Author: Ben Popken

A fellow inmate at Butner federal prison brutually fulfilled the fantasy of millions by brutally beating the piss out of ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, reports WSJ.

Madoff suffered facial fractures, lacerations, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. The prisoner who beat him up was a “beefy” fellow who had a beef with “a Madoff-contracted debt he believed he was owed,” reports Yahoo!.

The December incident wasn’t the first time Madoff found himself engaged in a prison brawl. He allegedly emerged the victor after an argument with another inmate over the “state of the market” ended in fisticuffs last October. Additionally, the New York Post reported last year that various prison gangs, including the Butner facility’s “homosexual posse,” had been aggressively trying to recruit Madoff into their crews, regarding his notoriety in the outside world as a badge of honor.

The incident happened in December but was only confirmed today, because the prison and Bernie Madoff are liars.

Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff brutally assaulted in prison [Yahoo]
Madoff Beaten in Prison [WSJ] (Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!)

Had a problem with an order or customer service from J.Crew and need to escalate your complaint? Here’s a list of e-mail addresses you should try when crafting your Executive E-Mail Carpet Bomb.

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Chase is suing Justin’s friend for $7,500. He’s now drinking away his sorrows and thinking about filing for bankruptcy. Should he do it?

Justin writes:

Yesterday my friend was served a lawsuit from Chase Bank for $7,500. Naturally, what followed was an attempt to drink away the problem last night, which succeeded only temporarily. This morning he finds himself still being sued by Chase.

Here’s some background on my friend and the lawsuit. He racked up the consumer debt with Chase when he was doing relatively well as a retail store manager. However, two job changes later, he finds himself in a low paying, sales associate position at a big box retailer. I believe he likely has other consumer debt, as well, that is simultaneously ruing his credit. He lives at home with his family, and about the only possession he owns is his car (which he still owes about $7,000 on, but has faithfully been making payments on for 2 years).

Having never dealt with this situation, my simplistic advice to him was to seek counsel about the lawsuit (even if it’s going to cost a few thousand dollars over the next few months) to investigate filing for bankruptcy. I’m sure reading a few other perspectives would be extremely helpful for him.

I’ve got to help him figure out something because he’s had a pretty rough go of it recently, and because my liver can’t take too many more nights like last night.

He’s got until March 31st to formally respond to the lawsuit. Please help.

Okay. Let’s get real.

$7,500 grand plus a few odd thousand I’m guessing is nothing worth going bankrupt over. My advice for your friend?

1. Consider selling the car and buying a beater for like a grand, cash.
2. Face facts and face the lawsuit. Perhaps they are willing to settle for a portion of it. You can use money from the car sale to get it down by a bunch, then set up a payment plan for the rest.
3. Get a 2nd job.
4. Reduce expenses.
5. Get current on all debts.
6. Set aside a solid chunk every month to pay them down, starting with the highest interest one first.

He’s already living rent-free so between that and getting rid of the car debt, his budget should have enough wiggle room.

I’ve heard from people who were far worse off who paid off their debts in a reasonable amount of time. The key factor is facing this square on, with consistency and intensity.

For instance, this mother of three paid off $50k in debt on a $20k salary. If she can do it, so can your friend.

This website professionally simulates what it’s like to drive a Toyota. Includes authentic screams of terror.

(Thanks to thespatulaoflove!)

Manny returned a rental car full of gas to Thrifty, yet they still ended up charging him $12.67 to top it off. Even after several days of escalating, they have yet to refund him his cash.

Manny writes:

March 4

Last week I rented a car at the Myrtle Beach airport from Thrifty. I go to this destination quite a bit (almost on a monthly basis) and always rent from the same company, Thrifty. The rental was for 5 days, Mon Feb 22 to Fri Feb 26. I returned the car (a hybrid) after filling it with gas to the point where the fuel gauge was past the full line. Then then drove about 4 or 5 miles to the airport to drop off the car. At this airport it is a bit different when you drop off. You put it in the return spot, lock the car and bring the keys inside to the same desk you rented from. I returned the car, they asked me if it was full of gas and I said yes (like I always do). They close out the rental for $107 and some change and I am done. This morning I discover two charges, the $107 and change and another for $12.67. When I called Thrifty this morning, they said that the charge was for gas. I know I returned it full and even have that charge on the same credit card as the car rental. The agent took my number and told me that they would contact the manager at that location. I am still waiting for a call back.

