Home / consumerist.com rss archive / September-26-2007


Unsurprising: US Airways Cancels Your Flight, Treats You "Like Dirt"
We're adding to our collection of complaints about US Airways and Philadelphia International Airport. If we collect them all, we may win a set of steak knives! David and Sarah write (to US Airways):September 25th, 2007 US AirwaysAttention: Customer Relations4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.Phoenix, AZ 85034 To Whom It May Concern: We are writing to inform you of a thoroughly unpleasant experience we had with your airline. On July 29, 2007, we were flying back to Connecticut from a vacation to the Bahamas. We flew from Nassau to Philadelphia on flight 1487, and were supposed to get a connecting flight from Philadelphia to Hartford, flight 4097. First, our flight out of Nassau was delayed. We were told it would be delayed by only half an hour. A half hour came and went, and they still weren't calling anyone to board the plane. We didn't start boarding until 45 minutes had passed and by the time we took off, we were already an hour late. When we arrived in Philadelphia at around 5:45...

Be Careful: Accidental Deaths On The Rise: Poisoning Deaths Increasing Quickly
People! You are accidentally poisoning yourselves! What the hell? Stop it. According to Consumer Reports, the second highest cause of accidental death is poisoning, and its the fastest growing, too. After car accidents, you're more likely to accidentally poison yourself than anything else.Uncool. Also of note: Deaths from accidental falls rank third and choking and drowning are fifth. In some states fire is number 5, so please check your smoke detectors. Accidents also accounted for more than 24 million nonfatal injuries in 2005. The economic cost of all fatal and nonfatal injuries amounted to $625.5 billion nationally, or $5,500 per household. "Our research shows that when it comes to safety, most Americans are more concerned about being the victim of a random act of violence than they are about being seriously injured in an accident," said [National Safety Council] President and CEO Alan McMillan. "The reality is that while we are at greater risk of experiencing an accidental...

Deep Thoughts: Is Fuze Violating Labeling Law By Making Bogus Health Claims?
The always entertaining Center for Science in the Public Interest is irritated with Coca-Cola's Fuze drinks because they make ridiculous health claims on their labels. Some examples, emphasis ours: Labels for Fuze Vitalize blackberry grape claim that its Vitamin A "helps reinforce resistance to colds, influenza & infections of the kidneys, bladder and lungs." Fuze Oolong Tea claims that "regular consumption of Polyphenols are associated with reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease and certain cancers." The vitamin B3 in the four flavors of Fuze Refresh is "known to improve circulation and reduce the cholesterol level in the blood," according to the Fuze web site. None of those claims have been approved by the FDA."Fuze drinks won't do anything for your kidneys, your lungs, or your heart; nor will they lower your cholesterol or prevent you from catching a cold," says CSPI senior nutritionist David Schardt. What? But, but, Jessica Simpson drinks it! It must prevent...

Stupid: Scammers Arrested After Claiming They Could Multiply Money With A Secret Potion
Some scams are clever and some are not. This is one of the not-so-clever ones. Jean-Luc Mbilli and Constant Yao were arrested in Fort Lauderdale, FL after trying to convince Samith Ghazawi, an convenience store employee, that they could use a special potion to multiply money. Ghazawi suspected that the men were using slight of hand and not a magical potion, so he called the cops. The BSO Economic Crime Unit and U.S. Secret Service set up a sting operation, complete with surveillance. While the Secret Service watched, Ghazawi offered the men $3,000... which they refused because they wanted more. From the Sun Sentinel:The two men were then arrested and investigators found a metal box filled with paper the size of U.S. currency in their vehicle.Authorities asked any other people who may have fallen prey to the "black money scam" or "wash wash scam" to call sheriff's detectives at 954-321-4255 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. You know, if we had a potion that doubled...

