Comcast set to begin bandwidth capping come October 1st

 

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Youhear so much tough-talk and blustery grand-standing these days over data capping that it's hard to take any of it too seriously. A recent announcement by Comcast, however, is sending chills down the collective spine of Engadget (and seriously threatening to put a crunch on Thomas Ricker's... er, "movie" downloads). The company recently confirmed that it will begin capping its residential broadband service at 250GB per month (or roughly 124 SD movies) come October 1st, and could simply terminate customers who violate the cap more than twice. Of course, 250GB is a pretty large chunk of bandwidth, so you'll have to be entertaining some pretty hefty habits to break that bank. Then again, who likes the Man breathing down their pipeline?

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Washington Upholds ATT Customer's Right To Class Action [Arbitration, Schmarbitration]

 

In another step towards the impending demise of mandatory binding arbitration, a customer's right to file a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Wireless was upheld by Washington Supreme Court yesterday.

The court ruled the class-action waiver clause, included in every single cellphone contract and many other types of contracts, was "unconscionable," as it denied consumers basic protections. Here's the kill quote from the Opinion: "Courts will not be easily deceived by attempts to unilaterally strip away consumer protections and remedies by efforts to cloak the waiver of important rights under an arbitration clause."

Read full Supreme Court Ruling here.

Court says AT&T can't force arbitration [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] (Thanks to Mark!) (Photo: Todd Kravos)

CPSC Says Company Refuses To Recall Bassinets That Strangled Two Infants [Death]

 

The CPSC has issued a consumer alert, urging you to stop using Simplicity Inc.'s "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets after two infants died after being strangled by the product's metal bars. The company is refusing to cooperate with the CPSC and will not recall the product.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to stop using convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets manufactured by Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa. CPSC has learned that on August 21, 2008, a 5-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan. was strangled to death when she became entrapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. This is the second strangulation death CPSC has learned of in the co-sleeper bassinets. On September 29, 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo. became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died.

CPSC is issuing this safety alert because SFCA Inc., the company which purchased all of Simplicity Inc.’s assets at public auction in April 2008, has refused to cooperate with the government and recall the products. SFCA maintains that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity Inc.

The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under the federal crib safety standard. The metal bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by velcro. The fabric is folded down when the bassinet is converted into a bed-side co-sleeping position. If the velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate.

Infants Strangled to Death in Simplicity Bassinets: CPSC Urges Consumers To Stop Using Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible “Close-Sleeper” Models [CPSC]

Air Canada shaves fuel costs by eliminating life-jackets

 

Air Canada continues its race to the top of the list of the world's shittiest airlines by removing life-vests from its regional carrier Jazz, saving money on fuel in the process. In the event of a water crash, passengers can use their seat-cushions to float.

Cometo that, they can use their pillows: the last time I flew AC, you had to buy a "pillow" that consisted of a giant ziploc bag that you were supposed to inflate. Passengers in business class got the same "pillows," but they were "free" (except for the extra thousands of dollars for a business-class ticket).

Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stuart said Thursday that Transport Canada regulations allow airlines to use flotation devices instead of life vests, provided the planes remain within 50 miles of shore.

Safety cards in the seat pockets of Jazz aircraft now direct passengers to use the seat cushions as flotation devices.

Stuart says Jazz is a transcontinental carrier that doesn't fly over the ocean.

Jazz planes do fly over the Great Lakes and along the Eastern seaboard from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Boston, Massachusetts, and to New York.

Emphasis mine. Airline removes life vests to lighten planes(via Neatorama)

Yankees will drag you out of the stadium if you try to go to the bathroom during "God Bless America"

 

The Yankees are serious about their bizarre prohibition on going to the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America" during the Seventh Inning Stretch: a man was dragged out of the stadium for daring to stand up and move around instead of singing a patriotic, religious song. I really like Tommy Smothers's formulation of the principle at work here: "America, where you're free to say anything you want, and you'd better not say what you're not supposed to!"

The NYCLU seems inclined to follow through with last year's promise to sue the Yankees over their policy of confining fans to their seats during the national anthem and "God Bless America," which is played during the seventh inning stretch. Yesterday Red Sox fan Bradford Campeau-Laurion, a Queens resident, told us about his rough ejection from Yankee stadium at the hands of the NYPD after he tried to go to the men's room during the seventh inning's moment of mandatory nationalism Monday night.

NYPD Defends Ejecting Sox Fan from Yankee Stadium During "God Bless America"(Thanks, Bill!)

Who's Smiling Now? Enzyte Scammer Gets 25 Years In Prison [Enzyte]

 

Steve Warshak, founder of the company responsible for "Enzyte," has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $93,000, says the AP. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel also ordered the company, along with other defendants, to forfeit more than $500 million that it bilked from consumers.

According to federal prosecutors the scam involved preying on customer's reluctance to admit that they had ordered the "male enhancement" pills. Customers ordered the pills, but were unable to cancel or get a refund. A former VP of the company testified that Warshak required customers to provide notarized documents from a doctor proving that they had small genitals in order to get a refund.

If customers complained, he said, employees were instructed to "make it as difficult as possible" for them to get their money back. In some cases, Teegarden said, Warshak required customers to produce a notarized statement from a doctor certifying Enzyte did not work.

"He said it was extremely unlikely someone would get anything notarized saying they had a small penis," Teegarden said.

The judge had strong words for Warshak:

"This is a case about greed," Spiegel said as he reviewed the case. "Steven Warshak preyed on perceived sexual inadequacies of customers."

Warshak's 75-year-old mother was also sentenced to jail time, but it's unlikely that she will serve it because she's 75 and has cancer. Meanwhile, Warshak has 30 days to report to prison.

Ohio company owner gets 25 years in fraud case [Associated Press]

Consumers: We're Mad As Hell And We're Not Going To Charge It Anymore! [Credit Card Reform]

 

Once upon a time, Peter Finch won an Oscar for telling us to go to our window, open it, and yell, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!" Now thousands and thousands of consumers are doing just that, but instead of yelling out their windows, they're yelling at the Federal Reserve in the form of a record breaking number of public comments about some proposed credit card reforms. Not as sexy as yelling like a madman, but far, far more effective.

From BusinessWeek:

Many consumers say it's about time. The rules were proposed just as the U.S. economy started to tank, when many card holders were falling further behind on their payments at the same time home equity lines of credit were drying up and jobs were disappearing. Regulatory agencies came under fire to act, and Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) held hearings this spring to examine card company billing practices.

The proposed regulations generated more than 56,000 comments from individuals, banks, credit unions, and industry associations. That's a record number of submissions, says the Fed, beating the previous record of 45,000 submissions for a proposal that would have let financial firms assume the role of real estate brokers.

BusinessWeek says that since 1996 our nation's credit card debt has doubled to almost $1 trillion dollars. And unpaid credit card bills are growing fast as the economy sours. For their part, the credit card companies are trying to stop the bleeding by raising interest rates on otherwise "good" customers. And those customers have had enough.

Here's how the Federal Reserve describes the proposed reforms:

• Banks would be prohibited from increasing the rate on a pre-existing credit card balance (except under limited circumstances) and must allow the consumer to pay off that balance over a reasonable period of time.
• Banks would be prohibited from applying payments in excess of the minimum in a manner that maximizes interest charges.
• Banks would be required to give consumers the full benefit of discounted promotional rates on credit cards by applying payments in excess of the minimum to any higher-rate balances first, and by providing a grace period for purchases where the consumer is otherwise eligible.
• Banks would be prohibited from imposing interest charges using the "two-cycle" method, which computes interest on balances on days in billing cycles preceding the most recent billing cycle.
• Banks would be required to provide consumers a reasonable amount of time to make payments.

If you'd like to add your comment to the proposal, click here, then scroll down to "Proposals for Comment."

Federal Reserve Proposal Press Release [Federal Reserve]
Credit Card Rage [Business Week]

So-Called PBS "Production Company" Sues Blogger For $20 Million [Vision Media Television]

 

Don't blog about how a shady production company tried to rip you off for $25,000 or they'll sue you for $20 million. Vision Media Television is one of several different alleged ripoff artists who frequently target non-profit and socially-aware groups, promising a big TV special aired on PBS and/or other major networks showcasing the group. The show is supposedly anchored by ex-20/20 anchor Hugh Downs and will reach millions upon millions of people. The catch? The organization has to pay for the production costs up-front, which run into the tens of thousands of dollars...and the show never goes on TV.