March 8

It has been three days and I have not heard back from Thrifty. I called them on Friday and they told me that told me again that they sent a message to the manager of that location. I will be calling them back on Wednesday if I don’t hear from them by then (I know they won’t call).

March 14

So I finally called Thrifty back, exactly 1 week after I initially called them about this phantom charge. If you recall, they told me that it was to top off the tank at $6.99 per gallon. I still don’t quite get that because when I filled it up, the little meter on the dashboard was well past the fill line. Anyway, this morning when I told them I called a week ago, the person on the other line seemed surprised and told me that someone should call me back very soon. Within 10 minutes I got a call back and I was told to send receipts. So I told them that I could send my credit card statement with the credit card number blanked out along with some other personal data. I did that when I got into the office and within 20 minutes, I got an email back saying they would credit my AMEX card. Funny thing about this is that I used a VISA card and don’t have an AMEX. I mailed him back to confirm it is my VISA card he would be crediting. Still waiting to hear back.

At this point, what I have been suspecting all along may show itself…that is that they put the charge for someone else’s gas on my card and that person happened to use an AMEX card.

Funny thing, Thrifty did the same to me, also in Florida. Sounds like a case for Captain Chargeback.

UPDATE:

March 17

I finally saw the refund on my account this past Monday. Unfortunately it took a few phone calls and me sending in a copy of the fuel fillup charge on my credit card statement to make it happen.

An unfortunate typo on JetBlue’s website could lead some customers to “happy ending” instead of “happy jetting.” They spell out 1-800-JETBLUE as 538-2563, when it should be 538-2583. The former connects you a breathless recording that starts,

“Ooh hello sexy, I’m so glad you called. You’re about to be connected to live, one on one to one of my wild and hot friends…”

Yoinks! I don’t think that’s the kind of customer service JetBlue had in mind.

Note to Jet Blue [The Daily Bunch]

Health reform is scary, which is why one of my grandma’s keeps forwarding me emails about how Obama is going to steal her walker. Will it save me money? What if I hate my employer’s insurance? What changes would I notice right away? Consumer Reports took your questions to the Administration to cut through the hype and get the facts. Nancy Metcalf interviews Secretary of Health & Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius.

Health Reform Fears [Consumer Reports]

PREVIOUSLY: Ask The Administration Your Health Reform Questions

There are many kinds of complaint letters. I like the funny ones the best, like Tracy’s. Usually a nut for Wild Wings Lunch Buffet’s wings, she was sorely saddened to get a plate of “micro wings” foisted upon her. And instead of celery and dressing – tater tots! Tracy dashed off an amusing complaint letter, and they actually investigated it and will be fixing the wing deficiency!

Tracy writes:

To Whom it may concern,

I am writing today to express disappointment with the “reduced” lunch buffet i experienced at the Charlotte Ayersly location today. As regular customer of your establishment, I enjoy your great selection of wings and beer and bring friends and family with me to your restaurant frequently. I also enjoy the wide selection of wings on the lunch buffet you normally offer. It usually becomes the highlight of my week when I visit.

Today, However, the buffet was well below the typical standard I have become accustom to. Instead of 8-12 different wings on the table and endless supplies of celery and dressing, I was greeted with only two trays, divided to serve only 4 varieties of wings. Gone too was the celery and dressing, replaced with “tater tots” of all things?!?! To add insult to injury, to my heart-broken gut, the wings were miniature “baby” wings compared to normal plumpers.. That had to be from hatchlings.. I’m certain you would have been making omelets with those chickens if they were only two days younger.

