Penn of Penn and Teller went through airport security and got a pat-down. The TSA agent didn’t ask him for permission before touching his crotch so Penn made the cops come down there. In light of recent news, his post about it from 2002 is getting passed around, and it’s an interesting look at how the TSA reacts in a security incident when they’re scared of you, instead of the other way around. [More]
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Super Complex Chart Of How A Mortgage Gets Securitized
By 11.18.10
Gee, how could people who haven’t graduated high school mess this up? This is a chart showing how a mortgage gets securitized made by a guy whose job is to audit securitizations by reverse-engineering them. This is one he did for the mortgage on his own house. My favorite part of the diagram is where the documents go into a black hole. Literally, that’s an actual part of this flowchart. [More]
TWC: Saying "Upgrade" Connects You To Live Person. "Downgrade" Disconnects Call.
By 11.18.10
A Raleigh, North Carolina woman is complaining that when you call Time Warner Cable the automated voice response tree is a little haywire. When you say “upgrade” it connects you to a live operator. But when you say “downgrade,” it disconnects your call. Funny how that works. [More]
Couple Waits 7 Months For FiOs Refund. Instead, They Get A Debt Collector.
By 11.18.10
Tony and his wife have been waiting for 7 months for their $144.81 refund from Verizon FiOs that they’ve repeatedly been told is coming their way. It hasn’t showed up, but the debt collector trying to collect on that amount has. [More]
Does GE Owe Her For The Icemaker?
By 11.17.10
Reader Cinnamon has specifically requested Consumerist reader opinions on whether GE should pay her back for the icemaker that broke twice in her refrigerator. [More]
Enraged Passengers Refuse To Leave Plane
By 11.17.10
A group of French tourists refused to leave the plane for four hours after it landed in protest of how they were treated. [More]
When AT&T Schedules An Install, It's More Like A Suggestion
By 11.17.10
David is trying to get AT&T DSL-only installed, but the techs keep missing the appointment or show up without the tools to complete the job. See, the problem comes down to a simple difference in definitions. What you think of as “scheduled appointment,” they think of as “suggestion,” a snippet of melody for them to jazz riff off if they please. And if they don’t feel like it, they’ll go eat a sandwich and come back another day. Or not. [More]
What A Work At Home Job Scam Looks Like
By 11.15.10
Fraudsters are trying to take advantage of the unemployed in the bad economy by posting enticing work at home job ads. But what you’re really signing up for is to be the rube in an advance fee fraud scheme. Here’s the email one job-seeker got back. Bear in mind this is the first contact back from the “employer” after sending in her resume. All spelling and spacing is sic. [More]
Know What Else Doesn't Rot? A Homemade Burger.
By 11.15.10
There’s a bunch of different iterations of people photographing how their McDonald’s burger left out for a long time doesn’t get moldy, and they’ve gotten lots of internet attention. But they all forgot to do something very simple: make a homemade burger and document it alongside. [More]
Debt Collector Threatens To Shoot And Eat Your Dog
By 11.12.10
A woman says a funeral home’s debt collector threatened to dig her deceased daughter’s body up and hang it from a tree unless she paid what she owed for the funeral service. That’s when she started recording the calls, capturing such things as, “We’re going to have your dog arrested, we’re going to shoot him, and we’re going to eat him,” and, “Are you going to pay this bill or not or am I going to have to kill you?” [More]
Emailing Sears CEO Gets Broke Socket Wrench Replaced
By 11.11.10
One of our readers works in automotive repair, using a set of Craftsman tools he inherited from his pops. The tools have a lifetime guarantee, so he was shocked when after his 1/8th inch socket split he went into Kmart and they said, “Oh, no you have to go to Sears to do that.” (Kmart and Sears merged in ’05). So he did, by emailing the CEO of Sears. [More]
Scammers Tell Guy Hard Drive Has Virus, Bilk For $6 Million
By 11.10.10
We’ve just found a tech repair service worse than the Geek Squad. [More]
SunChips Canada To Noisy Bag Haters: Here's Free Earplugs
By 11.4.10
Unlike their lilly-livered counterparts to the south, Sun Chips Canada has decided to hold the line on their jet-engine loud biodegradable bags. Instead of caving to detractors, they’re offering them free earplugs. [More]
Debt Collection Firm Accused Of Setting Up Phony Courtroom
By 10.29.10
Call it “theater of the real.” A debt collection firm is accused of setting up a fake courtroom, complete with a raised “bench” and judge in black and other decorations and furniture, to trick and holding bogus hearings to extract payment from debtors. [More]
4-Year Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules
By 10.29.10
A judge has ruled that a suit can be brought against a 4-year old who mowed down an 87-year old lady with her bike. [More]
Oops We Lost Your Docs So You're Going To Foreclosure
By 10.27.10
After Alexis’s employer started making her and other workers taking mandatory furlough days, her income dropped so much that she had trouble making mortgage payments. So, like many others, she sought a loan mod. She followed all of Bank of America’s instructions and thought she was on the path to getting a mod. Then BoA told her they were going to foreclose on her house. [More]
Nook Deletes All Your Files, Barnes & Nobles Shrugs
By 10.26.10
If you own a Nook, you better make sure you regularly update its software, otherwise you might lose all your files that are not B&N books. That’s what happened to Michael, and customer service told him that it can happen if the device hasn’t been updated recently. The updates are too much for it to handle so it has to spontaneously jettison all foreign objects! Or something like that. [More]