Complaints litter the internet about this company and its ilk. Some say that if you're lucky, you end up with a stack of shoddily-made DVDs, a documentary that never airs at all, and none of the promised PR.

And after one blogger, Leslie Richards, a small eco-fashion business owner, wrote about an attempted shakedown by Vision Media Television, they sued her for $20 million, saying the blog post cost them $5 million in lost business and seeking $15 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit is filed in the Southern District of Florida, a bit of a problem for her as she's based in North Carolina and doesn't have a car or much money. Leslie told the Mountain Xpress, “Who has $20 million? At $20 million, legal-aid organizations generally won’t help you. Since it’s filed in the Southern District of Florida, not a lot of lawyers here are licensed to practice there...I don’t have a car, I don’t have money, so we’re trying to get it transferred here so I can find someone to represent me pro bono."

Any pro-bono lawyers out there who want to help Leslie out can contact her at info@theokobox.com.

Vision Media Television defends its actions, saying that it only distributes the programs to public television stations, which air them at their "discretion," and blames its "customers" for confusing public television with PBS. Judging by the fact that PBS has an explicit disclaimer on its website denying any relationship between itself and Vision Media Television and other similar groups, this appears to be a confusion that Vision Media Television is not, shall we say, working very hard to erase.

Other production groups to watch out for: New Line Media TV, New Line Media, Platinum Television Group, PTG Studios, Paradigm Media Group, PMG, PMGTV, Infinity Media Group, Roadshow Productions, Family Television Studios, United Media Communications Group, American Review TV, Business Break TV, Event Media TV, and Global Television Studios.

I wonder if Vision Media Television, based in Boca Raton, Florida, a known haven for spammers, scammers, telemarketers,identity thieves, and other various ne're-do-wellers, will also be suing the New York Times, which just ran an article exposing the company and its brethren.

Scam Taking Advantage of Green Businesses [The Öko Box]
Company Pitches a Television Production, and Nonprofit Groups Are Wary [NYT]
Local Business Owner Sued For 20 Million Over Blog Post [Mountainx]
Blogger Sued 20 Million [Blogher]
Eco Clothing Store Owner Sued For 20m After Exposing Scam [Earthfirst]
Platinum Television Group Complaints [Ripoff Report]
New Line Media Complaints [Ripoff Report]

Car Dealership Disguises Junk Mail As Traffic Ticket [Badvertising]

 

Reader Sandra thinks Feeny Dodge in Elgin, IL should rethink this advertisement, which is disguised as a traffic ticket.

Sandra says:

I received the following advertisement in the mail today. It comes from a Feeny Dodge dealership in Elgin, Illinois. However, it came in an envelope marked "Traffic Division - Department of Ticket Disbursements" from Carol Stream, IL. I thought it was a traffic ticket so I opened the letter. I was surprised to learn that it was actually an advertisement for a local car dealership! Seriously, how low will a company go to get you to read their junk mail?

This is just sad. We were curious about the official-sounding stuff about consulting the F010 section of the DMM so we looked it up. It's the section of the official domestic mail manual that deals with Nondelivery of Mail. Tee hee. How authentic.

TSA declares war on large breasts

 

A large-breasted woman flying from Oakland to Boston was accosted by the TSA when the underwire in her bra set off the magnetometer. She was given a choice: allow her breasts to be fondled or give up on flying. Instead, she raised a stink:

Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor. He told her that underwire bras were the leading item that set off the metal detectors, Kates said.

If that's the case, Kates said, the equipment must be overly sensitive. And if the TSA is engaging in extra brassiere scrutiny, then other women are suffering similar humiliation, Kates thought.

The Constitution bars unreasonable searches and seizures, Kates reminded the TSA supervisor, and scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable, she said.

The supervisor told her she had the choice of submitting to a pat-down in a private room or not flying. Kates offered a third alternative, to take off her bra and try again, which the TSA accepted.

Arbitrary, no-exceptions "security" rules unduly punish innocents -- people with surgical pins in their bodies are now subject to discriminatory treatment when they fly, as are those whose names are similar to aliases used by suspected terrorists, and they're now joined by women with large breasts. Free societies shouldn't punish the innocent to get at the guilty.Delayed by her bra, air passenger is indignant(Thanks, Kevin!)

Meet Leverage Connections, King Of The Robocallers [Leverage Connections]

 

Last week we reported that some types of unwanted robocall telemarketing will soon be banned. If you're on the receiving end of Leverage Connections' prerecorded harassment—they frequently operate under the generic names "Consumer Services" or "Credit Card Services"—you'll finally have a way to formally complain to the FTC about them. Why would you want to complain? Because they're the scammiest, most obnoxious robocall telemarketing company we've seen so far—even though what they do is apparently legal.

Leverage Connections will call you with a recorded message that says they're calling about your credit card, and to push 1. If you fall for that and push the button, you're connected to a commission-only employee who's been told to hang up immediately at the first sign of critical thinking. This includes trying to finish the sentence, "Do not call me again."

If you're the gullible type, however, they'll keep you on the phone and tell you how they can lower your credit card rate... for a fee. What they do, it turns out, is contact the credit card company and ask for a lower rate on your behalf.

Yes, this is the same thing you can do on your own. They'll charge you around $1000-1500 for this service.

A reader wrote to us,

I have received 2-3 calls a week for over a year now. I have filed numerous, useless, complaints with the FTC, the Florida AG's office, the California AG's office ( I reside in CA) and the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. All to no avail. This company called me yet again this morning.

A person who claims to have worked for them says they hire off of CraigsList and "magic marker signs" around town. The interview consists of being asked if you can sell, and if you say yes you're put on the phone (and told to hang up if the people on the other end start asking questions). He points out, "Thus, anyone could have access to your private information." He also says,

I understand they're an automated system that will call anyone and everyone, mostly elderly, and even those on the "do not call list." We just hung up on everyone who did not say yes and hitting the #2 does nothing. There is nothing to stop the calls. We just hang up on any person who didn't sound like they were interested.

Another person on the same forum says he contacted Leverage Communications via their toll free number:

I spoke to "Eli" who told me that they do not have to abide by DoNotCall regulations because they only leave a message - and by selecting the option you are actually calling them. He claims they are working on behalf of the major credit card companies.

...They have been calling me up to three times a week for the past year.

So will their calls dry up come December 1st, 2008? We doubt it, but they'll be in direct violation of the telemarketing sales rule if their recorded messages don't lead off with a working option to end calls from their company. Make sure you take careful notes of when they call and whether or not they offer an automated option to get off the list, and file a complaint with the FTC if you need to.

(Thanks to Michael!)
(Photo of telephone: Getty)

Air Canada Cuts Inflatable Life Vests In Order To Save Fuel [Air Canada]

 

Airlines are cutting things like entertainment units, snacks and beverages in order to raise revenue and cut fuel costs, but what about those inflatable life vests? Do we need those? Air Canada's regional airline "Jazz" doesn't think so.

From the Nova Scotia News:

The Toronto Star reported Saturday that Jazz, Air Canada’s regional affiliate, plans to reduce fuel consumption by dropping commercial life vests from its flights, which will amount to about 25 kilograms less aboard its Dash-8 planes with 50 seats.

The move will leave passengers holding onto their seats — or at least their floating seat cushions — in the event the plane ditches and they hit the water alive.

Transport Canada regulations allow airlines to use flotation devices, a secondary option for other carriers, instead of life vests as long as the planes remain within 90 kilometers of shore. A Jazz official said a number of its East Coast routes were adjusted so the planes met that requirement, the Star reported.

One former airline CSR interviewed for the report wondered what would happen to infants and people who couldn't grab on to their seat cushions...

"If you have an infant (and) you don’t have a (life vest), you’re hanging on to the cushion," he said. "Are they saying, ‘Hang onto the cushion with one arm and your baby with another?’

"I mean, who comes up with these things?"

What do you think?