Learning Is Fun... Too Much Fun: Health organization Kaiser Permanente has ...
Health organization Kaiser Permanente has launched an online game for kids that teaches them about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, then "locks" the kids out of the game after 20 minutes so they'll go outside and play. We imagine the lock-out functionality won't be needed, as the educational aspect of the game should organically repel the target audience of 9- and 10-year-olds in 10 to 15 seconds. [Reuters](Photo: Getty)

Didn't We See This In Heathers?: Add "barmaid" to your list of toxic things ...
Add "barmaid" to your list of toxic things to avoid in Australia. The woman, a 23-year-old former employee of a Melbourne nightclub, and someone police say is "known for her prankster-style behavior," served a patron a shot of Pine-O-Cleen disinfectant during a 6 a.m. "drinking bout." The victim survived but developed ulcers on his skin. The ex-barmaid now faces "four charges of intentionally causing injury." Man, everything cool happens in Australia. [Reuters](Photo: Getty)

Recalls: RC2 Continued To Sell Lead Tainted "Thomas & Friends" Toys After Initial Recall
According to a recall notice just posted by the CPSC, RC2 is recalling additional "Thomas & Friends" toys that are contaminated with lead-based paint. According to the recall notice, some of these 200,000 toys were sold after the June 13 recall of 1.5 million other Thomas & Friends toys.Back in July, Curt Stoelting, the chief executive of RC2, told the New York Times he fired the vendor who made the contaminated toys: "We've always required our suppliers to follow our safety specifications," Mr. Stoelting said. "In this incident, those requirements were not met.""We're still moving forward with our Thomas product lines," he said. "Our goal is to use this incident to really improve our procedures, improve our safeguards." Mr. Stoelting said RC2 was now "requiring lead testing of every batch of paint used on the Thomas toys." On its website, RC2 offered this statement in the way of assurances:Are the other Thomas Wooden Railway products safe?To assure that the toys families...

Followups: Kid Get $120 In Wells Fargo Overdrafts Refunded After Rich Dad Calls VP
DM reports that he was able to get Wells Fargo to reverse all his overdrafts... because his dad has a big Wells Fargo account and was able to call up some company Vice President. Ahem. Three cheers for the power of escalating issues outside of the customer service line, we suppose.After he got off the phone, DM's dad gave him a stern lecture on financial responsibility. DM says he is now keeping track of his transactions in Excel and using Mint.com to monitor his accounts. We also made him download our budget. Amazing that people can make so much money and not teach their kids about how overdrafts work.PREVIOUSLY: College Student Learns How Overdrafts Work

Recalls: More Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Toys ...
More Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Toys (lead), Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Children's Sunny Patch Chairs sold at Target (lead), Britain's "Knights of the Sword" Series Toys (lead), Jo-Ann Stores Children's Toy Rake (lead), Guidecraft Floor Puppet Theaters (lead), : Rhode Island Novelty Children's Spinning Wheel-Metal Necklaces (lead), More TOBY N.Y.C. Children's Metal Jewelry (lead), Quesos Sabrosos Mexicanos Queso Cincho de Guerrero (salmonella).

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter In My Lungs: The House of Representatives passed a bill ...
The House of Representatives passed a bill today that would require OSHA to limit workers' exposure to diacetyl, the recently popular butter-flavored chemical used in microwave popcorn and the suspected source of dreaded "popcorn lung." The White House has threatened to veto any regulation sent its way, and some House Republicans agree. Said Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, "Fundamentally, the science does not exist to state the link between diacetyl and impaired lung function." [Reuters](Photo: Getty)

Stats Feed: Today's most popular headlines are Coffee ...
Today's most popular headlines are Coffee Makers As Overpriced Gadgets (4,981 views today), Bank Of America Refuses To Pay 80-Year-Old's $5,000 Bond (4,594) and Exercise Doesn't (Necessarily) Make You Lose Weight (2,590).

