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—>We love free, and we love attempts to make people savvier about personal finance, so we really like this new personal finance website from the University of Idaho. It's got all the basics covered, and there are things like checklists and downloadable worksheets so you can practice what they're preaching. Some of the information is geared specifically to Idaho residents, but for the most part this is useful content that anyone can take advantage of. More »
—>The Consumer Reports Money Adviser has compiled a great list of sites that store your personal information and will provide free copies of their reports to you if you ask. More »
—>When Comcast activates the emergency alert system, Jim's cable box snaps into action and tunes itself to QVC. The locked cable box refuses to tune to any other channel, so Jim is left wondering what emergency information he's missing while staring at the latest deals on cubic zirconia bracelets. More »
—>We're starting to think Amex doesn't take this whole "data security" thing very seriously. First they confused a customer, and us, a few months ago with their random confirmation phone call, where they demanded a customer turn over bank account information over the phone without giving him a way to verify they were really Amex. Now a reader says the company has "for years" been sending him someone else's account info via email, including the customer's name and the last 5 digits of his account number. J.R. writes, "Seriously, I've seen better security on a video game forum." More »
—>California and New York City already require chains to display calorie counts alongside menu items, but if two Members of Congress have their way, menu labeling legislation will soon apply to chains and fast food restaurants throughout the nation. The Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) would go even farther than existing state and local regulations by requiring chains to disclose fat, carbohydrate and salt content on their printed menus. The food industry, of course, is supporting a more palatable bill with an equally snappy acronym... More »
—>It looks like someone at Metrolink in Southern California reads The Consumerist, because their communications manager responded today to yesterday's post about some potentially confusing language on their website. He even posted a suggested revision to the language in an attempt to clear it up, and is asking for reader feedback. More »
—>Dillon is in college, and he tried to save money by buying a monthly pass on the Metrolink transit system in Southern California. The problem is that Metrolink does a terrible job of explaining how the monthly pass works, and their own staff gives out incorrect information to customers buying the pass for the first time. Now Dillon faces a $250 citation for fare evasion because it turns out he could only use his pass for the upcoming month. More »
—>Self-proclaimed leading contemporary critic of the Internet Andrew Keen says that increased broadband access will lead to a second Holocaust. Seriously. More »
—>We first discovered the very useful FeedFlix back in May, and since then the site's been updated to present more data on how well you utilize your Netflix membership. By pasting in any of your private Netflix RSS feeds, you'll see a breakdown of your activity stats, like how long on average you keep titles and your average cost-per-rental. A handy new feature is the "email alerts" function, where you'll receive a weekly reminder if you've kept a title past a certain number of days. We've included a screenshot below. More »
—>Consumerist reader trinidon2k says try this number: More »
—>An anonymous tipster sent us the following information today on how to reach the executive level at CVS. Remember, don't use this to be a jerk to anyone—use it when you have a valid complaint that you can't get resolved through the recommended paths. More »
—>There's not a lot of contact info on the web for Greyhound or its executives, but one determined customer has put a lot of effort into documenting what there is. Here are mailing addresses and a few unpublished phone numbers for people in the Greyhound executive offices. More »
—>You need the express written consent of Major League Baseball to do pretty much anything to a baseball game, but does your pizza place need your permission to sell your personal information (name, address and phone number) to the highest bidder? Take a guess. The answer is inside. Cheating is easy, but in poor taste. (For the purposes of this quiz, you live in California.) More »
—> Pssst, wanna make an easy $20? Just give all your bank account and personal data over to ConsumerSay, a consumer opinion and behavior tracking firm owned by Lightspeed Research. Jen, who sometimes fills out surveys for freebies and cash, got an email from them offering her $20 for only 5 to 10 minutes of her time. Oh, and all of her financial transaction data. More »
—>Over at ZDnet an interesting point has been raised: Why does Build-A-Bear workshop need to know so much information about your children? Just to help return a lost bear? Should kids be encouraged to give out so much information? More »
—>The Wall Street Journal has a poll that says 1 in 5 US households have a member with a food allergy and that 1 in 3 of those households say the allergy is serious. A third of those with serious food allergies say they've experienced allergic reaction because they weren't informed about an ingredient in a restaurant. One third also said they'd experienced reactions because of incorrectly labeled foods. More »
—>With all this talk about the new minimum wage we thought we'd take a look at the state minimum wage rates from across the country. More »
