An Airbnb guest accused the company in a new lawsuit of negligence by failing to protect her by performing a thorough background check on a host, who she claims later sexually assaulted her.
negligence
Target Customer Takes Retailer To Court After Two-Ton Red Ball Crashes Into Car
By 5.16.17
A New Jersey Target customer whose car was damaged after a red, two-ton cement ball came loose in front of a store is now taking the retailer to court because she says Target’s insurance company won’t pay to fix her vehicle. [More]
Woman Sues Airbnb, Homeowners After Finding Hidden Camera In Residence
By 12.16.15
When staying at a hotel you have a reasonable expectation that what you do in your room remains your private business, and that it won’t be captured by a hidden camera. The same should be true for an Airbnb rental, right? But one user of the home-sharing service claims she was secretly filmed by the homeowner. [More]
Starbucks Faces Another Lawsuit Over Drinks Tainted With Chemicals
By 9.24.15
For the second time in three months, Starbucks has been accused in a lawsuit of serving up a drink with some unwanted extra ingredients. This time, a customer says she suffered months of medical problems after Starbucks sold her a hot chocolate containing industrial-strength cleaner — and that the coffee giant offered her a free drink as an apology. [More]
Woman Sues Starbucks For $2 Million Over Drink Allegedly Tainted With Chemicals
By 7.31.15
A Utah woman has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Starbucks and several employees claiming she was given a drink that contained a cleaning solution. [More]
NFL Linebacker Files $20M Lawsuit Against Bank Of America For Alleged Fraud
By 4.1.15
When looking to manage one’s money, it wouldn’t be unusual to seek advice from the financial professionals at one of the country’s largest banks. But an NFL linebacker says his decision to rely on Bank of America to manage his finances cost him millions of dollars and led to the closing of his budding restaurant business. [More]
Feds Investigating TSA Agents For Allegedly Failing To Screen Luggage
By 3.3.11
According to a federal probe, at least 27 TSA agents in Honolulu took it easy on the job, routinely letting un-screened baggage through on early-morning flights. [More]
Why Won't Time Warner Fix The "Old, Overtaxed" Wiring In This Neighborhood?
By 2.1.10
Alex from Rochester, NY, says every year around this time his Road Runner high speed access slows to a crawl, and stays that way until April. It occasionally happens at other times throughout the year, too. Unfortunately, Time Warner won’t fix the problem. Alex says one technician who came out to look at the issue told him, “The wires were installed when Adelphia provided service, and they haven’t been upgraded since.” Another one told him, “The problem has been going on for years, and management knows about it, but enough people don’t complain.” [More]
Yay I Haven't Been Crushed To Death By Bargains Yet!
By 12.1.09
It’s easy to pick on the people who end up on PeopleOfWalmart.com, but… yeah, it’s just easy. Especially when they trap their babies under a mountain of crap. Parents, I wish I could recall you. [More]
Ameriprise Bans "Customer Advisor" For Posting Link To Consumerist
By 9.21.09
Hey, we helped get an Ameriprise customer banned from the financial company’s consumer advisory panel! Sorry about that, Brendan.
Ameriprise Website Riddled With Security Vulnerabilities For At Least Five Months
By 8.21.09
[Note: The original headline for this post mistakenly identified Ameritrade as the subject of the post. It is actually Ameriprise Financial. I deeply regret the error.] Since March of this year, security expert Russ McRee of HolisticInfoSec.org has sent 6 messages to Ameriprise Financial warning them of easily exploitable security holes on their website. They ignored every request, while at the same time reassuring customers that “No one without the proper web browser configuration can view or modify information contained on our systems.”
County Sells Wachovia Bank For $16,900 For Failure To Pay Taxes
By 5.29.09
When Wachovia closed its bank branch in Shoemakersville, PA, last month, a spokesperson made it sound like it was part of a normal review of locations. Local newspaper the Reading Eagle, however, found out that the bank lost the branch last September in a tax sale, when a local company bought the building for only $16,900.
Comcast Will Pay You $500 If They Break Your $2000 TV
By 3.12.09
Comcast’s new service agreement (PDF) has some curious details buried in the fine print. Here’s the short version: “customer equipment” includes your computer and TV set, and if Comcast somehow damages or breaks any customer equipment through “gross negligence or willful misconduct,” they will pay you up to $500, no more. “This shall be your sole and exclusive remedy relating to such activity.”
Toys R Us Bathroom Stall Falls On Child Safety Advocate
By 3.9.09
In 2006, Jennifer—the co-founder of popular parenting/consumer advocacy site Z Recommends—took her two-and-a-half-year-old to the bathroom at the local Toys R Us store. What she didn’t know was that this particular store featured the awesome striking power of the Action Toilet Stall with Collapsible Mom Trap! As she closed the door, the entire partition fell over on top of her and her daughter. Jennifer managed to protect her daughter from harm, but in the two years since the event, she’s developed chronic pain from the accident—and the response from Toys R Us has been “don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
Bus Company Abandons Man With Cerebral Palsy On Bus On New Year's Eve
By 1.2.09
The bus matron of a special needs bus owned by Outstanding Transport, Inc. has been charged with felony reckless endangerment, after forgetting about a 22-year-old passenger and leaving him strapped in his seat on the bus over New Year’s Eve in below-freezing temperatures. He was found yesterday morning at 10:30am and is in good condition, although his sister can’t imagine how he could have been overlooked in the first place: “He’s like 6’2 and hunches over, the seats are not even high.”
Greyhound Abandons 60 Passengers In Seattle, Locks Up For The Night
By 12.22.08
Unsafe road conditions in Seattle brought Greyhound’s fleet to a standstill on Sunday, which apparently is why they abandoned riders outside in 25 degree weather last night.
Equifax Double-Reports Student Loan, Still Hasn't Corrected It 12 Attempts Later
By 9.26.08
So what exactly is the problem? After 12 online (and phone) disputes to Equifax and 14 calls (and faxes) to the Direct Loan Servicing Center, each party seems to blame the other.
Verizon Refuses To Help Locate Body Of Missing Woman For Four Days
By 9.17.08
Verizon, which has no problem helping the government spy on its customers, suddenly turned stupid in June when a police department asked them for help finding the body of a woman who had been abducted on camera. Despite pleas from the woman’s parents, the police, and the FBI, it was four days before a technician was sent out to the appropriate cell tower. When that technician gave the police the location info, they found Kelsey Smith’s body within 45 minutes. Verizon won’t respond to requests for an explanation of why they couldn’t help sooner.
