A week after Wells Fargo rejected a couple’s loan mod app and said it wouldn’t start foreclosure proceedings any sooner than 30 days later, a guy showed up on their steps. He said he was with an investment firm that had just bought the house at a real estate auction, and if they would leave within 2 weeks, he would give them $1,500. [More]
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Convincing The Credit Bureaus I Wasn't Dead
By 9.9.10
A writer for Slate shares the tell of her trying to convince Experian and Transunion that she is not deceased, as being dead is a bit of a problem when you’re trying to buy an apartment. Transunion only took one phone call and one fax to Lazarus her, but Experian was an abyss of despair, until, out of the darkness, a ray of hope emerged… [More]
Xbox Bans Man For Living In "Fort Gay." Except, That's Where He Lives.
By 9.8.10
UPDATE: Microsoft admitted they made a mistake and has updated their training policy.
Ok, now this is getting redonkulous. Xbox has been suspending gamers for some time for mentioning or otherwise referencing their sexual orientation in their gamer profiles, but now they’ve gone ahead and banned a guy because he said he lives in “Fort Gay.” Huh huh, Beavis indeed, but there is a real town called Fort Gay. It’s in West Virginia, and that’s where the guy really lives.
Restaurant Bans Screaming Kids, Business Booms
By 9.8.10
The female owner of a North Carolina restaurant has put up a new sign on its front door saying, “Screaming children will not be tolerated.” [More]
AT&T Thinks 0 Kbps Counts As DSL Service
By 9.8.10
AT&T wants to charge Derek a $100 early termination fee even though the DSL they’re giving barely even works. His downtime is almost 12 hours a day, and on the rare occasions it does work, it’s only 100kbps. It’s like watching taffy grill on a Georgia sidewalk. AT&T says they’ve lived up to their part of the bargain, with one customer service rep telling him, “If AT&T were to provide a constant speed of 0 Kbps this still qualifies as service within our contract,” and so now he must pay his contractually stipulated ETF. Also, he must have imagined that a technician came and visited his house. [More]
Man Gets Time Warner Bill Lowered More Than He Even Thought He Could
By 9.7.10
Nathan was paying $48.99 for Time Warner Cable internet and saw they were advertising the same service at $43.99. It wasn’t very hard to find, they put it right on his bill! When he called up to ask to get the same rate, they told him he could only get it if he bundled it with cable TV. So he hung up and called back again, using a different Time Warner Cable number. [More]
Xbox Suspends Gay Gamer For Calling Himself A "Homosexueller" Who "Likes Cupcakes"
By 9.2.10
Despite Xbox recently changing its policy to allow folks to describe their sexual orientation in their gamer profile, Super Street Fighter IV fan Shmoo found his Xbox Live account suspended for breaking their Code of Conduct. His gamer bio states, “Bio Ich bin ein homosexueller Mann in einer großen schlechten Stadt. Ich mag kleine Kuchen und Cheeseburgers.” Which translates from German to, “I am a gay man in a big bad city. I like cupcakes and cheeseburgers.” This, apparently, was verboten. [More]
Save $420 On Your Comcast Bill By Being A Pain In The Butt
By 9.1.10
Jeff in Seattle saves $420 a year on his Comcast bill by calling the company once every 6 months and demanding they keep him at the lowest competitive rate of $29.99. He threatens to go to Qwest if they don’t give him that rate. He’s been doing this for several years now, and it keeps working. [More]
Scram! DC Shops Install Device That Emits Annoying Sound Only Kids Can Hear
By 9.1.10
A DC shop on one of the busiest retail strips has installed a “Mosquito” device in order to drive away teenagers who often loiter and fight there. The unit emits an annoying beeep beeep beeep at 17.5 kilohertz, which is at the upper range of audibility for 13-25 year olds. The business owners like it, but one passerby remarked, “It’s classism and ageism. And it’s sad.” [More]
Ryanair Kicks Kid Off Flight For Not Buying Extra Seat For Her Violin
By 8.31.10
Extreme discount airline Ryanair kicked a 12-year old girl and her dad off a flight because they didn’t buy an extra ticket for her violin. [More]
U-Haul Makes You Drop Off At Other Location, Then Charges You For It
By 8.31.10
Christina went to return her Uhaul rental, but when she arrived at her scheduled time, she found the lot was already closed. Customer service told her to return the truck to the nearest nearby Uhaul place, a chore in and of itself. Then she got charged for returning it to the “wrong” location, and all-told her $19.99 rental has blossomed into $220 that navigating the twists and turns and delays of customer service hasn’t gotten her refunded. Here’s the letter she wrote to Joe, the CEO of Uhaul. [More]
BofA Tries To Foreclose On Couple With Current Mortgage
By 8.31.10
Even though they have made every payment in full and on time, Bank of America sent one couple a letter asking them for the deed to their house. [More]
Should We Confront The Bellman About Stealing Our Camera?
By 8.30.10
One our readers was staying at a hotel and the friendly bellhop brought his luggage, including his camera case, up to his room, while he parked the car. When our reader got to the room, the camera was gone. [More]
5 More Homeless Lent Credit Cards To See If They Give Them Back
By 8.30.10
Two weeks ago a homeless person made headlines after a high-powered ad executive lent him her American Express Platinum Card to buy some food and actually got it back from him as promised. But is this behavior really so out of the ordinary? A reporter gave five homeless people pre-paid credit cards to find out. [More]
Gas Pump Programmed To Say "An American Company. No Terrorist Gas!!!"
By 8.26.10
Tempers in the country are running hot, so much so that at least one gas station owner has turned the LCD screen on his pumps into a medium of personal expression. In a Consumerist exclusive, one of our readers found a gas pump programmed to say, “AN AMERICAN COMPANY. NO TERRORIST GAS!!!” at his local Valero gas station. [More]
Roofing Company Caves, Leaving Homeowners Out Thousands
By 8.25.10
The takeaway from this story about a roofing company that went under, taking people’s deposits with it, is to never pay for a job in full and up front. If the company stipulates this, the BBB says it’s a big red flag. [More]
The Desperate Life Of A Flea Market Shammie Salesman
By 8.25.10
Reader Tim found himself selling shammies at flea markets to earn his way through college and made this video about it. These aren’t ShamWows, mind you. No, something more degrading. It’s the knockoff Wow!” brand shammie. Wholesale: $.70 per sheet, yours for only $3.30 a piece! He says it was like working at the “Bazaar of Despair.” [More]
Fear The "Snazzy Napper"
By 8.25.10
Move over Snuggie, and meet the Snazzy Napper, a pocketed bib that attaches to an eye-mask. Or, get the extra large version and you have a blanket too. Snazzy Napper’s patented technology prevents you from seeing the other people around you staring at you in disbelief. [More]