Does Cutting Life Vests From Airplanes Bother You?
( polls)

Airline ditches life vests to save on fuel [NSN](Thanks, Aaron !)

Airlines Have Bumped 343,000 Passengers This Year

 

Over a quarter-million passengers were bumped from flights in the past eight months, a number that is set to grow as airlines try to boost anemic profits by slashing fleets. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to compensate bumped passengers with cash or vouchers, but savvy passengers can leverage their situation to negotiate heftier payments...

Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket.

Even stricter rules apply in Europe, where compensation ranges from 125 euros (about $185) to 600 euros (about $888), depending on the length of the flight and the amount of time the passenger will be delayed.

Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the passenger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a return flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline.

Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough volunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and also obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation and even plane tickets.

Baiting the bump is a proud tradition for many thrifty travelers. If negotiating provides a cathartic prelude to vacation, read our guide for getting bumped.

If your trip can't wait for vouchers and cash, we also have a handy guide for holding onto your seat.

As Overbooked Flights Rise, So Do Payoffs for Those Who Are Bumped [The New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Circuit City Firedog Charges $40 To 'Fix' Computer You Just Bought [Firedogs]

 

Trent writes that a friend of his just bought a new computer from Circuit City, and after turning down all of the Firedog's "it won't work unless you also buy this" offers, he noticed a $40 fee on his receipt. Turns out the associate claims he had to flash the computer's BIOS or Vista wouldn't work. Trent writes, "Regardless of the fact that Vista booted up just fine with out the update, he was more disturbed with the fact that Circuit City would sell him a computer that they knew didn't work, or so they say." So does Circuit City sell computers that don't work without a preliminary repair, or do they lie in order to generate extra fees?

A colleague of mine recently purchased a new Acer desktop for his dad from Circuit City in Lancaster, PA. After the checkout process he noticed a $40 charge from Firedog on his receipt. When he questioned the Circuit City employee about the charge, she replied "Firedog had to fix the computer by updating the bios."

He had seen an advertisement in a local newspaper for a desktop that he felt was a good buy. He knew that his dad was still using an aging desktop and thought this system would be perfect for the kind of tasks his dad uses the computer for. So he drove 30 minutes to pick up the system to give his dad later that evening. When he got to Circuit City, he quickly picked it out proceeded to an employee to purchase system. The first thing out of the sales associates mouth were, "You'll need to upgrade the system if you plan on using it for anything beyond surfing the web.".

A little history about my friend, he is the new systems purchaser for the company we work for. He knows about hardware and software and what they are capable of doing. He is NOT an inexperienced buyer when it comes to computers.

So he turned down the video card upgrade, the hard drive upgrade and memory upgrade that the sales associated recommended he would need. Of course all of these upgrades were services that Firedog could perform for a fee. He told the sales associate, "Look, I know what I'm buying and this is all I need.". After convincing the sales associate of this, they finally started the check out process. So he slides his credit card through and signs for the purchase. The sales associate hands him his receipt and he is on his way to his dad's with his new computer. Until, after a quick scan of the receipt, he notices a $40 charge from Firedog. He turns right around and asks the sales associate what the line item was for. The sales associate replies that Firedog needed to setup Windows Vista and flash the bios for the computer to work.

What?

To which he replies, "So you setup Vista, which was working just fine in order to update the bios?". Yes, says the sales associate. Regardless of the fact that Vista booted up just fine with out the update, he was more disturbed with the fact that Circuit City would sell him a computer that they knew didn't work or so they say. Unfortunately, he was short on time and did not press the issue in the store. Later the next day he sent off an email to the Firedog supervisor for the store explaining his disappointment in the nickel and dime charge.

Back to school shoppers beware!!!

Trent, your friend shouldn't stop with the Firedog supervisor of the store. He should contact Circuit City's executive level and let them know that you specially refused any additional "help" from this Firedog associate, only to have him meddle with your purchase without your consent and then charge you for it. They owe your friend a $40 refund.

Mayor shuts down home produce stand operated by kids

 

Clayton,California Mayor Gregg Manning is punishing two little kids for taking the initiative to sell their own garden produce from a card table in front of their house.

Manning ordered police to raid their operation because the neighborhood isn't zoned for commerce, and because it constituted an imaginary traffic hazard.

Clayton Mayor Gregg Manning ... wonders what Katie and Sabrina might do with that produce stand if the zoning laws weren't enforced.

"They may start out with a little card-table and selling a couple of things, but then who is to say what else they have. Is all the produce made there, do they make it themselves? Are they going to have eggs and chickens for sale next," said Manning.

Eggs and chickens? The horror.

Young girls fight produce stand closure (via Reason)

FTC Listens To Your Complaints, (Mostly) Bans Telemarketer Robocalls [Telemarketing]

 

After reviewing the more than 14,000 comments left by living human beings, the FTC yesterday amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule to ban most types of robotic telemarketing calls. By this December, any recorded calls will have to lead off with an automated opt-out option; by September 2009, telemarketers will need prior written permission to contact someone—simply being a recent customer won't cut it.

Of course, there are still exceptions.

Health care-related calls subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 are still allowed, as are charitable fundraising robocalls made to members of the nonprofit charitable organization for which the call is placed, or to people who previously donated to it. The fundraising calls must still include an automated opt-out, however.

The strict limits won't stop robocalls from political campaigns, either."Political calls are not placed for the purpose of inducing purchases of goods or services, and therefore are not 'telemarketing' within the meaning of the TSR," the FTC notes in a footnote of the amendment.

If you feel plagued by telemarketers, try the tips in our past posts for getting them to stop calling your, or for dealing with them effectively when they keep doing it.

"FTC all but bans robocalls" [CNET] (Thanks to Jason!)

Totally Fake Restaurant Wins Wine Spectator Award of Excellence [Wine Spectator]

 

Hey, did you know that with Microsoft Word, $250 and maybe a foreign language dictionary — your lemonade stand can get a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence? That's what one enterprising fellow set out to prove.

Dr. Vino says:

[Robin] Goldstein, the author of The Wine Trials has a posting up on his new website describing how he invented a restaurant name, Osteria l’Intrepido, a riff on “fearless.” Then he typed up a menu (”a fun amalgamation of somewhat bumbling nouvelle-Italian recipes”) and then put together a wine list, and submitted both to Wine Spectator–along with the $250 fee. The list was approved and given an Award of Excellence.

The best part is that Mr. Goldstein included "the lowest-scoring Italian wines in Wine Spectator over the past 20 years."

"I didn’t have any empirical evidence of the quality of the restaurants other than my own impressions,” he said. “I wanted to see what the standards of the Awards of Excellence were. The results speak for themselves."

Dr. Vino also notes that in a Times article from 2003, a reporter estimated that Wine Spectator was bringing in $625,275 from the award each year— and that was when the application fee was only $175.

Fictitious restaurant wins Wine Spectator Award of Excellence [Dr.Vino]

Friendly's Manager Outlaws Refunds, Demands That Employees Not Speak Her Name? [Friendlys]

 

There's something odd going on at reader Brian's local Friendly's. Brian and his wife ordered and paid for two sundaes, but when Friendly's discovered they were out of the flavor they'd requested, things got complicated. First, the employees refused to give Brian and his wife their money back because the manager doesn't allow refunds, then, when they asked to speak to the manager, not only would she not speak to them, but she also wouldn't allow the employees to say her name.

Here's Brian's letter:

I thought you might be interested in an unbelievable experience I recently had at a restaurant.

Last night I went to Friendly's restaurant to get ice cream. My wife and I each ordered a sundae with butter crunch ice cream. After we paid for them, the cashier realized that they were out of butter crunch. My wife is pregnant and has dietary restrictions that prevent her from eating chocolate or nuts - which rule out almost all of the other flavors. So, since they didn't have butter crunch, we just asked for our money back.

However, she told us that she isn't allowed to give refunds. The cashier explained that their manager had been giving too many refunds recently, and that the manager would get in trouble if she issued any more. So because they didn't want the manager to "get in trouble", they refused to give back our money - despite the fact that we had paid for two sundaes that they couldn't give us.

