Why Banks Threatening To Limit Debit Card Swipes To $50 Is Horrible, And Hooey

Why Banks Threatening To Limit Debit Card Swipes To $50 Is Horrible, And Hooey: "

As I mentioned on Friday, because the banks are pissed off, pretty soon you might not be able to pay for a restaurant meal or pay for groceries on your debit card. The banks are considering putting a $50-$100 cap on how much you can buy per transaction with a debit card. First, I think they're bluffing. But, if they really followed through on it, this would seriously disrupt commerce across America. Let me paint you a picture of hypothetical supermarket checkout line.

The total rings up $112. The customer pulls out her debit card and swipes it. An error message pops up on the screen, '$100 cap exceeded.' The cashier has to explain, once again, about the new rules. The frustrated and embarrassed consumer pulls out a checkbook to make up the difference. They discuss about who to make it out to and the customer also has to pull out her ID and everyone waits as the cashier writes down the address and license number. Shoppers behind her overhear. Some of them dump items out of their cart because they're worried about exceeding the cap. One guy who's late for work drops everything and leaves the store. This assumes that the store even accepts checks any more. Multiply this scene across America and you've got some serious transactional and frictional costs piling up.

Why are the banks doing this? Because they're mad. One of the provisions of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act would limit the fees they can charge merchants for processing a debit card transaction to 12 cents a swipe. Merchants say that this well let them pass on savings to consumers in the form of lower prices. Banks say it will cut into their $15 billion they make a year off these transactions by 70%. They say they have to make up for it somehow. So what's the cost-saving move here? Does it really cost that much more to process 3 zeros instead of 2? No. While they haven't come out and said it, this move would push more people towards credit, which they can charge 2-5% of the total cost in transaction fees, as well as make money in interest off of. Or people will use cash, which, while meaning they don't collect transaction fees, they also don't incur the operational cost for processing.

They might do it. But they probably won't because of the inevitable backlash. Right now it's just a threat to scare legislators from enacting already passed reforms. If they can hold the American consumer hostage and raise enough of a bogeyman that the end result of the pro-consumer legislation is that consumers actually end up getting hurt, legislators might back off. More likely banks will just add on more fees to checking and debit accounts.

You never know. Many large banks have already killed off free checking, either getting rid of it outright or introducing requirements to maintain it, like maintaining a minimum balance or having your paycheck direct deposited. Otherwise, pay a fee. The entire debit system could be next on their list. At least that's what they want you to think. It's their revenge for us daring to pass regulatory reform.

On Saturday I ordered a cup of coffee and realized that I didn't have any cash. I told the guy, sorry, I have to go get money. He tapped the swiper and said, no problem. I said, but you have to pay so much to the banks it's not even worth it to sell me the coffee. He smiled and said, but it's a service we provide! I said, I'd hate to see you pay them any more money than you have to. He nodded and nd I went to go withdraw cash. Of course I got charged a $1.80 withdrawal fee. My bank, USAA, happens to refund my ATM fees, so I then was able to sip from my cup of caffeinated justice. But most people don't have that luxury, and will get skinned one way or another, or, as the banks would prefer, both.

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Banks Might Limit Amount You Can Buy On Debit Card

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JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup Might Limit Debit Card Purchases

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Best Buy ID-Checking Policy Did Nothing To Stop Employee From Making Fraudulent Returns

Best Buy ID-Checking Policy Did Nothing To Stop Employee From Making Fraudulent Returns: "

You may remember how Best Buy recently went to great lengths to explain its new policy of requiring a photo ID for all in-store returns, claiming it helped to prevent fraudulent returns. Except it didn't do a thing to stop a Best Buy staffer in New Jersey from making thousands of dollars off bogus returns.

According to local news reports, the employee would create duplicate receipts of mobile phone purchases and then 'return' them and pocket the cash for herself. Police say she made at least $3,500 off the scam.

But she wasn't caught by some ingenious ID-scanner. Rather, it was her boss who noticed that these returned phones were not showing up in inventory. And to avoid having her name show up on all the returns, the employee convinced two other staffers to help her out.

'I only went to them when I couldn't make the returns in my department and asked them to do it because I knew they wouldn't question me if I told them it was for a customer,' she told police.

So congrats to Best Buy for instituting a system that forbids a customer from returning a factory-sealed, $10 DVD with a receipt because he doesn't want to show his ID, but will permit an employee to steal thousands in cash.

