After Yuriy’s complaint — Amex was addressing his bills to his mother and had her as the legal name on the account — went up on Consumerist, and he sent them an EECB, he got results. [More]
readers
Time Warner Calls Back With Sweet Deal After Man Cancels
By 8.11.11
Another reader has written in to say that after they canceled their Time Warner service, the cable company turned around and offered them much better rates if they would stay. In both this one and the one earlier this week, Time Warner Cable said that because of “special circumstances,” they were able to offer a sweet retention deal. In this case, $67/month for two years, down from $150. [More]
Not Even Warm And Fuzzy Cereals Immune From Grocery Shrink Ray
By 8.10.11
As an avid Consumerist reader, Drew knows to watch out when the boxes on the supermarket shelves get a makeover. Oftentimes these are tell-tale signs that the grocery shrink ray has been at it, reducing the amount of content you get and charging you more. His favorite cereal, Kashi Honey Sunshine, was a recent victim, dropping from 12 oz to 10.5 oz and getting a “New Look!” in the process. [More]
The 30-Year Quest For A Doctor Who Dalek Pencil Topper
By 8.10.11
Amanda is just thrilled to bits after finding the Doctor Who Dalek pencil topper she had been searching for for 30 years. Even better was the awesome customer service provided by Kulture Shock, the Amazon.com partner that sold her it. [More]
Extreme Couponer Arrested For Stealing 185 Newspapers
By 8.10.11
A woman who “just loves to save money” is in legal trouble after surveillance cameras caught her stealing bags of unsold newspapers from newspaper boxes. Her goal was to snatch up as many coupon inserts as possible. [More]
Bat Ejected For Refusing To Sit Down On Airplane
By 8.10.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
On Friday, a Delta pilot was forced to return to the airport when a bat began flying around the cabin 15 minutes after takeoff and ignored instructions from the crew and his fellow passengers. [More]
Amex Thinks You're Your Mother, Refuses To Change Its Mind
By 8.10.11
A big part of one’s psychological development is building an individual identity that is distinct from one’s parents. So it’s a bit of a setback for Yuriy when Amex has him confused with his mother. He has an Amex card that’s attached to his social security number, but somehow his mother is the legal name on the account and the statements are addressed to her. Dealing with customer service has been fruitless. Is Amex trying to induce a Psycho-esque syndrome in Norman, er, I mean, Yuriy? [More]
Landlord Suspected Of Releasing Thousands Of Scorpions To Get Tenants Out
By 8.9.11
A man named Chen woke up recently to find a scorpion crawling over his body. Snapping on the bedroom light, he found his bedroom to be full of scorpions. He gathered his family and worked to capture several hundred of the arachnids. When they left the apartment, they found their neighbors had been battling the poison-tipped beasts, and their landlord, who wants them out to make way for a construction project, is suspected of letting them loose. [More]
Orville Redenbacher Uses New Fancy Bowl To Disguise Shrink Ray Effects
By 8.9.11
Looks like old Orville Redenbacher has been working on his sleight of hand technique. He wants you to focus on how his kettle corn popcorn is in a new easier to use “pop up bowl,” and ignore how it’s been downsized to 2.9 oz per bag from 3.3 oz. Worse, writers tipster Derek, the popcorn doesn’t pop as well. [More]
TWC Is Surprisingly Cool About Cutting Monthly Cable Bill
By 8.8.11
Reader Wonder_Kat is amazed at how TWC went out of its way to stop her from canceling cable service by letting her get it for only $15/month. [More]
"Foreclosure Factory" Draws Critics
By 8.8.11
It’s a one-stop foreclosure shop. Under one roof is a law office, title company, and auction house. They act as their own notaries and can foreclose. Its owner and several of his top attorneys are even VPs at the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc (MERS) which gives them the ability to transfer mortgages from owner to the other. The Boston Globe profiles a local law firm that has attracted criticism from homeowners and consumer advocates for its vertically integrated approach to foreclosure that can speedily ride over homeowners who thought they were in the middle of working out a deal with the bank. [More]
Elderly Woman Dies From Heat After Her A/C Was Stolen
By 8.5.11
Two days after she reported her central air conditioning had been stolen, a 79-year old woman in Texas died from heat-related causes. [More]
Judge Spices Up Order With Corn-Pone Comedy
By 8.5.11
A Kentucky judge’s order in a tense malpractice suit went viral this week after folks were amused by the corn-pone humor and mixed metaphors that he used to enliven a normally straight-forward legal document. Among the colorful phrases, the judge wrote that he was glad the case was settled as he would have preferred to “have jumped naked off of a 12-foot step ladder into a 5 gallon bucket of porcupines” than to preside over it. [More]
Sirius Satellite Radio Won't Stop Calling Me, 2-3 Times A Day
By 8.5.11
Some people, and companies, just don’t take a hint. Sirius has been calling Matthew two and three times a day trying to get him to resubscribe. No matter how many times he tells them no, they still keep coming around, trying to win him back. Ok, that’s not so much a problem with taking a hint as serious stalker behavior. [More]
Ryanair Treats Passenger For Cardiac Arrest With A Sandwich
By 8.4.11
A Ryanair passenger’s family is angry with the airline because they say their father had a heart attack on the airplane and all the crew gave him was a sandwich. They also made him pay for the sandwich. [More]
Bank Tries To Foreclose On Gas Station Owner For Being One Day Late With Mortgage Payment
By 8.4.11
A gas station owner in Florida’s monthly mortgage payment bounced on October 12th. The next day he put the money required into the bank account. In November and December he tried to make his mortgage payments as normal, but BB&T wouldn’t take his money. 10 months later, they still won’t take it. Instead, they want to foreclose on his gas station. All for being one day late. [More]
Restaurant Apologizes For Mistake With Free Chocolate Cake For New Mother
By 8.3.11
A little bit of kindness will get you far. A little bit of chocolate cake will get you even farther, as one restaurant manager, a husband, and his wife who had just given birth found out. [More]
Govt. Rips Up $535 Ticket Mom Got After Daughter Saved Woodpecker
By 8.2.11
The US Fish and Wildlife Service says that the mother who got mailed a $535 fine after her daughter saved a woodpecker and transported it, a potential violation of federal law meant to protect migratory birds, wasn’t supposed to have gotten ticketed. Here is their statement they mailed to us this afternoon: [More]