We then asked if we could speak to the manager about a refund. After a worker disappeared into the back for a few minutes, we were told that the manager was in the back and on the phone, so she couldn't come out. I was astonished that the manager refused to come out and help us deal with this issue. After waiting another 5-10 minutes, the employees told us that the manager would not be coming out from the back. I suspect that the manager was not even in the store and the "on the phone" excuse was just used to cover up for her.

We asked for the manager's name, and were told by three different employees that they aren't allowed to tell anyone her name. So not only did they refuse to let us speak to a manager, but they wouldn't give us her name! However, I managed to overhear one of the other workers mention the first name of the manager [redacted.] The employee looked terrified after realizing that the manager's name slipped in front of customers.

By the time we had been waiting at the counter for about twenty minutes, the cashier said that she would be willing to return the cost of one sundae. This was completely unacceptable, since we had paid for two sundaes that we never got!

Eventually, after about thirty minutes, one of the employees agreed to get one of the half gallons of butter crunch from the take-out freezer to make our sundaes. Finally we got the food we paid for and left.

So apparently the manager at this Friendly's restaurant:

— has instructed her employees not to issue refunds - even when they are fully justified - because she doesn't want to "get in trouble".

— has strictly forbidden her employees from even telling customers what her name is.

— refuses to talk to customers, even if they specifically ask to speak to her. In fact, I strongly suspect that she was not even in the restaurant, but told her employees to say she is "on the phone" to cover for her if she is not there

I tried contacting the store's general manager about this, but his business card only lists the phone number of the restaurant. I've put out an "email carpet bomb", but haven't yet gotten a response. Maybe getting the story out on your site will encourage them to do something about this.

Thank you.

-Brian

You might want to also give your local consumer affairs department a heads up about this new "policy." Selling a product they don't have and then refusing to issue a refund isn't, um, cool. Ya know? Come to think of it... it's not exactly friendly, either.

(Photo: *nomad* )

Cops drive 4000+ miles to arrest wrong man

 

A Kentucky sheriff and deputy drove all the way to California to nab a man who had jumped bail after being charged with a misdemeanor of DWI and a minor felony of attempting to evade police. After returning from their 4100 roundtrip that included some sight-seeing and souvenir shopping, mugshot and fingerprint comparisons proved that they had picked up the wrong guy. Apparently, the man, Joel Oros III, had told them all along that he wasn't who they thought he was. From the Kentucky Enquirer:

Embarrassed by the mistake, the county swiftly put Oros on a plane back to California.
"We decided with our attorneys that the best thing to do was get him back home as quick as we could," said Butler Judge-Executive David Fields.
But the cross-country jaunt may prove to cost the county a little more than the expense of a plane ticket.
As he was being freed, Oros ran into a helpful Kentucky lawyer who agreed to sue Butler County and the state of California, if necessary, to try to get extra compensation for the 2,000 miles he rode in shackles....
Other than the handcuffs locked tightly around his wrists, Oros said he enjoyed the 30-hour ride to Kentucky -- his first chance to states outside California.
"They fed me good," he said. "They were entirely nice people."
He also said he had no problem with Gaddie and Deputy Mitchell Russ doing a little souvenir hunting along the way.
"Praise God, let them shop," Oros said.

4,100 Miles For An Arrest That Just Goes Busy (Kentucky Enquirer, thanks Rick Pescovitz!)

Best Buy De-Hoses Washers To Save Money? [Best Buy]

 

An alleged Best Buy employee tells us that the company has stopped including inlet water hoses in some Inglis, Whirlpool and Maytag top-loading washers it sells. According to the blurry photos he sent us, employees are now supposed to push this $27 accessory hose product on customers who buy the washers. Update: we don't know if the decision originated with the manufacturers or Best Buy.

Anonymous writes:

I work at a Best Buy store and I discovered this bit of information while going through employee news. Whirlpool and Maytag top-loading washers will no longer come with the inlet water hoses (the hot and cold water hoses), but they will be sold separately. The loss of our free delivery, combined with the previous price hike for range and dryer power cords (from 19.99 to 27.99) a short while ago, irritated me enough to pass this along to you folks.

These two images are from the printout I made of the employee news item. I had to take them with my phone because my scanner is not working and I apologize for the bad quality but everything should be readable.

As far as I know, washer hoses will still come with Whirlpool and Maytag front loading washers.

Celebrity Cruises Won't Let Passenger Leave Ship And Go Home [Celebrity Cruises]

 

Hank went on a cruise with his family to celebrate his grandmother's 75th birthday. Because of a change in his work schedule, Hank had to leave early to return home to California. But when you're a guest of Celebrity Cruises, YOU ARE A GUEST OF CELEBRITY CRUISES. There is no "return home" for you! Be quiet! Eat waffles!

According to Hank's full story, the cruise was a magnificent blend of fine food, shambling old people, questionable musical numbers, and gorgeous scenery. It was only when he tried to leave before the date on his itinerary that the ship's pleasure police went into overdrive:

When we reached Juneau, I had to return to Los Angeles. But when I tried, with my luggage, to leave the ship along with the hundreds of other passengers disembarking to see the city, the ship's crew stopped me and informed me that I would not be permitted to leave the ship with my luggage. Then, in the rudest possible way and without explanation, the ship's security escorted me, as though I were a criminal, to the ship's Guest Relations desk, where the security officer informed the concierge that I had tried to escape.

Apparently, some brain-dead U.S. lawmakers in 2006 passed the Jones Act, which among other things, fines foreign cruise ships that allow a ship passenger to disembark from a ship in a state different from the one from which he originally boarded. Because most cruise ships, including the one I was on, operate under a foreign flag to avoid being subject to a number of U.S. laws, the cruise line wouldn't let me off the ship. I was afraid I would be trapped on a huge floating city, being forced to "enjoy" a pleasure cruise where I could eat, swim, eat, and learn about nature as much as I wanted — for all of eternity. I imagined being locked in the theater with Brett Nixon yelling at me, "You will stay, stay, stay, stay, stay on this amazing pleasure cruise, and you will like, like, like, like, like it and Alaaskaaah!"

For over an hour, Celebrity Cruises held me on the ship against my will as I argued with them about the ridiculous bureaucracy of it all. Finally, they agreed to release me from their custody after fining me $200 and sending me to U.S. Customs (though I had never stepped foot on foreign soil, being on the foreign cruise ship evidently required me to "reenter" the United States through Customs). The way the cruise line's security had treated me, it was though I had tried to steal their precious waffle-making apparatus from the waffle bar and smuggle it off the ship. Except I was just trying disembark and return home, in my own country.

Eventually, I escaped their clutches. At U.S. Customs, they barely looked at my paperwork and let me continue on to the airport. But I miss the waffles.

"Held captive on a ship with delicious waffles by Celebrity Cruises" [withoutbaggage]
(Photo: trialsanderrors)

TSA inspector breaks airplanes by climbing on them using instruments as handholds

 

A TSA inspector decided to get a closer look at some American Eagle jets at O'Hare, so he climbed up on them, using a fragile, vital instrument (the Total Air Temperature probes) as handholds. He damaged the craft so badly that the regular maintenance crew grounded them -- and if they hadn't noticed, the lives of everyone on-board could have been endangered. Remember, folks, the "S" in TSA stands for "Security."

Citing sources within the aviation industry, ABC News reports an overzealous TSA employee attempted to gain access to the parked aircraft by climbing up the fuselage... reportedly using the Total Air Temperature (TAT) probes mounted to the planes' noses as handholds.

"The brilliant employees used an instrument located just below the cockpit window that is critical to the operation of the onboard computers," one pilot wrote on an American Eagle Internet forum. "They decided this instrument, the TAT probe, would be adequate to use as a ladder."

Commuter Flights Grounded Thanks To Bumbling TSA Inspector(via MeFi)

Sadness Makes You Spend More [Mental Health]

 

As the American Psychiatric Association prepares the fifth edition of the DSM—their official guide to what's making you insane in the membrane—there's some debate on whether to include compulsive shopping as a disorder, writes Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times:

Is [it] a biologically driven disease of the brain, a learned habit run amok, an addiction in its own right or a symptom of the other dysfunctions—most notably depression—that so often accompany it?

While the professionals discuss the matter, Healy points out something that may have more practical benefit to you: a recent study showed sad test subjects were willing to spend four times as much on a nonessential item (a water bottle) than non-sad subjects.

