Cracked shares a cautionary tale of what will theoretically happen to a person who makes only the minimum payment on a credit card balance of about $10,000. Like all solid financial advice, it begins with an Amazon.com addiction and ends with the Earth being destroyed two thousand years in the future by a power-mad Bank of America.
Credit Cards [Cracked]
Consumerist’s Hero of the Weekend is attorney and writer Wajahat Ali, who fought an epic battle for a home loan modification against Wells Fargo and won. Eventually. It’s a well-written and terrifying look into the financial crisis, the state of America’s megabanks, and how homeowners in need seemingly stand no chance against the towering indifference, incompetence and confusion of those megabanks.
One would think a financial institution would consider [a loan modification] a viable and wise short term solution, considering the country is mired in one of the worst recessions in recent memory. However, wishful thinking is not one of the options on the bank’s automated phone service. One might also assume the banks operate purely out of greed and avarice—but if that were the case, they would simply take the short-term money from the clients instead of wasting resources on foreclosure costs, appraisals, and reselling a house that had been brutally reduced in value.
In fact, shockingly, the banks are mostly apathetic, confused, poorly informed, and poorly managed. The left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. I imagine a giant warehouse where underlings paid minimum wage simply parrot a written script, crunching numbers in a giant database in which a thousand tubes and wires cross and intersect one another but ultimately lead nowhere.
Indeed, the difficulty of making a loan modification happen is why many homeowners strategically default. It’s easier.
Go read the article–it’s long, but funny and engaging and will make you want to stand outside your nearest Wells Fargo branch with a torch and a pitchfork.
Could It Be That the Best Chance to Save a Young Family From Foreclosure is a 28-Year-Old Pakistani American Playright-slash-Attorney who Learned Bankruptcy Law on the Internet? [McSweeney’s] (Thanks, Kelly!)
Maybe Homeowners Wouldn’t Strategically Default If Lenders Cooperated
Will A Human At BofA Finally Please Modify My $160,000 Underwater Mortgage
Bank of America Screws Even Ex-Employees Of 21 Years On Mortgages
Elizabeth was raising two tadpoles under the watchful eye of Master Yoda in a frog habitat at work. When tragedy struck and one of the tadpoles suffered an early death, Elizabeth e-mailed a plea for help to the company that made the habitat, Uncle Milton. Her efforts resulted in the shipment of a new tadpole and a wonderfully funny and geeky e-mail exchange, which she shared with the world on her Livejournal.
Elizabeth writes:
For Christmas, I got a Dagobah Frog Habitat and I set it up at work with two tadpoles.
Last week, disaster struck when one of my tadpoles died. I wrote the company, Uncle Milton, to see what could be done.
Dear Uncle Milton,
On Christmas morning, I got the toy I wanted MOST – the Dagobah Frog Habitat. I waited until mid-January to order the tadpoles because I was worried that the weather wasn’t quite right for tadpole shipment. In preparation for their arrival, I bought the required bottled spring water and turkey baster, and endured weird looks from the checkout lady at the grocery store (the mints I was buying didn’t help).On the day of their arrival, I could hardly contain my excitement! I was so delighted that I shared the details of their “birth” (the transition from their shipping containers to their habitat) with my friends on Twitter and Facebook. I lost a couple of friends that day because of my gory descriptions of the birthing process, but it was worth it – these tadpoles mean the world to me! My coworkers came by my desk each hour to inquire on the status of our new babies. We decided on names: the girl was Stegosaurus and the boy is Pterodactyl. We felt these were appropriate names, given their unique and beautiful plumage that one can only compare to dinosaurs of the past.
Parents of unruly children were envious of my babies – prepubescent Stegosaurus and Pterodactyl were happily swimming away the days, concentrating their studies on becoming full-grown, healthy frogs. Unfortunately, disaster struck this morning when my coworkers and I discovered that one of them has passed from this world and gone to heaven. At first, I was hopeful that she was just resting on her back, but after a couple of pokes with the turkey baster and calling her “Polly,” it was confirmed: Stegosaurus is stone dead.
I am distraught. As one coworker put it, Stegosaurus has gone “tap to toilet.” I don’t know what that means, but it accurately describes my feelings about her untimely passing. I’m not sure what to do now, so I’m hoping you can counsel me.
1) Is there a way I can get an additional tadpole sent to me for free, since this one has bought the farm? I know no other tadpole can replace Stegosaurus, but I am concerned that Pterodactyl might endure mental anguish over the loss of his pod-mate, and might jump out of the habitat to end his own life if left alone for too long. If possible, I’d love to have a tadpole that was born on or near the date of Pterodactyl. I’ve always wanted to have twins.
