Here are seven wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. Also, be sure to check out our new Photo Gallery to see the latest additions all week long! [More]
readers
iPod Explodes In Class, Killing Nobody
By 2.26.10
An iPod erupted on a high school science room desk in Pentucket Regional High School in, MA yesterday. Supposedly… [More]
"Robin Hood" Hacker Exposes Banks Awarding Secret Bonuses Despite Paycut Promises
By 2.24.10
A hacker has stolen the tax information for over 1,000 Latvian companies, and is now revealing, via Twitter, which banks did not take the paycuts they promised in return for government bailouts, and which are awarding secret bonuses. [More]
Man's Water Bill Jumps From 4,000 To 23,000 Gallons Per Month
By 2.24.10
Reader Jim just got a water bill that says his usage has jumped up to 19,000 23,000 gallons per month from his usual 4,000. This is a guy who lives in a one-bath, one-toilet, one-sink house. “Must be that swimming pool I filled in the middle of winter in Western PA,” he says. So far, the utility has dismissed all his requests for explanation, or logic, and demanded he pay up immediately. [More]
Email Sprint's Lawyers
By 2.24.10
If for some reason you feel compelled to contact Sprint’s lawyers, here is their email address: office.general.counsel@sprint.com [More]
30 Worst NJ Toll Collectors
By 2.23.10
Never give a New Jersey toll collector pennies. Never. Ever. Not unless you want to risk them being thrown in your face. That’s the lesson I learned from reading the 30 pages of customer complaints The Smoking Gun gathered by doing a Freedom of Information Act request on the State of New Jersey. And in between the suggestions to stay flashing suggestions, threats of strip search and violence, that state is very altered indeed. [More]
Just Calling Bank Of America Invokes The Cancel Monster
By 2.23.10
Be careful if you call Bank of America. You might wake the beast. April called BofA about a credit card that she hand’t used in a while to see about getting her interest rate reduced. At first they told her she qualified for a new card with an APR 10 points lower, but then the bloodshot eye of the guardian cast its fell gaze upon her for the first time in years and something nasty happened… [More]
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By 2.19.10
Here are nine wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. Also, be sure to check out our Photo Gallery to see the latest additions all week long! [More]
Why Did The Strip Club Throw Me In Jail For Not Giving A Thumbprint?
By 2.19.10
Going from strip poles to iron bars in one night, a Consumerist reader says he got tossed in jail when he refused to give a strip club his thumbprint. Their ATM was broken so he had to pay his tab using a credit card cash advance. The club demanded a thumbprint and he refused, so cops that were already there threw him in jail. Was this legal? [More]
If I Can't Check ID's, How Am I Supposed To Prevent Credit Card Fraud?
By 2.18.10
We’ve told you that it stipulates in the contract between merchants and credit card companies that stores aren’t allowed to force you to show ID when you buy stuff, but what about the other side of the story? Alex is a 26-year old small business owner and Consumerist lover, but he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to prevent fraud if he can’t check people’s ID’s. Contrary to what some commenters assume, when a stolen credit card is used, the money gets yanked out of Alex’s bank account and he is unlikely to get it or the missing merchandise back. He gets jacked twice: once by the fraudster, and once by the credit card company. What should he do? Switch to cash only? His story, inside… [More]
Never Buy Generic Pasta Sauce
By 2.18.10
Store brand is the new black. Nielesen says that buying of generic brands has increased 8% since 2007. Name brand purchases have dropped ~4%. But here’s a question: what’s what’s never okay to get as a store brand? For me, it’s tomato sauce. It’s like pouring ketchup on your spaghetti. [Boston Globe via NYT Bucks Blog] (Thanks to James!) [More]
Video: pHarmony Matches Polluters, Lobbyists, And Politicians
By 2.18.10
New service “pHarmony” is like eHarmony except it matches together polluters, lobbyists and politicians looking to make that special connection that only money and power can bring! In this satirical Greenpeace video, an oil lobbyist talks about how used pHarmony to find his true special someone, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. He says things like, “We both like to stay up at night and gut energy bills,” “It’s like we finish each other’s legislation,” and, “We talked about how much we both don’t like Jon Stewart.” Worth a chuckle, as long as you don’t take it too seriously and get all bent out of shape about it, oh wait, here comes the Consumerist comment section. [More]
Does Geek Barbie Have Smaller Boobs?
By 2.17.10
Does the new computer savvy Barbie have tinier tatas than her predecessors? Reader jgodsey says she noticed a discrepancy in this side-by-side profile on TV. Or is it just the angle and the bodice? Here’s Geek Barbie from another angle along with another Barbie friend so we can settle this argument. [More]
Vision Media Tries To Squash Blogging Of Public Documents Re:Frivolous Lawsuit
By 2.17.10
The makers of the Hugh Downs video ripoff we wrote about are suing 800notes.com, a site that lets people anonymously post info about unsolicited calls they receive. Vision Media wants the posters’ identities revealed. That’s not uncommon, but what’s really rich is that they asked the judge for a gag order to stop 800notes lawyer, Paul Levy of Public Citizen, from posting the motions about the case online. Yes, they wanted to stop people from reposting public documents because doing so was “embarrassing” and “defamatory”. [More]
How Do I Build Credit When No One Will Give Me A Credit Card?
By 2.17.10
Clarice is financially recovering from a divorce. Her husband handled all the finances, and it turns out that he had a card in her name but never paid off a $300 outstanding balance on it. Besides this card, she’s never had a credit card. Now she wants one and no one will give it to her, because of the outstanding derogatory item and lack of credit history. She’s tried applying for credit cards online, with her bank and with stores. She could get a co-sign from her father but “doesn’t want to wrap him up in all of this.” What can Clarice do? Well, the last thing she can try is to apply for a secured credit card. [More]
The IKEA Song
By 2.16.10
You’ll never get the ladies with those milk crates! You need to sex up your pad with some choice items from IKEA, the furniture that helps a boy become a man. Riegel and Blatt show you how in this comedic ode. Beware, there is some NSFW language and guy in boxers humping Swedish furniture. [More]
9/11 Terrorist Stars In Facebook Ad
By 2.16.10
Online advertisers will do anything for clicks, and Facebook will take anybody’s money. A Facebook advertiser decided the best way to grab eyeballs was to put a picture of a 9/11 terrorist in his banner ad. Yep, it’s good ol’ Mohamed Atta, the guy who steered the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center. [More]
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By 2.12.10
Here are eight wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. The last one, especailly, was picked. I have no idea how you’re going to make up a story this week, GitEmSteveDave. [More]
