More than one Consumerist reader has heard the siren song of the John Varvatos Converse sneakers. Not long ago we shared the story of Tim, who bought two separate pair that each fell apart in less than a year. Meanwhile, Riley isn’t able to tell us anything about the durability of the shoes because Converse won’t take his money. Converse.com ships using the U.S. Postal Service, useful since he uses an APO address. They shut down his transaction because his billing and shipping addresses don’t match. That’s because he’s a contractor working in Afghanistan, and his bank accounts and credit cards are all registered to his actual home, back in the U.S., where his wife and kids are. [More]
military
Memo To U.S. Airways Employees: The Coast Guard Is Part Of The Military
By 8.17.12
The United States Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense. This distinction probably wasn’t what a U.S. Airways employee had in mind when refusing to waive Jennifer’s baggage fees, though. Jennifer was returning to her station from a trip to visit family, but the employee insisted that she had to pay a baggage fee like civilians do, because the Coast Guard isn’t part of the military. A manager agreed, but they were both wrong. Jennifer didn’t need to pay to check her bags, and members of the Coast Guard have served in just about every war in American history. They certainly are part of the military. [More]
Citibank Doesn’t Understand The Word ‘Minimum,’ Cancels Deployed Soldier’s Student Loan Forbearance
By 7.30.12
Benjamin is in the military, and currently serving in Afghanistan. We’d thank him for his service, but Citibank says not to. They think that he’s not there anymore, and have ended the active-duty forbearance on his student loans. Calling up Citi and sending them documentation is tricky when you’re you know, in Afghanistan, but he’s doing his best. Nothing he sends is good enough for Citibank to actually believe him. [More]
Dell Offers 25% Off Deal To Troops, Then Cancels Orders
By 5.16.12 — Updated: 1.24.13
Matthew, an Air Force veteran, saw a great deal on Dell laptops on the website of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, a network of stores just for servicemembers. 25% off in a Mother’s Day special, an impressive deal. He ordered three, because who doesn’t want new, discounted laptops for their whole family? Only Dell canceled Matthew’s order and those of some other customers, with no explanation. [More]
Uno's Military Discount Available To All Veterans, Not Just Retirees
By 11.4.11
Uno Chicago Grill, the chain that has brought the deliciousness of deep-dish pizza to suburban wastelands everywhere, is honoring veterans next week. That’s excellent. But their publicity for the event gets some terminology wrong. Despite what a current press release says, the 19.43% discount doesn’t just apply to active-duty personnel and those who spent decades in the military and retired with a pension. It’s for everyone who has served. [More]
Report: Air Force Officials Kept Quiet For 2 Weeks About Drone Virus
By 10.12.11
When news broke last week that some of the Air Force’s drone aircraft had been infected with a virus, Air Force network security experts reportedly found out about the breach when everyone else did. Officials at a Nevada Air Force base may have known about the problem for as long as two weeks and never reported the issue to security. [More]
Military Branches License Branded Cologne, Hot Sauce
By 9.9.11
The military has marched into the retail sector armed with an arsenal of unorthodox products, ranging from cologne and walking canes to hot sauce. If you’d like to smell like a Marine, you can purchase a $45 bottle of Devil Dog cologne. You can also spice up your food with some drops from a $7 bottle of U.S. Marine Corps Hot Sauce, which its bottle declares “Will Make You Stand At Attention.” [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Citi Illegally Foreclosed On Thousands Of Soldiers' Homes
By 7.12.11
An Iraq War veteran has filed a potential class-action lawsuit against CitiGroup’s CitiMortgage division, alleging that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by foreclosing on his home and that of “thousands” of other active-duty soldiers. [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]
HP Notebook Can Apparently Shield Soldiers From Enemy Fire
By 6.24.11
We get a lot of complaints from readers about their HP computers and the company’s customer service. But one person who won’t be complaining is the U.S. soldier whose HP notebook took six bullets intended for him. [More]
AT&T Doesn't Need To Actually Read Your Pathetic E-mails
By 6.16.11
T. is in the military, and has recently deployed to Afghanistan. He has an AT&T phone, and wanted to see about switching to a different plan so he could leave his phone active for occasional calls, but pay less. What with being in Afghanistan and all. He e-mailed their customer service department to inquire about this, and received a response that indicates that while someone at AT&T Wireless is answering customer e-mails, they’re not necessarily reading them. [More]
Microsoft Makes It Easier For Military Members To Play Xbox Online
By 5.4.11
Until now, Microsoft made it difficult for those living on military bases to game online, refusing to accept Military State codes such as AE (Armed Forces Europe), AA (Armed Forces of the Americas) or AP (Armed Forces Pacific) as options for Xbox Live members to list their credit card billing addresses. [More]
Gamers Stationed Abroad Can't Buy Live Console Subscriptions
By 3.3.11
Nick is stationed in Germany with the U.S. Air Force. After a long day of serving his country, he likes to play Xbox. But online play is difficult for military gamers serving abroad because of the way that payment systems at Microsoft and Sony are set up. For those whose credit card billing address is their APO address, the system just won’t accept their addresses and go through. Can’t anyone help the fine, brave gamers of the military? [More]
Eddie Bauer Goes Above And Beyond, Even To Afghanistan
By 11.19.10
Derek is serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. military. He writes that he ordered a fleece jacket from Eddie Bauer, but didn’t provide a necessary part of his APO address. Eddie Bauer came through with fantastic awesomeness and sent a free replacement fleece….with two-day shipping [More]
GameStop Pulls 'Medal Of Honor' From Stores On Military Bases Because Of Playable Taliban Characters
By 9.2.10
If you live on a military base and really want to buy the new Electronic Arts military shoot-em-up Medal of Honor, which has stirred up controversy by allowing players to play as Taliban members, you’re going to be out of luck shopping at the GameStop on the base.
In The Military? Museum Admission Is Free This Summer
By 5.25.10
Starting Memorial Day, May 31, and lasting until Labor Day, September 6, more than 600 museums around the country are waiving admission fees for active members of the military and members of their immediate family. The Blue Star Museum program is a joint effort that’s being launched by the National Endowment for the Arts and a nonprofit group called Blue Star Families. The NEA has a map showing which museums are participating around the country. [More]
NY AG: SmartBuy Scammed Military With High Prices, Illegal Credit
By 5.19.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against SmartBuy and a group of related companies that allegedly “scammed members of the military” by selling them electronics and other products at markups of up to 325% of the original retail prices, and then “financed the sales” illegally through undisclosed credit lines linked to the soldiers’ bank accounts. According to the AG, the company aggressively targeted members of the military, and “salespeople were trained to specifically seek out people in uniform and people with military-style haircuts.” [More]
Verizon Not Charging Soldiers For Mobile Calls From Haiti To U.S.
By 2.20.10
Verizon Wireless now says that the astronomical bills some customers received after making cell phone calls from Haiti shortly after the catastrophic earthquake there last month were due to a computer glitch. According to the Fayetteville Observer, mobile calls placed in Haiti showed up in their system as being placed in Jamaica. Calls from Haiti to the United States should have been free all along, and Spc. James Crawford does not owe Verizon almost $2,000 for phone calls he placed to his pregnant wife back in North Carolina. [More]
