A lawyer in Texas has had to admit that he goofed — which is putting it lightly — when he recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a couple, claiming they had been aboard the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise (AKA the “Poop Cruise”) that got stranded out to sea after an engine fire in February. Thing is, that couple not only hadn’t been on the ship, they were on the record with local media about not being on the ship. [More]
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“No Sagging Allowed” At Some McDonald’s
By 9.17.13
McDonald’s is the latest battleground in the ongoing war over saggy trousers. The owner of several Golden Arches franchises in Texas recently began posting signs making it clear to all that there will be “No Sagging Allowed in This Restaurant.” [More]
Restaurant Denies Calling Customers Incestuous Rednecks With Low IQs
By 9.6.13
A recently closed restaurant in Texas is claiming that it had nothing to do with an angrily worded sign in which area residents are not portrayed flatteringly. But some people believe the eatery is only distancing itself from the sign because an attempt at humor backfired. [More]
Auto-Title Lender Skirts Law By Giving Away Cash For Free
By 9.3.13
Several cities in Texas have recently enacted laws intended to drive out or rein in short-term, high-interest lenders offering auto-title loans, in which borrowers put up their cars as collateral for short-term loans averaging around $1,500. But one lender has figured out a way to get around those laws — by giving away free cash and redirecting customers elsewhere when they need to refinance. [More]
Texas Walmart Evacuated After Shoppers Release Mysterious Spray Into Air
By 8.19.13
Imagine you’re enjoying a peaceful Sunday night of shopping at Walmart when suddenly a pair of doofuses (doofi?) choose to unleash some sort of spray that causes folks in the store to start choking and wheezing. Next thing you know, you’re being rushed out of the building with more than 100 other customers. [More]
Criticize Dentist On Yelp, Get Threatened With Felony ‘Internet Business Defamation’
By 6.27.13
A Texas mother took her child to a dentist who only works on children based on the referral of the family’s regular dentist. She didn’t really like the specialist, and wrote a relatively short, clear Yelp review explaining why. That got her a letter from the dentist’s attorney ordering her to take down her review, OR ELSE. [More]
Woman Returns $20,000 Bag O’ Cash To Chase Bank, Gets $500 As Reward
By 6.19.13
When a currently out-of-work schoolteacher in Texas came across a bag containing enough cash to buy a car, she did what some other wouldn’t even think of — she took it to the nearest bank and returned it. [More]
Nail Salon Apologizes For Insulting, Racially Charged Tweets About Upset Customer
By 5.3.13
When a Texas woman felt she’d been slighted by a local nail salon, she took to Twitter to vent, not expecting that the salon’s owner would fire back with a handful of offensive Tweets that she now regrets writing. [More]
Scooter Store Files For Bankruptcy After Overbilling Medicare At Least $47 Million
By 4.15.13
If you watch daytime TV or have been stuck watching daytime TV while visiting your parents, surely you’re familiar with The Scooter Store. The power wheelchair vendor has had some trouble lately, including accusations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, a raid by the FBI, and even a lawsuit from the company’s hometown, of New Braunfels, Texas. The company laid off most of its employees, and plans to deal directly with health care providers, rather than blanketing the airwaves and selling directly to consumers. [More]
Hotel Claims Overzealous Employee Posted Sign Offering To Pay For Nice Online Reviews
By 12.14.12
Earlier today, we told you about the Texas hotel that offered guests up to $5 if they posted positive reviews on any number of popular travel sites. A rep for the hotel has since responded to say that this was a case of an overzealous employee acting on their own. [More]
Walmart Shoplifter Dies After Being Shot By Off-Duty Deputy
By 12.7.12
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy, working in uniform as a security officer for a Texas Walmart, reportedly shot an alleged shoplifter after being dragged by her car in the store’s parking lot. [More]
Buying An iPad From Some Guy At A Gas Station Isn’t Such A Good Idea
By 11.9.12
If some random person pulls up to you at a gas station and asks you if you’d like to buy an iPad for $200, go with your gut instinct. Unless your gut instinct tells you that this sounds like a really great idea. It isn’t. A Texas woman did just that. Now she’s stuck with an iPad that only lets her do one thing: have one-sided FaceTime conversations. Because it’s a mirror. [More]
Explosion At Japanese Chemical Plant Results In Run On Diapers In North Texas
By 10.2.12
Over the weekend, there was an explosion inside a chemical plant in Japan. So it only makes sense that the parents of youngsters in North Texas are buying oodles of diapers. [More]
Customer Sues Walmart Because Cashiers Shouldn't Rip Up Two $100 Bills Without Making Sure They Are Real
By 9.17.12
Anyone who has paid for a purchase with a $100 bill is probably familiar with the various methods that stores have for validating the authenticity of the note. But one Texas woman says she was publicly humiliated at her local Walmart when a cashier ripped up two of her C-notes — and then detained her on allegations of trying to pass counterfeit bills — without properly checking to see if the money was the real deal. [More]
Burning Rubber Will Be A Lot Easier With Texas' New High Speed Limit Of 85 MPH
By 9.7.12
Everything is bigger in Texas (or so the saying goes, I’ve never measured a thing in that state so I can’t vouch) and now that includes big ol’ speed limits. Or rather, very high ones, at a new fastest speed for the nation — 85 miles per hour. It’s all for a new stretch of a toll road running 41 miles from Austin to Seguin. [More]
Save Me From The Supermarket Light Pollution Menace
By 8.30.12
Until a few months ago, Chris didn’t mind sharing a fence with a grocery store. Being able to scoot next door to pick up a few items would be pretty convenient. Then the lights came on. Two terrible, bright, glaring parking lot lights. They shine in his windows, illuminating his bedroom to an extent that even the thickest curtains can’t block. The lights are, of course, on 24/7. The store manager promises to solve the situation, but no solution is in sight. The only things in sight are those parking lot lights. Those bright, bright parking lot lights. What would the Consumerists do? [More]
Homeowner Pulls Gun To Stop New Electric Meter From Being Installed
By 7.19.12
A woman in Texas says she tried to be polite when she told the man from the power company that she didn’t want to have her old electric meter replaced with a new “smart” meter. But when he refused to listen to her, she grabbed her gun. [More]
Bar Owner Buys Entire Texas Town, Renames It “Bikinis, TX”
By 7.18.12
The man behind the Texas-based Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill chain of eateries — so named for its servers’ barely-there attire — has purchased an entire abandoned town off Craigslist and named it after the restaurant, all with the goal of transforming the ghost town into a tourist destination. [More]
