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follow-ups
follow-ups
Jack The Cat Has Died
By Ben Popken on November 7, 2011 10:00 AM
104 Comments
Jack, the cat lost at JFK and then found two months later, has died. More »
TSA Reportedly Firing Agent Who Wrote "Get Your Freak On" Note
By Phil Villarreal on October 28, 2011 9:15 AM
100 Comments
As we noted earlier this week, a Transportation Security Administration agent allegedly scrawled "Get your freak on girl" on an inspection note left with a woman's checked bag that contained a sex toy. More »
Changing Over Chipotle Signs To Show Pork In Pinto Beans Will Take A Few Months
By Ben Popken on October 27, 2011 4:00 PM
110 Comments
In late July, Chipotle garnered kudos after CEO Steve Ells called up a fan who had been Tweeting his displeasure at discovering that Chipotle's pinto beans were cooked with pork. Ells pledged that the burrito chain would change all its menu boards to reflect the pork content. A few months later I walked into a Chipotle in Midtown and noticed their sign hadn't changed. More »
GameStop Offers $50 Gift Card To Make Up For Swiping Coupons From PC Version Of 'Deus Ex'
By Phil Villarreal on August 29, 2011 8:15 AM
44 Comments
Last week, GameStop admitted to telling employees to pull coupon codes out of new copies of the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, then yanked the game from shelves. To make things right with customers who bought the game and didn't get the coupon, the company is reportedly emailing instructions for picking up a $50 gift card and an offer to buy two used games and get a third for free. More »
Reports: GameStop Pulls PC Version Of 'Deus Ex' Off Shelves After Controversy
By Phil Villarreal on August 25, 2011 8:15 AM
119 Comments
As we reported yesterday, GameStop fessed up to ordering employees to pull coupon codes out of new copies of the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The company justified its shady directive by saying the publisher Square Enix didn't let it know the coupon — for a free version of the game from OnLive, which competes against GameStop's digital service — would be included. Now GameStop is reportedly yanking the game off shelves. More »
(chloeloe)
Cathay Pacific Delays Ad Campaign Due To Photo Scandal
By Phil Villarreal on August 16, 2011 10:15 AM
22 Comments
There may or may not be such a thing as bad publicity, but there certainly is publicity that can add embarrassing, unintended humor to a planned ad campaign. Such is the fate that befell Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific, which we recently wrote about after photos surfaced showing a flight attendant performing oral sex on a pilot on a company plane. Now the company is grounding an international ad campaign with the slogan "meet the team who go the extra mile." More »
Judge Tosses Gorilla Coffee's Suit Against NYT For Posting Workers' Walkout Letter
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 10:00 AM
29 Comments
A popular Brooklyn coffee shop's lawsuit against the New York Times just got chucked. The paper's City Room blog had reprinted the letter penned by eight employees who simultaneously quit over working conditions, and the owners of Gorilla Coffee felt that the Times' action was defamatory and an "intentional infliction of emotional distress." A judge disagreed. More »
CitiFinancial Finally Lets Loan Die, Then Sues You
By Laura Northrup on August 11, 2011 2:35 PM
49 Comments
When we last heard from reader Jeff, he was doing battle with CitiFinancial over a loan that refused to die, stuck with a $1 balance that he had been told not to bother paying because the loan was paid in full. Citi then turned around and reported him to credit bureaus as delinquent for not paying the dollar that he had been instructed not to pay. He disputed the ding on his credit report, and heard back from Citi that the debt has been resolved. Then he learned that Citi has filed a judgment against him in Baltimore. For $1. More »
How To Check Your Stats If Your Comcast Bandwidth Meter Is Broken
By Ben Popken on July 14, 2011 2:00 PM
36 Comments
After reading the story about the guy whose internet was shut off for a year by Comcast as punishment for breaching their data cap, reader Brian tried to check out his Comcast bandwidth meter. He did not want to have the same fate befall him. However, when he got to the screen, all the data and graphs that had been there months before were gone. Comcast told him that the bandwidth meter isn't working for some customers but gave him a number to call if he needed to check on his data consumption. More »
Guy Arrested For Saggy Pants Plans To Sue US Airways
By Ben Popken on July 14, 2011 12:00 PM
146 Comments
Yesterday, all charges were dropped against a University of New Mexico football player who was thrown off a plane and arrested by a US Airways pilot last month for wearing pj's that sagged off his posterior. Today his attorney says that Deshon plans on suing US Airways over how he was treated. More »