Best Buy employee charged with theft [TheDailyJournal.com]

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McDonald's "oatmeal" has 11 weird ingredients, more sugar than a Snickers

McDonald's "oatmeal" has 11 weird ingredients, more sugar than a Snickers: "Writing on the New York Times blog, Mark Bittman reviews McDonald's nightmarish attempt at making oatmeal (a foodstuff with one ingredient):

Yet in typical McDonald's fashion, the company is doing everything it can to turn oatmeal into yet another bad choice. (Not only that, they've made it more expensive than a double-cheeseburger: $2.38 per serving in New York.) 'Cream' (which contains seven ingredients, two of them actual dairy) is automatically added; brown sugar is ostensibly optional, but it's also added routinely unless a customer specifically requests otherwise. There are also diced apples, dried cranberries and raisins, the least processed of the ingredients (even the oatmeal contains seven ingredients, including 'natural flavor').

A more accurate description than '100% natural whole-grain oats,' 'plump raisins,' 'sweet cranberries' and 'crisp fresh apples' would be 'oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen.'
...Incredibly, the McDonald's product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald's cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. (Even without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald's hamburger.)

How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong

(via Super Punch)

• HOWTO trick McDonald's into serving you "breakfast" at lunchtime ...



• Creepy McDonald's ad from India - Boing Boing


• McDonald's Gitmo is hiring! - Boing Boing


• McDonald's: take "McJob" out of the dictionary - Boing Boing


• Disconcerting disclosure on McDonald's site - Boing Boing


• McDonald's can award A-levels in UK - Boing Boing

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Banks Might Limit Amount You Can Buy On Debit Card

Banks Might Limit Amount You Can Buy On Debit Card: "

Grumbling over proposed limits to debit card swipe fees, banks are hinting they're considering putting a cap on how much you can buy with a debit card. It could even be something like $50 or $100, forcing consumers to either pay with credit card or cash.

'If the final rules that are issued in April look like the [Fed's] draft, there's no question that it will impact how we and other issuers price deposit and payment services and what features and benefits are included,' a Bank of America spokesman told the New York Post.

Would they really do that? It would certainly disrupt how many Americans conduct their personal purchases in a pretty major way. I can see a lot of people getting angry over this, and that ire is going to be directed at the banks, not the government, so I'm not really sure what the rationale behind this is besides trying to cast more voodoo over the swipe fee debate.

Banks' swipe snipe [New York Post]

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Experian Adds Rent Payments To Credit Reports

Experian Adds Rent Payments To Credit Reports: "

In what could be a boon to renters looking to build a credit history (or bad news if you have a roommate who always delays your rent), credit reporting agency Experian has begun incorporating data on rental payments into its reports.

Experian gets the info from RentBurea, a company it acquired last June. And starting in January, it began using the data gathered by RentBureau to add to the standard list of payment histories -- credit cards, mortgages, retail accounts, installment loans and finance company accounts -- on its credit reports.

The company says it's the only of the major credit reporting agencies to include residential rent data in standard reports. Transunion has a subsidiary that can provide such information to landlords but does not use it on its reports.

But before you on-time-rent-payers get excited, RentBureau currently only has data on 8 million tenants.

Would you want your rental payments being included in your credit report?

Experian adds rent payments to credit reports [ChicagoBreakingNews.com]

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Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It)

Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It): "

Wells Fargo is meeting today at noon with the Philadelphia homeowner who 'foreclosed' on them, The Consumerist has exclusively learned. Patrick says he 'received a call from upon high' late yesterday and that he now has an appointment, 'with a very senior Wells Fargo person.' It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But how did Patrick go from embattled and ignored homeowner to seated across the negotiating table with leverage? I spoke with him to find out more about both how and why he did what he did. His story is an inspiration to anyone who's dreamed of going toe-to-toe with the big banks and winning. Turns out that armed with persistence, and a little legal know-how, Davids can take down Goliaths.

BACKGROUND

All Patrick, pictured above along with his house, wanted was for someone from Wells Fargo to talk to him. A single, white, goth and industrial music event promoter who declines to give his age, he wanted someone to explain why they were doubling his premiums and requiring him to insure his century-old house for its full replacement value instead of the market value. Wells Fargo wanted him to take out almost a million dollars worth of insurance in the event his house, a 6-bedroom, 3 bath Tudor he paid $180,000 for in 2002, was reduced to rubble and needed to be rebuilt stone by stone to standards from over a hundred years ago. Though he's diligently paid his mortgage on time for the past seven years, he couldn't afford the jack-up in premiums, nor did he see a reason why he should have to accept them.

