It’s a fact: Some people do stupid things when they are drunk. Some of those same people also have the decency to try to atone for their mistakes when they realize they screwed up (and will probably get caught). [More]
new jersey
Debt Collectors Keep Calling About Bogus Debt, Even After Being Threatened With Suit
By 2.19.13
From calling at all hours of the day and night to contacting you at work, we’ve told you before about the large number of banned practices for debt collectors. But one man says he’s the victim of a tenacious debt collector trying to collect a debt he doesn’t even owe. [More]
Former Spirit Airlines Mechanic: I Was Fired After Complaining To FAA About Service Issues
By 2.19.13
A New Jersey man who had worked at Spirit Airlines for more than a decade claims he was fired last year after he and a group of his fellow aircraft mechanics filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration about allegedly sketchy service practices at the carrier. [More]
NJ Township Offers Property Tax Credits For Shopping Locally
By 1.24.13
Last fall, Marlboro Township, NJ, announced what it believes is the first program in the country that encourages residents to shop at local businesses by offering deductions on annual property tax bills. [More]
Verizon Says Hurricane-Affected Customers Will Get Credit For “Vacation” Fees
By 11.29.12
Yesterday, we told you about Roy, a Verizon DSL customer who canceled his service after he discovered the company was charging him a “vacation” fee to suspend service to his hurricane-damaged house. This morning, a rep for the company reached out to Consumerist to offer an explanation. [More]
Hurricane Forces Bride & Groom To Celebrate Wedding In A Gym While They Lose $10K On Reception Hall
By 11.27.12
Among all the recent hurricane-related horror stories coming out of New Jersey, the tale of a young couple losing $10,000 and having to hold their reception in a school gymnasium is certainly not the absolute worst, but it didn’t have to happen that way. [More]
“Stop Eating” Is Not The Kind Of Tip You Should Leave Your Applebee’s Waitress
By 11.21.12
Leaving a $0 tip on a $30 bill at Applebee’s is bad enough. But then taking the effort to write “Stop Eating B*tch!” as a “tip” is crossing the line from being a bad consumer into being a horrible human being. [More]
NJ Sues Businesses For Price-Gouging After Hurricane Sandy
By 11.9.12
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many businesses in New Jersey and New York raised their prices in response to higher demand or weakened supply. But when those prices are jacked up so high that it’s disproportionate to the additional cost to the business, that’s gouging. Today, the state of New Jersey filed suit against eight businesses accused of crossing that line. [More]
Comcast Knows Your Storm-Ravaged House Might Explode, Would Really Like Its Cable Box Back
By 11.1.12
It seems like every time there is a major natural disaster, there are inevitably cable company customer service reps who place a higher level of importance on their employer’s equipment than on their customers’ homes and lives. [More]
Sandy Prompts Panic At The Gas Pump, Things Get Heated As Customers Rush To Fill Up
By 11.1.12
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, a common thought prevailed among those in New Jersey who had cars — “What if the gas stations run out of gas?” As people panicked and drove off to find the nearest gas pump and long lines formed, those lines prompted other people to think that there must be a shortage if there’s a long line and so they join the line, too. And thus begins a cycle that has caused some emotional flare-ups at the pump. [More]
AT&T And T-Mobile Briefly Reuniting In New York, New Jersey To Help Storm Victims
By 10.31.12
It’s been almost a year since the FCC and Justice Dept. ripped AT&T and T-Mobile apart, ending the lovers’ foolish hopes of a life of marital bliss. But regulators can only keep true love down for so long, as the two telecoms have announced they will share their networks in storm-damaged areas of New York and New Jersey where customers have been left without bars on their phone. [More]
License Plate Decals Seem To Be Keeping Teens Off The Roads When They Shouldn’t Be On Them
By 10.29.12
In an effort to cut down on car collisions involving young drivers, New Jersey slapped red decals on the license plates of teens with provisional licenses two years ago and it seems to be working, says a new study. The thinking being if it’s easier for cops to spot teenagers eschewing curfew rules, they can bust said youngins before they hurt themselves or others by driving irresponsibly, or simply because of lack of experience. [More]
Only Bad Things Can Happen When You Abandon Thousands Of Bottles Of Counterfeit Ketchup In A Warehouse
By 10.18.12
Taking huge, commercial-size bladders of Heinz Ketchup and repackaging it into smaller plastic bottles may not seem like that insidious of a scam, until you think about what else might be getting added to the sweet red goo — and what happens when you leave a few thousand bogus bottles of the stuff in a warehouse unattended. [More]
Comfort Inn Boots Wedding Guests From Overbooked Hotel, Doesn’t Seem To Care
By 10.11.12
When you book a block of eight rooms at a hotel, 18 months in advance no less, you’d expect to have a little leverage when the place suddenly realizes it’s been overbooked. At the very least, you’d expect a little bit of respect. But a woman in New Jersey says the folks at Comfort Inn were not terribly comforting when they told guests who had reserved rooms for a nearby wedding that they would have to stay elsewhere. [More]
Woman Loses License Because Red-Light Camera Can’t Read
By 10.1.12
Municipalities around the country are turning to red-light cameras as a way to bring in traffic violation revenue while freeing up police officers to do other things. Of course, these devices are far from perfect, especially in the dark. But the process of convincing authorities that it couldn’t have been your car in the photo is sometimes more of a hassle than just paying the ticket. [More]
Employee Kills Coworkers At New Jersey Pathmark
By 8.31.12
The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that two workers are dead after an employee of the Old Bridge Pathmark supermarket in New Jersey entered the store with two guns and began shooting. The worker then took his own life. [More]
Casino Deals Unshuffled Cards, Wants Gamblers' Winnings Back
By 8.23.12
When the same sequence of cards was dealt at a mini-baccarat table at Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget casino twice in a row, was it just probability in action. Out of all the packs of shuffled cards in the world, the cards ending up in the same order happens now and then. Then the cards came up in the same sequence a third time. Fourth. Fifth. The players played forty-one hands where the cards came up in the same order, betting larger and larger amounts each hand. Wouldn’t you? They ultimately won more than $1.5 million. Casino security staff swarmed the table, trying to figure out how the fourteen players at the table were cheating. They weren’t. A vendor allegedly supplied the casino with packs of unshuffled cards, which were dealt as-is. Now the casino is suing the fourteen gamblers and the playing card company, and the gamblers are countersuing the casino. [More]
Update: State Decides Man No Longer Needs To Repay $19K In Unemployment Benefits
By 8.10.12
Back in April we told you about a New Jersey man who was stuck in a bureaucratic battle between church and state, as he tried to figure out why he needed to repay more than $19,000 in unemployment benefits he’d believed he was entitled to. After pulling their heads out of the sand at the shore, officials have realized the man was right all along. [More]
