From extra, unexpected fees, Broadcast TV charges, or a completely different base price for your service of choice, it’s not uncommon to open your cable or internet bill to find the amount higher than you anticipated. One state is taking on these surprise bills by suing CenturyLink, accusing the cable and phone provider of frequently billing customers at higher rates than sales agents quoted. [More]
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"Economical" Are The New "Astronomical" Numbers
By 9.21.10
“There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it’s only a hundred billion. It’s less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers.” – Richard Feynman, 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics winner. [More]
Mr. Rooter Plumbing Job Quoted At $300 But Ends Up Costing $25,000
By 8.9.10
Dave and his wife came into some money and decided it was time to get a professional out to solve their slow draining toilet problems once and for all. Mr. Rooter showed up, and in less than a week the company managed to also solve Dave’s “I just came into some money” problem, by taking all of it. The problem is, Dave isn’t sure that any of the expensive extra work was necessary now that he can see the pipes. [More]
Men Go Mad In Herds
By 6.25.09
Men…think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.
Inspiration To Save Money
By 6.2.09
“Save a part of your income and begin now, for the man with a surplus controls circumstances and the man without a surplus is controlled by circumstances.” – Henry H Buckley
Progressive Responds To Question About Using Recent Military Service To Determine Rates And Eligibility
By 4.22.08
The Progressive auto insurance company saw our post “Why Is Progressive Using “Recent Military Service” To Determine Rates And Eligibility?” and responded to let us know that it’s just to make sure that service members aren’t penalized for having a lapse in their coverage due to the fact that they’ve been deployed overseas. They’ve apologized for the confusing wording on the website and have pledged to rewrite it for clarity. Full official statement, inside…
Why Is Progressive Using "Recent Military Service" To Determine Rates And Eligibility?
By 4.19.08
[Update: Progressive responded and clarified that the fine print does NOT mean they will use military service to give you a higher rate.] We got this email tonight from Ceaser, who wants to know why his military service would negatively affect his car insurance:
While searching for new car insurance on progressive and sadly other insurance carriers, figuring what the rate check would be I answered a few questions. Some questions asked were if I was currently in the military and in college, I am both. As an Iraq war Army vet I am currently going to school with the GI bill, and tuition assistance from the Air national guard, so I put that I am both a student and national guard.
Consumerist Buys its Way Into the New York Times
By 2.27.06
Bust out the absinthe, we got in the New York Times this weekend.