Besides the increase in premiums, Wells Fargo was also tossing extra and inexplicable fees on his account. For instance, they charged him for two home inspections in one month, even though no inspectors had come out to house.

Throughout the process, Patrick admits there was 'about 10% revenge' motivating him, but with each escalating step he took he really thought that okay, this is the one that will catch their attention and make them talk to me.

HOW IT STARTED

About two years ago, after Wells Fargo stopped responding to his letters requesting more information, Patrick boned up and learned about a law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The law was enacted to safeguard homebuyers from anti-competitive and collusive behavior among the companies and agents involved with buying and selling real estate. One of the protections involves the 'Qualified Written Request,' or QWR.

WHAT'S A QWR?

The Qualified Written Request is a specific kind of letter that you can send to your mortgage servicer when you believe there is an error on your mortgage account. You have to make sure to follow the rules for formatting it, but the servicer is bound by federal law to respond within a certain period of time. If they don't, you can go after them for actual damages, costs and attorneys fees, plus $1000 of additional damages if there is a pattern of noncompliance.

This is a sample QWR as found on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development site:

Attention Customer Service. It's important to format it exactly like this and to send it in separately from your mortgage payment:

Subject: [Your loan number]

[Names on loan documents]

[Property and/or mailing address]

This is a 'qualified written request' under Section 6 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

I am writing because:

Describe the issue or the question you have and/or what action you believe the lender should take.

Attach copies of any related written materials.

Describe any conversations with customer service regarding the issue and to whom you spoke.

Describe any previous steps you have taken or attempts to resolve the issue.

List a day time telephone number in case a customer service representative wishes to contact you.

I understand that under Section 6 of RESPA you are required to acknowledge my request within 20 business days and must try to resolve the issue within 60 business days.

Sincerely,

[Your name]'Do your research,' says Patrick. When drafting it, besides getting tips on writing one from various consumer sites, he also went to banking sites and saw how bankers were talking about ways they had rejected various QWRs. He made sure to craft his so it couldn't get disqualified. 'Use the internet as your law library,' says Patrick. With a little Googling, he was quickly about to find official resources and templates that guided him, step by step.

More than any site, blog or message board, 'Looking at the actual law was a big help,' he said. A lot of websites offered bits and pieces, or their (mis)-interpretation, of the law. The best resources came from going to the official US Government pages and looking at the actual statutes in full. 'It took a little bit of time to sit and process the legalese,' but it was worth it.

Within 20 days, the company must say they got the QWR, and they have 60 to take action on it. That action must be to either correct the problem or to respond back with why they think they're right. They must also give a name and phone number for the borrower to contact with questions about their account.

Wells Fargo did none of these, says Patrick. So he moved on to the next step provided by RESPA: statutory damages, aka, cash money.

DO NOT PASS GO

If a company fails to respond to a QWR, the borrower can take them to court and claim damages. Patrick contacted several attorneys but none wanted to take it on because of the low payout and what they said was the unlikelihood of him winning. So he became his own advocate.

Patrick filed his claim in local municipal court, also known as small claims court. Most of the time it costs less than $100 in filing fees. This post tells you how to get started with your small claims filing. Patrick admits he's no legal genius. 'I couldn't pass the bar if my life depended on it,' he said, but he found the process wasn't that hard and it helped that 'the courts look kindly on plaintiffs representing themselves pro-se.' If you get in touch with the clerk's office they can get you started with all the forms and filings you need.

At trial, Wells Fargo didn't send anyone to represent themselves, so Patrick got a default judgment against them for $1,173. They eventually sent him the amount, but they had still had not responded to his letters or agreed to fix his premiums, as required by law. So he filed for a sheriff's levy. This directs the sheriff to seize and sell the debtor's property to pay up. In this case, it was the local branch office of Wells Fargo mortgage, the ones who had been ignoring him all these years.

To get the levy, he presented the court clerk with his default judgment and got the Writ of Execution and the Instructions for Levy which he delivered to the sheriff's office. He paid them a $50 deposit to cover their administrative costs. A local sheriff then went into the Wells Fargo branch office and took an inventory and posted notice that nothing could be removed. The court also gave him several posters which he was expected to xerox and post around town.

As a music event promoter, he says he's put up a lot of posters, but these were the most satisfying he's ever hung. One is reprinted below.