The Internet: Verizon edges closer to adopting IPv6, which, ...
Verizon edges closer to adopting IPv6, which, among other things, will allow for unique IP addresses to be assigned to all your electronic kitchen appliances. [EETimes]

Rude: Apple Ships Computer Late, Denies "Expired" Rebate
Karl writes:My girlfriend is a college student. She purchased a brand new iMac on Apple's website on August 7, the day the new iMacs came out, and got the free iPod Nano (after rebate) along with the deal. The rebate required both the UPC codes -- which you would need to have received the products, right? Well, she had the Nano in time -- but the computer didn't ship until September 14th. We actually got it in our grubby paws on the 22nd of September. The catch? Apple customer service told her that since it was more than 30 days since she had made the purchase, she was ineligible to receive the rebate. So let's get this straight -- she would've had to have had the UPC code of the computer we received on September 22nd by September 7th in order to get the rebate. Thanks, Apple! Guess you really have gone to the dark side. Taking a momentary break from our usual droning mantra about how rebates are designed to produce this exact result.... That's rude as hell. We suggest you...

Videos: Woman Googles Way Out Of Illegal $600 Tow
After this woman's car got towed (from what looks like what might be her driveway), she did some Googling and found the towing company didn't have a moving license at the time she was towed. She also found the company hadn't notified the city of the tow, as required by law. After complaining to the Texas Department of Transportation, the consumer got her car back, and the $600 the company had charged her. Now that's using your noodle!North Texas Towing Company Impounds Cars Illegally [cbs11] (Thanks to Reni!)

Beat The System: How To Fill A 120-Day Prescription For 1/5th Of The Regular Price
Here's a potential way to get certain drug prescriptions filled cheaply—as in, a several-month supply for less than $15—from our own Consumerist reader and commenter Hambriq. He posted it last week and we thought it was worth bringing to the foreground for more readers to see.Here's a tip about pharmacies; we all have a minimum price that we charge for prescription drugs. It doesn't matter how cheap the drug is. The drug could cost less than a penny, and we would still charge that minimum fee. At my pharmacy, that fee is $10.99. At most pharmacies, the fee is comparable as well.We do this for two reasons. One, it's illegal for an insurance company to charge you more than the store price for a prescription drug. Most insurance companies have a $10 copay for generics. So, when you get your 30 hydrocholorthiazide or atenolols, the insurance company can charge you $10.00, even though the actual price of the drug is closer to $2.00. This is because the pharmacy...

: Woman Googles Way Out Of Illegal $600 Tow
After this woman's car got towed (from what looks like what might be her driveway), she did some Googling and found the towing company didn't have a moving license at the time she was towed. She also found the company hadn't notified the city of the tow, as required by law. After complaining to the Texas Department of Transportation, the consumer got her car back, and the $600 the company had charged her. Now that's using your noodle!North Texas Towing Company Impounds Cars Illegally [cbs11] (Thanks to Reni!)

: How To Fill A 120-Day Prescription For 1/5th Of The Regular Price
Here's a potential way to get certain drug prescriptions filled cheaply—as in, a several-month supply for less than $15—from our own Consumerist reader and commenter Hambriq. He posted it last week and we thought it was worth bringing to the foreground for more readers to see.Here's a tip about pharmacies; we all have a minimum price that we charge for prescription drugs. It doesn't matter how cheap the drug is. The drug could cost less than a penny, and we would still charge that minimum fee. At my pharmacy, that fee is $10.99. At most pharmacies, the fee is comparable as well.We do this for two reasons. One, it's illegal for an insurance company to charge you more than the store price for a prescription drug. Most insurance companies have a $10 copay for generics. So, when you get your 30 hydrocholorthiazide or atenolols, the insurance company can charge you $10.00, even though the actual price of the drug is closer to $2.00. This is because the pharmacy...

