The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back

possible scams

Is Hollywood Video Bringing Back "Silence Is Acceptance" Magazine Subscriptions?

An anonymous disgruntled employee sent us a long list of complaints about Hollywood Video, which can be summed up with "we're desperate to earn some money, so any tactic is fair game." Among them is this gem.

The Entertainment Weekly scam is coming back. Next week, the company is planning to roll out the EW "Free 8 issue, silence is acceptance" trial and force us to ask every guest if they'd like Entertainment Weekly. This is a practice which requires 100 percent compliance, so they're firing and writing those people up who aren't asking, and cutting the hours of those who don't get people to sign up for it.

8:29 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Chris Walters
3,673 views, 47 comments

hurry

United Airlines Glitch Drops Fuel Surcharge And They Won't Be Able To Fix It Until 8pm Tonight

You can save up to $130 due to a "human error" that is causing United Airlines to drop the up to $130 fuel surcharge, says the Wall Street Journal. The airline says they won't be able to fix the glitch until 8pm tonight, so hurry up and book it: More »

6:25 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
2,717 views, 26 comments

Dunkin' Donuts Won't Give You A Cup Of Iced Coffee Because You Look Under 18

Coffee lovers, rejoice! Dunkin' Donuts is giving away free 16 oz. cups of iced coffee today—unless you look under 18 and don't have identification. Tipster Carolyn watched with disbelief as workers at the Dunkin' Donuts at 1433 2nd Avenue on New York's Upper East Side refused to serve two high school seniors who didn't have identification. More »

6:20 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Carey
5,720 views, 57 comments

Latest by Nick1693: ClayS, it wasn't in the promotion in the first place, they're just spewing a bunch of BS because they don't want to lose money. Saydrah, It was more than one Red Bull, and it can happen anywhere. In my opinion, the more »

Results

Polite Letter Gets Bank Of America To Refund Overdraft Fees

Jenn's checking account with Bank of America recently had a policy change designed to increase overdraft fees, and it worked: sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning she was hit with 6 NSF charges going back the previous 48 hours, because she was about 15 minutes late transferring funds into her account the day before. Technically she had broken the new policy, but Jenn hadn't realized or remembered that there was a policy change and she was taken by surprise. She decided to try to reason with BoA's corporate office about the fees, and explain why she thought they were unfair.

Today, she let us know that her letter worked: "Just got off the phone with BoA Corporate in Boston. They're refunding everything! It pays to write."

5:46 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Chris Walters
1,648 views, 20 comments

Latest by mrearly2: Banks don't actually have "money" (gold or silver), and moving funds electronically doesn't cost much, if anything. (Modern) banking is an intrinsically fraudulent business--making "money" out of thin air and charging interest on it, too.The bank refunded the overdraft fees more »

Novelties

2008 Saturn VUE XE On Sale For $2.3 Million

FROM JALOPNIK.COM: With the emerging global Saturn Vue shortage crisis biting into the supply of crossovers, global prices of the US-ified Opel are spiking to unheard of levels. Case in point comes from Saturn of Oxford Valley — ground zero for the desperate shortages. More »

5:40 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
2,581 views, 21 comments

bad company

This Online Pet Store Has Rabies

On the surface, Hands-N-Paws caters to owners-n-their-dogs, but the company's real stock in trade is being hilariously rude to its customers. When someone asked them to cancel an order immediately, they wrote back, "No..not immediately, when we can get round to it." When another person threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau, they wrote back, "File it. Blackmail gets you nowhere, honey." They even have a "Hall of Shame" on their website where they list the email addresses of customers they hate most of all. This is why we make all of our cats' clothing out of old newspaper. More »

5:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Chris Walters
6,310 views, 93 comments

Latest by maztec: @cheviot: I appreciate the humor you have injected into this discussion. However, I have one question: Since when is calling someone a fucktard defamation? I am fairly certain that in the context here it qualifies as an more »