USE THE MEDIA TO TELL YOUR STORY

But far more effective than hanging the posters was emailing the posters along with his press release to local media outlets. Within a day of doing that he had local tv stations and the Philadelphia Inquirer covering his story. Based on his '16 years as a promoter,' Patrick instantly knew the power of 'working the PR angle to publicize the sale.'

WHERE IT STANDS

On Tuesday, the court put a temporary hold on the sale and has ordered a hearing on February 23 to figure out the final result. ABC and USA Today have also now picked up his story. Patrick says he's still owed $50, the fee he paid to initiate the levy, and he's still in disagreement with them about his premiums being doubled. Wells Fargo is meeting with Patrick today at noon to discuss his situation.

'It does seem to tentatively indicate that someone in the very high ranking position of authority' has finally taken an interest in his case, says Patrick.

'We could have handled Mr. Rodgers very unusual situation better,' said a Wells Fargo spokesperson when reached for comment. 'We're doing our best to resolve everything to everyone's satisfaction.'



A message left with the Wells Fargo branch manager was not returned.

(Photo: Kyle Cassidy)

PREVIOUSLY

Philly Homeowner Declares He's 'Foreclosed' on Wells Fargo

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Fed Might Rethink Capping Debit Card Swipe Fees

Fed Might Rethink Capping Debit Card Swipe Fees: "

The Fed told Congress yesterday that it might rethink the plan to cap debit card swipe fees at 12 cents per swipe. One of the hopes is that merchants would be able to pass on the reduced costs to consumers in the form of lower prices. Lawmakers piled on in the hearing, saying that it would 'batter banks still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis.' How banks can both be posting soaring profits and still be 'battered' and reeling is an accounting trick way over my head.

Fed may reconsider plan to limit debit card fees [AP via Lowcards.com]

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Kitten Freezes To Death After Delta Flight, Owner Offered Free Trip And $50

Kitten Freezes To Death After Delta Flight, Owner Offered Free Trip And $50: "

Snickers, an 11-week old kitten, is dead after taking a trip on Delta that went horribly awry. The owner said the airline initially offered over $3,000 in compensation. They have now revised that offer to free airfare plus $.50 for every pound the kitten weighed. There's a $50 minimum payout on that policy, which is a good thing because the feline only weighed 3 pounds.

The kitten was secured in what was supposed to be climate-controlled cargo, which her owner paid $289.94 for. That price included a $70 fee to ensure her crate was removed from the airplane quickly. Instead, a 'door latch malfunctioned.' Snickers was then subjected to 10-degree weather. It took the crew almost an hour to remove her from the airplane. After that the kitten was icy cold and couldn't move her head or paws. She died not longer after.

NBC Connecticut reports that Delta has said that the offer is standard 'cargo' reimbursement and that they are still negotiating with the owner.

I don't know if people just keep sending us stories about pets dying or escaping after flying on Delta just because we've done a few of them, but it's starting to sound like kind of a problem.

Owner of Dead Kitten Offered Air Fare and $50 [NBC Connecticut] (Thanks to Comedian!)

Cat Dies After Flight to Connecticut [NBC Connecticut]

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Dog That Escaped From Delta Flight Found Dead

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Entire Dog Lost, Delta Offers $200 Credit

Delta Paid $2,800 For Lost Dog Valued At $20,000

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Great Facebook Response

Sid Vicious: "

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Congress Issues Subpoena For Info On Countrywide's VIP Mortgage Program

Congress Issues Subpoena For Info On Countrywide's VIP Mortgage Program: "

Let's look back to the summer of 2008, when it was revealed that Angelo Mozilo, the curiously orange former CEO of Countrywide, had the company offer below-market 'VIP' mortgages to certain politicians and other influence peddlers. Fast forward to the present, where Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has issued a subpoena to Bank of America, looking for related documents, e-mails and names.

Here's a quote from Issa:

Countrywide orchestrated a deliberate and calculated effort to use relationships with people in high places in order to manipulate public policy and further their bottom line to the detriment of the American taxpayers even at the expense of its own lending standards...

This subpoena will allow us to obtain the information needed to answer the outstanding public interest questions regarding the full size and scope of the VIP program.

Bank of America, surely kicking itself every day for acquiring Countrywide, said it will comply with the subpoena and wants everyone to know that 'Upon acquiring Countrywide in July 2008, Bank of America immediately discontinued Countrywide's 'VIP Loan Program.' '

The Issa subpoena is much farther-reaching than any previous request made during Congress' investigation into the Countrywide debacle. Among the people whose mortgages he's requesting records on are current and former members of the House and Senate as well as current and former employees of federal, state or local governments.

