Brian tried to trade in some old Craftsman tools, the ones that come with a lifetime, no-questions-asked replacement policy. Unfortunately, the Tool Associate at Sears deemed Brian unworthy of the Cratfsman guarantee and refused him. That’s why he’s the Tool Associate.
TOP
HP Makes Up For Sending Reader "Repaired" Laptop Filled With Viruses
By 3.13.09
Aaron is happy to report that he has gotten resolution with his complaint about HP’s repair center sending him back his laptop filled with viruses. Good thing for HP that Aaron is honest, otherwise he could probably have three laptops right now, as three different HP reps contacted him about his story. On March 9th he wrote us:
Daily Show VS CNBC: "They Burned The F-ing House Down With Our Money And Walked Away Rich As Hell"
By 3.13.09
It’s the final countdown… Oh, sorry. Jim Cramer appeared on The Daily Show last night to settle the war of words between The Daily Show and CNBC that had been going on since Rick “You Are All Losers” Santelli canceled. Did it get nasty? You bet your ass it did, though we were looking forward to a bout of Jello wrestling that never quite materialized.
Sprint Lies To FCC About Ripping Off Consumer Reporter
By 3.13.09
Dan Hesse should be ashamed. Ripping off a consumer reporter and then lying to the FCC about it? Bad idea. Here’s what Sprint did to The Red Tape Chronicles reporter Bob Sullivan…
Feds Arrest Virginian For $11 Million Ponzi Scheme
By 3.12.09
The Ponz is everywhere! Seriously, was anyone doing any real investing over the past several years? John M. Donnelly of Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested earlier this week and “indicted for fraudulently taking at least $11 million from as many as 31 investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme,” says their local paper the Hook. He was promising investors returns of up to 22% annually, but naturally had failed to make any investments with his clients’ money since 2002. One anonymous person—who may or may not have been a client, we don’t know—told the paper, “I visited his office once. He had a bunch of computers. It seemed like a very sophisticated operation.”
Comcast Will Pay You $500 If They Break Your $2000 TV
By 3.12.09
Comcast’s new service agreement (PDF) has some curious details buried in the fine print. Here’s the short version: “customer equipment” includes your computer and TV set, and if Comcast somehow damages or breaks any customer equipment through “gross negligence or willful misconduct,” they will pay you up to $500, no more. “This shall be your sole and exclusive remedy relating to such activity.”
I Canceled Comcast Now The Phone Won't Stop Ringing
By 3.12.09
Reader Evan canceled Comcast — which seems to have lead to a barrage of annoying phone calls that simply will not stop. A little Googling turned up others with the same problem…
Madoff Pleads Guilty, Could Get 150 Years
By 3.12.09
Well, it’s official. Bernie Madoff has plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, perjury and theft. The maximum amount of prison time for these crimes is 150 years.
Top 10 Foreclosure States
By 3.12.09
Rising unemployment is exacerbating the already critical foreclosure crisis, because sadly, while you can return your Hyundai if you lose your income — you’re kinda stuck with that 4 bedroom ranch with the in-ground pool.
Banks Didn't Pay Into FDIC Coffers From 1996 To 2006
By 3.12.09
For 10 years—including the boom times banks enjoyed in the first half of this decade—the FDIC was prevented from collecting fees from 95% of financial institutions, which it would have used to further build up its safety net in the event it would someday have to bail out a bunch of stupid losers who confused banking with alchemy.
Jon Stewart And Jim Cramer %#%@# Hate Each Other
By 3.11.09
Jon Stewart recently took the time that was to be devoted to an interview of CNBC’s Rick Santelli (Santelli canceled) and instead spent it destroying CNBC. During the destruction, a little bit of shrapnel landed on crazy Jim Cramer and being Jim Cramer — he totally flipped his sh*t and started “defending himself” on MainStreet.com.
Who's Scalping Those Concert Tickets? Artists And Agents, Frequently
By 3.11.09
The Wall Street Journal reported today that for many big name concert events, the people behind a good deal of the really expensive secondary market tickets are the artists themselves, along with their agents and promoters. Recent concerts where the artists and promoters resold tickets on the secondary market and split the profits with Ticketmaster include Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Elton John, and possibly Britney Spears.
Office Depot Employees Claim They're Told To Lie About Stock If You're Not Buying Extras
By 3.11.09
According to LAPTOP mag, Office Depot has implemented such a stringent sales quota program that the company has essentially broken the in-store laptop buying experience. If you don’t buy accessories and extended service plans, many associates will tell you the laptop is out of stock. Of course, this doesn’t happen at every Office Depot, but LAPTOP writes that they were surprised by the number of similar reports they received of it happening at multiple locations.
Best Buy Goes Above And Beyond To Make Up For Selling Busted Camera As New
By 3.11.09
Michael is happy to report that he got a really great resolution from Best Buy, who had sold his grandma a broken camera as new and then accused them of breaking it themselves. The shots of Best Buy employees Michael found on the camera, and the repugnant attitude he encountered when they tried to return it and disinterest when he complained to corporate multiple times, only made the story that much juicier. After Micheal’s story went up on Consumerist and hit Digg, Best Buy contacted him. Here’s what they did to make nice:
Yale Student Files $1 Million Lawsuit After US Airways "Loses" His XBOX
By 3.11.09
A 21-year-old film studies major at Yale University is really annoyed that his XBOX 360 went missing from his luggage on a US Airways flight, so he decided to sue them. For a million dollars.
Doctor Caught Faking 21 Drug Studies, Including Vioxx And Celebrex
By 3.11.09
The Wall Street Journal Health Blog has some “eye-popping” news — a doctor has been caught fabricating 21 drug studies, some of which were favorable to drugs that have since been pulled from the market — Merck’s Vioxx and Pfizer’s Bextra.
Energy Company Debits $1.28 Million From Your Bank Account
By 3.11.09
Guess what happens when you don’t look closely at your bill? Your energy company debits $1.28 million dollars from your bank account — leaving you a million dollars overdrawn.
Help! This Email Says Various Cold Medicines Will Kill Me!
By 3.10.09
A friend of ours recently got an email forward about the cold medicine ingredient phenylpropanolamine (and its unpleasant tendency to increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke in women), so she sent it to us for a little “mythbusting.” The email (and its accompanying list of cold medicines and weight loss aids) is alarming, but outdated.