And for all of this.. the price is the same as it was before. I asked the waitress if there was something wrong with the buffet, some grievous error with a malfunctioning heat lamp.. alas no.. she told me that it was a cost cutting measure.. With a buffet that small of stature, it will probably end up being a customer cutting measure in the long run. It just doesn’t meet expectations and it was a real disappointment. I had plans to bring in clients from out of country in for your wing buffet after bragging about it to them, now I have to try to find an alternative to save face.. its all just disheartening.. sad.. yes, im sad over small chicken wings. .. to the point of Prozac..

Anyways, I realize that business is tough and the economy of offering all you can eat wings might be a drain.. but please, bring back the larger buffet.. Raise the price of it.. just don’t leave it so small, at that size, the value just isn’t there. Yes, I will still come in for dinner, and yes, my crazy 9 year old will still eat 8 Braveheart wings every visit and cry mace-laden tears with each one.. but I do enjoy the lunch buffet and would really like to see it continue in all of its gluttonous glory.. it’s the American way and by-god I’ll pay more for you to keep it around.

Thank you Much,

Tracy

Wild Wings replied:

Dear Tracy,

We are so glad that you took the time to email us about this. Fear not! We’ve figured out what happened and made corrections TODAY.

We received a similar email for one of our other stores, from a regular customer like yourself, last month. Since that time we’ve had all our stores go back to offering 6 flavors of wings on the wing bar. They have the option of offering tater tots and nuggets IN ADDITION to the regular 6 wing flavors, if they have a customer following that wants it. If the Ayrsley location has customers who really love those tots, you might continue to see those on the bar but you won’t continue to see a shortage of the wing flavors.

As for the pint-sized wings, we had to go out and get an emergency order of wings this past Saturday for fear of running out and all that was available to us was the small sized wings. We couldn’t offer them on our regular menu (because the price doesn’t match the size) so we put them out on the wing bar since it was all-you-can-eat. It was a mistake and highly unusual. Since your visit, those wings are gone and we’re back to our regular sized wings that you are used to.

We’ve also addressed the celery and blue cheese/ranch dressing. You should see that out on the wing bar today.

We hope that you’ll give us another chance now that all issues have been addressed and we’re back to offering the wing bar as you’d like to see it. And I’d like to put you in touch with our general manager of that store. I know he’d like to speak with you personally. You gave us some great feedback in the form of a very nice email. I can tell you have a great sense of humor and you’re a really big Wild Wing fan – if you weren’t, you surely would not have taken the time to let us know your thoughts. If it’s okay with you, would you mind sending me a contact number where you can be reached? I’d like to send that to the general manager and have him call you directly.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Heather Brownlee
Customer Relations
Wings Over America, Inc.

This is a great example of how the “Praise With Faint Damn” technique described in “Professional Complaint Letter Writer Shares His Secrets” can work.

Two IRS spooks descended on Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Sacramento to collect on a four-cent debt. “They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” the owner of Harv’s said.

The debt was from 2006. Somehow with penalties and taxes it had risen to $202.35. For his part, the owner can’t figure out what’s going because he says he’s never owed any taxes or gotten any late-payment fees.

The IRS refused to comment, citing, “privacy and disclosure laws.”

Ah yes, the ol’ 4-cent car wash tax haven scam. Glad they’re finally shutting that one down.

IRS agents storm Sacramento car wash — to collect 4 cents [Sacramento Bee] (Thanks to Daniel!)

A $150,000 bond has been set for the 68-year old man accused of punching kids in the back of the head at Walmart while their parents weren’t looking.

Ralph would put his keys between his knuckles and wack children while their parents were entranced by Walmarts fabulous bargains. He said he did it for “the thrill” of getting away with it, and that he’d been doing it since January. His lawyer say he has mental health issues.

Police suspect there have been other incidents that were not reported, likely because parents weren’t sure what had caused their children to cry.

The judge has ordered Ralph to stay out of Walmarts.

Bond set at $150,000 for accused child-puncher [Columbus Dispatch] (Thanks to Michael!)

An ex-Wells Fargo bank manager is accused of embezzling more than $900,000 from customers, most of whom were frail and elderly.

