Vonage apparently rustled up a map and is now apologizing to customers who were accidentally charged international rates for their domestic calls. Reader J.R., who in April received a $38 bill after Vonage billed a call to Los Angeles as a call to Algeria, sent us the telecom’s apology note…
updates
REI Says ATM Photographer Is Welcome In Their Store Any Time
By 5.15.09
REI’s Director of Corporate Communications contacted us with an official statement about the recent showdown between two Loomis security guards and a customer with an iPhone at one of their Seattle stores. She says despite the document Shane says he was forced to sign at the police station, he is not banned from their stores. Below is REI’s official statement.
By 4.3.09
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The mice are all gone and the Pikesville Target is again open for business! [Baltimore Sun]
Bealls Florida Says Amazon Confused Listings On 12 Piece Dinnerware Mini-Fiasco
By 3.26.09
It took a while, but Bealls Florida has sent us their official explanation for why people who thought they were buying 12 plates through an Amazon sale received just 1 earlier this month.
It's Real: Reader Receives His Tentacle Grape
By 3.19.09
Last week, we wondered whether Tentacle Grape soda was a real product or a funny/tasteless joke that had turned into a scam, since people had placed orders for it with real cash and had yet to see any product. A reader named Harley emailed us to say a box of the soda just arrived at his address today, along with a condom, naturally. Because that’s just classy. He adds, “I can’t comment on the taste as I haven’t yet tried it, but I don’t think I’ll be using the condom.” Click through for a bigger pic.
Facebook Clarifies Terms Of Service: "We Do Not Own Your Stuff Forever"
By 2.16.09
Well, yesterday’s Facebook post certainly blew up today, and it looks like Facebook is currently preparing an official response. In the meantime, a Facebook rep has written to the Industry Standard to emphasize that all rights are subject to your privacy settings, so even if they don’t expire when you close your account, they’ll still be subject to whatever restrictions you had when the account was active. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has also posted a more philosophical response on the Facebook blog saying that while the new Terms of Service are “overly formal,” they’re only meant to give Facebook the legal ability to enable content sharing among users.
By 1.9.09
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Remember that Norwegian site that was offering Beatles songs for legal download? Yeah, well, not anymore. It turns out their licensing agreement stipulates that the shows they put online have to have been aired within the past 4 weeks, and all the Beatles shows are from 2007. [Exclaim News] (Thanks to elc81!)
UPDATE: Microsoft Offers Full Refund To Overcharged XBOX Live Member
By 8.19.08
XBOX Live member ForceTrainer writes in with an update about his issue with Microsoft. In our last episode, ForceTrainer has been charged $50 for 2 months of a XBOX Live gold membership– the price of a year of service.
FNH Gun Blew Up In Owner's Hand Because He Used Reloaded Ammo
By 7.7.08
The makers of Five-seveN handguns finished their evaluation of the gun the blew up in an owner’s hand and have determined that it was due to his error and not theirs. Details, inside…
UPDATE: E*Trade Returns Customer's $3195, And All It Took Was Eight EECBs
By 5.25.08
A month ago, we wrote about Brice’s struggles with E*Trade to recover the balance on an account they closed. After eight months of letters and phone calls, Brice got E*Trade to close the account, but it continued to accrue interest and Brice never received the balance. Finally, after launching eight Executive Email Carpet Bombs, Brice has his money.
UPDATE: Best Buy EECB Scores A Direct Hit
By 5.23.08
If you read yesterday’s article Best Buy’s “Same As Cash” Credit Card Conceals Major Hidden Fees, you should remember Jason who got socked with some serious fees on his Best Buy/HSBC credit card. Jason wrote back to us to say that within a mere 3 hours after the deployment of his EECB, Best Buy reversed all of his fees. Jason’s and Best Buy’s letter, inside…
UPDATE: I Am Fed Up With HP And Bought A Macbook Instead
By 5.20.08
Reader Katy, whose laptop had disappeared into the black hole that is the HP repair department, writes us with an update. HP sent her computer back, but it’s still sort of broken. She’s going to work with HP to get the laptop fixed under warranty (so she can give it to her brother), but she’d had enough and went out and bought a Macbook.
Update: Westin Casuarina Refunds Extra Charges, Apologizes To Customers
By 4.11.08
Last week’s news that the Westin Casuarina hotel in Las Vegas was surreptitiously charging conference attendees for the organizer’s unpaid bill generated enough bad press that the Westin did an about-face this week, and sent out letters on Tuesday telling affected customers it is reversing the extra charges. A Westin spokesman said, “We’ve decided as a matter of customer relations to issue the refunds while continuing to pursue payment from The Coaching Center” in Austin, Texas. The Westin also says the refunds are an “effort to show our good faith,” which we assume means “please don’t sue us.”
QuickBooks' Latest Update Destroyed Mac Users' Desktops
By 1.10.08
Here’s one reason to use an online service to store financial data: no buggy updates to deal with.* Intuit’s December update for 2006 and 2007 versions of QuickBooks Pro on the Mac platform wiped the user’s Desktop folder and anything stored there. The company released a patch, but it didn’t work if you launched QuickBooks while connected to a wireless hotspot, oops. The latest patch, so far as we can tell, simply disables any further updates to the application—on January 3rd the company “began automatically feeding a patch to Mac QuickBooks users that permanently switches off the program’s upgrade mechanism to prevent a repetition of a data disaster.” In the meantime, since they can’t offer a way to fix the deleted Desktop folders, they’re offering rebates to users who buy a copy of the data recovery program Data Rescue II.
Time Warner Cable Promises To Credit You For The Random Bill
By 12.31.07
I wanted to follow up about the ‘Time Warner Cable Sends You A Random Bill, Can’t Explain Why’ tip I sent in. A Consumerist reader suggested I contact the N. Dallas Time Warner president and provided his email. I did on Sunday (yesterday) and received a call today (Monday) from Barbara at his office.
By 12.17.07
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UPDATE: Those lovable folks at the Wall Street Journal Health Blog called Listerine for official comment on our “24 Hour Protection” post, confirming that the “24 Hour Protection” sticker is there simply to remind you to use mouthwash twice as often as you’re accustomed. Hilarious and awesome. [WSJ Health Blog]
Sony CSR: What? No! Dust Doesn't Void Your PS3 Warranty!
By 11.11.07
A Sony CSR admitted to reader Ive that dust should not void a Playstation 3’s warranty. Transcript and audio, after the jump.
T-Mobile Demands $1,100 From Defrauded Customer
By 10.27.07
T-Mobile is demanding that reader Motoko, a victim of fraud, immediately pay $1,100 before she can port her number to rival Sprint. Last month, Motoko discovered erroneous charges on her bill totaling $1,766; T-Mobile readily admitted that the charges were fraudulent, and told the BBB and Consumerist that Motoko would receive an immediate refund. Instead of a refund, T-Mobile sent Motoko’s another bill and suspended her service. Now, almost a full month after T-Mobile’s PR henchmen at Waggener Edstrom claimed that the company had provided a “satisfactory resolution,” Motoko checked in with another update:
T-Mobile has only given me a partial amount of the credit they promised me in the BBB response. I’ve only gotten $454 back out of the $1,766. Their new response on the BBB website states that my October bill will reflect the full reimbursement of my credit. Unfortunately, the October bill is still $1,100+ and it shows that the second fraudulent line is still active.
