Netflix might have flubbed on its due diligence when checking out if there were any a priori uses of the name “Qwikster.” (Whether or not just picking that name itself is a flub is another discussion.) It seems there was already an entity out there using Qwikster, and it’ll make it hard for the DVD by mail service to have a good Twitter profile. Yep, @Qwikster is a joint-smoking Elmo who gets bored in English class, harbors negative feelings about his ex-girlfriend, and recently attained level 25 in the Original Gangstaz game for iPhone. [More]
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Northeast Having A Pumpkin Shortage
By 9.19.11
If you live in the Northeast you’ll want to buy your pumpkins early this year because they’re going to run out fast, as farmers predicted last week. A rainy summer and flooding from Irene have ruined many pumpkin crops. Now that the official harvest has come in, it looks like instead of hunting for The Great Pumpkin, most people will just be hunting for “a” pumpkin. [More]
Comcast Sends You To Collections For Bill You Already Paid
By 9.19.11
Bruce cut the cord with Comcast and returned all his gear. It looks like the right hand didn’t know what the left was doing, as Comcast has now sent him to collections for a bill that he already paid. [More]
Kroger Killing Double And Triple Coupons
By 9.14.11
Continuing the anti-extreme couponer trend, Kroger announced that they’ll stop doing double and triple store coupons in North Texas stores. [More]
Painting Of Chase Branch On Fire eBays For $25,200
By 9.14.11
Tapping into popular sentiment, Alex Schaefer’s painting of a Chase bank on fire just sold on eBay for $25,200. Part of what drove up the price was online buzz after police questioned him while he was painting it, asking him if he planned to do what the painting depicted. [More]
Recession Horror Stories: AMC Theater Stops Giving Out ICEE Straws
By 9.13.11
In a sad sign of the times, reader “Strawless” says that his local AMC Theater isn’t giving out spoon straws with ICEEs anymore. They say they’re too expensive and you’ll have to make do with a regular straw. The theater is still happy to sell you a popcorn, coke and ICEE for $20, but that’s no longer enough to subsidize shipments of the specialized straws. [More]
290lb Man Sues White Castle For Not Enlarging Booths
By 9.12.11
A 290lb stockbroker is suing White Castle because he says he can’t fit it any of their booths. He says the chain promised to make the booths bigger and even showed him schematics of the new designs, but never made the changes. [More]
Get $3.99 In Oprah Free KFC Coupon Debacle Lawsuit
By 9.12.11
Two years ago, Oprah promoted on her show a KFC coupon for a free grilled chicken meal. Now the class action lawsuit the resulted after that ended in tears has settled. [More]
100 Animals Die At Petco In Flood, Company Blames City
By 9.12.11
Nearly 100 animals died last week at a Johnson City, NY, Petco after flooding filled the store with several feet of water. Outrage over the incident was fanned when the company posted an apology notice on its blog that at first blamed the city for incident for not adequately warning the store about the flood risk. [More]
Man Arrested While Siphoning 250 Gallons From Gas Station
By 9.9.11
Sometimes gas siphoning thieves are found when they accidentally get gas in their mouths when trying to initiate the transfer from a gas tank to their canisters. This one was caught after the gas station owner got suspicious about the minivan sitting on his lot. When police arrived, they opened the doors to find a generator-powered vacuum slurping up 250 gallons of diesel from the station’s tanks into the plastic drums inside the retrofitted van. [More]
1 Dead, 9 Sick From Fumes Inside A McDonald's
By 9.8.11
An 80-year old woman is dead and nine are sick after succumbing to fumes emanating from a Georgia McDonald’s bathroom. [More]
Here's What A Secret Shopper Scam Looks Like
By 9.8.11
Reader Brian got a surprise $1,530 check in the mail and an invitation to become a secret shopper. The letter told him that he had been selected to become a “mystery shopper” and report on how local stores were doing. He would buy selected items from them and report on the process, and get to keep what he bought. Sounds great, who couldn’t use some extra cash, right? It all sounds so enticing because, as Brian was able to detect, it was the bait to lure him into an advance fee fraud scam. [More]
Costco Lets Man Return 5-Year-Old Suitcase With Broken Wheel
By 9.7.11
DrRonster was inspired by a recent Consumerist post about a guy who couldn’t take advantage of Costco’s famed warranty because he wasn’t a member. The “Ronster” went to take his own suitcase in for a refund. The suitcase has a broken wheel and is five years old, yet his venture was met with success, as he is a Costco member. [More]
Credit Card Thief Changes Your Phone Number To His So Fraudulent Charges Get Okayed
By 9.7.11
Dan has a story of how his credit cards were stolen from his wallet and the scammer was able to get the account information changed so when the Capital One fraud department called to verify the suspicious charges, it was the crook who got the call. That way the fraudster could say, yes, I’m Dan, and I made those purchases in New York, even though I don’t live there. [More]
Cox Giving Service Credits For Irene, Comcast Not Really
By 9.7.11
Cox Communications is giving out credits for users who lost cable service during Hurricane Irene. Here’s how to get it: [More]
Sorry A Guy Died Next To You, Here's A Coupon
By 9.7.11
An Australian airline is giving money off coupons to passengers who sat near a man as he died while eating the in-flight meal. [More]
Federal Prosecutor Is Latest Credit Card Skimming Victim
By 9.6.11
ATM credit card skimming has gotten so pervasive that thieves managed to snag the digits of U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan, a federal prosecutor, and lift $1,000 from her bank account. [More]
The All-In-One Virus Removal, Website Design, VHS To DVD, Tanning Salon
By 9.2.11
In these uncertain days and times, it’s important for businesses to diversify and build new streams of revenue. [More]