A theory that sadness might spur excess spending was neatly demonstrated in an experiment conducted by researchers at Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh and published in the June issue of Psychological Science.

Thirty-three subjects were offered $10 to participate in a study and divided into two groups: one that listened to a sad story and wrote an introspective essay about it and another that listened to an emotionally neutral story, then detailed their day's activities.

Afterward, subjects in each group were offered the chance to buy a sporty insulated water bottle using some of their $10 payment and asked to state the price they would be willing to pay to buy it. The difference — by all appearances dictated solely by differing emotional states — was startling: Subjects in the sad-story group were prepared to pay almost four times as much to acquire the snappy water bottle as those who had entered the market in a neutral emotional state.

Maybe going shopping when you feel down is like going to the supermarket on an empty stomach—a really bad idea.

"Is compulsive buying a disorder?" [Seattle Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Now Deodorizes For 30 Days Instead Of 3 Months [Grocery Suck Ray]

 

Reader Kirin says he's suspicious of Arm & Hammer's assertion that the same 1lb of baking soda will only deodorize for 30 days when it used to work for 3 months.

I try to preempt nasty smells in the refrigerator by buying one of those handy Fridge-N-Freezer baking soda boxes where you can simply tear off the sides and allow it to absorb odors. But in the past three months, it looks like marketing got a hold of the packaging, and suddenly baking soda only works for one month instead of three! Arm & Hammer say that they are "America's #1 trusted baking soda brand," but I'm not really feeling the trust anymore...

How very, very odd. Arm & Hammer says that their baking soda is 100% pure sodium bicarbonate, so we're assuming they haven't changed the recipe. They also haven't updated their FAQ. It still recommends changing the box every 3 months.

Burger King Employee Takes Bath In Sink, Feels Wrath Of Health Department [Burger King Bath]

 

A Burger King employee who took a bath in the burger chain's sink is probably regretting that someone filmed it and posted the video to MySpace, because the local Health Department was among those viewers who were not amused.

Mark McDonnell, the County Health Commissioner, was emailed the video and used it as evidence against Burger King.
"Any bacteria on his skin could have been deposited giving people food poisoning," McDonnell told WHIOTV. In the clip, the employee is seen bathing in the sink, using a bucket market "sanitizing solution" to dump soapy water on himself. At one point the employee who was filming the prank tells the manager that someone is bathing in the sink, and the manager simply shakes her head and continues counting money.

Burger King has issued this statement about the incident:

"We have sanitized the sink and have disposed of all other kitchen tools and utensils that were used during the incident. We have also taken appropriate corrective action on the employees that were involved in this video.

Additionally, the remaining staff at this restaurant is being retrained in health and sanitation procedures."

Employee Takes Bath At Xenia Burger King [WHIO](Thanks, Shoan!)

Hershey Hikes Candy Prices 11 Percent [Hershey]

 

Well, we've been saying it would be more honest to just raise prices instead of shrinking the product, and Hershey has taken us up on that. On Friday, only months after a 13% hike back in February, Hershey announced a price increase of 10-11% across the product line, citing higher costs for ingredients.

In addition to the classic Hershey's chocolate bar, Hershey makes Kisses, Reese's Cups, Whoppers, Mounds and Almond Joy, Rolo, York Peppermint Pattie, Mr. Goodbar, Payday, Kit Kat, Heath, 5th Avenue, and some Cadbury products.

"Hershey boosts prices as commodities cost more" [MarketWatch]
(Photo: Getty)

California Declares Free Market Broken, Recommends Price Controls For Phone Services [Telecoms]

 

Verizon, AT&T, and their regulated cohorts love to blab how the "free market" and "competition" will keep prices low for consumers. According to California, it's a big fat expensive lie. The cost of basic phone service has soared since the Public Utilities Commission lifted price controls in 2006, leading the agency to conclude:

"There is no indication of any change in the near future regarding the current state of competition. Market forces have not yet met the challenge of controlling price increases."

Here are just a few of the ways competition has benefited consumers:

• AT&T no longer lets you make five free 411 calls per month. Now it costs $1.50 for local numbers and $1.99 for all others.
• Verizon won't let you make four free 411 inquiries anymore. Now they charge $0.95 for local listings and $1.50 for all others.
• AT&T boosted the price of daytime calls by 34%, evening calls by 93%, and nights and weekend calls by 233%
• Call waiting is now 86% more expensive.
• Keeping your name out of the phonebook now costs 346% more.

AT&T defended their thievery by cryptically uttering: "The marketplace changes and you have to change your offerings." Ohhhh, sure, we see. These "marketplace changes" must really be hurting the poor telecoms.

In a recent briefing for investors, AT&T boasted that its average monthly revenue per primary household line "ramped steadily over the past several quarters," to $60.16 in the first quarter of 2008 from $57.08 a year earlier.

So much for all that competition between Verizon, AT&T, Frontier, SureWest, Vonage, Skype, and others.

The telecoms have repeatedly proven that their version of the "free market" is a scam that harms consumers and enriches shareholders. California's Public Utilities Commission has recommended the only reasonable measure: reinstating price controls.

Getting the 411 on phone charges [The Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Former Seattle Police Chief on the high costs of the drug war

 

From Reason TV:

Norm Stamper is a cop who saw it all during his 34 years on active duty. As police of Seattle from 1994 through 2000, he was in charge during violent World Trade Organization protests in the Emerald City.

Stamper, who holds a Ph.D. in leadership and human behavior from United States International University, has emerged as one of the most thoughtful and outspoken critics of the war on drugs, which he believes causes untold misery, undermines effective law enforcement, and doesn't begin to pass any sort of cost-benefit analysis. As important, the libertarian Stamper believes that the drug war—and other wars on the behaviors on consenting adults—does great violence to the idea that we own our bodies.

Stamper is the author of the Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing (2005) and now works with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a nonprofit created by former cops to "reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition."

Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper on the high costs of the drug war

RIAA has to pay $107,951 for court costs in failed suit against disabled single mom

 

The RIAA has lost its lawsuit against Tanya Andersen, a disabled single mother, and have been ordered to pay her court costs of $107,951. But the good news keeps on coming: Ms Andersen is now countersuing for damages arising from her having to defend the suit.

"Well, Phase I of the RIAA's misguided pursuit of an innocent, disabled Oregon woman, Atlantic v. Andersen, has finally drawn to a close, as the RIAA was forced to pay Ms. Andersen $107,951, representing the amount of her attorneys fee judgment plus interest. But as some have pointed out, reimbursement for legal fees doesn't compensate Ms. Andersen for the other damages she's sustained. And that's where Phase II comes in, Andersen v. Atlantic. There the shoe is on the other foot, and Tanya is one doing the hunting, as she pursues the record companies and their running dogs for malicious prosecution. Should be interesting."

RIAA Pays Tanya Andersen $107,951

Blockbuster: Return A Movie Late And You've Bought It [Video Wars]

 

Reader Lane sent a heads up about some policy changes at the local Blockbuster: No more grace periods. After 5 days, you've bought the movie. If you decide to return it, you'll be charged a restocking fee.

You'd think in a time when most consumers are avoiding unnecessary driving that Blockbuster would lower their prices to attract customers. Since you're reading about this on the Consumerist you can guess what the reality of the situation is.

Today I was at the local Blockbuster and found that my three rental DVD's were running me a few dollars more than usual. I also discovered that the seven day rentals are gone completely: they are replaced a five day rental period.

Many might remember some chest-thumping on behalf of Blockbuster a year or two ago where they claimed that late fees were gone. After the rental period passed unreturned DVDs entered a "grace period", after which the rental converted into a sale. This grace period is now gone completely.

The back of my receipt now reads:

`` Starting Tuesday, August 05, 2008 the rental terms on the back of this receipt have changed. In select stores, including this store, rental product kept more than 5 days after the due date is converted into a sale. Sale may be reversed by returning the product to this store within 10 days of the sale date and paying a $1.25 restocking fee. This change supersedes any contradictory term on the back of this receipt. See store for details. ''

I personally have been considering investigating rental alternatives. I have decided that this is my last Blockbuster rental and that I will indeed be doing this.

