Besides banning forced arbitration in consumer and franchise contracts, the Arbitration Fairness Act bans mandatory binding arbitration clauses in employment contracts. John’s story illustrates why this is necessary, inside.
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House To Pass Credit Card Reform, Tell The Senate To, Too
By 4.30.09
The House is expected to pass the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act today, and the Senate is considering similar legislation. The Senate battle will be harder, but you can help!
Car Warranty Racket Exposed On Today Show
By 4.30.09
The Today show recently aired a terrifically entertaining exposé of US Fidelis, one of the biggest companies behind the auto warranty racket that you’ve probably encountered via junk mail, telemarketing, or even on TV. They start by looking at an individual who spent $3,180 on one of their auto warranties only to be left stranded when her car overheated and they refused to pay.
Chrysler Will Enter Bankruptcy, Partner With Fiat, Warranties Backed By US Government
By 4.30.09
President Obama announced today that Chrysler would seek bankruptcy protection and enter into an alliance with Fiat. The president told reporters that a “small group of speculators” made up of hedge funds and other investors held out in the hopes that the US government would bail them out. That didn’t happen.
Bank Of America CEO Fired As Chairman
By 4.30.09
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis has been sh*tcanned from the chairman position, but will remain CEO, says the NYT. Calls for Lewis to resign in shame and go cry alone with his money have been getting louder over the past few months.
Slap Chop Remix Will Awe You (Although It Doesn't Erase The Memory Of That Hooker)
By 4.29.09
We’ll probably never be able to get those mug shots out of our minds when we see crazy old Vince hawking things on TV, but this amazing remix comes in a close second at searing itself into the brain. “You’re gonna love my nuts” is particularly well done.
Here Are Some Of The Companies Behind The Car Warranty Robocalls
By 4.29.09
Verizon continues its recent campaign of turning robocallers into charitable contributions, this time by settling a lawsuit against two of the companies behind those awful car warranty calls. Last time it was for $25,000; this time it’s for $50,000, all of which is being donated to the Joyful Heart Foundation, which Wireless Week describes as “a nonprofit devoted to empowering survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.”
"We Build In Middle Class Neighborhoods Because You Can't Afford To Fight Us"
By 4.29.09
Meet Michelle. We met Michelle at Arbitration Fairness Day and she told us about being forced into arbitration when she tried to get her poorly constructed home repaired. Now she’d like to share her story with you.
Radio Shack Punches Customer In Face
By 4.29.09
Instead of getting his money back, one Radio Shack customer got a sock in the jaw when he tried to return something. According to the police report, the employee wouldn’t let the customer return the item. When the customer asked to speak to a manager – kapow! And you thought the worst thing you had to worry about was if you kept your receipt!
Forced Arbitration: You Lose, Now Pay For Our Lunch
By 4.28.09
Mandatory binding arbitration, which corporations use to dodge accountability for their discrimination, negligence, or harassment, is a caricature of justice that offers no protection to consumers or employees. It’s also terrible for small business owners, as one couple found out.
Canceling A Vacation Due To Swine Flu? Expect The Runaround
By 4.28.09
So, you’ve decided to cancel your “nonessential” trip to Mexico to avoid the swine flu outbreak. Great. Just don’t expect the cancellation process to go smoothly.
$4,334.86 Raised, Ben Eager To Test Snuggie
By 4.28.09
280 people have donated $4,334.86 to The Consumerist tip jar so far, hootie-hoo. The average donation is $15.48, which surprises me because I ask, “don’t people know you can give as little as two bucks? C’mon, just two bucks to spare at donatetoconsumerist.com.” But I don’t get any response back because I’m still locked inside the Consumer Reports anechoic chamber and there’s no echo. The odd shape of the sound baffling has ceased to baffle me. Instead, it has become my friend. There’s just one thought on my mind. Well, two, really. Firstly, how do I escape. Lastly, I can’t wait to get Consumer Reports to test the Snuggie!
Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia Suspend Airline Booking Fees
By 4.28.09
If you’ve been avoiding the big travel websites because of their booking fees, you might want to reconsider. Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia have all stopped charging airline booking fees until May 31.
Worst Company In America: Bank of America VS Chrysler
By 4.28.09
Last year’s champion VS a troubled car company that used your bailout money to buy an ad thanking you for your bailout money? Which one makes you punch the wall with rage?
Home Prices Down More Than 30% From 2006 Peak
By 4.28.09
There’s good news in the housing market… sort of. For the first time in 25 months, housing price declines failed to set a new record. Whether or not this means that we’re reaching the bottom — no one can really say.
Worst Company In America: Comcast VS GM
By 4.27.09
Now here is a match-up! One company is trying to avoid bankruptcy in a tough recession, the other struggles with customer service. Which one makes your blood boil?
Forced Arbitration: As Fair As A Sucker Punch
By 4.27.09
We at Consumerist really hate mandatory binding arbitration, the faux-legal sucker punch that companies deliver when they screw up and you try to sue, and so should you. We’ve talked about its evils a lot, but no one can describe this legal abomination as well as the victims themselves, so this week we’ll let them speak.
$3,269.84 Raised So Far, Ben Still Stuck In Anechoic Chamber
By 4.27.09
So far 207 people have donated $3,269.84 to The Consumerist Tip Jar. Woo! We’re stoked. We’ve got 3 more weeks of this fund-drive and I bet we can raise a bunch more. Which would be really nice, because, as you can see in this video, I’m still stuck in Consumer Union’s anechoic chamber (a room that has no echo) and having a chair malfunction. See, they’re really serious about keeping us free from commercial influence. That’s why there’s no ads from outside companies on the site that might influence our coverage. But sticking me in an echo-less chamber might be going a little too far. I can hear my own heart beat in my ears. So visit Donatetoconsumerist.com and help us out, and maybe they’ll let me out!