TCF Bank Figures Out How To Close $.05 Account
By Ben Popken on June 27, 2011 3:00 PM
25 Comments
After reader DFCL's story about how TCF Bank wouldn't close his checking account with $.05 left in it, preferring to charge $149 in fees instead, went up on Consumerist, something good happened. More »
Man Who Paid $25 Bill In Pennies Is Proud
By Ben Popken on June 7, 2011 10:00 AM
118 Comments
A man who made a scene when he voiced his dissatisfaction with a clinic's billing department by paying a $25 disputed bill in all pennies is proud of what he did. "I would say that I had a legitimate purpose and it was to resolve a billing dispute and pay it," the man told KSL, "and to protest how I'd been treated." More »
Scammer Cracks Your Facebook Account, Live Chats With Your Friends That You're Mugged In London And Need Cash
By Ben Popken on April 21, 2011 11:00 AM
73 Comments
Last week we told you about a guy who thought his friend was mugged in London and trapped without cash and was hitting him up for help via Facebook IM. Turns out his friend's Facebook account was hacked and he was live-chatting with a scammer who had taken over the account. It's not an isolated incident, other readers chimed in to say it had happened to them too. We've heard of this scam before, but the fact that they are live chatting on Facebook with the victim's friends, pretending to be a friend who is in trouble, is a new twist. Here is another transcript of such an occurrence, courtesy of commenter MyopicRaiderfan. They have a little fun with the scammer by asking them why they slept with their stepfather in high school. More »
Microsoft Works To Prevent Indie Game Ratings Manipulation
By Phil Villarreal on April 20, 2011 11:15 AM
13 Comments
Seeking to prevent further abuse of its indie games rating system, Microsoft announced it will restrict the ability to rate games to paying Xbox Live Gold members. Previously, anyone could sign up for a Live account and assign ratings to games on the service, and some developers accused users of making up fake accounts to falsely prop up the visibility of certain games while damaging others. More »
(claytron)
Where Are They Now? The First-Time Homebuyers And The Secret Room Filled With Moldy Garbage
By Laura Northrup on March 30, 2011 1:00 PM
143 Comments
Last June, we shared the story of Jeannine and her husband, who discovered all kinds of exciting surprises in their home after purchasing it. These included a sealed room filled with garbage coated in a fuzzy white mold and a shower literally patched up with duct tape. None of these issues were disclosed by the sellers, or noticed by the inspector that the couple hired. Consumerist readers had 266 comments' worth of advice for Jeannine and Mr. Jeannine, but we never heard back from them. So where are they now? Things have actually gotten worse. More »
Video Of Home Depot Easy Button Ripoff In Action
By Ben Popken on March 24, 2011 12:00 PM
24 Comments
Reader Ed went back to Home Depot and took a video of that Home Depot ripoff of the Staple's "Easy Button" getting pressed. The mechanized voice released from inside says, "Don't see the product you want you want on our displays? The Home Depot can still provide it! Ask an associate to set up a CFP to locate the product you want!" That's a lot more words than when you push the original button, which says, "That was Easy." Nice job, big orange, you steal someone else's idea and then totally ruin the whole concept by adding a bunch of extra marketing language. More »
Man Wins $5,000 Suing Debt Collectors, Thanks To Google Voice
By Ben Popken on March 17, 2011 4:00 PM
85 Comments
Reader PJ sued a bunch of harassing debt collectors and won $5,000, and Google Voice made doing it really easy. Someone had put down his work cellphone number on their credit applications and ran up a bunch of debts and collectors started calling him multiple times per day. He told them he wasn't the guy and asked them nicely to stop, but that only made it worse. More »
Just Use "Block Caller" In Google Voice To Beat Fraudulent Debt Collectors
By Ben Popken on March 17, 2011 1:00 PM
36 Comments
Using the "Block Caller" function in Google Voice is a far easier way to beat fraudulent callers than the one we described 2 weeks ago, says reader John. More »
Verizon Kept Quiet About 911 System Failing During Snowstorm
By Phil Villarreal on March 4, 2011 9:15 AM
32 Comments
After Verizon dropped an estimated 10,000 D.C.-area 911 calls during a January snowstorm, the FCC asked the company to find out what went on. The answer was that some key equipment malfunctioned, and the company mysteriously decided not to inform public officials of the issue. More »
(ash™)
Certified And Notarized Letter Gets Heat Turned Back On After 5 Days
By Ben Popken on March 3, 2011 12:00 PM
23 Comments
Davya says that after showing her landlords she meant business with a notarized and certified letter, she finally got the heat in her apartment turned back after 5 days of no heat. More »