2) If a replacement is unavailable, can I get a refund? I know it’s heartless to talk about expenses right after someone has expired, but if I’m being realistic, I paid good money for a tadpole that only lived for two weeks in my possession. I followed the directions religiously – as an animal lover and someone who rescues raccoons from their imminent deaths, I know how to care for a tadpole and I feel as though this terrible experience should not taint my checking account.
3) My coworker suggested I nail Stegosaurus to the habitat land so that, when Pterodactyl is old enough to hop, he can still see his friend. Is this okay? Do you sell any tadpole-sized crypts? If they’re out of stock, what do you suggest I do with the deceased tadpole?
Thank you,
Elizabeth
The response:
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you for your email regarding your tadpoles. We are very sorry that Stegosaurus did not make it and would be happy to send either a replacement (though we understand no one could ever truly replace her) or an $8.00 refund. Please just let us know your mailing address and which you would prefer.
Please note: If a replacement is significantly different in size than Pterodactyl, the larger may mistake the smaller for food. You can put the smaller in a temporary makeshift habitat using a bowl with holes poked in the lid, and adding 1-2 inches of water and a rock or gravel incline until they are about the same size to prevent this.
Regarding tadpole-sized crypts, unfortunately, at this point we do not offer such supplies. Though we never like to hear that any of our little tadpoles have not made it, we are always grateful for the opportunity to expand our product line. That being said, we will forward your suggestion for a new line addressing the post-mortem needs of our tadpole customers. In the interim, we suggest disposing of Stegosaurus’ body outside of the habitat as the presence of an expired tadpole can cause natural bacteria too grow.
Please feel free to email us or call our toll free consumer services line at (888) 742-2484 if you have any further questions.
Thank you,
Jenn
Consumer Services
Uncle Milton IndustriesAnd my response back:
Jenn,
I appreciate your prompt response. My grieving heart has found solace in the fact that a stranger cares about my beloved tadpoles and me.My heart still aches for Stegosaurus, but I know she would want me to go on with my life. Therefore, I would love a second tadpole. Please tell your uncle to send one to my work address, so that I may begin the healing process as soon as possible.
Although I am an avid fan of Jonathan Swift, I will take the size of the new tadpole into consideration before letting him/her befriend Pterodactyl. I do not want the blood of another dead aquatic lifeform on my hands.
If you feel the shipment needs to be delayed based on the weather, please feel free to do that. I’d much rather have a healthy tadpole than an unhealthy one due to our cold snap. I would like to request that my new baby gets shipped before pollen season begins, as I’ve read recent studies that pollen allergies are common in tadpoles and have the terrible side-effect of stunting their growth.
Thank you for caring,
Elizabeth
I’m impressed with their high level of customer service. I can’t wait for my new tadpole to arrive!
Tadpoles [Livejournal]
Do you have a need for free refined carbohydrates that can’t wait for Tuesday’s free pancakes at IHOP? Head to your nearest Auntie Anne’s pretzel shop between 10 AM and 3 PM tomorrow, [Free Pretzel Day]
The Pennsylvania school district accused of using school-issued laptops to spy on their students insists that their ability to activate the computers’ webcams from anywhere is a security feature. Oh, but school employees told students earlier that the lights next to their webcams were coming on now and then due to a “glitch.”
In an email sent to school district families and reprinted by Gizmodo, the district superintendent explained:
Laptops are a frequent target for theft in schools and off school property. District laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. The security feature, which was disabled today, was installed to help locate a laptop in the event it was reported lost, missing or stolen so that the laptop could be returned to the student.
Upon a report of a suspected lost, stolen or missing laptop, the feature was activated by the District’s security and technology departments. The security feature’s capabilities were limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator’s screen. This feature was only used for the narrow purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop. The District never activated the security feature for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever.
Which is pretty funny, because students in that school also contacted Gizmodo earlier this week, saying that students who sought tech support after the green light next to their MacBooks’ webcams seemed to randomly turn on were told that it was a glitch.
So the webcam activation feature is a security feature, only activated when a laptop is reported stolen. We can get behind that. Except that it was seemingly randomly activated on non-stolen laptops for reasons not yet disclosed. Okay then.
Suit: School-issued laptops used to spy on kids on Main Line [Philadelphia Inquirer] (Thanks, Eric and GitEmSteveDave!)
