A CompUSA cashier summoned her manager and a security guard when Bud tried to pay for his purchases with cash. The promise of 40% discounts drew Bud to the Boisie, Idaho store, but he settled for a 10% discount on an iMac and several accessories.
I start counting out hundred dollar bills and the clerk goes nuts! “Sir, we don’t accept cash for this kind of purchase! You must use a credit card!” she says at the top of her lungs. (I see her also hit a button on the phone at the same time.)
We all know that Canadians have to pay more for books, but why do they have to pay more for AppleCare?
The “Shine the Light” law passed in California in 2005 requires all businesses to tell customers who they sell their private data to, and to provide a no-cost way to remove your name, address, and phone number from their lists. Unfortunately, it’s not being followed by more than half of the companies tested in a new report: “The California Public Interest Research Group found only one third of the survey participants received responses from companies consistent with the law.”
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Today California sued the EPA over its refusal to let states enact their own greenhouse-gas laws. “Fifteen states plan to intervene on California’s behalf, including 13 of those that have either adopted or are in the process of adopting the rules. Delaware and Illinois, which have not passed the standards, also are part of the lawsuit.” [New York Times]
Last week, the House of Representatives voted 407-to-0 to approve a consumer product safety bill that greatly increases the scope and power of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
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As part of a 3-month fire-safety campaign, the Chinese city of Zhuhai has banned all Christmas trees and related flammable decorations from all stores, malls, restaurants, and other public spaces: “Those that fail to rectify the situation will be subject to legal measures like suspension or closure.” [Reuters]
Consumers in Illinois have a new gift card law coming into effect next month, says the Springfield State Journal-Register. The new law will prohibit gift cards from expiring within 5 years of being issued.
Under the new law, the recipient of a $50 gift card — for example — will be able to spend the entire $50, said the measure’s House sponsor, Democratic Rep. Jack Franks of Woodstock.
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Airlines are trying to overturn a new New York State law that says airlines have to provide, “fresh air and lights, waste removal services and adequate food and drinking water” if passengers are stuck on the tarmac for over three hours. Apparently that’s just too onerous a request. [NYT]
We weren’t really aware that there was a need for a law banning the use of mercury in cosmetics, but apparently Minnesota thinks there is.
Today the White House will announce its own plan for how to tighten the country’s slack product safety practices. The proposal is being offered as an alternative to the one Congress has come up with, which the White House—along with industry trade groups and Consumer Product Safety Commission head Nancy A. Nord—think is too mean to manufacturers.
The White House version suggests stationing inspectors in other countries to inspect goods before they are shipped to U.S. shores, because “with $2 trillion in imports annually, inspections at the ports had become ineffective.” We’re not sure how the math works on that one—unless sharks or pirates consume large amounts of imports during transit, the same number of goods leave foreign ports and arrive at ours, and having inspectors all in one place where they can work together, instead of spread out in each foreign country, seems a more efficient use of resources. But we’re probably just stupid from too much lead.
TorrentFreak has posted an interview with a 9 year-old girl who uses LimeWire.
From the “boring but important” category of meat-related news, the Consumer Federation of America has joined with other advocacy groups as well as union and labor groups, under the assistance of men and women in Congress, to work out a compromise in response to July’s ill-conceived attempt by Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson to do away with the federal inspections requirement for interstate meat sales. The new plan augments Peterson’s measure in a way that ensures state-inspection procedures meet or exceed federal ones.
Slate investigates, and the short answer is, because the government stands to lose too much money on lost sales of spirits, which are taxed far higher than beer: the U.S. “takes an excise tax of $2.14 for each 750-milliliter bottle of 80-proof spirits, compared with 21 cents for a bottle of wine (of 14 percent alcohol or less) and 5 cents for a can of beer.”
Did you know it’s illegal for a doctor to charge you for giving you your contact lens prescription? Yup, it’s against federal law. The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act mandates that a doctors must provide you with a copy of your prescription after a contact lens fitting.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering a bill that would require bottled water to bear a label clearly stating the source of the water, contact information for the bottler, and the location of recent water quality reports. SB 220 sailed through the California Legislature earlier this month, and would remind bottled water guzzlers that they are shelling out big bucks for a free, public resource.
The confusion has put some companies in hot water. PepsiCo Inc.’s Aquafina brand and Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani were slammed by consumer and environmental groups for failing to clearly note that their products came from water systems.
Meet Thomas Jensen. The state that boasts “Live Free Or Die” jailed him for three days for trying to pay a fifty-cent toll with two tokens. Jensen believes the tokens represent a contract with New Hampshire that was illegally violated last January when the state began exclusively using E-Z Pass. A toll worker refused to accept the tokens and directed Jensen to a state tropper, who issued a citation for theft of services. A judge gave Jensen three choices: pay a $150 fine, perform community service, or spend three days in jail. Jensen chose jail.
Jensen never told his wife he was in jail. Beverly Jensen said she only found out when asked by a television news reporter.
Rich in Michigan writes that a Michigan Sam’s Club employee foiled his efforts to circumvent the receipt-checking line.
I was detained in a Sams Club receipt-checking line today. When I attempted to steer my cart around the line and out the exit door, an employee with a nametag of ‘Linda’ stepped in front of my cart and asked me to surrender my receipt. When I asked if I was being detained, she assured me that I was…
Michael Righi got in trouble this Saturday for refusing to voluntarily show his receipt when exiting a Ohio Circuit City. According to his account, the manager and security guard followed him into the parking lot and prevented the car door from being shut or the car from moving. When Michael called 911, the cop ended up arresting him for not providing his driver’s license.
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