No one wants to get a call from the Internal Revenue Service, and for many people the tax return process is confusing and fraught with potential for errors. So when someone calls claiming to be from the IRS and in need of more information, or saying you need to pay up or face arrest, you might assume it’s a legitimate call. It’s not. This week, police in India detained hundreds of employees from three different call centers for allegedly making these sorts of scam calls — and raking in big money in the process. [More]
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Starbucks To Sell Coffee From India For The First Time
By 6.27.16
Tired of picking up bags of the same old Colombian coffee at Starbucks? You’ll soon be able to branch out, as the coffee giant announced today that it will, for a limited time, offer coffee from India for sale this fall — but only in Seattle. [More]
This KFC Box Will Also (Slightly) Charge Your iPhone
By 6.22.16
Do you often have to make the decision between going out for fast food fried chicken and charging your phone? Thanks to this new-fangled box from KFC, you may never have to make the choice between greasy fingers and updating your Instagram. [More]
Uber Can Only Use Livery Drivers In Moscow, Motorcycles Confiscated In Bangalore
By 3.15.16
Ride-hailing app Uber wants to provide transportation services around the world, but taxi service laws are very local, forcing them to fight city by city for each of their services to exist legally. In Moscow and Bangalore this week, cities were able to limit the service’s growth, including confiscating drivers’ motorcycles in India. [More]
In India And China, You Can Buy Your Next Home Without Leaving Home
By 7.17.15
Depending on how you feel about the way real estate works now, the idea of sticking a house in your Internet shopping cart and clicking “Buy” may or may not appeal to you. Advances in technology mean that you can buy a new house without even going outside, and get a discount for doing so…in India. [More]
Burger King India Let Customers Pre-Order Sandwiches Through eBay
By 11.4.14
Right after announcing a deal with PayPal that will allow customers to buy food without cash or credit cards, Burger King tried out PayPal’s parent company eBay to let customers in India pre-order Whoppers before the restaurants launch in the Asian nation. [More]
Burger King Ditches The Beef For New India Restaurants – Unveils Mutton, Vegetable Whoppers
By 10.30.14
When you hear the name Burger King, you assume the restaurant serves a plethora of burgers. And while that’s true in the United States, it won’t be the case for the company’s latest expansion into India, where menu items are beef-free. [More]
U.S. Hoping Chinese People Will Travel Here To Buy Products Made There
By 10.3.11
With a large number of Americans still feeling the sting of the economic doldrums, the U.S. is banking on a hope that tourists from China will come to this country and spend money on products that were probably made in China. [More]
FCC Promises 100,000 New Jobs… At Call Centers
By 8.4.11
Need a job? Come join the glamorous world of call centers! The FCC says that call centers are poised to add 100,000 new jobs to the economy. You’ll get your very own cubicle! Or, at least, your very own partitions! [More]
Dell Makes Good For Man Whose Life They Wasted 400 Minutes Of
By 6.1.11
After Bill’s story of spending 400 minutes in Dell Hell to get his dead laptop replaced went up on Consumerist, Dell gave him a call [More]
Man's 400 Minutes In Dell Hell Could Cost Them Millions
By 6.1.11
By pissing off this one customer, Dell may have lost millions of dollars. Bill is a corporate account holder and a consultant who makes recommendations to Fortune 500 companies on how to spend their IT money. Usually he recommends Dell, but after his trip to Dell Hell, that will no longer be the case. [More]
Gillette Introduces $.34 Razor… In India
By 10.1.10
While here in the States — and in many parts of the world — Gillette is known for pricier devices like its Fusion ProGlide razors that will cost you upwards of $10-11 just for the handle and one blade (and replacement blades costing $2-3 each), the company is attempting to go the opposite route in India, where it is now selling a razor that costs the equivalent of $.34, with replacement blades going for only $.11 each. [More]
Indian Government Announces $35 Tablet Computer
By 7.23.10
Want a tablet computer but don’t have the cash? There’s some good news for you, the government in India has just unveiled the prototype of a tablet they claim will only cost around $35 each. [More]
Evil Mutant Cotton Sneaks Into H&M "Organic" Clothing
By 1.27.10
Global fast fashion retailer H&M and European chains C&A and Tchibo have been caught selling misleading “organic cotton” products to consumers. Independent testing done by Germany’s Financial Times showed that 30% of the samples contained genetically modified strains of cotton. Oops. [More]
Bank of America Cancels Solo India Traveler's Debit Card, Shrugs
By 11.11.09
Does “Bank of America” actually mean “Bank of America Only”? After pulling another reader’s debit card access back in August even though she had explicitly notified the überbank about her travels, BoA has apparently done it again. Reader Bristol tells us that she has been penniless in India for the last week after the bank’s mysterious computers canceled her debit card.
American Express Leaves Customer Stranded In Mumbai With No Money
By 9.6.09
Wait a minute…that headline sounds familiar. It doesn’t have the desolate ring that “stranded in Siberia” has, but Josiah recently found himself without available credit in Mumbai. He recently had made a large payment on his American Express balance, see, and AmEx cut his credit limit accordingly—down to his current balance. Stranded without money in Mumbai?
Clothing Sold In Africa Made in China… India… Somewhere
By 6.30.09
A few weeks ago, we brought to you a story of counterfeit antimalarials from China being labeled as “Made in India,” then sold in Nigeria. Turns out it’s not just drugs.
Counterfeit Drugs Made In China Relabeled "Made In India"
By 6.12.09
The Chinese poison train makes plenty of stops outside of the United States. When those stops are in developing countries, bad things can happen. Even worse things happen when dangerous products from China are intentionally mislabeled as being from another country. Say, India.