Get Rich Quick: Retire Early By Suing Google For Anything
You're likely reading The Consumerist in the middle of a workday, so we're guessing you're receptive to new ideas on how to make lots of money fast without actually doing any work. Here's a great way: just make up some reason to sue Google.For example, last week a 25-year-old Pennsylvanian filed a lawsuit against Google because his social security number spells a scrambled version of "Google" when turned upside down, and consequently his safety is in jeopardy. He's asking for $5 billion in damages. His handwritten complaint also states quite clearly that not only is his right to privacy being violated, but that "Plaintiff and defendant(s) have a responsibility to fight the War on Terrorism." Or here's another example: sue Google and Yahoo for stealing their names from your grandparents, who hailed from the Gogo and Yao tribes of Tanzania.See? It's easy. Here are some more ideas to help get you started:I thought Google was a palindrome but it turns out it isn't (this one smells...

Dsl: Reach Speakeasy Executive Customer Service
Steve Miranda206-902-5321(Photo: badjonni)

Customer Service: How To Apologize
Some companies just don't know how to say they're sorry when they flub up customer service. Since we know many of them read our blog, here's a primer from wikiHow on how to go about your next mea culpa. 6. Ask if they will give you a chance to make up for what you did wrong. Insist on proving to them that you have learned from your mistake, and that you will take action to change and grow as a result, if they will let you. Make a clear request for forgiveness and wait for their answer. This gives the injured party the well deserved "power" in determining the outcome of the situation."This, of course, assumes you're interested in keeping them as a customer. If your industry thrives on churn, we guess you'll just have to hope the customer doesn't know about making it more expensive for you to ignore their complaint than to fix it.How to Apologize [wikiHow](Photo: Getty)

Chinese Poison Train: "Scammers in China are pretending to be official ...
"Scammers in China are pretending to be official quality control inspectors so they can take bribes in exchange for overlooking shoddy manufacturing." [Reuters via The Raw Feed]

The Case Of The Disappearing Bond: Bank Of America Refuses To Pay 80-Year-Old's $5,000 Bond
Bette Miller has a bond she purchased in 1984 from Rainier National Bank. That bank was purchased by other bank, which was then purchased by Bank of America.Now Bank of America says they have no record of her bond and have been refusing to pay it since she first tried to cash it in 2 years ago. Haggerty [Senior Vice President of West Coast Media Relations for Bank of America] said the only way to find out what really happened in this case is for Bette Miller to find tax records dating back 20 years or more."I think they're stonewalling her," said Bette's attorney, James Jackson. He's been trying to get the bank to honor Bette's bond."Claiming they don't have the records, when she has the original certificate, is insufficient," he said.Jackson says the bond is proof that Bette didn't get her money."The only way that she would have been able to cash the bond out was by bringing the certificate with her," he said.Those are the rules -- printed right on the front of the bond certificate...

Confessions: The Furniture Industry Is A Secret Cabal
"Most people do not realize that home furniture has a 200% to 400% markup on it. Some has less, but that is where the majority falls. In fact my friend was a furniture industry insider and at the Highpoint show, a furniture company told him to mark up the price of a wall unit by 400%. One wall unit he came back home with for $1800 had a retail price of $6500. So when these big stores advertise in the local papers with 50% off MSRP sales, they could still be doubling their money. Not only that, many stores advertise their sale prices are 50% off MSRP, yet if you dig a little deeper, you might find that they never sold the pieces at MSRP to begin with, so they are really just dropping their price maybe 5 to 10%. Some stores don't drop their price at all, because they were already at MAP. This means that store really is not having a sale!"You'll find that manufacturers set their so called "MSRP" price, and then usually in secret between them and the home furniture stores,...

Rude: Apple Ships Laptop Late, Denies "Expired" Rebate
Karl writes:My girlfriend is a college student. She purchased a brand new iMac on Apple's website on August 7, the day the new iMacs came out, and got the free iPod Nano (after rebate) along with the deal. The rebate required both the UPC codes -- which you would need to have received the products, right? Well, she had the Nano in time -- but the computer didn't ship until September 14th. We actually got it in our grubby paws on the 22nd of September. The catch? Apple customer service told her that since it was more than 30 days since she had made the purchase, she was ineligible to receive the rebate. So let's get this straight -- she would've had to have had the UPC code of the computer we received on September 22nd by September 7th in order to get the rebate. Thanks, Apple! Guess you really have gone to the dark side. Taking a momentary break from our usual droning mantra about how rebates are designed to produce this exact result.... That's rude as hell. We suggest you...