Laptop-Spying School District Superintendent Covers Ass By Claiming Security Feature [Gizmodo]
Update: Students Knew “MacBook Cameras Turned On Randomly” as School Administrators Gave Technical Excuses [Gizmodo]
PREVIOUSLY:
Public School Issued Laptops To Students With Webcam Spy Software Included
After the Eggo waffle saga, readers implored us to find the whereabouts of another iconic [to vegetarians] American prepared food: the Morningstar Farms veggie dog. The dogs disappeared from stores nationwide sometime in the summer of 2009, but have never returned.
If you’re wondering what’s so special about these dogs: let me come clean. I, too, am a Morningstar Farms veggie dog addict. In more than a decade of searching, they are the only remotely edible meatless hot dogs I have ever found.
All posts on the company’s Facebook page are filled with off-topic comments from desperate customers who are also in the throes of veggie dog withdrawal. Here’s the official statement on their web site:
I cannot find your Morningstar Farms® American Original Veggie Dogs, corn dogs, or mini corn dogs in my stores. Can you help me find them?
Answer:
We are sorry to tell you that our Morningstar Farms® Veggie Dog products – Morningstar Farms® America’s Original Veggie Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Mini Corn Dogs, and Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs, made with Natural Ingredients have been discontinued. It is always difficult for us to make the decision to discontinue a product, as we know it is always someone’s favorite. At this time, there are no plans to reintroduce these items.
Noooooooo!
At first, readers report that Morningstar promised that the franks would return soon, and the shortage was only temporary. Reader Teresa found evidence of a recall of Morningstar’s veggie corn dogs in May 2009.
Reason for Recall: We are taking this precaution after a routine regulatory agency audit
of a co-manufacturer’s operation indicated that these products may have been
packaged in an environment that was not in full compliance with regulations governing
current good manufacturing practices. In discussions with the FDA, they advised that
this be classified as a Class II recall, which the agency defines as a situation where the
probability of serious adverse health consequence is remote.
We went to the source. A spokesperson for Kellogg Company, owner of the Morningstar Farms brand, had this to say:
Morningstar Farms Veggie Dog products have been discontinued due to issues involving the supplier. It is a difficult decision to stop offering a product because we know it is always someone’s favorite. There are no specific plans to reintroduce these items at this time.
The specific products being discontinued are Morningstar Farms America’s Original Veggie Dogs, Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs, Morningstar Farms Mini Corn dogs, and Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs Made with Natural Ingredients.
But… but… that’s the same thing the web site says!
Ultimately: sorry, veggie dog fans, but after three months of research, we were not able to turn up the ultimate fate of the soy-laden goodness.
Tax Cat here! Filing your income taxes can be even more unpleasant than going to the vet for shots. Especially if, like reader Fletcher, you dutifully filled out your tax return and discovered an ugly surprise: you owe more money than you expected. A lot more.
He writes:
Here is my question: This is my 3rd year filing taxes; the past two years I have done it online for free, it was easy and I got some $ back from the government. Awesome. This time when I put my info in on sites like h&r block & turbotax, they seem to think I should give the federal government $862, and the state government $386, which seems insane.
I made ~$27,000 last year, I bought a new car, and I definitely don’t have any money (let alone extra,) to fork over. I asked my brother who is older and wiser what to do and he thinks I should go to a private accountant, but I’m worried that I will end up paying for them to tell me that I owe the same amount. What should I do? Sack up and pay them or go to an accountant?
Unfortunately, Fletcher, your situation is all too common. I have the pertinent information from your W-2 here in my paws. As you guessed, you had too little money withheld from each paycheck, and the total federal income tax that the free services tell you that you owe for 2009 (about $1500, including what was already withheld) is appropriate for your income level.
If you rent your home, have no kids or other dependents, have accounted for any student loan interest, and don’t qualify for any other exciting tax credits or deductions, your tax return is relatively simple. Unless your local tax preparation place has a time machine and/or does things that are blatantly illegal, there’s not much they’ll be able to do to help. Save the money you’d spend on an accountant. “Sack up” and put it toward the taxes you owe. Then change your withholding for 2010.
To avoid Fletcher’s fate, if you’re just starting your first job (or just starting your first job where you get paid enough to actually owe taxes) you’ll need to learn how to fill out your paperwork correctly so you’re not stuck coughing up a few grand in the spring. Be sure to check out this classic New York Times article which explains how to fill out your W-4 in order to make sure this won’t happen again.