Issa's first subpoena targets Countrywide VIP mortgage program [Washington Post]

Thanks to Max for the tip!

PREVIOUSLY:

14 Reasons Why Countrywide Is In The Worst Company Hall Of Fame

Countrywide CEO Gave Below Market Rate Loans To Senators From A Special 'VIP Desk'

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TSA Screeners At JFK Admit To Stealing $160K From Passengers

TSA Screeners At JFK Admit To Stealing $160K From Passengers: "

It must be tempting to be a TSA screener, seeing bags full of expensive goodies going through your scanner and knowing how easy it would be to make those bags disappear. Two TSA agents at JFK Airport in NYC gave into that temptation, swiping at least $160,000 from travelers.

The two thieves were caught earlier today when they were arrested for the Jan. 30 theft of $39,000 from a single passenger's bag. Police say they have subsequently fessed up to $160,000 worth of stolen cash.

From the NY Daily News:

The source said the agents worked in tandem. One would watch for money as the bags were screened, then notify the other about the loot. One would swipe the money once the luggage was placed in a baggage room.

The TSA agents were charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property and official misconduct.

OTHER AIRPORT A-HOLES:

Over in New Jersey, the supervisor of the Newark International Airport TSA screener caught stealing thousands from travelers has admitted to accepting bribes and kickbacks from that thief.

The supervisor is accused of accepting kickbacks to look the other way as the screener stole between $10,000 and $30,000 in cash from travelers' bags over a 13-month period.

ONE LAST ONE:

This one isn't TSA-related, but it does involve a scam related to Newark Airport. Remember the Continental employee accused of using stolen vouchers to run a Ponzi scam? She has entered a guilty plea to charges of wire fraud.

She now faces up to 20 years in prison and must pay restitution.

Two TSA agents arrested at JFK Airport for stealing $39K from passenger's bag [NY Daily News]

Newark airport security screener admits stealing from passengers, accepting bribes, kickbacks [NJ.com]

Ex NJ airline agent pleads guilty in NY to fraud [Daily Record]

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Government Employee Dies At Desk, No One Notices

Government Employee Dies At Desk, No One Notices: "

It's the nightmare of every employee who feels undervalued and isolated at work: you could die at your desk and no one would ever notice. This actually happened to a 51-year-old employee of Los Angeles County: she passed away at her desk sometime on Friday, and wasn't discovered until a security guard found her on Saturday. She had last been seen alive at 9 AM on Friday.

The cause of death is still unknown, but investigators suspect natural causes.

L.A. County Employee Dead in Cubicle a Day Before Being Noticed [KTLA](Thanks, Rosa!)

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Fox News caught faking it

Fox News caught faking it: "

When reporting that Ron Paul had defeated mainstream Republican Mitt Romney in the CPAC straw poll, Fox News superimposed archive footage of people booing from last year's event.

Bonus Fox misbehavior! When a liberal blogger asked Fox News reporter Jesse Watters for comment on recent claims from an insider that the network makes stuff up, Watters ignored the question and mocked the interviewer's cheap camera. After MSNBC ran the clip, which makes Watters appear evasive and smarmy, Fox produced heavily edited versions of the clip for its own shows, claimed their man was ambushed (he was in fact approached at the same heavily-attended conservative event) and praised its reporter for 'trash talking' the interviewer.


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"Cheap" Beef Now More Expensive Than The Better Stuff

"Cheap" Beef Now More Expensive Than The Better Stuff: "

The last few years have been tough on just about everybody and many of us have reacted by scaling back, buying generics instead of brand names, eating cheaper cuts of meat instead of the good stuff. But since so many people are demanding the less-expensive beef, the lower quality meat now costs more than the better stuff.

According to the Agriculture Dept., the demand for 'select' beef is so high that, as of Monday, it had an average price tag of $168.22 per cwt; that's $.55 more than the price for the better, 'choice' beef.

Explains an agriculture economist at the University of Missouri:

When the choice-select spread approaches zero, or occasionally gets inverted, it's generally an indication of weak demand -- consumers not willing to pay more for the good stuff.

Experts say the reversal is self-correcting, since people will just choose to buy choice beef so long as it's cheaper.

'The bottom line for consumers is that we'll see a little bit more choice product showing up at the grocery stores,' explains an agriculture economist at the Livestock Marketing Information Center.