5 Hideous Things Urban Outfitters Wants You To Wear This Summer

FROM JEZEBEL.COM: The Urban Outfitters Summer catalog has hit mailboxes and there's a world of ugly inside. Oh, not everything is hideous, but there are a few things — sure to be seen on your local hipster — that just seem cringe-inducing. High-waisted shorts, lacy underwear as outerwear, Soviet-era shoes? More »

3:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Dodai
26,345 views, 165 comments

bad pr

NFL Star Says Walmart Was Mean To Underprivileged Kids

Houston Texans Wide Receiver Andre Johnson said his foundation ordered 750 bikes from Walmart that were to be given to underprivileged kids, and in return the retailer offered to provide ice and water for the event. TMZ says something got messed up with the order and so Walmart said "No water for you." More »

2:53 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
7,350 views, 60 comments

Trademark

Lawsuit: Monster Cable Thinks You Might Confuse Mini-Golf With Overpriced Cables

Pricey cable-maker Monster is worried you might confuse a haunted house-themed mini-golf course with its popular products, so they're suing. More »

2:38 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
9,865 views, 113 comments

Honesty

Banana Republic: Sorry Our Credit Card Website Sucks, Try Not Using It

Reader Maegan wrote Banana Republic to let them know that their credit card website was buggy and annoying to use. She got back a canned response that halfheartedly apologized for the state of their website and recommended that she use another service to pay her bill. More »

1:59 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
2,977 views, 34 comments

Worst Company in America

Round 39: Sallie Mae vs eBay/Paypal

This is Round 39 in our Worst Company in America contest, Sallie Mae vs eBay/Paypal!

Here's what readers said in previous rounds about why they hate these two companies...

12:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Ben Popken
3,434 views, 62 comments

Attention all you liver lovers, Chicago has reversed its foie gras ban. [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks, William!)

14 comments

Money

Personal Finance Roundup

4 Credit-Card Protections Shoppers Should Know About [Smart Money] "Thanks to some little-known credit-card protections, shoppers don't have to get stuck with unwanted or broken merchandise."

Three Ways to Lower Your Auto Insurance Premium [The Wall Street Journal] "We looked at how insurers are calculating premiums these days and compiled a few tips."

6 gas-saving myths [CNN Money] "Sure you want to save gas, but there's a lot of bad advice on how to do it."

How to sell your hair for cash [Smart Spending] "High-quality hairpieces are still made from real human hair and there is a huge market for sourcing natural hair."

9 ways to build credit from scratch [MSN Money] "It's much easier to start with good habits than to repair black marks later on."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE
(Photo: BeautifulMachine)

11:38 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Ben Popken
826 views, 2 comments

Stupid

Gateway: Free Shipping! With A $20 Handling Fee!

Reader Holland asks: More »

dishonest

Dish Network Adds 22 Channels, Issues Bragging Press Release, Then Yanks 15

Want to convince people you offer as much HD as DirecTV without, you know, having to actually do it? Add 22 HD channels, issue a press release bragging about it, then yank 15 of your older channels while the press isn't looking. That's what Dish Network did according to TVPredictions.com: More »

11:30 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
6,004 views, 49 comments

Free association

What's The First Thing That Pops Into Your Head When You Think Of Dell? Or Sprint?

Companies spend a lot of money on marketing, but ultimately, a brand is what people think it is. Meet Brandtags.net — a site where you can tag brands with one word or phrase that best represents how you feel when you see their logo. It seems that Dell has its work cut out for it—some of the top tags people are using for that brand include: More »

10:39 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
6,123 views, 82 comments

Fuel

6 Gas Saving Myths... Debunked

CNNMoney has compiled a list of gas saving myths and asked Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com to debunk them. Here's the list: More »

9:48 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Meg Marco
16,797 views, 95 comments

Consumerist

United Airlines Glitch Drops Fuel Surcharge And They Won't Be Able To...

Gawker Media Network