More]
When A Tree Falls, Who Pays?
By 8.30.11
There’s lots of trees down after Irene and someone has to got to pay to get rid of them. But who? What if your tree fell on your neighbor’s house? What if their tree fell on your house? Who’s responsible? Here are the general rules of thumb. [More]
Swanky Brooklyn Hotel Jacked Up Room Rates To $999 For Irene Shelter Seekers
By 8.30.11
As Hurricane Irene bore down on Brooklyn, the posh Hotel Le Bleu in Park Slope raised up its rates from $250 a night to $999. [More]
What Do I Do With A Flood-Damaged Car?
By 8.30.11
Your car took a big bath during Hurricane Irene. Now what? [More]
Home Depot Tells Me I'll Be Able To Return Unused Generator, Changes Mind After Hurricane
By 8.30.11
Hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s stand to rake in a nice pile of cash from hurricane-related sales. And according to one Consumerist reader, his local Home Depot intends on keeping as much of that cash as possible by not making good on its pre-storm promises. [More]
The Recipe For Getting Rid Of Mold After Irene
By 8.30.11
Once the floodwaters of Irene are gone from your house, they leave behind a nasty parting gift: mold. Stinky, pervasive, sickening mold. Here’s how to get rid of it. [More]
Getting Through The Post-Irene Insurance Claim Process
By 8.30.11
The first floor of a friend’s house in Vermont was completely flooded by Hurricane Irene, forcing the family with two kids to evacuate to a nearby church. But braving the storm may look like blowing bubbles in the park after they start the insurance claims process. Here’s some tips they, and you, can use to make it easier. [More]
Why No One Is Safe From Hurricane Irene's Fallout
By 8.30.11
Despite the destruction and death caused by Hurricane Irene, the disaster generally wasn’t as awful as advertised. But even if the storm didn’t harm you directly, it still just may mess with you by spurring insurance companies to hike their rates. [More]
Home Depot, Starbucks To Make A Pile Of Post-Hurricane Cash
By 8.29.11
Reports state that Hurricane Irene could have done anywhere from $3 billion to $10 billion in damage during her brief trip up the East Coast. That’s a lot of plywood, nails, plaster and everything else that will be needed for repair. It’s also a lot of coffee for beleaguered consumers. [More]
Staten Island Couple Tried To Evacuate Homes In Order To Rob Them
By 8.29.11
When you evacuate your home in advance of a hurricane, it’s bad enough you have to worry about coming home to find a new indoor swimming pool in your basement. You certainly shouldn’t have to be concerned that your stuff has floated away in the back of some thief’s truck — or that this thief is also the same person who knocked on your door to order you to evacuate. [More]
Your Car Is Submerged In Water… Now What?
By 8.29.11
While the East Coast might be done with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene now, many areas are still in the throes of storm season, which lasts from June until October. You’ve seen it on the news, but what would you do if you were stuck in a submerged car during flooding? [More]