How To: How To Apologize
Some companies just don't know how to say they're sorry when they flub up customer service. Since we know many of them read our blog, here's a primer from wikiHow on how to go about your next mea culpa. 6. Ask if they will give you a chance to make up for what you did wrong. Insist on proving to them that you have learned from your mistake, and that you will take action to change and grow as a result, if they will let you. Make a clear request for forgiveness and wait for their answer. This gives the injured party the well deserved "power" in determining the outcome of the situation."This, of course, assumes you're interested in keeping them as a customer. If your industry thrives on churn, we guess you'll just have to hope the customer doesn't know about making it more expensive for you to ignore their complaint than to fix it.How to Apologize [wikiHow](Photo: Getty)

Oh Noes: Retail Panic: Will This Be The Worst Holiday Season Ever?
Analysts aren't pleased with Lowe's and Target's latest news. Lowe's issued a warning about their earnings and Target's September sales numbers are going to be super crappy—time to panic! From Reuters:...as skittish consumers rein in spending, fueling concerns that the holiday shopping season could be the weakest in years.A drop to a two-year low in the Conference Board's consumer confidence index added to the jitters, helping send the Standard & Poor's Retail Index down almost 3 percent."The American consumer has been taken through a very rough period. They are cautious; they are careful; they are fearful; and they are acting accordingly," said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group. "There's very little that can take place between now and December 31 that is going to materially change that." Oh, no! Not Target and Lowe's.... the two stores everyone loves! If people aren't shopping there, we must be broke. Santa is not coming this year,...

Mergers And Acquisitions: Bank of America To Layoff 4,000 In LaSalle Bank Merger
LaSalle Bank customers won't just see a name change at their local bank branches, Bank of America has announced plans to layoff 2,500 workers in Illinois and 1,500 in Michigan as part of the merger, according to Portfolio.Buying LaSalle will make BofA (NYSE:BAC) a dominant player in Chicago for the first time. At present, BofA has less than 2 percent of that market's deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.BofA has added 56 branches in Chicago in the past four years. With the LaSalle purchase, it will get 411 branches, 17,000 commercial-banking clients, 1.4 million retail customers and 1,500 ATMs in the Chicago area, Michigan and Indiana.The deal also will mark BofA's retail-branch entry in Michigan. BofA will have 264 offices there and be the state's largest bank, with a 23 percent share of the market's deposits. LaSalle also has six branches in Indiana.The decision to lay off the workers got BofA immediate rebuke from U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama,...

Obesity Epidemic: Exercise Doesn't (Necessarily) Make You Lose Weight
Good news if you hate the gym, bad news if you've invested your time, money, and faith in the body-shaping power of daily workouts: despite what most people think, there still isn't overwhelming evidence that exercise will reduce weight. Over the past several decades, research continues to show that exercise will definitely increase your body's energy needs but not always reduce fat, and that a sedentary lifestyle and obesity are linked but not in a proven cause-and-effect relationship. Meanwhile, the popular press has promoted and mythologized a sort of "faith-based" concept of exercise as a key requirement for weight loss.When the Finnish investigators looked at the results of the dozen best-constructed experimental trials that addressed weight maintenance--that is, successful dieters who were trying to keep off the pounds they had shed--they found that everyone regains weight. And depending on the type of trial, exercise would either decrease the rate of that gain (by 3.2...