The Walker family, who live in a 150-person village in England, would like to upgrade their dialup Internet connection to broadband. Unfortunately, in order to do that, British Telecom insists that they would need to install higher capacity equipment for the entire village, and send the Walkers the £45,000 ($69,788) bill.
It probably goes without saying that BT has a monopoly.
They quoted for the cost of removing the box plus “40 joint bosses, 637 metres of fibre copper cable and 1,341 metres of mole ploughing cable”.
Mr Walker accused the company of abusing its network monopoly because he had switched phone supplier and had been intent on using a different broadband supplier, even though BT still owns and maintains the equipment.
He said: “They seem to be wanting us to pay for equipment which will upgrade the whole village, and that’s what makes it more galling.
“We just want the same crap broadband service as everybody else in the village but BT won’t even let us have that.”
Well, at least they’re not trying to convince anyone that the faster broadband will burn their house down.
Couple told by BT that broadband upgrade would cost £45,000 [Telegraph]
You know that your iPhone was made in China, but do you really know where it came from? Reuters recently looked inside the mainland China factories of Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn–manufacturer of many of Apple’s best-known devices, including the iPhone. Or just parts of them, since Apple is known for having different parts of a device made in by different companies entirely in order to protect proprietary information.
Journalists found a company as obsessed with secrecy as Apple itself. Which is saying a lot. Think it’s hard to get out of Walmart carrying a large item without showing a receipt? Try taking pictures of a Foxconn factory.
In China, a Reuters reporter found out the hard way how seriously some Apple suppliers take security.
Tipped by a worker outside the Longhua complex that a nearby Foxconn plant was manufacturing parts for Apple too, our correspondent hopped in a taxi for a visit to the facility in Guanlan, which makes products for a range of companies.
As he stood on the public road taking photos of the front gate and security checkpoint, a guard shouted. The reporter continued snapping photos before jumping into a waiting taxi. The guard blocked the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop, threatening to strip him of his taxi license.
The correspondent got out and insisted he was within his rights as he was on the main road. The guard grabbed his arm. A second guard ran over, and with a crowd of Foxconn workers watching, they tried dragging him into the factory.
The reporter asked to be let go. When that didn’t happen, he jerked himself free and started walking off. The older guard kicked him in the leg, while the second threatened to hit him again if he moved. A few minutes later, a Foxconn security car came along but the reporter refused to board it. He called the police instead.
It’s unlikely that the order to physically assault workers came directly from Apple.
For Apple suppliers, loose lips can sink contracts [Reuters] (via Macrumors – thanks,
Marnin would like some help from the Consumerist hive mind. He writes that his friend purchased a Proscan TV from a retailer that declared bankruptcy a week after the purchase. The TV, of course,
I have a story that is happening to a friend of mine and would like your readers input.
My friend bought 5 TVs from Bernies.com for his new house. The TVs sat in their boxes for one week until the rooms were ready for installation. Unfortunately, no one inspected the TVs upon delivery and when I arrived to start installing them noticed a medium sized break on the box and a corresponding bashed and cracked LCD screen.
I contacted Bernies and explained the situation to them and was happy to hear that there would be no problem returning the TV They would issue a FedEx return label and issue a credit (since they no longer had that TV in stock). That was on a Friday and the FedEx Pickup was scheduled for the following Monday.
Monday came and went and there was no FedEx Pickup.
On Tuesday I call FedEx and asked about the pickup and was told that it was cancelled because the account had been closed!
Well, I then went to Bernies.com to get the CS # and the site I saw last week was replaced with a new site announcing that Bernies had declared Bankruptcy!! All my calls to them went to full voicemail.
He started a dispute with his credit card, but I thought it might be faster if he contacted the manufacturer and have it repaired under warranty.
That avenue has lead him nowhere. The manufacturer, Proscan, has come up with several reasons no to repair the TV. From it wasn’t bought from an authorized reseller (there is no mention of an authorization program or a list of stores to buy from on their site).
Then he was told the LCD panel can’t be repaired (and their warranty said different), or it was a refurbished TV (there is no indication that it was refurbished).
So, dear readers. Should my friend pursue the manufacturer or wait out the credit card Co’s verdict?
My advice would be to wait out the credit card company’s verdict, and go from there. It sounds like the issue with the LCD is accidental damage that occurred either at the store or sometime during the delivery. Unless Proscan has a fabulous manufacturer’s warranty, this is unlikely.
Have you had similar dealings with the smoldering remains of Bernie’s? Have you done battle with Proscan for a warranty repair? Share your wisdom in comments.
