After our post yesterday ended up crashing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ consumer information website, we received an email from them. They said they wanted to explain how the site works to address some reader questions, as well as point out that you too can contribute to the rankings by filing complaints when your insurer does something objectionable.
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Find Out How Much Your Insurer Sucks
By 8.27.09
So you suspect your health/auto/home insurer is run by the devil, but you’re not sure whether the alternative you’re considering is any better. Kiplinger Finance has posted a helpful article on how to find the complaint ratio of an insurer via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website. Update: here’s how to file your own complaint.
Check Your Financial Health In Two Minutes
By 8.26.09
Is there anything more entertaining than having a website assign a letter grade to your financial status? Yes, but whatever it is, it would likely involve spending money you don’t need to spend, at least not if you want to get a good grade. Unlike in-depth financial evaluation tools, Money’s “Your Financial Health” widget just asks for big picture numbers that you can probably enter without needing to open up your budget or spreadsheet app—so it only takes a couple of minutes for you to find out how worried or proud you should be.
Sears Caught Selling "Grills to Cook Babies" Thanks To Poorly Built Website
By 8.21.09
Yesterday a reader sent us a pretty funny screen capture of a Sears product page with a suspicious category description (see above). By the time we got around to checking it out, Sears had corrected the error. It turns out, however, that the real problem was the Sears website was built in a way that lets anyone mess with the category descriptions.
Beware Fake Gift Card Balance Websites
By 8.20.09
A reader just ran into a gift card scam while trying to unload an Apple gift card via CraigsList. If you’re directed to a website that asks you to put in your gift card information in order to show the balance as “proof” that you’re legit, you’re being conned.
AloofDoof Sends Alerts When Ads You Like Appear On Craigslist
By 8.19.09
Reader Sedo just sent us a link to aloofdoof.com, a website that lets you set up keyword searches on Craiglist. We haven’t tested it, but it appears to be similar to WishRadar for Amazon. Sedo writes,
How Useless Are Diploma Mills? This Cat Got One
By 8.14.09
If you’re looking for a cheap and fast way to get a diploma, try Jefferson High School Online, where for $200 you can be taken as seriously as Oreo the cat. Oreo the cat with a GED, we mean.
Is It Time For Travel Agents To Make A Comeback?
By 8.6.09
Now that booking your own flight, car, and hotel reservations online is such a giant pain in the neck, travel agents don’t seem so bad. In a new report, Forrester Research says that “Consumers see other Web sites becoming easier to use – retail Web sites, banking Web sites, media Web sites. […] There are very few travel companies that are really looking to improve the planning and booking process.“
Etsy Fraudster Goes After Beadmakers Who Got Her Banned
By 7.27.09
A woman named Ullja Kuntze was booted from Etsy after word got around that she was buying handmade beads and reselling them as her own. Her original Etsy pages read, “All my beads are made by me in my private glass studio in Milan Italy.” Kuntze was actually doing business from Waco, Texas, and now that legitimate beadmakers have gotten her kicked off of Etsy and Artfire, she’s trying to get their own websites shut down under false spam accusations, and/or get them investigated by the IRS for tax fraud.
Craftsman Doesn't Have The Ability To Cancel A Duplicate Order
By 7.23.09
Reader C.W. is wondering why Craftsman (which is part of Sears) doesn’t have the ability to cancel a duplicate order. Especially since there appears to be a “cancel” button on the website.
LendingTree Launches Financial Advice Website
By 7.23.09
MoneyRight, a new website from LendingTree, seems at first aimed to take on Mint.com in the easy-to-read/use financial snapshot category of web services. However, it also offers financial advice based on your current situation and future goals.
Want To Experience Retail Crack? Try Swoopo
By 7.20.09
Just in case that headline doesn’t make it clear: we do not recommend you try Swoopo, because you do not want to experience retail crack. Stay far, far away from Swoopo. Swoopo will feed into every gambling and spending impulse buried in the irrational parts of your brain, and suck up your money. There’s a reason the site describes itself as “entertainment shopping.”
By 7.10.09
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Usually, to follow someone on Twitter, you click “Follow.” So why does Walmart have a 3,379-word terms of use specifically for their Twitter accounts posted on the company Web site? Seriously, we’re asking, because no one has any idea. [BoingBoing]
By 7.6.09
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Hershey is closing its online store (www.hersheygifts.com) at the end of the month, saying they can’t keep it running in this economy. If you like their “chocolate” products, everything on the site is on sale for 25% off. [LA Times] (Thanks to Robert!)
Scammers Also Use Dating Services To Look For Easy Marks
By 6.26.09
A reader received a weird message from a fellow Match.com member last night—it was a fairly transparent attempt by someone to establish contact with her via a false identity.
Facebook Encourages Open Marriages—Just Ask Dan's Wife
By 6.24.09
One thing I personally hate about Facebook is how the ads co-opt my friends’ pictures and use them to try to sell me stupid stuff. Dan received one of those types of ads yesterday, only the combination of text and photo selection was a little… um, let’s say “open minded.”