Rules And Regulations: Fraud Protection: What's The Difference Between Credit And Debit?
Everyone knows that credit cards offer better protection against fraud than debit cards, but why? Blueprint for Financial Prosperity sheds some light: Federal Reserve Board Regulation E is the federal regulation that governs Electronic Fund Transfers and includes provisions that makes debit-card transactions instantaneous. Instantaneous means that the money is technically spent from the account the moment the card is used, which is important because your debit card draws from a bank account as opposed to a line of credit.Why does this distinction matter? It matters because when a transaction is under investigation with a credit card, the charge is generally reversed until it is investigated further. With debit cards, the charge stays on while the transaction is investigated. So, if you have a fraudulent charge, you're out the money until it's fully investigated. This often causes a cascading effect where the missing money causes your account to go negative and start incurring...

Recalls: Hamburger Recalled For E. Coli After 6 Illnesses Reported In New York
6 people have fallen ill due to e. coli contaminated frozen hamburger, according to the Associated Press. Three of the illnesses required hospitalization. The meat in question comes from frozen hamburgers distributed by Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps Meat Co.. The recall affects 331,582 pounds of frozen beef patties that were distributed nationwide. All packages carried the number "Est. 9748" inside the USDA mark of inspection, and were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23, the USDA said.Here's a complete list of the recalled meat, compliments of your USDA: 10-pound boxes of "BUTCHER'S BEST 100% ALL BEEF PATTIES 75/25, 6 OZ. FLAT, 27 PIECES." Each box bears a sell-by date of "JUL 23 08." 10-pound boxes of "BUTCHER'S BEST 100% ALL BEEF PATTIES 75/25, 4 OZ. (4-1), 40 PIECES." Each box bears a sell-by date of "JUL 23 08." 10-pound boxes of "KOHLER FOODS 4 OZ. FLAT HAMBURGER, CODE: 60100, 40 PCS." Each box bears a sell-by date of "JUL 23 08."10-pound boxes of "KOHLER FOODS 6...

Flying Is Fun Again: Radar failed in Memphis yesterday, messed ...
Radar failed in Memphis yesterday, messed everything up, including FedEx. [USA Today]

News From The Swamp: Liveblogging The House Energy And Commerce Committee Hearing On Food Safety
-In Progress-Starting today at 10 a.m., the powerful Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), will hold a hearing on H.R. 3610, The Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007, or, as we have dubbed the bill, The Poison-Free Food Act. The bill would dramatically alter the FDA's handling of imported foods, empowering the agency to:Issue mandatory recalls;Limit food imports to ports clustered near FDA inspection labs;Require a country of origin labels for food, drugs and medical devices;Subject exporters to a strict certification program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.The Committee will hear from two panels: The first will see FDA Commissioners and regulators defending their agency, while the second will host a panoply of foodies, including the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and Big Pharma.Start hitting refresh at 10 a.m. for up-to-the-minute...

Deals: Consumerist Neighborhood eBay Garage Sale
There's infinite space on the virtual folding table that is the comments section for readers to add their eBay auctions - a great way to make some extra cash to pay down bills or build up savings. We'll get this started with some items from our gizmo box.Used Altec Lansing ACS22 Tower Desktop Speakers 2-PieceUsed Numark CD Mix-2 Pro DJ Dual CD Player AC AdaptorSlighly Used Simply Catan (SimplyFun Settlers of Catan)Used LG VX8300 (Verizon Wireless)Used XPS DELL USB Keyboard Black and DELL Optical MouseUsed Logitech Webcam USB 1.0 With Stand P/N 861050-0010Used D-Link 10/100 Mbps PC Ethernet External Card(Photo: MyklR)

Sweet Tooth: Portion Control And Snack Replacements Pervade Annual Candy Trade Show
Green tea Hershey's Kisses, diabetic-friendly sprays that taste like ice cream, chewy Lemonheads and Atomic Fireballs: the candy industry's All Candy Expo was held in Chicago earlier this month, and over 2,000 new products were revealed, many of which reflect consumers' current fondness for low-calorie snacks, portion control, and energy-boosting products.Many gums, for example, are now being positioned as "snack replacements" with grown-up flavors like "mint mojito" or "colada," or come with added benefits like teeth whitener. But the future of snack sales like in portion control, apparently, with companies like Mars launching entire lines of its existing snack products in smaller, healthier (by comparison) packs that are 150 calories or less. The CEO of Necco tells MarketWatch, "You end up with about three pieces of candy, but people really like it.""Can't eat candy? Think of gum as a 'sweet treat'" [Market Watch]RELATED"All Candy Expo - Monday Wrappers" [Candyblog]"All Candy...