Is it a good sign or a bad one for the American economy if Walmart’s sales are down nationwide? Does it mean that the affluent are back on their feet and no longer forced to shop downscale, or that none of us has any money at all?
If you live in the real world, you probably guessed “the second one.” You are correct.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart stores, said during the call that the same-store sales decline was fueled by a “slight drop in [customer] traffic to Wal-Mart stores in the fourth quarter” as well as a decline in the total value of purchases that customers were making at Wal-Mart.
Grocery and consumer electronics were impacted the most by price deflation while sales of health and wellness, and pharmacy products were strong, said Castro-Wright.
Wal-Mart said it expects same-store sales to be flat to “plus or minus 1%” in its first quarter
.
So, people are buying fewer TVs and frozen chicken fingers at Walmart, but still buying ibuprofen and shampoo. However, as Walmart goes, so goes the nation (a scary thought.) If all consumer spending is down, not just Walmart, that is a bad sign for the rest of the economy.
Wal-Mart suffers sales decline in key quarter [CNN Money]
You probably don’t want to be sandwiched between a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old on an airplane. Know who does, though? Their mother. Unfortunately, one parent, blogger Sierra Black, writes that US Airways is not terribly concerned with making sure that parents and children get to sit together. On a seven-hour flight. The airline placed Black and her two children in the center seats of three different rows in different parts of the plane, but no airline staff seemed to understand why she thought that this was a problem.
Here is a part of her lengthy account:
A word about security theater: I let this go on as long as I did because we were on an airplane, and I was afraid that if I stepped out into the aisle to pick up my crying baby, or moved one row back to comfort my daughter, I would be arrested for felony “acting weird on a plane and not listening to the stewardess flight attendant”. The TSA may not be able to keep bombs off our planes, but they certainly succeed at terrorizing me.
I also worried that I would arrested if I did not intervene quickly or effectively enough to stop my kids’ tantrums. It happens. Parents have been pulled off planes and charged with felonies for refusing to listen to a flight attendants absurd demands about their kids, and they’ve been pulled off of plans and stranded for failing to comfort them fast enough to make the other passengers happy.
And my family wonders why I get so stressed when I fly with my girls.
Anyway, eventually my terror of being arrested for leaving my seat against orders cancelled out my terror of being arrested for letting my kids cry and I scooped them both up and took over TWO ADJACENT SEATS. The
stewardessflight attendant just glared.Eventually, someone came to claim my contraband seat. She was a mom with a 9-yr-old boy in tow, and before she even tried to sit down, she grabbed the
stewardessflight attendant and insisted on having her seat moved because she had been assigned a seat two rows away from her son.The ever helpful
stewardessflight attendant told this woman she could not sit with her son or go to her assigned seat, and had to move to the opposite end of the plane. She was extremely rude about it.“Don’t give me that attitude!” the woman said. “I just want to sit down with my son.”
“Lady, we have BABIES that are being separated from their parents. Your child is old enough to sit alone,” she said.
NOTE: This was the only time on the entire flight that anyone from US Airways acknowledged in my hearing that my being separated from my toddler for a seven hour flight might be less than ideal. Every person I spoke to about it acted like I was being outrageous for expecting such a privilege, and stupid for thinking they could or would accomodate it.
The woman, to her amazing credit, said, “Don’t try that on me! You wouldn’t separate a baby from her parents. That would never happen. That is not happening. Now give me my seat.”
Yes, our seating snafu was so appalling that other passengers assumed the
stewardessflight attendant was lying about it to avoid helping them with their problems. I wish.All told, my sister and I counted at least five families with kids under 12 whose seat assignments would have forced the kids to fly alone. This in spite of the fact that airline policy prohibits minors from flying alone if they are under 12. We also saw two other families with teens or older relatives who had been separated.
Sierra eventually followed up with a polite but ultimately unhelpful representative from the airline’s executive customer service.
Here’s what Cynthia told me about US Airways seating policies:
- They are in fact first come first served, with no preference given to parents traveling with young children
- When parents are not assigned seats with their children, they are expected to deal with it by getting on the plane with the unacceptable seating and asking other passengers to swap with them.
- Flight attendants are supposed to help persuade other passengers to swap seats, but are not allowed to require anyone to move.
- Gate agents and customer service personnel are not allowed to change seat assignments; it has to be handled by a flight attendant on the plane.
- If satisfactory seating can’t be worked out, they will accommodate families on a later flight.