Cheers,
-Lane

Yuck. Is your Blockbuster doing this? Are ya mad?

Linky

Target Has 79-Year-Old Taken In For Mental Evaluation After She Demanded Cash Refund [Target Return Policy]

 

79-year-old Christina Brown had a sales receipt and bank records showing that Target had taken cash from her bank account, but the retailer refused to give her a cash refund — offering a gift certificate instead. Christina refused. She wanted her money, and said she'd stay at the Target all day if she had to, but she wasn't leaving without $30. Target told her she was trespassing and that they would call the police. Christina said that was fine with her and called 9-1-1 herself. When the police arrived, Target had Ms. Brown hauled out of the store on a stretcher and taken via ambulance to a hospital for a mental evaluation. Does wanting a cash refund mean you're potentially mentally ill?

"If they thought I was a cranky old biddy, they should just have given me my money and let me go," Christina told the Star-Tribune. "I paid in good faith, and I wanted my money back. That's all. It's the principle."

"They can put you in jail for this," she says a cop told her. "Well, I've got nothing else to do today," she replied. "Besides, I may meet a better class of people in jail."

The store wouldn't budge. Christina wouldn't bend. A stretcher was brought in.

Christina was strapped to it, and taken by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center. Her physical and mental health was supposed to be evaluated.

Attention shoppers: You won't take a gift certificate? You must be nuts.

"They thought I was loony or something," Christina says, her voice still incredulous. "That's the real crazy thing. I just wanted my money."

In the emergency room, they looked her over and sent her home that day. She seemed to be an elderly lady who was upset. From Christina's account, she also seemed to have a good reason.

Target's Fransen says store employees were concerned for her health.

"It's not anything she did," he said. "Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself."

Perhaps, so. But this could be one case where three $10 bills would have done a lot more — and done it more cheaply — than an ambulance ride to a hospital.

Christina Brown wants an apology, she wants her money (including getting her medical bills from the unexpected hospital trip paid), and she wants this: "I want the staff trained in how to treat customers."

Christina won't get to help train them. Target signed a trespassing order against her, meaning she will be arrested if she returns to the Plymouth SuperTarget.

That, friends, won't be a problem.

"I wouldn't go back to that store if everything in it was free," she says. "If they're waiting to see me again, they're waiting for a cold day in hell."

'Cranky' lady tangled with 'Mr. Nasty’ [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: spinadelic )

JetBlue Has Grandmother Arrested For Refusing To Delete An Unflattering Video Recording [JetBlue]

 

Marilyn Parver is taking her story to the media after JetBlue had her arrested and walked off the plane in handcuffs for refusing to delete a video recording she made of an altercation between passengers. She told Christopher Elliott that JetBlue accused her of interfering with a flight crew (a federal crime) and threatened to blacklist her by adding her name to the dreaded "no-fly list."

I am a 56-year-old grandmother who has never had so much as a speeding ticket. But on July 26th, I was taken by armed officers, in handcuffs, off JetBlue flight 195 for refusing to delete a video I had taken of a minor altercation between passengers over a screaming kid.

The flight crew made up a charge of interfering with the crew. My recording proves I did nothing wrong. I never even stood up. I was left with the threat that I will never be able to fly on JetBlue, that I will go on the no-fly list, and have a report written about me filed with the FAA.

Parver has turned the footage over to ABCNews (apparently we should watch for her on Good Morning America) so that ABC's legal team can fight off the pitbulls at JetBlue.

The Kingman Daily Miner also has a description of the incident:

Approximately 30 minutes after the dispute, Parver said she was approached by the flight crew who were asking passengers questions about the altercation. When Parver told them she had recorded the incident, they requested she accompany them to the back of the plane, Parver said.

There she showed the video to three or four crew members, Parver said.

"After viewing the video, they demanded that I delete it," Parver said. "I asked, 'Why?' The head-stewardess went as far as to tell me that I had broken a law by using an electronic item during the flight."

At that time, another flight attendant accused Parver of wanting to put it up on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.

"I do not even know how to download a video on the Internet," Parver said.

After refusing and returning to her seat, the crew asked Parver to return to the back of the plane again, she said.

"This time they told me that the captain demanded that I delete the video," Parver added.

Parver requested to speak to the captain by telephone to confirm the demand. She was not granted this request.

"If the captain had nicely asked me to delete the video, I don't think I would have disobeyed a pilot," Parver said.

Parver again refused the flight crew's request. At that point, one attendant told Parver that if she disobeyed the captain, federal agents would be involved and she could face criminal penalties.

"This was all a case of bullying," Parver said.

Grandmother arrested after refusing to delete JetBlue fight video [Elliott]
Woman detained by airline over video [Kingman Daily Miner]

Man whose US immigration notice was sent to the wrong address is detained with untreated spinal cancer until he dies, denied access to his wife and children

 

A Hong Kong computer programmer who had legally resided in the US for 15 years (since he was 17) and fathered two American children went for his final green card interview and was locked up, detained until he died of cancer that the DHS refused to treat him for. He had overstayed a visa (the DHS sent a key notice to the wrong address), and this prompted the DHS to lock him away and demand that he waive all right to immigration appeal and be immediately deported. In detention, his complaints of excruciating back pain were treated as fakery, and he was dragged around in shackles after he lost the ability to walk, taken on long, bumpy drives while official demanded that he drop his immigration appeals. The jailers who caused his death were private contractors with fat deals with the DHS to lock up immigration detainees.

Ashe lay dying, his family -- wife and two children, aged 1 and 3 -- were denied access to him while the warden considered their request to visit.

"Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses..."

But his condition continued to deteriorate. Once a robust man who stood nearly six feet and weighed 200 pounds, his relatives said, Mr. Ng looked like a shrunken and jaundiced 80-year-old.

“He said, ‘I told the nursing department, I’m in pain, but they don’t believe me,’ ” his sister recalled. “ ‘They tell me, stop faking.’ ”

Soon, according to court papers, he had to rely on other detainees to help him reach the toilet, bring him food and call his family; he no longer received painkillers, because he could not stand in line to collect them. On July 26, Andy Wong, a lawyer associated with Mr. Cox, came to see the detainee, but had to leave without talking to him, he said, because Mr. Ng was too weak to walk to the visiting area, and a wheelchair was denied.

On July 30, according to an affidavit by Mr. Wong, he was contacted by Larry Smith, a deportation officer in Hartford, who told him on a Speakerphone, with Mr. Ng present, that he wanted to resolve the case, either by deporting Mr. Ng, or “releasing him to the streets.” Officer Smith said that no exam by an outside doctor would be allowed, and that Mr. Ng would not be given a wheelchair.

Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands

United Sells Family's Tickets To Someone Else, Ruins Once-In-A-Lifetime Vacation, Then Won't Admit It To Insurance Company [United]

 

Even for evil airline stories, this one may shock you. How about:

• Holding $5,000 in tickets from a family for six months, then telling them the day before that the flight has been canceled;
• When confronted with the fact that the flight hasn't been canceled, telling the family that the reservation has been lost;
• Finally admitting that they've bumped the family from the flight and were lying about the cancellation and the lost reservation;
• Offering replacement seats on multiple planes and days, splitting the family up on different flights and depositing them at different islands;
• Offering to get them there 5 days into a 7 day vacation, part of which was scheduled to spend time with a family member who was dying in a hospice in Hawaii;
• Refusing to write a letter on the family's behalf so that they can collect their insurance payment on the house they rented but never used.

With one act of disregard, United destroyed the vacation, cost the family over $10,000 in house rental fees that they can't get back, and forced them to cancel the trip. The dying family member they didn't get to see passed away in early June.

How could United mess up a trip so badly? The mother who arranged all of it, Anita Cabral, suspects it has to do with the bottom line:

Cabral has a theory for this shabby treatment: fuel prices.

Between January and June, as the oil industry mounted its historic shakedown of consumers, the price of those tickets tripled. The folks who paid the most got to fly.

The columnist who wrote about the Cabrals' problems said he called United directly for a response, and was never called back.

"Bad airline stories are nothing like this" [Sign On San Diego] (Thanks to Randy!)
(Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas)

Brown Paper Tickets' Offers A Fair Alternative To Ticketmaster [Ticketing]

 

Thanks to the Consumerist for the info..

