Dayva has written in an update about her landlord and heating issue. They don’t have heat yet, but they do have a power strip that’s been slowly melting itself into goo! [More]
readers
Who Sucks The Most, AT&T Or Verizon? Vote With Your Gum
By 2.28.11
Instead of spitting their gum on the sidewalk like usual, people are using it to vote whether AT&T or Verizon sucks more. “Gum Election” is a project where people download a free poster off this site, post it out on the street, and people stick their gum on the entity that “sucks the most.” Early results based off a poster hung up on Lafayette Street in New York favor AT&T. [More]
No Heat, Apartment Has Smoke And Fumes, Landlord Is MIA
By 2.25.11
Dayva is fuming, almost as much as her apartment. She’s been without heat since yesterday after the cord on the heater her landlord installed melted. The landlord sent repair people who replaced the cord, but the heater still doesn’t work and its been emitting odd smells. Now she’s fighting through phone tree hell and getting hung up on by the landlord, unresponsive management company, and their minions. What’s a body to do? [More]
DirecTV Raises "Locked In" Rate
By 2.25.11
Brance writes in that he signed up with DirecTV who was advertising a rate that was “locked in” for 12 months. 3 months later, he noticed that his bill had gone up $10. When he called DirecTV to complain, the supervisor told him it didn’t matter, they still reserve the right to raise rates when they want. “In the world I grew up in, “locked in” means it will not change,” writes Brance. Well now we live in a world where every promise comes with an asterisk. [More]
I Don't Not Understand Sara Lee's Curiously Double Negative Slogan
By 2.24.11
The cameraphone of reader Thomas points us to a classic American slogan that has been bedeviling consumers for decades, “Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” It is shortened on this truck to “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” Huh? Isn’t that a double negative? Yes, and it was planned this way. [More]
Via Email, HP Apologizes For Sending Too Many Emails
By 2.24.11
HP apparently sent some customers too many emails recently by accident. So they sent out an apology to them, via email. No doubt they will realize this additional email was an unwanted further intrusion and send out another email to apologize for it. [More]
Utility Overcharged Homeowners By $11,000 After Getting Their Meter Mixed Up
By 2.18.11
One home was paying for both their power and their neighbor’s after their meters got crossed. Over seven years they overpaid by $11,000 despite making costly upgrades to reduce power consumption. [More]
Mike Fights The Identity Thieves
By 2.18.11
Someone stole Mike’s identity and has been using it to pay for gas service and buy cellphones in his name. He’s even got a $163 default judgment against him for something he never paid. Here’s how he unraveled the threads of his identity thieves, and how he may never truly be free from their grasp. [More]
School Tracks Truant Students With GPS Devices
By 2.18.11
To combat seventh and eighth graders who constantly skip class, a school in California is equipping the worst offenders with GPS tracking units. If you have more than four unexcused absences, you’re assigned to carry a handheld GPs device. Five times a day you have enter in a code to verify your location. You also get an automated call in the morning reminding you to come to school and three times a week an adult assigned to you calls you to check in and discuss attendance strategies. The devices have increased attendance by truants to 95% up from 77%, but some parents feel it treats their kids “like common criminals.” Do you think this program is a good idea? Take our poll and sound off in the comments. [More]
Do You Have What It Takes To Be Working Poor?
By 2.18.11
You’re a savvy consumer used to pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. So if you were a jobless parent, down to your last $1,000, you could make it work, right? Spent is a new free online “game” that tests to see whether you have what it takes. Put out by the Urban Ministries of Durham, it’s less fun than a sobering dose of reality. I played it and in order to make it through the month I couldn’t let my kid go on field trips and I missed his baseball game in order to take a job helping a neighbor move. Also, I got fired for talking to a union organizer. The gas also got shut off and I drove away from an accident instead of paying the ticket. I had no choice, otherwise I would have gone broke and lost the game. [More]
Cable Co. RCN Tried To Bill Fire Victims For Incinerated Cable Boxes
By 2.17.11
A family in Allentown, PA was lucky to escape with their lives after a natural gas explosion destroyed their block and took five of their neighbor’s souls. Then their cable company RCN told them they would have to pay $170 a pop for the cable boxes that were destroyed in the fire. [More]
Kitten Freezes To Death After Delta Flight, Owner Offered Free Trip And $50
By 2.17.11
Snickers, an 11-week old kitten, is dead after taking a trip on Delta that went horribly awry. The owner said the airline initially offered over $3,000 in compensation. They have now revised that offer to free airfare plus $.50 for every pound the kitten weighed. There’s a $50 minimum payout on that policy, which is a good thing because the feline only weighed 3 pounds. [More]
Ticketmaster Charges $327.50 In Fees For One Florence And The Machine Ticket?
By 2.17.11
Ticketmaster is known for getting away with charging high service fees for its tickets thanks to its effective monopoly over the concert business, but reader Mark noticed a fee that really takes the cake — and smashes it! Right now a ticket for a Florence and the Machine show is showing up as having $327.50 in fees. Talk about a kiss with a fist! [More]
Drugstores Cross-Promoting Chocolate And Condoms For Valentine's
By 2.14.11
Drugstores are making it easier for you to get your Valentine’s Day shopping in by putting endcaps of condoms and lubrication on their their chocolate and candy displays. Now you only have to visit one aisle! [More]
Telemarketers Want Me To Sell My Timeshare. I Don't Own One.
By 2.14.11
Reader Deon is confused by all the telemarketers calling him and sending him letters, asking if he wants to sell his timeshare. The confusion largely stems from the fact that he doesn’t own a timeshare. He’s tried getting off their lists but it seems his name and number as a “hot lead” keep getting sold around. [More]
Vermont Teddy Bear Gets Guy Dumped On Valentine's
By 2.14.11
Vermont Teddy Bear are supposed to be harbingers of love and snuggling. But for reader Erik, who emailed us his story in response to our request for tales of romance, love and heartbreak centered around a specific product, sending one of those stuffed bears only served to herald his doom. Here’s his story of how a Vermont Teddy Bear got him dumped on Valentine’s. [More]
10 Thrifty Ways To Deliver Big On Valentine's Day
By 2.11.11
Just because the economy is in the dumps doesn’t mean your spirits have to be on V-Day. There’s lots of great ways to celebrate your relationship without buying into all the myths of conspicuous consumption. At the same time, classic romantic gestures can be nice and sweet, as long as there’s more feeling than Franklins behind them. Here’s a guide to some last-minute, creative, frugal and even free ways to say “I love you.” (Spoiler alert: the best day to celebrate February 14… is February 15! It’s like getting Valentine’s Day half-off!) [More]
10 Confessions Of An Insurance Telemarketer
By 2.10.11
One of our readers works sales in an insurance telemarketing operation. He’s stepped forward to give us the skinny on how he gets commission, the real reasons that drive some of their tactics, and what personal information you should never give over the phone to a telemarketer. [More]