- In my case, the gate agents and flight attendants I spoke with probably declined my offer to go out on a later flight because they were confident they could resolve my problem – and they did, in the end, by getting other passengers to swap seats.
“The majority of the time, passengers are able to be seated,” Cynthia said.”We do rely on the cooperation of the other passengers.”
I asked the obvious question: What if they don’t cooperate? Would US Airways really let a two-year-old fly by herself, sandwiched between two strangers on a long flight?
“It’s not a situation that would normally happen because nobody wants to sit next to that child,” Cynthia told me.
It’s true that the vast majority of people will cede their seat to either the parent or the child in this situation, but is “oh, we’re sure someone will switch seats with you” a valid official policy?
US Airways Hates Families and Kids [ChildWild]
US Airways: Polite, Still Not Helpful [ChildWild]
If your child has a school-issued laptop, you may want to leave it closed whenever possible, or just cover up its built-in webcam. A family in Pennsylvania has accused their son’s school district of installing software on school-issued laptops that allows officials to spy on students at any time through the laptops’ webcams.
The lawsuit claims that the school district used a webcam shot as evidence of mysterious “improper behavior” at home on the part of the student. The high school’s vice president confirmed to the parents that the school district can remotely activate webcams to spy on students.
…the School District in fact has the ability to remotely activate the webcam contained in a students’ [sic] personal laptop computer issued by the School District at any time it chose and to view and capture whatever images were in front of the webcam, all without the knowledge, permission or authorization of any persons then and there using the laptop computer.
Additionally, by virtue of the fact that the webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it. Defendants have never disclosed to either the Plaintiffs [the family] or to the Class members [all other students and their families] that the School District has the ability to capture webcam images from any location in which the laptop computer is kept.
Is this for real, or is it the product of a misunderstanding between paranoid family and a technologically confused school administrator? We’ll keep you posted.
And we thought tech support spies were bad.
School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home [BoingBoing] (Thanks, GitEmSteveDave!)
RELATED:
Woman Accuses Dell Tech Support Of Launching Her Webcam Without Permission
Our colleagues at Consumer Reports taste-tested frozen diet meals recently, finding them not just refreshingly frog-free, but surprisingly tasty!
Like most packaged food, the meals do have a substantial amount of sodium, so eating them at every meal is probably unwise for your health’s sake.
Best Tasting Frozen Diet Meals [Consumer Reports]
Jennifer writes that she purchased a Christmas gift from a third-party seller through Amazon, but was disappointed with the condition in which the item arrived–the exterior packaging was crushed. She wasn’t happy with the seller’s proposed $2 refund on the more than $20 she had paid for expedited shopping, but
I was shocked to receive this email in my inbox today:
Greetings from Amazon.com.
We’re writing to let you know we processed your refund of $45.20 for your Order [redacted] from [third-party seller].
This refund is for the following item(s):
Item: 5×5 Rubik’s Cube
Quantity: 1
ASIN: [redacted]
Reason for refund: Account adjustmentHere’s a the breakdown of your refund for this item:
Item Refund: $23.81
Shipping Refund: $21.39I bought a fancy 5×5 Rubik’s cube for my boyfriend for Christmas through Amazon Marketplace. The Marketplace Seller shipped the cardboard boxed item in a bubble envelope, and by the time the product got to me the box was in a state that was just unacceptable. Since it was so close to Christmas I just taped it up and gave it to him. But if I had been buying this at the store, I would have certainly received a large discount, or they might not have sold it at all. I submitted a complaint to the seller via Amazon’s provided communication methods and got the following response:
I’m very sorry your package arrived damaged. If you would like to return the package we can offer a refund. If you would like to keep the package we can offer a $2 refund for the packaging damaged. Please let us know.
Thanks!I thought that was pretty unacceptable, so I submitted an official claim through the A-to-Z marketplace:
I picked this storefront because the product clearly included the packaging, and since I was giving it as a gift that was important to me.
But because it was shipped in a padded envelope and not a box, that packaging was torn and beaten up when it arrived. Needless to say I’m pretty unhappy with the situation, seeing as I paid extra for this particular product, and an extra $20 on top of that for expedited shipping.A full refund was way more than I expected. So congrats to Amazon for realizing that when they don’t have control of quality in situations like the Marketplace, they’ll have to account for that in order to make long-time customers happy. While I was fairly frustrated at Amazon before, I’m very impressed now!
Have you always wanted to use an Internet-enabled collar and a Twitter feed to keep up with what your dog is up to when you’re out of view? Me either, but Mattel thinks that there might be a market for this sort of thing, and will bring Puppy Tweets to market this summer.