 

On his Cool Tools blog, Kevin Kelly describes his love for Brown Paper Tickets, a teensy ticketing David to Goliaths like Ticketmaster and x. They don't gouge customers with outrageous fees, and they're fair to venues as well, he writes, providing great service and paying promptly.

Brown Paper Tickets is one of several alternative online ticket vendors for anyone hosting a ticketed event. Might be a ball, a fundraiser, a race, a concert, or an exhibit. At Long Now we've used them and can recommend them highly.

Brown Paper Tickets bills themselves as "fair-trade" ticketing. What that means is that they offer a fair deal to both the consumer and the venue. BPT provides the lowest consumer fees on tickets (99 cents and 2.5%), with no add-on overcharges, and free first class postage. For hosts setting up an event, they offer fantastic 24/7 live-person phone support, a clean usable website, and cheap (10 cent) printed secure tickets. They offer venue hosts other goodies too. You have control over when to stop sales, how to customize the ticket, ways to manage multiple events, means to offer media tickets, assigned seating, and so on.

Plus, they give you real-time sales, and pay up promptly! Try that with Ticketmaster.

Now the bad news: you can't use an up-and-comer like Brown Paper Tickets unless your venue can, which makes the whole issue rather academic for now. What you can do is make sure your favorite local venues know about BPT so they can look at it for themselves.

Brown Paper Tickets: Fair Trade Ticketing [Cool Tools]
(Photo: Jakob.Enos)

Experiment on Craigslist: "I found some cash. Did you lose it?"

 

Rob Cockerham of cockeyed.com is a sociologist provocateur that we've featured quite a few times here on Boing Boing. His experiments never fail to delight and illuminate.

Recently rob found $60 in parking lot and when he reported it on Craigslist he received three replies. Intrigued, he posted another (this time, ersatz) announcement that he'd found money and wanted to return it to its rightful owner. Look how four "different" people replied to his announcement:

Catherine: I was shopping at the Mervyn's on camp wisdom and three hundred dollars fell out of my wallet it was twenties and one hundreds. It was my kids back to school money and have been loosing my mind. Not sure if you found all of it or part. but please email me back either way. Thank you, Catherine (Fri. 4:36pm)

Jack: My wife and I where shopping at Nervy and lost 260.00 it was one fifty one ten five twenties and one one hundred dollar bill. We where at the Nervy on Plano Rd. In Dallas please let me know if you found any part of this money we would greatly appreciate it. (Fri. 4:40pm)

Rob: Hi Catherine, I'm sorry, I found more money than that, so I think it must be someone else's. I am very sorry. Good luck. (Mon 10:30am)

Rob: Hi Jack, I'm sorry, I found the money in the shoe department at the Camp Wisdom Mervyn's store. Good luck. (Mon 10:31am)

Bella: Hello I was shopping at the mervyns on camp wisdom with my family I was in the shoe department and jewelry department. somewhere in either department I lost three hundred dollars. and I am going out of my mind ! please email me back and let me know if you found it. I have been worried sick. thank you (10:35 am!!)

Rob: Hi Bella, That is the same store where I found the money, but I found almost $800 wrapped in paper. I'm sorry. It might even be from the store itself, so I've been planning to go and ask the manager if their deposit was missing or something. Good luck. (Mon 12:50 PM)

Eric: I saw your post on cl just as I was going to put one up. my boss told me about cl. I lost some money at mervyns on camp wisdom I had just come from the bank and stopped in to get some sneakers. the money I lost is my rent money. it was wrapped in paper and was 780.00 . my wife is needless to say unhappy with me for loosing it. I called the store and no one has turned it in. if you can email me back. thank you. (Mon 12:54 PM)

Bella: thank you for emailing me back. someone just called me who found my money! so thankfully I got it back.

Rob: Hi Eric, Ok, thanks for writing. I called the store and tried to talk to the manager to see if it might be misplaced or stolen from the register, but she was not available. I hung up after 7 minutes on hold. Anyway, I'm waiting for them to call me back too. I want to be sure I have the right person because it was a lot of money. Can you tell me anything about the paper? -Rob

Eric: It was wrapped in white paper, I am loosing my mind panicking because that was almost my whole pay how could I possibly recoup that you know?

Cockeyed.com presents: You Found my Money!

Bank Of America: Exploding Dye Packs Aren't Just For Heist Movies Anymore [Bank Of America]

 

A Bank of America customer got a nasty surprise after withdrawing cash to pay her employees — a dye pack exploded in her car. When she went back to the bank to complain she says she didn't even get an apology.

From WAVY:

"It started going [hiss] everywhere and it started smelling."

Red dye sprayed everywhere.

"In the car and in my eyes and on my nose and I was coughing like crazy."
...
"They didn't say sorry or anything."

The customer was taken to a local hospital to have her eyes treated and she's doing fine now. As for Bank of America, they told WAVY:

"Our personnel were very accommodating and very apologetic when Mrs. Cheikh came back into the bank. We will make sure her costs will be covered with respect to getting her car cleaned."

Mrs. Cheikh says she'll be switching banks.

Dye pack explodes on Bank of America customer [WAVY](Thanks, David!)

Man Files Antitrust Suit Against Time Warner Over Forced Cable Box Rentals [Twc]

 

Matthew Meeds of Fairway, Kansas, doesn't want to pay Time Warner Cable a monthly rental fee for his cable box—he'd rather own one outright. He's filed suit against the cable provider and its parent company, Time Warner, Inc., accusing them of establishing an illegal tying arrangement by making the box rental a condition of the subscription agreement. He's seeking class-action status for all TWC premium customers in Kansas.

“Time Warner’s improper tying and bundling harms competition,” Meeds’ lawsuit states. “Since the class can only rent the cable box directly from Time Warner, manufacturers of cable boxes are foreclosed from renting and/or selling cable boxes directly to members of the class at a lower cost.”

Meeds told the Kansas City Star,

“I think that for most people, if they could buy the box, they would. That definitely makes more sense.”

Meeds' attorney says that the situation is similar to the days when AT&T forced customers to rent telephones, before lawsuits helped break open the market:

“I think it’s very similar to the cases brought back in those days, where slowly but surely, the courts whittled away at that kind of protectionist activity by AT&T,” he said.

“I think the same thing is present here. You have a lot of companies out there manufacturing these boxes, and there’s nothing necessarily proprietary about them. … They only cost about $30 or $40 at most, and they’re charging around $15 a month for them.”

"Fairway man sues Time Warner over cable box rental requirement" [Kansas City Star]

Don't Fall For Mortgage Infomercials Masquerading As "News Networks" [Badvertising]

 

Reader Brian says he saw the above pictured infomercial on CNBC this Sunday, and is wondering how they get away with such a "blatant attempt to take advantage of those same mortgage consumers who where hoodwinked in the first place."

We took a look at the infomercial and it's just about as shady as it could possibly be. It opens with a fake news report about the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and then slowly transitions into a sales pitch for "FHA loans." The anchor even stages a fake interview with the mortgage company pitchman. He's introduced as an "expert."

"Joining us to offer his expert advice and insight into all of this...," says the fake anchor from the "MLN Studio," and the screen is festooned with the same kind of tickers and gizmos that you'd expect to find on CNBC.

And what does the mortgage pitchman suggest that you do with your "FHA loan?" Whatever! Pay for "college tuition, home improvement, start a savings plan... Anything you want!" How much can you borrow? "97.75% of your home's value!"

The infomercial then instructs consumers to call what seems vaguely like an official government information "hotline," but which doesn't go to the FHA at all. Sophisticated consumers won't be fooled, of course, but we suspect that the lender isn't targeting them with this advertisement.

If you are actually in need and want to take advantage of the new FHA-Secure program, click here. HUD will help you find an approved lender and a HUD-approved counselor to answer your questions about the program.

If you'd like more information about the FHA and how they can help you refinance your home and avoid foreclosure, call HUD at: 1-800-CALL-FHA, 1-800-225-5342.

