High-tech electric car company Tesla has spent the year fighting with a huge number of states over their preferred business model: the company sells vehicles directly to consumers, instead of going through the traditional dealer route. Tesla has been wildly successful selling their cars this way. So successful, in fact, that dealers in many states are fighting hard to claim Tesla’s model is illegal under state law — or getting state law changed to make sure it’s illegal. Dealers in Massachusetts trying their own variation on that maneuver, however, have just had their case tossed out of court, allowing Tesla to continue operations in that state. [More]
massachusetts
Driver Learns A Cardboard License Plate Drawn With Markers Won’t Pass Muster With Cops
By 9.3.14
We know, we know, going to the Department of Motor Vehicles is such a drag… all those lines and tickets and forms to fill out and grumpy people — ugh. But though it might be mighty convenient to draw up your own license plate instead of getting a new one the right way, you’re not about to fool any cops out there on the road. [More]
Driver Arrested Because A Short Rib Recipe Is Not A Vehicle Inspection Sticker
By 3.3.14
Most people don’t really like getting their cars inspected, and some people deliberately avoid getting an inspection because they know their vehicles won’t pass muster. Unfortunately for those folks, having a fake inspection sticker on the windshield can get them arrested. [More]
Sorry, Massachusetts: Looks Like You’re Not Getting Happy Hour Anytime Soon
By 2.4.13
If you live in a state where happy hour is legal, pat yourself on the back and consider pouring one out for your Massachusetts cocktail-loving brethren. Lawmakers had been flirting with the idea of repealing the state’s 29-year ban on happy hour, but from the sound of it, regulators think it would be a bad idea for both businesses and the public’s safety. [More]
MetLife Caught Penalizing Drivers Who Weren’t At Fault In Accidents
By 1.15.13
This story isn’t just about possible malfeasance by MetLife insurance in Massachusetts. It’s also a good example for why screwed-over consumers should file complaints with regulatory agencies. [More]
Add Massachusetts To List Of States That Will Collect Sales Tax From Amazon
By 12.11.12
Residents of Massachusetts, your days of “tax-free” shopping on Amazon are numbered, as the state’s governor has announced that the e-tail giant will begin collecting sales tax on purchases made by Mass. residents starting next fall. [More]
Massachusetts City Decides To Maintain Foreclosures
By 8.1.12
We’ve written before about cities going after mortgage lenders for failing to properly maintain homes on which they have foreclosed, but one Massachusetts city has decided it’s just easier to fix up these properties, rather than have them fall into disrepair and drag neighborhood home prices down with them. [More]
Massachusetts Voters To Decide If Car Dealerships Have Exclusive Rights To Necessary Repair Info
By 7.3.12
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts state Senate passed a “Right to Repair” bill that would allow your local mechanic to have access to info that is now only available to car dealerships. But the legislation has stalled in the state House. Sick of inaction, 16,000 Bay State residents petitioned the state, and everyone will have a chance to vote on it come November. [More]
Massachusetts Creates Fake Scam Websites To Warn People Of Real Scam Websites
By 5.16.12
Make a ton of money working from home! Lose weight by taking some fruit extract pills! Clear your debt today, guaranteed! Most of us know to give a wide berth to websites making promises like these. But the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has decided the best way to educate the consumers is for the state to create its own slate of bogus sites that look eerily like real scam sites. [More]
Skipped Step Results In Mass. Police Writing 896 Illegal Speeding Tickets
By 5.8.12
It’s a pretty big case of “Ooops,” on the part of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation, which forgot to follow its own regulations when it determined the speed limit on a new stretch of road in Salem. Now, nearly 900 speeding tickets could be reversed — if the drivers are willing to go to court. [More]
Massachusetts Official Urges State To Pull Funds From BofA Over Fees
By 3.2.12
Following yesterday’s news that Bank of America is testing new checking account fees in Massachusetts, that state’s Secretary of State has said it may be time to pull out the millions of government money currently stashed in the BofA coffers. [More]
Cumberland Farms Fires Employee For Having Too Much Cash In The Register
By 1.5.12
Usually when we write about a store staffer getting followed in the wake of a robbery it’s because they dared to do something about it, but a man in Massachusetts says he was given the boot from his Cumberland Farms job because his register had too much cash in it when the store was robbed. [More]
Should Smokers Have To Pay The Full Tax If They Roll Their Own Cigarettes?
By 1.3.12
Since state and local governments began slapping heavy taxes on cigarettes, a number of smokers have managed to pay less by buying loose tobacco and rolling their own. But as a growing number of stores have begun offering free-to-use roll-your-own machines that take the loose material and spit out a pile of smokes that look like they came straight out of the carton, some lawmakers are crying foul. [More]
Couple Takes Advantage Of UPS Laziness, Steals Over 100 Packages From Doorsteps
By 12.21.11
We’ve certainly written enough pieces over the years about how some UPS, FedEx and USPS carriers would rather fling your package somewhere in the vicinity of your house rather than knock and wait to see if you’re home. Now the police in Somerville, MA, say a couple took advantage of drivers’ willingness to leave packages out in the open by swooping in to steal the deliveries right off folks’ doorsteps. [More]
Starbucks Busted For Hidden Fee On Bagged Coffee
By 11.14.11
See that bag of coffee grounds at Starbucks that’s listed at $12/pound? Well, if you buy less than a pound, there’s a fee of $1.50 that isn’t mentioned anywhere in the store and doesn’t show up as a fee on the receipt. But now, after being busted by authorities in Massachusetts, the java giant has decided to stop charging the fee. [More]
Cops Leave Warnings On Unlocked Cars
By 10.12.11
Residents of Beverly, MA, who leave their car doors unlocked have been coming back to their parked vehicles to find a written scolding from local authorities attempting to cut down on crime. [More]
Protesters Take Trash From Foreclosed House To Bank Of America Branch
By 9.20.11
Protesters chanting, “Bank of America, bad for America” tried to dump ten plump black garbage bags of trash in a BofA branch in Malden, Massachusetts. The bags contained refuse collected from the yard of a house the bank foreclosed on and let fall into disrepair, becoming a blight in the neighborhood and threatening to drag down property values. [More]
Restaurant Apologizes For Mistake With Free Chocolate Cake For New Mother
By 8.3.11
A little bit of kindness will get you far. A little bit of chocolate cake will get you even farther, as one restaurant manager, a husband, and his wife who had just given birth found out. [More]