The collar detects when your dog moves or make a sound, then randomly selects one of 500 pre-written tweets to post to Twitter (Twitter). Your dog has to be within a reasonable distance of the room with your computer in it, though; the tweets are sent wirelessly from the collar to a USB receiver that has to be plugged into a supported Internet-connected device.
Since the selection is random, the tweets don’t really represent what your dog is doing. It’s more a placebo that reminds you that your beloved pet is out there doing something, whatever it is. They’re cute though. A couple examples: “I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing, and . . . OOUUUCHH!” and “I bark because I miss you. There, I said it. Now hurry home.”
Ha ha. Sigh. Then again, I sometimes enjoy reading the exploits of Twitter’s @commonsquirrel, so I can’t really talk.
Tweeting Dog Collar Posts Your Dog’s Movements to Twitter [Mashable]
Chris writes that while closing a Chase credit card, he had to decide what to do with his leftover rewards credit. He tried to donate his rewards to charity, but learned that $16 isn’t enough to be considered a valid donation. Bwuh?
I just closed a credit card with Chase yesterday. I had $16 in “rewards.” I told Chase to donate it to Haiti but apparently they only take donations in $25 increments. I then just said to them, “do whatever you want with it.” I was being charged around 26% interest with them and just needed to get out.
$16 not worth donating? Come on.
It could be that rewards simply can’t be redeemed at all until they reach $25, but closing a card forever and donating the reward balance to charity has to count for something, doesn’t it?
Next time, just tell them they can keep the money and use it to help repay TARP funds.
Phill tells Consumerist that he saw a pricing error on cereal at his local Safeway, and brought it to the attention of store employees. In the process, he tried to invoke Safeway’s price guarantee. After all, if the cereal was marked 28 cents per pound (instead of 28 cents per ounce, as it should have been) why shouldn’t Phill be able to buy it at that price? Yet the store employees would hear none of it.
On December 8th, 2009, I went shopping at my local rural Washington Safeway to purchase, among other things, some cereal. I noticed that all the General Mills cereals were priced at $2.50 a box, but also $0.28 per pound. This was clearly a pricing error, as that would make each box of cereal $0.14, as they are about a half a pound each. I brought two different boxes of cereal to the front counter, and started checking out. When the cereal was rung up, it came at the $2.50 price. I pulled out my phone and showed them the per pound price and said, “I would like to pay the lowest printed price for this item.”
The employee called over a manager, let’s call her Ms. K, who said, “That label is supposed to say per ounce, not per pound.” I replied, “Yes, I understand what it is supposed to say, however, I’d like to pay what it actually says.” She then repeated, “It’s supposed to say per ounce, so I can’t give you the price printed.”
I pointed then to the sign on the register which read: “We guarantee the accuracy of our electronic checkout system. Safeway will give you the item free, if the price on the detailed receipt is different (higher or lower) than indicated in ads or shown on the shelf price tag.” I said, clearly this must be a pricing error then, because the shelf price tag is not the same as the price that it rang up as. I would like to redeem this guarantee please.
Ms. K laughed in my face then said, “Nice try. You can buy your Cheerios at $2.50 or you can put them back.” Her rudeness of tone is difficult to convey in text, but she was very standoffish — clearly offended that I had even brought it up.
Not looking to delay the customers behind me, I conceded and just didn’t buy the cereal. I did, however, submit a complaint to Safeway’s website. I got a response promising I would be contacted further to discuss the event. I never heard another word. So I tried twice more to get in touch with them, and each time they promised to get back to me to discuss it further.
At this point, it’s been nearly a month and a half, and I’ve heard nothing. So I decided I would share my story with the Consumerist, as Safeway clearly isn’t listening.
Let’s put this up before the court of public opinion.
Reader Deejmer had a lovely experience at Brookstone that he couldn’t help but share. He writes that he received a wireless speaker as a gift and grew to love it. When the device died, he couldn’t produce the receipt, but his local store was happy to exchange it out for him. Yay!
Hello mighty Consumerist….I have written a few times with things I wanted to call out about companies because I have been wronged (although never published, but hopefully this time is different). But this time I have one of the stories I love reading on the site….when companies do RIGHT by the consumer.
