If you think you can sign up with Comcast just to get a Wii and then cancel or downgrade service, think again. Downgrade service or cancel in the first year, $250 in fees, second year, $125. Other restrictions apply. The insider says the new Wii promotion is a bunch of crap and they and other Comcast CSRs won’t be offering it to customers unless customers beg for it because of all the caveats. Frankly, they’re in the right for protecting their asses on this one. However, it’s not too hard to imagine scenarios where Comcast gets the account details wrong and customers wrongly get assessed fees… The internal document, inside…
promotions
By 6.16.08
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Today from 2-8pm, A&W restaurants will be giving away free root beer floats. Offer probably void wherever the manager feels like it, and it’s not real beer so what’s the point, but good luck and have a happy Monday. [Business First] (Thanks to Jarrod!)
Castle Toyota Rescinds Scholarships After Students Decide To Mourn Their Dead Teacher Instead Of Staging A Commercial
By 6.8.08
Poor Howard Castleman. All he wanted was a little PR for his car dealership. Castleman planned to give four scholarships to students at Patterson High School in Baltimore, but instead of honoring Castleman’s charity by inviting the media and displaying his dealership’s banner at the senior’s farewell ceremony, the school instead decided to honor a long-time teacher who recently died of a heart attack…
Class Action Certified In Suit Against Citibank Over IPod Mini Promotion
By 6.5.08
When Citibank offered free 4 GB iPod Minis to new customers in 2004 and 2005, the product was retailing for $249, and Citibank indirectly acknowledged the value of the product by saying they’d substitute an mp3 player of “equal or greater value” if there were fulfillment problems. There weren’t, but by the time Citibank got around to passing out the iPod Mini, it had dropped in price and a new 6 GB version was now on the market for $249. Citibank chose to take the savings and distribute the now cheaper 4-gig versions. Now there’s a class action lawsuit against Citibank in California, where it seems all class actions are born. You can read the ruling for the certification here (PDF).
Dear Home Depot: I Do Not Want To Hear About Your Special Promotion For Home Owners
By 5.28.08
Reader G writes in to let Home Depot know that he’s really, really tired of hearing about their “special promotion for home owners” while he’s trying to shop.
Linens 'N Things Marks Product Up $10 During Free $10 Gift Card Promotion
By 5.9.08
Jim from Blueprint For Financial Prosperity writes:
"Dell Is Chasing Me Into The Arms Of Steve Jobs"
By 5.9.08
Reader Julia writes in to say that Dell owes her a $70 gift card and when she didn’t get it they simply told her “too bad.” She’s wondering if any other Dell customers were similarly “cheated.” She sent an EECB to Dell and a quick summary of her problem to us:
Trends: Kroger Offers You A Bonus If You Put Your Stimulus Check On A Gift Card
By 4.17.08
Kroger is getting into the stimulus bonus action! Unwilling to be outdone by Sears, Kroger is offering a bonus if you put your stimulus check on a Kroger gift card. They have Kroger gift cards? My what a sexy gift. Honey, you shouldn’t have.
By 4.15.08
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Last week, Jamba Juice gave away breakfast paste while Starbucks gave away teeny cups of less-burnt coffee. Tomorrow, Dunkin’ Donuts gets in on the action with a free artery-clogging donut with every coffee purchase, in honor of Tax Day. [Dunkin’ Donuts] (Thanks to LE!)
Starbucks To Debut New "Everyday" Coffee Blend
By 4.7.08
The “something big” tomorrow at Starbucks is a new “everyday” drip coffee blend called “Pikes Place Roast.” If you’re feeling curious, free samples of the coffee will be handed out tomorrow at all Starbucks locations. Supposedly, the coffee will feature “subtle, rich flavors of cocoa and toasted nuts.” Sexy.
By 4.4.08
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IT’S WAR! Jamba Juice, home of the Diabetes Smoothie, is having a special freebie event at the same time as Starbucks next Tuesday morning, where they’ll be giving out breakfast mush or something like that. Which store will you abandon your job for next Tuesday?
By 4.4.08
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Starbucks wants us to all go to our nearest Starbucks location on Tuesday, April 8th, at 9am PST/ 12pm EST “sharp,” for “something big.” If the barista re-training last month was Phase 2, is this Phase 3? Is the spaceship comet passing overhead then? Will we at least get free drink coupons out of the deal?
Dr Pepper Promises Free Soda For Almost Everyone In US If Axl Rose Will Release "Chinese Democracy" This Year
By 3.27.08
Yeah, it’s a PR stunt—but a funny one, especially because the only two people excluded by Dr Pepper’s pledge are “estranged GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead.” Someone in the Dr Pepper PR department really likes Axl Rose. Rose says neither he nor his label are in cahoots with Dr Pepper, and that he’d share his drink with Buckethead because “some of Buckethead’s performances are on our album.”
Verizon Responds To Angry Customers Who Have Not Received Their Free LCD TVs
By 3.6.08
Verizon has posted a Q&A that tries to address some of the concerns their customers were having over an LCD TV promotion that’s gone awry.
Verizon FiOS "Free LCD TV" Promotion Resulting In A Lot Of Angry Customers
By 3.3.08
Reader Mary says that she ordered Verizon FiOS during the “free LCD TV” promotion they were running, but she still hasn’t received the letter she needs in order to start the rebate process.
Budget's Free Frequent Flyer Miles Promos Will Cost You
By 3.3.08
Michael writes, ” I was just reserving a budget rental car, and for some reason decided to actually read some of the fine print.” Buried in the text was something called an “FTP Surcharge,” which basically amounts to a participation fee for any frequent flyer promotion they offer their customers.
Happy Ending To Best Buy Refuses To Honor 2 for $25 DVD Sale Story
By 1.31.08
A few days ago Jason’s story about Best Buy’s bait-and-switch shot to internet prominence (137,166 pageviews on Consumerist and 4668 diggs), and now he’s happy, has a $200 gift card to Best Buy, and a free copy of Saw IV. Let’s recap: Jason went to Best Buy and saw a tag in-store advertising 2 DVDs for $25. He chose to buy two copies of 3:10 to Yuma. At checkout, it rang up for $19.99 a piece. When contested, the clerk pulled out a different circular that said “Buy Saw IV with any of these 3 movies for $25.” Jason and a series of store employees disagreed for a long time about whether the circular applied to the tag, and Jason left the store with a $19.99 copy of 3:10 to Yuma, and a story, which he sent to The Consumerist. Then the internets happened. How did he go from screwed to elated? Find out in the exciting conclusion to his customer service misadventure, inside…
