Update: one day after being posted here, the issue has been resolved. Sears strikes again! They sold Tom a TV for $1,070 on Black Friday last November. “Of course, it wasn’t in stock but they assured me that they could order it,” he writes.
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Sears, Best Buy, Wal-Mart And Others Fined For Not Warning Consumers About Analog Obsolescence
By 4.10.08
The FCC handed out a whole basketful of fines to electronics retailers today: $1.1 million for Sears and Kmart; $992,000 for Wal-Mart; $712,000 for Circuit City; and amounts between $168,000-384,000 for Target, Best Buy, CompUSA, and Fry’s Electronics. What made Christmas come so early? They were all failing to warn consumers that analog-only TVs and tuners will stop working on their own when the digital switchover comes next year.
HSBC Fraud Story On WNBC4
By 2.28.08
If you live in the New York Metro area, tune into NBC channel 4 like right now to see a followup on the widespread HSBC fraud story we broke. They interview Corey, the fiance of Emily, a Consumerist reader and HSBC fraud victim. WNBC tells us that the FBI said they they were generally aware of fraud in the area, but not this specific HSBC matter, and will be looking into the case. It’s par for the course that the bank would be more interested in avoiding bad publicity quiet than going after the scammers stealing your money. UPDATE: Just watched it, HSBC is saying that a credit card payment processor lost the customer data and so other banks could be affected too. However, when WNBC contacted other banks, Chase and Citi said they had not heard of missing money, Mastercard said they have not issued a system-wide alert, and VISA said they’re looking into it.
Man Gets $35 Service Credit From Comcast By Doing Math In His Head
By 2.25.08
Shaw writes:
I am one of the early adopters of Comcast’s new TiVo service that is being rolled (see: rushed before ready) out in Massachusetts.
Monster Responds To "Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff"
By 2.19.08
The Monster Cables Public Relations department sent in a two-page response to our post, “Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is one issue that they are definitely taking seriously. Read their official company rebuttal statement, inside…
55 Support Tickets Later And Your Verizon FiOS TV Service Still Doesn't Work
By 2.9.08
Andrew writes: “I had been a satisfied customer of Verizon for several years – I have had phone service with them since the days of Bell Atlantic and have had their fiber-optic internet service (FiOS) since March 2005. In March 2007, I decided to switch cable providers and signed up for Verizon’s FiOS TV service as it was cheaper than Comcast and supposedly provided superior picture quality. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”
Tivo Says E-Trade Commercial Was Most Watched Super Bowl Spot
By 2.6.08
Tivo has announced that E-Trade’s talking, trading, barfing baby was the most watched ad by Tivo subscribers during the Super Bowl, followed by the Pepsi spot where Justin Timberlake got hit in the crotch, followed by the Doritos ad where a giant mouse wailed on a man eating chips. Tivo “sampled 10,000 households using anonymous, second-by-second audience measurement data” to come up with the rankings.
Unplugging Your DirecTV Box Could Cost You $79.95
By 2.2.08
A DirecTV CSR claimed that reader Mark changed his installation by following troubleshooting instructions to unplug and reconnect his box, and now owed $79.95. Mark, who paid $6 per month for DirecTV’s protection plan, refused to pay the fee and asked to cancel to his service.
Church Planning A SuperBowl Party? Don't Tell The NFL
By 2.1.08
“There is a part of me that says, ‘Gee, doesn’t the NFL have enough money already?'” said Steve Holley, Immanuel’s executive pastor. He pointed out that bars are still allowed to air the game on big-screens TV sets. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Cable Box Reset Codes To Ask For When Cable Is Wonky
By 1.30.08
If your cable television is giving you trouble, you can call up your cable company and ask the rep to send what are known as “reset codes” to your cable box. Here are some that we found:
Best Internet, TV, Phone Service Providers
By 1.23.08
Lots of companies are pushing deals for their bundled internet, tv and phone plans, but which are best? Consumer Reports surveyed its readers and here’s how they ranked the service providers:
Law & Order Does Ripped From Consumer Headlines Show
By 1.17.08
OMG, is anyone else watching Law & Order right now? They’re doing an episode based around that judge who sued a dry-cleaner for $54 million over a pair of lost suit pants. UPDATE: And there’s a Wal-Mart improper relations between co-workers angle, too! The shirts are yellow and the place is called “Savings-Mart.” UPDATE: And a poison toothpaste from China angle! Same as was in the headlines, glucose replaced by antifreeze, then the tubes were dumped on discount stores, prisons, mental institutions, and old folk’s homes. UPDATE: I missed it but apparently when the detectives walk in the Savings-Mart execs apartment, he tells them to not trip over the Thomas the Tank Engine. That wouldn’t be the Thomas The Lead-Painted Tank Engine, now would it?
Netflix Lifts Restrictions On Downloadable Movie Rentals
By 1.15.08
Netflix has removed the monthly limits on all but its lowest-cost plan in an apparent attempt to position itself more competitively against Apple, which is expected to announce a downloadable movie rental service tomorrow. Now for as little as $8.99 per month you can watch as many movies on your PC as you can download.
Best Buy CEO Admits They'll Probably Screw Up Digital TV Switchover
By 1.10.08
Well, at least he’s being honest—Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson announced at CES today that the 2009 switchover from analog to digital television (still a year away) poses “one of the biggest risks our industry has,” whatever that means. “The number of converter boxes that is going to be required could put tremendous pressure on us.” Oh, you mean because you’ll have to have them in stock? Interpretation: if you’re going to need a converter box or two, you’d better plan on buying them elsewhere.
Comcast: Watch 3,000 Hours Of TV On Our New Website
By 1.8.08
Comcast has set up a site called Fancast.com where viewers can watch more than 3,000 hours of television shows from NBC, Fox, CBS and MTV and where they will soon be able to remotely program the digital video recorders in their homes. The shows on Fancast are available free. Comcast has yet to say how it will price the rest of the content as its plan moves forward.
Everybody Panic: DVD Sales Down For The First Time Ever
By 1.8.08
DVD sales slipped for the first time since the format was introduced in 1997, says USAToday.
By 12.29.07
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According to the Consumer Electronics Association, half of US homes already have digital televisions. If you’re not one of them, you’ve got a year to switch—or make sure you hit up this site next Tuesday to get a coupon for a converter.
Firebrand, The TV Show That's Just Commercials
By 12.21.07
Firebrand is a new TV show is just 60 minutes of commercials. “CJs” will introduce the ads, interview the stars, and provide banal banter. The show was started by an MTV co-founder, who said, ” “We’re changing the model again… We took promotion videos no one wanted and ran them.” The show runs late-nights on the ION network in LA, the place where all things devoid of substance are born.