John Tran, 37, would visit customers’ homes talk them into making investments, then get their cashier checks directed to himself. Police were tipped off after a customer’s daughter visited the bank asking questions about why bank representatives were showing up on their doorstep and why the investments hadn’t appeared in her mother’s account.

This is why you should stay in touch with elderly family about what they are doing with their finances, and why you should never give any money to anyone with a faux-hawk.

Ex-bank manager accused of bilking people [SF Gate] (Thanks to Shawna!)

Here is a fun-pack of executive escalation contact info you can use if you’re trying to get Chase to modify your mortgage. With the bureaucracy and indifference staring you down, you’ll need every vector you can get your hands on.

Chase Home Finance LLC
Executive Office Ohio
1-888-310-7995
Fax: 1-866-831-8350

Chase Home Finance LLC
10790 Rancho Bernardo Rd.
San Diego, CA 92127

San Diego Loss Mitigation
1-858-605-3345
1-877-838-1882

Chase Home Finance LLC
3415 Vision Dr.
Columbus, Ohio 43219

Ohio Homeowners Assistance Dept.
1-800-446-8939

Texas Loss Mitigation
1-866-316-9218

JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Attention: James S. Dimon (CEO)
Office of Secretary
270 Park Avenue, 39th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10017
1-212-270-6000
Fax: 1-212-270-1648

Paradise is great, but not if you’re trapped in it. Dan and his fellow passengers on US Airways flight 1922 were supposed to leave Costa Rica yesterday at 2:55pm. So far, with their broken plane awaiting a part, that hasn’t happened. Let’s check in on the front lines…

Dan writes, “Hello Gentle Folk of US Airways,

I hope this email finds you well. I know that you are all busy, and normally I wouldn’t bother you, but my fellow passengers and I currently have a lot of time on our hands, and mostly, we are thinking about you and your airline.

I generally enjoy US Air. I have a USA credit card, silver preferred status, and some miles in my account. I’ve had pleasant experiences in the past, and hope to have more in the future.

However, I find myself, in this very moment, in a very uncomfortable position. I have been in the San Jose airport for about 24 hours now. The plane that is supposed to take me back to Philadelphia seems to be horribly broken and indefinitely delayed. For some reason your employees here have been unwilling to put us on another plane, or even to give us any information. We are increasingly frustrated.

I was wondering if you could do something to take care of us?

It would be great if you could expedite us back to our most beloved United States Of America.

Thanks so much,

Daniel”

I asked him, “What is your flight number? Has the airline provided you with any food or accommodations? What’s the mood like there among the passengers?”

He replied, “Our first flight was 1922, it was scheduled to leave yesterday at 255 pm.

We were given accommodations and food vouchers last night, and told that our flight would leave at 6am.

We all came back to the airport at 3am, because you have to be at the San Jose Airport 3 hours before your flight leaves.

We watched the sun rise. The flight got pushed back to 9am, and then indefinitely. The latest that I’ve heard, they are going to put the part they need to fix the plane on an inbound plane, and it will be ready when it is ready.

the passagers are: (in their own words)

pissed off and tired
tired, did anyone mention tired
pissy
tired, and beyond disgust
us air sucks, i think that sums it up

there are important guys waving credit cards…
new age ladies singing prayer songs.

oh, and they just gave us a lunch voucher.

thanks ben!

daniel”

Hey, at least you’re not stuck on the plane. Good luck Dan! Hope you guys can get out of there soon.

Consumer Reports is going to the White House to ask them what’s up with health reform, and they need your questions press to them. The Health Blog is going to interview Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the crackerjack former state insurance commissioner of Kansas. What does health reform mean? How much will it cost? Are we going to get savings or will private doctors get run out of business? Leave your questions in the comments here or over on the Consumer Reports Health Blog or email it to [email protected], subject “health reform.”

Ask a top administration official your questions about health reform [Consumer Reports Health Blog]

Dear Burger King, are there really 10.5 quadrillion ways to customize a whopper? Or just 221,184? A demanding customer played around with the Burger King nutritional information section and has a few questions, and he expects some answers.