Federal Housing Administration

POLL: 73% Of Americans Think Starbucks Is Overpriced, 21% Are Unsure, And The Rest Were Probably Being Sarcastic [Survey Says]

 

A new survey says that 73% of Americans think Starbucks is overpriced, 21% said they were unsure, and only 6% came to Starbucks' defense. (We were kidding about that sarcastic thing. Teehee.) The survey also found that the vast majority of American's don't go Starbucks for their daily coffee fix:

Starbucks coffee shops seem to be on nearly corner in major U.S. cities, but surprisingly 76 percent of American adults say they rarely or never visit one of the shops, and only 14 percent say they visit occasionally.

That might be because the java giant's prices are too high.

This may explain why we're so bored of "personal finance experts" telling people to stop going to Starbucks for their daily latte in order to save a million billion dollars a year. Apparently, you've already stopped.

Is Starbucks Overpriced?
( polls)

Starbucks coffee is too expensive, new survey says [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: iwantamonkey )

Pump Gas In The Morning To Save Money? Nah. [Gas Pumping Myths]

 

Consumer Reports wants you to know that it's OK to sleep in, because you're not going to save money by pumping gas in the early morning. Why not?

The basic facts are correct, but the advice is not. Gasoline does expand and contract a little depending on its temperature. When gasoline rises from 60 to 75 degrees F, for instance, it increases in volume by 1 percent while the energy content remains the same.

But filling stations typically store their gasoline in underground tanks, where the temperature variation during the day is much less than in the air above. The result is that the temperature of the gasoline coming out of the fuel nozzle varies very little, if at all, during any 24-hour stretch at any particular station.

CR did some temperature testing at their auto test facility where they have an underground fuel tank similar to the ones that gas stations use. Here's what they found:

While the air temperature between filling varied by up to 12 degrees, the fuel in our underground tank stayed at a steady 62 degrees F. As a result, we found that after the first few gallons were pumped, the fuel temperature coming out of the nozzle varied very little between morning and afternoon.

Like a hose sitting in the sun, gasoline that was sitting in a pump and not being dispensed tended to warm up— but those few gallons didn't make much of a difference. Ultimately, CR found that there was no reason to pump in the morning.

Even with the temperature swings we saw in the first few gallons pumped at our facility, we didn’t see a big penalty for the consumer. A 15-degree difference, for example, would result in a one-percent gain in volume. Or, just a few cents difference on the first gallons pumped—not enough to change your schedule or routine in chasing costs, especially if it might increase your fuel consumption in the pursuit.

You can get the rest of the details of their testing by clicking here.

Save on gas with morning fill-ups? Don’t bet on it [CR]
(Photo: Listener42 )

Wal-Mart: you can't scan century-old photos of your ancestors because copyright lasts forever

 

Tstamps sez,

I was in Spring Hill, Florida visiting my grandparents, who have all the family pictures of great grandparents and great-great grandparents. Doing the good familial thing, I decided to take the albums and scan the photos so that the rest of the family could see them. I only had one day to do this, and the only place near them was Wal-Mart (the Supercenter by highway 19). So I take the (sometimes) 100 year old photos to Wal-Mart and begin scanning them on their machine.

After a while, a Wal-Mart employee accosts me and tells me that I can't do that because those images are "Copyright to the studios that took them." I look down at my pictures. The picture she is pointing to is one of my great grandmother, taken about 1925. She has been dead since 1998. The photography studio (assuming it was taken by a studio) is not marked, and is long out of business, and the person who took the photo is long dead, as are, likely, his children and all of his business associates. The only known copy of the photo is the one I'm holding, which is owned by my grandparents, who gave it to me to copy.

In disbelief, I point out that the photo is almost 100 years old and the people are all dead. Undeterred, the Wal-Mart employee informs me that "Copyright lasts forever. It's the law." My scans up to that point are deleted and I'm free to leave the store with my old photos unscanned. I guess I should be thankful they didn't have a portable shredder on hand to seize my photos and do away with them right then and there. Is that in the next set of magic federal laws?

100 years old

Towing Chicago-Style: Put Up A Sign After Hundreds Of Cars Have Already Parked [Scams]

 

If you're from Chicago and have ever parked an automobile, this has probably already happened to you 6 times and you'll be wondering why this story is even newsworthy. Feel free to go get a sandwich. For the rest of the country... The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that hundreds of people who drove to the 79th annual Bud Billiken Parade got a nasty surprise when they found that a towing company had posted a notice after the parade started and towed all of their cars.

Motorists, residents and store owners in the area say a tow company waited until lots near the parade route were full of cars before posting towing notices and taking vehicles. Each owner had to shell out at least $170 to Rendered Services Inc. to retrieve their cars.

Police on the scene said they'd heard many radio calls about towing from vacant lots in the area, and most involved Rendered. Police said at one point they had to stop trucks from yanking the cars because the signage was erected after the 10 a.m. start of the parade.

Fun! The towing company claims that the signs were "posted and reposted and reposted," but a local business owner told the Sun-Times, "They just put it up no less than an hour ago."

Sweet home, Chicago.

Tow trucks swoop in on paradegoers' cars [Chicago Sun-Times]
(Photo: John J. Kim/Sun-Times)

Whiney Pilots Complain That Stingy Airlines Are Forcing Them To Fly "Uncomfortably Low On Fuel" [We're Running Out Of Fuel, Sir]

 

Ugh, those selfish pilots can't be bothered to help their airlines return to profitability. No, instead they're whining to NASA that they're being forced to fly "uncomfortably low on fuel" and that "safety for passengers and crews could be compromised."

These flight simulator jockeys want more fuel, but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon even with oil at $117 a barrel and crashing fast. The FAA finds the situation perfectly acceptable.

"We can't dabble in the business policies or the personnel policies of an airline," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. He said there was no indication safety regulations were being violated.

The September 2005 safety alert was issued by NASA's confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows air crews to report safety problems without fear their names will be disclosed.

With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.

Just look at the complaints flooding into NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System:

"I know our program manager is ranking captains on landing with less fuel. I don't care to be ranked. I think this is a safety problem and I believe fuel is your friend," the captain said. "Looking back, I would have liked more gas yesterday, and I was already carrying tanker fuel. If I wouldn't have had this extra there would have been real problems."

The captain of a Boeing 747 said he began to run low on fuel after meeting strong headwinds over the Atlantic en route to JFK in New York in February. After contacting his company to discuss a refueling stop, the captain said he was told by his operations manager that the flight actually needed less fuel than had been loaded on board and would have enough to get to JFK without stopping.

But by the time he reached JFK, his fuel was "far below my comfort zone and probably less than the minimum fuel required by the FARs (federal aviation regulations)," the captain said. "Our fuel situation had not become critical yet, but had we had any delay, I would have had to declare a fuel emergency."

"I am not sure if the 'flight plan' as given to me by my company was a real flight plan, or if they were just telling me it was so that I would continue to JFK ... thus saving them time and expense. ... In the future, if such a situation presents itself again, I will divert to my initial destination regardless of what my company says I can do. The safety of my crew far outweighs any financial burden to the company."

The captain of a Boeing 737 en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in February said he was forced to divert in bad weather to Palm Beach International Airport to refuel because less than the normal amount of fuel for the flight was loaded before takeoff.

"This was probably the new fuel-saving initiative by the company management to save money," the captain said. "North-South operation is very unpredictable along the East Coast. I don't think this is a place where we should skimp on fuel."

The captain said he had a "lengthy discussion" with his company's dispatcher "relaying my opinion on the reduced fuel load and my suggestion not to compromise fuel loads in and out of Florida." But the captain said he received the same reduced amount on his next flight.

"So much for my professional input!" he said.

The airlines have made it clear that pilots who don't stop whining and start flying will be fired.

American notified dispatchers July 7 that their records on fuel approved for flights would be monitored, and dispatchers not abiding by company guidelines could ultimately be fired.

Union officials responded that "it appears safety has become a second thought" for the company. American and US Airways blame the complaints on labor negotiations - both are in contract talks with the complaining unions.

Look people, it's been 18 years since a plane crashed because it ran out of fuel. That means there isn't a problem anymore. Besides, 85 people survived.

Pilots forced to fly low on fuel worry about safety [AP]
Pilots' reports on low fuel [AP]
Avianca Flight 52 [Wikipedia]