Trisha in Oregon bought a great new-to-her car from a used car dealership. Unfortunately, the problem with buying a car “as-is” is that the dealer may not be up-front with you about how the car actually is.
oregon
Oregon To Consider Predatory Towing Ban After Meals-On-Wheels Is Almost Towed During Delivery
By 2.1.09
Remember Andrew? His car was towed from Starbucks while he was inside sipping a latte. He isn’t alone. In mid-August, a predatory tow-truck driver set up shop outside a retirement community and waited for local meals-on-wheels driver Marie Phillippi to leave her car. As she made her deliveries, the tow-truck driver latched on and prepared to tow. He was stopped only when a retiree ran out and splayed herself across the car’s hood until the Marie could return. The tow-truck driver’s actions were entirely legal under Oregon law, although that may soon change…
16-Hour Flight From Hell – "You Can Either Stay Onboard, Or Get Arrested"
By 1.22.09
A six-hour flight from Mexico to Seattle turned into a 16-hour ordeal after intense fog caused the flight to be rerouted to Portland.
Help, Starbucks Towed My Car While I Was Sipping A Latte!
By 1.18.09
Andrew’s car was towed from Stabucks’ parking lot as he sat inside enjoying his drink. The Portland Starbucks apparently has a contract with a local predatory towing company that allows them to walk in, call out a bunch of license plate numbers, and tow any car whose owner doesn’t speak up.
Throwing $4 Drinks At Unfriendly Starbucks Managers Is Not Misdemeanor Harassment
By 5.31.08
A Portland jury recently found Latasha Curry not guilty of misdemeanor harassment for throwing a $4 venti iced mocha at a Starbucks manager who accused her of running a free drink scam. Curry was initially offered a free drink after she complained that her iced tea was too bitter. When she tried to redeem her freebie two days later, store manager Ryan Smith decided that Curry looked suspiciously like a woman who redeemed a free drink from a different store 11 months earlier. Smith accused Curry of running some elaborate drink scam, prompting Curry to serve Smith a free venti shower.
Scam Watch: Credit Card Shaving
By 3.31.08
Have you heard of “credit card shaving?” In this version of credit card fraud, thieves try out 16-digit number sequences until hitting one that works. Then they take gift cards from stores and shave off the digits and glue them onto a credit card. They scratch the magnetic strip so the clerk has to enter the credit card number by hand. It’s apparently all the rage in Portland There’s no defense against it except to monitor your statement for suspicious charges.
Capital One Invents New Way To Rip You Off For $500
By 3.4.08
Capital One accidentally sent a customer with a closed Capital One credit card a check for $500. She cashed the check and now CapO wants its money back… so badly that they reopened the closed credit card just so it could bill her. They also added a $1.42 finance charge. When asked by The Oregonian, a consumer advocate and official with the Office Of The Comptroller of Currency both said they had never heard of a company reopening a closed credit card for this reason before. What a brilliant new scam, here’s a check for $500 dummty dum dum two months pass oh wait guess what that was actually a loan, pay up, bitch. In all seriousness, don’t cash unexpected checks, you’re just asking for trouble.
Turbo Tax Accidentally Donates Your Money To The Oregon State School Fund?
By 12.19.07
“We are getting calls from people who are saying that they used some kind of an electronic software program to file their tax returns and that they did not check the box to donate their kicker,” said Rosemary Hardin, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Revenue. “When we bring up their tax return, that box is checked.”
Severe Flooding In The Northwest Knocks Out T-Mobile's Customer Service
By 12.4.07
Hey ya’ll. I just wanted to alert your readers to the fact the T-Mobile USA’s customer care (1-800-937-8997) is offline right now. It has been since sometime yesterday. Apparently they house all their system stuff in Seattle, WA or Portland, OR or one of those currently waterlogged states. Well, it has caused all their stuff to crash. I called last night and then again this morning and waited past their automated system telling me that they could not view my account info thru the IVR and that the CSR’s were unable to view my account info and to call back later. I spoke with a polite rep Cassie who said that they did not have an ETR on when their systems would be back up and running and that I should try calling back later on today.
We called T-Mobile and sure enough they’re currently unable to pull up anyone’s account info due to the storms. No word on when it will be back up.
Reader Run Over By Bus That Slammed Doors In His Face
By 11.7.07
UPDATE: Here is the full video of the incident (32 MB, ZIP).
The Ace Up Netflix's Sleeve: Excellent Customer Service
By 8.19.07
Netflix is investing in superior customer service to differentiate themselves from Blockbuster as the two rental giants remain locked in a vicious price war. The company has completely shunned email-based support, instead relying on 200 friendly Oregonians to answer calls around the clock. Netflix CSRs, unlike most, are not given target call durations, and are encouraged to “err on the side of generosity” when dispensing compensation. They have one shockingly simple goal: satisfy the customer.
Massive Layoff At Dell Call Center
By 8.2.07
Dell’s Oregon based call center experienced a massive layoff this morning, according to KPIC. All of the employees were herded into a conference room and told that their positions had been eliminated.
Drunk Crashes Car Into Arby’s, Makes A Run For The Border
By 2.3.07 — Updated: 7.19.13
Police arrested 47-year-old Davis Katlaps of Lake Oswego, Ore., and charged him with driving under the influence after he reportedly blew .283 on an Intoxilyzer
Oregon’s legal limit is .08.
