Police in Michigan and the FBI say they’ve got a man in custody who admitted to spraying a mixture of mouse poison, hand cleaner, and water on produce and other unpackaged food at several grocery stores. [More]
jerks
Gym Staff Member Bullies Couple For Being Fat, So They Want Out Of Their Contract
By 2.5.13
It’s hard enough some days to motivate oneself to get off the couch and head to the gym: what if you had to worry about being bullied and harassed by one of the staff personal trainers whenever you’re inside the facility? That’s what’s happening to Shayla and her husband. Now they want to be released from their contract, presumably so they can go to a different gym with fewer jerks on staff. [More]
Watch Out For Photocopied Fake Discs In Your Local Redbox Kiosk
By 12.17.12
Ian was annoyed. He sent us this photo while on hold with Redbox to complain. “Some jerk replaced the disk in the case with a paper photocopy so the return code could still be read,” he wrote. Well, that’s an evil trick. And not foolproof: Redbox knows who had their discs out at any given time, and also happens to have their credit card numbers. Once Ian got through, he explained what happened, and also how Redbox tried to make this up to him. [More]
Fake Solider Busted Trying To Get First-Class Upgrade
By 6.27.11
A man was arrested and charged with second-degree impersonation after he pretended to be a soldier in an effort to get bumped up to first-class on his American Airlines flight. The man wore camo fatigues, a military-style buzz cut, and fake dog tags, but was caught, after landing and having enjoyed his first-class ride, when he couldn’t answer basic questions about his service. [More]
Telemarketing Firm Busted For Pretending To Sound Disabled
By 5.26.11
A telemarketing firm that sold products put together by disabled persons has been busted. Police say they were making the people who worked the phone pretend to sound handicapped in order to get more money. “The telemarketers were acting pretty significantly disabled and using particular voice patterns and such that would make them sound disabled,” Riverside Police Det. Brian Money told KABC. The suspects were arrested for theft by false pretenses and false advertising. [More]
Guy Refuses To Return Insurer's Calls, So Insurer Says It Doesn't Have To Pay For The Car He Hit
By 2.3.10
A woman in Philadelphia says her neighbor just laughs every time he sees her now, because his insurance company refused to pay a claim on her car that he hit. The company told her that the man won’t answer his phone, so there’s nothing they can do. Update: Right after I posted this, the OP emailed with an update. See the bottom of the post. [More]
Starbucks Barista Written Up For Chasing Down Tip Thief
By 12.7.09
If some jerk grabs the bills from your tip jar, you’re supposed to just stand there and take it, but one Starbucks barista was having none of that. She chased the thief until police eventually caught him and charged him with robbery by assault, a second degree felony. [More]
Monster Energy Trains Legal Guns On Beverage Review Website
By 10.16.09
When you’re working on developing a reputation as a trademark bully, it’s good to go after multiple targets. We guess that’s why the website BevReview.com has received notice that it should remove any advertisement and sale of Monster Energy drinks from its site. The only problem is, it doesn’t advertise or sell drinks—it reviews them. And it didn’t give Monster Energy a good review.
Lawsuits: Countrywide Ex-CEO To Feel Wrath Of SEC
By 6.4.09
His extreme orangeness, former CEO and founder of Countrywide Home Loans Angelo Mozilo, is about to be slapped with civil fraud charges, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Consumerist Poll: Is First-Class Travel Really Necessary?
By 5.28.09
Faced with a 20% drop in ‘premium’ travel as compared to a year ago, some airlines (Qantas, BA) have started cutting back on their first-class fanciness. Some (Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa) find the idea “unthinkable”. Yet those airlines who continue to invest in first-class travel might be making the smarter move: they’re hoping these passengers will stay loyal when the economy bounces back. Which is not such a bad idea, considering the fact that first-class passengers are the ones keeping the airlines afloat. (Uh, aloft?)
"Velveteen Rabbit" Robocallers Pay $25,000 To Settle Lawsuit
By 3.27.09
Verizon Wireless has settled its lawsuit against those telemarketers who were phonespamming thousands of people back in February to promote a kids’ movie. Feature Films For Families has agreed to pay $25,000 to Verizon, which will be donated to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH).
By 2.16.09
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You want to know why some restaurants charge a fee to cancel a reservation? Because of jerks like this, who makes reservations at up to 10 restaurants at a time so that he can choose which one he wants on that special night. Don’t be this guy. [Des Moines Register] (Thanks to David!)
(Photo: wili hybrid)
I Told Off The Debt Collector
By 10.8.08
Some punkass debt collector called trying to get a hold of some lady he thinks my girlfriend knows. Here’s roughly how the conversation went. Keep in mind I had just put a bunch of peanuts in my mouth…
Walgreens:"No One Will Want To Be Within 25ft Of You" If You Don't Take Your Depression Meds
By 3.12.08
Last week my mom told me about the unfortunate experience she had at Walgreen’s. She had recently switched to a new antidepressant and when she came down with a cold was concerned about taking OTC cold medicine with it.
Hey Apple: Women Buy Computers Too!
By 3.3.08
Reader Anjela writes in wondering if a certain employee of the Apple store has has a rare disorder that makes women invisible to him. That might explain why the employee spent the entire AirBook shopping excursion talking to her husband instead of Anjela—the actual customer.
Video Professor Stops Suing People For Having Opinions It Doesn't Like
By 12.31.07
The Consumer Law & Policy Blog reports:
Colorado infomercial company Video Professor this week dismissed its lawsuit against 100 anonymous defendants who had posted critical comments about its products and billing practices online. Earlier this month, the company withdrew subpoenas that had sought the identity of anonymous posters on the website infomercialscams.com.
Yay. The bums will always lose, Lebowski. Get a job, sir. Stop pestering people on the internet.
Woman Forced Off Flight For Refusing To Move A Huge Stuffed Crocodile
By 11.29.07
Attention air travelers: If your 3′ long stuffed crocodile is blocking the emergency exit, you are going to need to move it. If you refuse, you’re going to get kicked off the plane.