Americans on budgets push up price of 'cheap' beef [ChicagBreakingNews.com]

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Full-Body Scan Privacy Law Gets One Step Closer To Reality

Full-Body Scan Privacy Law Gets One Step Closer To Reality: "

Back in December, we wrote about the law being proposed by Senator Chuck Schumer that would make it a crime to distribute or save images taken as part of an airport security scan. That law has come one step closer to becoming a reality after being unanimously accepted as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill being considered by the Senate.

The legislation, known as Security Screening Confidential Data Privacy Act, ensures that anyone -- airport staff or member of the public -- with access to scanned body images would be prohibited from photographing or disseminating those images. Violators could face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 per violation.

In addition to airports, the bill would also cover images from scans in courthouses and federal office buildings. It also covers not just the original image files, but any photographs taken by cameras, cell phones or any other video device.

'This law sends a loud and clear message to the flying public, not only will we do everything we can to protect your safety, we will also do everything we can to protect your privacy,' said Schumer. 'As we put in place new technologies to detect and capture those who wish to do us harm, we need to do everything we can to protect the privacy rights of the air travelers.'

By being attached to the non-controversial FAA Reauthorization Bill, which sets travel policy for the entire country and funds the Federal Aviation Administration, insiders tell Consumerist that the privacy legislation is virtually guaranteed to pass. The Senate is expected to vote on the complete bill as early as this week.

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JCPenney Accused Of Manipulating Google Searches

JCPenney Accused Of Manipulating Google Searches: "

It's a constant battle for retailers to draw attention to themselves online, and JCPenney has been winning the fight due to some blatant search engine manipulation.

The New York Times analyzes why JCPenney has dominated Google searches for specific articles of clothing and other products it sells for months, and has discovered search engine optimization black magic is behind the dominance.

The Times found that scores of sites with little to do with shopping link to JCPenney, and the influx of links is powerful enough to boost the company's site to the top of Google's rankings.

The paper speaks to an expert who says JCPenney is engaged in some blatant Google whoring:

'Actually, it's the most ambitious attempt I've ever heard of. This whole thing just blew me away. Especially for such a major brand. You'd think they would have people around them that would know better.'

A JCPenney spokesperson denies the company's involvement and says it's working to fight the phenomenon:

'JCPenney did not authorize, and we were not involved with or aware of, the posting of the links that you sent to us, as it is against our natural search policies. We are working to have the links taken down.'

Google says it's aware of the problem and is taking corrective action.

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search [The New York Times via Engadget]

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Probably Bad News: Meals with Benefits

Probably Bad News: Meals with Benefits: "

Submitted by:

bumelfesan

Picture by: Unknown

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Drugstores Cross-Promoting Chocolate And Condoms For Valentine's

Drugstores Cross-Promoting Chocolate And Condoms For Valentine's: "

Drugstores are making it easier for you to get your Valentine's Day shopping in by putting endcaps of condoms and lubrication on their their chocolate and candy displays. Now you only have to visit one aisle!

Reader Graham sent in this cellphone picture of the cross-promotional activity from a Walgreens in Newark, NJ.

Meanwhile, @enosone tweets that Duane Reade sent out an email that said 'Today is Valentine's Day,' and showed a bunch of different kinds of chocolate and their prices. Below that is said, 'Make it a memorable night' and showed a variety of intercourse products and their prices.

And 99only, a chain of 99cent stores in CA, NV and TX, came up with an amusing Valentine's Day flyer advertising 'Good Choice' and 'Bad Choice...but still a great deal!' items. Pro tip: DO buy your beloved a box of Jordache fragrances, DON't buy them a box of adult underpads. Also note that condoms are both a 'Good' and a 'Bad' Choice.

It's all about the upsell, baby. Man comes into the store to buy a fishing hook, make sure he walks out with a boat.

(Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!)

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Frugal 91-Year-Old Woman Was A Secret Millionaire

Frugal 91-Year-Old Woman Was A Secret Millionaire: "

A 91-year-old woman who passed away in Washington state shocked her community by leaving behind millions. She was known for wearing tattered clothing and hanging onto broken furniture, but was sitting on $3 million.

Seattle's KOMO News reports the woman left all the money to charity, including $500,000 to a Seattle hospice -- the organization's largest donation ever. She left another half million to the Salvation Army.

Do you plan on leaving an inheritance when you pass away? If so, who or what would you like to provide for?

Frugal woman stuns many by leaving millions behind [KOMO News via Newsvine]

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