While there are plenty of places to buy movies and TV shows online, one minor problem is that you’re forever stuck having to watch that video on the platform where you purchased it, whether it’s Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, etc. But a newly revamped service claims to let you stash digital videos from various sources into one place. [More]
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Live Sports May Be Next Big Thing For Amazon Prime
By 11.22.16
Amazon Prime members could soon be getting more bang for their buck when it comes to entertainment, as the e-commerce giant is rumored to be in talks with major sports leagues and television networks to offer live-streaming of sporting events. [More]
Airbnb Launches “Trips,” Offering Customers Things To Do, See On Their Travels
By 11.17.16
Airbnb’s plan to apparently become a full-time travel agency by offering customers add-on travel options like tours, bike rentals, and more moved another step closer to reality this week as the company officially launched Trips, a service that combines accommodations with things to do. [More]
Some Time Warner Cable Customers Still Waiting Months For $300 Promotional Gift Cards
By 11.11.16
Back in February, Ann chose to keep her business with Time Warner Cable when the company dangled a free $300 prepaid gift card in her face. Fast forward to November and she’s still waiting for the card, like hundreds of other customers who stuck with the company or switched to the pay-TV provider. So what’s the deal? [More]
Massachusetts Will Tax Uber & Lyft, Give Some Of The Money To Taxis
By 8.22.16
Uber or Lyft will soon be supporting their biggest rivals in the Old Bay State, thanks to a newly signed law regulating the ride-hailing industry. In all, Massachusetts will tack on a $.20/ride fee for these newer companies, with the revenue being divided up between the state, cities, and the taxi industry. [More]
Department Stores Remember That You Can’t Get Spa Treatments Or Lunch On Amazon
By 8.15.16
You can now order just about anything online, but there are some things that can’t be delivered in a box on your doorstep. If department stores and their business model are going to survive, experts say, they need to change their offerings and sell more products that can’t be purchased online. [More]
Customers Say Time Warner Cable Failing To Honor $300 Gift Card Promo Deal
By 4.14.16
Dangling a free prepaid gift card in front of folks’ faces is a time-honored method of getting people to switch services. But a number of cable customers who switched to Time Warner Cable because of the promise of a $300 gift card say the pay-TV provider has yet to make good on the promotion.
[More]
Sour Over Failed Bid For Virgin America, JetBlue Gives Away Free Tickets
By 4.13.16
You’ve probably seen your fair share of those “(Airline Name) giving away (X number) free tickets if you share this post” promotions that infiltrate social media but are actually bogus. In a new twist — and a ploy to bring over loyal passengers of Virgin America after its announced a $4 billion merger with Alaska Airlines — JetBlue really is offering consumers the chance to win one of 500 free tickets from the carrier, no Facebook required. [More]
Harris Teeter Launches Pilot Delivery Program Through Uber
By 3.28.16
Harris Teeter, the grocery chain with the name most likely to make people of all ages giggle hysterically, is currently testing a delivery partnership with car-hailing service Uber. Yes, instead of ordering a ride to bring you home with your groceries, you can simply order a ride for your groceries, combining the store’s existing order-picking service with drivers who are already cruising around looking for fares. [More]
Yahoo Closing Games Portal, Other Services In Bid To Streamline Focus
By 3.15.16
Online game enthusiasts will soon be saying goodbye to one of their earliest gaming options: Yahoo Games. The service, along with several other products, will shutter in coming months as the tech company looks to simplify its business. [More]
Lyft, Uber To Offer Homeless Veterans Free Rides To And From Jobs, Interviews
By 11.10.15
Ride-hailing companies have always shared a bit of a spirited rivalry: a hacker redirected Uber’s petition site to Lyft and Lyft accused Uber employees of requesting and then canceling 5,600 rides. But today the companies announced they would put their differences aside and team up to offer free rides for veterans in need of transportation to and from jobs and interviews. [More]
Comcast Could Be The Next Company To Offer Cell Service
By 10.22.15
Everyone’s favorite (or not) cable, internet and telephone provider, Comcast, could soon be handling your cell service, too. [More]
Companies Must Refund Millions Of Dollars For Credit Card Add-On Services Customers Never Received
By 7.1.15
As a rule of thumb, if you’re a company and you charge a customer for a service or product, you’re supposed to actually provide that service or product. That apparently wasn’t a practice adhered to by two credit card add-on companies that must now pay millions of dollars in fines and refunds. [More]
Amazon Reportedly Working On New Shipping Service That Turns Ordinary People Into Couriers
By 6.16.15
Looking to pick up a few dollars while making your way around town? Then Amazon’s latest attempt to quickly and cheaply deliver packages might be right up your alley, that is if the consumer-turned-courier program comes to fruition. [More]
CFPB Launches Financial Coaching Program For Transitioning Servicemembers, Financially Underserved
By 5.20.15
The first step in living a fiscally responsible life is to understand what financial products are available and how they fit into your goals. Or at least that’s the idea behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently launched Financial Coaching Initiative that aims to assist certain groups of consumers become financially independent and knowledgeable. [More]
The Numbers Show Startups Can’t Get Enough Of Calling Themselves The “Uber” For This, The “Airbnb” Of That
By 3.20.15
If you’ve been hearing startup companies throw around phrases like, “We’re the Uber of [insert industry that is not ride-hailing]!” or “Our service functions just like the Airbnb of [another industry that is not renting out rooms to strangers]!” you’re not alone. A recent analysis of language used by startups to describe their businesses show that a lot of them are hitching their apple carts to those brands’ rising stars. [More]
One Way Or Another, You’re Going To Pay To Use DYMO/Endicia’s Stamp-Printing Software
By 4.25.13
It seemed like such a good plan. For their small businesses, several of our readers use postage printers from DYMO. The software that goes with these printers comes in two versions: free and $10 per month. The free version requires users to round their postage up slightly; the paid version does not. Then the company dropped a new rule on customers: if they want to use the free version of the software, they have to buy their labels from DYMO. If they want to keep using cheaper third-party labels, they have to pay $10/month for the service. [More]
Woman Charged With Scamming Nuns Out Of $285K
By 3.8.11
A federal indictment alleges that a California woman conned nuns in a Rhode Island convent out of $285,000. [More]