In June of this year, I was given an indoor/outdoor wireless speaker and transmitter as a gift for Fathers day, sold by Brookstone. (http://www.brookstone.com/indoor-outdoor-wireless-speakers.html?his=2~46337~2~root_category%40kwd~speaker&bkiid=searchResults|C4CategoryProdList1FDT|7141633)
Now, let me first say I’ve never thought I’d want anything from Brookstone….I’ve always thought it was all gimmicky electronics and stuff that served no real purpose. And when I opened the box, I thought it to be an odd contraption (as you can see in the photo). But after using it, I realized it sounded amazingly great for its size, was portable when needed, and looked kinda kewl with the blue LEDs doing their thing. I actually liked it! That is….until I lost the A/C power adapter. 🙁
I had put batteries in it after losing the adapter, and worked fine. I fired it up last week after having not used it in a while, and no power…ugh. I figured the batteries were out of ‘juice’, and instead of investing $4000 in 8 D batteries, I thought I’d call Brookstone to get the A/C adapter replaced. I dropped a few bucks on it, and when it arrived I discovered it actually still did not work, and instead when I turned it on it just made that acrid smell of burning electronics. I was instantly saddened.
Well, I called the local Brookstone at a mall near my house (West County Mall in St. Louis, MO), and talked with a friendly store manager, Eric. He asked if I had a receipt, and had to say “no” because it was a gift. I even confessed that I never keep the boxes for these things either. He said “You know, its outside of our policy….not even a way for me to do this in my computer system”. I thought, oh here we go. I’m stuck with this broke thing and there’s nothing I can do about it. Despite the fact I’m calling him on a lazy Sunday, he then volunteers “You know, let me call my district manager to see what can be done for you….I’ll call you right back”. Again, being a skeptical Consumerist reader, I thought: 1) yeah right, he’ll never call back 2) if he does call back, its all a front to pretend his boss said ‘hell no’.
To my surprise, about an hour later I get a call saying “Hi there, this is Eric up at Brookstone. Just bring the speaker up and we’ll be happy to replace it”
Wow.
I went up there an hour later, went to see Eric, and I handed him the old swag. He pops open a brand new speaker, gives me the new device and all the components (he had to keep the box to send the defective one back) and sent me on my way. He didn’t have me sign anything, didn’t ask for my SSN, fist born’s blood type or anything! I shook his hand, and informed him that he just made himself a Brookstone customer for a long time to come. Thanks Eric, I’ll be seeing you again!
Note: I’m also CC’ing Brookstone Customer Support as well, to let them know what a fantastic employee they have working in their store, and a district manager who cares enough to follow through. I hope that they are recognized for representing their company well.
Michael just fired this EECB off to Best Buy. Apparently, not all stores have received the metaphorical (and literal) memo that they shouldn’t (1) Geek Squad optimize every computer in the store, and (2) be total dicks about it.
Michael writes:
I wanted to relate another horror story about shopping in your stores. I just purchased two NV53XX gateway laptops from the store in [redacted]. I went in knowing EXACTLY what I wanted… I wanted to get my wife a laptop as well too.
While she was deciding what she wanted I asked the store person to get my choice in laptop. He then attempted to sell me the geek squad services, which I politely declined and informed him I work on, troubleshoot, and repair computers for a living. He became upset with me when he offered an “optimized” laptop and I declined.
He began to argue with me and told me that I must register (and pay for) these services or I could not buy the laptops and that is how things are done in the best buy stores. I was then informed (what I was introduced as the manager, just to find out he was a department manager) I cannot purchase these laptops (we ended up with a matched pair) unless I also bought the geek services as well because we know how unreliable the parts in these laptops are… or so I was told… he then began to tell me he was in school to fix computers and his knowledge of these computers is better than mine, I was told that I was not allowed to buy the computers without these services.
I then told him I will go spend my $1,100.00 somewhere else and will inform Gateway as well as all the other manufacturers of the “new” requirement of the geek services purchases for the purchases of their computers. These Gestapo sales practices are offensive to me at best.
During this verbal struggle, another customer asked me for a bit of advice on the computer I was buying as well, he heard that I work for the Army’s I/T, and I was recommending to him the laptop that I was buying, the original sales agent came between us (me and the other customer) and stated that they are on commission and he (the employee) was offended and should not listen to me as I don’t know what I am talking about.
I was then told (by the “manager”) that I can get my laptops and leave. The original employee, picked up my laptops and made a beeline for the service center desk where he stood by the laptops while someone else check me out, until I swiped my card where he walked mumbling how “these people are so stupid”. This is not the first time I had a foul not bad but foul experience at this store… I PROMISE THIS WILL BE MY LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would have turned on my heel and taken my money elsewhere, but sometimes the need for a computer can’t wait.
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