We’ve devoted a fair amount of time to trying to find ways to beat companies like Webloyalty, which market themselves via post-transaction popups on legit Web sites like Fandango and Orbitz, and suck you in with promises of savings, savings, savings, but really just deliver hard-to-cancel recurring monthly charges. The best solution we’ve found: Block pop-ups, boycott merchants that work with these losers, and immediately close any window that starts talking to us about all the great deals we’re about to get. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV has another idea, and it’s one that we like: Investigate the companies and make them hand over the goods on their business practices.
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Why Is This Store Scanning My Driver's License?
By 5.29.09
Ed went to return a pair of shoes to Finish Line because they were the wrong size. As part of the exchange, the sales associate took Ed’s driver’s license and scanned it, and he wondered why.
Best Recession Bargains From Consumer Reports
By 5.28.09
We know, we know: everyone’s poor. But just in case you want to offer your favorite retailer a little economic stimulus, Consumer Reports has rounded up a lot of discounts and deals on luxury purchases like cruises and basic things like, uh, a house. Our favorite tips, inside.
TWC: Thanks For The Tips, But This Is Just A Marketing Tool
By 5.28.09
Kevin wrote to us about a friend who took up a Time Warner Cable rep’s Twitter request for advice on improving customer loyalty. What followed was an amusing exchange that made it clear TWC was tweeting up the wrong tree.
Wearable Towel: Summer's Answer To The Snuggie
By 5.27.09
It’s too warm out now to use your Snuggie, but you just don’t look weird enough around the house. What to do? The alert trendspotters at Gawker brought this exciting new product to our attention. Meet the Wearable Towel! The towel with arm openings! There’s even a Snuggie-style commercial on the site, which, mercifully, I can’t embed here. Sorry, it’s on YouTube. I have to inflict it on you.
Credit Card Processors Launch A New Strategy To Defeat Theft
By 5.26.09
This fall, credit card processors will being rolling out a new approach to preventing data theft, based on the assumption that it’s impossible to thwart every attack. Instead of keeping 100% of criminals out, they’ll segment and encrypt the data into such small chunks that it will no longer be a cost-effective crime.
CARD Act Includes Limits On Not-So-Free Credit Report Ads
By 5.26.09
A less-reported provision of the CARD Act, the credit card reform bill signed by President Obama on Friday, puts limits on ads promoting that old Consumerist nemesis, “free” credit reports.
Grocery Shrink Ray Extends To Propane Refills
By 5.25.09
When the cost of propane shot up to $1.70 or more per gallon last year, propane dealers quietly cut the amount they were putting into refilled tanks without telling customers. Now the cost of propane is under a dollar per gallon, but retailers aren’t increasing the amount back to previous levels.
New Zealand Bank Error Fugitives Foiled By Facebook Status Update
By 5.25.09
You know how it goes. You go out and have too many beers, then post a Facebook update with a bit too much information about your evening. Maybe you take it down once you sober up the next day, but not before the damage is done.
Use Your Dishwasher Properly
By 5.24.09
Listen parents, we told you all those years that cleaning the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was silly and duplicative, and now we have the Times telling us we were right! Ha! Pre-rinsing dishes is “actually triple bad” according a “senior dishwasher design engineer,” because dishwasher detergent exists to attack food, and when it doesn’t find any, it instead attacks your glasses. It also wastes electricity and water. And that’s not the only mistake most people make. Inside, the Times’ tips for keeping your dishwasher happy…
House Passes Passengers Bill Of Rights, But Don't Rejoice Yet
By 5.24.09
The House this week finally passed the Passengers Bill of Rights, ensuring that delayed passengers will have adequate access to food, water, and even restrooms. The ironically delayed piece of consumer legislation has languished for years, but the bill that passed the House still isn’t good enough. Under the House legislation, airlines themselves get to decide what constitutes an “excessive delay,” allowing them to keep stranded passengers on the tarmac for hours. Let’s look at the bill and see what changes need to be made in the Senate…
CircuitCity.com Reborn As… Circuit City!
By 5.23.09
CircuitCity.com is back, and it looks eerily familiar. The zombie website is now controlled by Systemax, the same folks who own Tiger Direct. Though the new site may look similar to the old, no doubt part of Systemax’s goal to keep alive a “proud brand that America has grown to count on,” it isn’t nearly as consumer-friendly as we would like…
Drunk American Airlines Pilot Arrested Before Transatlantic Flight
By 5.23.09
London police arrested an American Airlines pilot twenty minutes before he was scheduled to fly 204 passengers from London to Chicago. 57-year-old Captain Joseph Crites was four-times over the legal alcohol limit and reeking of booze when he tried to enter his Boeing 777’s cockpit.
Will CVS Ever Pull Expired Medicine, Baby Formula From Their Shelves?
By 5.23.09
CVS stores across the nation regularly stock expired medicine, milk, and baby formula, according to a damning union report. This isn’t the first time CVS has been caught stocking dangerous goods. Last year, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened a suit after his office caught the pharmacy selling goods over a year past their expiration dates. CVS claims that, despite investing over $160 million in a “perpetual inventory management” system, it’s nearly impossible to keep expired items off the shelf because they simply have too much stuff.
Recent Class Action Lawsuits: Are You Eligible?
By 5.22.09
We’ve heard about quite a few recent class-action settlements that you just might be eligible for, as well as cute little baby suits still looking for claimants. Products included: energy drinks, name-brand prescription drugs, and zombie microwaves.
Recap: Ben & Meg Interview Obama Administration On Credit Card Reform
By 5.22.09
Here, catch all of our interview with Austan Goolsbee breaking down why the credit card reform act was needed. If you missed any of the clips, here’s is the four-part series in its entirety…
Verizon Willing To Let 62-Year-Old Man Die Unless Cops Pay $20 Of His Overdue Bill
By 5.22.09
Ohio police are pissed with Verizon after the company refused to help them find a missing 62-year-old man unless they paid his overdue $20 $20 of his overdue cellphone bill.
9 Affordable Steaks And How To Grill Them
By 5.22.09
It’s holiday weekend time, kids, and just because there’s a nasty recession going on doesn’t mean you have to skip the steaks. The Washington Post has put together this helpful printable PDF that will introduce you to some cheaper cuts of beef that can be quite tasty when given a little TLC.