Money: Checking Account Fees Hit New Highs
Almost all costs and fees are up at the brick and mortar banks included in Bankrate's 2007 Checking Account Pricing Study. Average fees reached new peaks across the board.Bounced check: $28.23 (+3%)ATM surcharge:$1.78 (+$.14)Monthly checking service: $11.72 (+$.98)Min required to avoid fees: $3,316.60 (+ 25%)More than ever, high-yield online savings accounts like HSBC Direct, and ING Direct are the place to park your dough.Fall 2007 Bankrate.com Checking Account Pricing Study

Explainers: What Is Minimum Advertised Price?
Minimum Advertised Price is an agreement between suppliers and retailers stipulating the lowest price an item is allowed to be advertised at. If you've ever tried to shop around and keep nosing up against the same number, you may have just discovered that good's MAP. This is why sometimes you see signs that say "price too low to advertise!" Or why when shopping online, sometimes the price doesn't show up until further in the transaction process. Retailers can incur sizable fines and/or penalties from their suppliers for violating MAP contracts.Minimum Advertised Price [About](Photo: Ben Popken)

Alternative Medicine: Grab Your Sewing Kit: Fake Acupuncture Works!
Score another round—sort of—for alternative medicine. In what may be the funniest medical study fake-out so far, German scientists report that patients who received fake acupuncture in their lower back reported relief at almost-but-not-quite the same rate as those who received legit acupuncture: 44% of patients improved, versus 47% of those who received real acupuncture and 25% of those who received conventional treatment reported improvements. So what constitutes fake acupuncture?For the sham acupuncture, needles were inserted, but not as deeply as for the real thing. The sham acupuncture also did not insert needles in traditional acupuncture points on the body and the needles were not manually moved and rotated.The study excluded people with spinal fractures, tumors, or scoliosis, as well as pregnant women.In Germany, the study has led to an increase in health insurance coverage of acupuncture treatments. In the United States, plan coverage for the treatment...

Airlines: How To Request Your Homeland Security Travel Dosiier
In its efforts to combat terrorism, fight human trafficking, and bust drug dealers, the Department of Homeland Security compiles a large database of where you go, who you travel with, what you read and more. If you're curious about what this record contains, you can request a copy of your file under the Freedom Of Information Act. Unsecure Flight hosts two form letters for submitting this request, along with instructions for doing so.Read Your Own DHS Travel Dossier [UnSecure Flight] (Thanks to Bill!)

Lowe's: Coffee Makers As Overpriced Gadgets
So I'm in Lowes for some project materials and I pass by their appliance section. I need a new coffee maker as my $19.99 Mr. Coffee from Target isn't getting the caffeine elixir hot enough anymore. I check out their array of coffee makers. I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked at how many of them are the same plastic pieces of crap, just with varying degrees of unnecessary features.One has a built-in grinder. One has a charcoal filter to make the water taste better. After the charcoal filter runs out, you can buy a new filter. Several of them are embedded with extra digital functions, clocks, alarms, one will start making coffee at a pre-set time. One coffee-maker has a function that cuts off the drip so you can pour coffee while it's being made. These various add-ons justify prices of $20-$60 more than the entry-level Mr. Coffee. There's a reason hobos make coffee in a sock. It's not that hard. You heat the water, you pass it through grinds, and sieve it into a receptacle.I didn't...

Shopping: Morning Deals
Woot: Philips 23" Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV for $299.99LL Bean: Embroidered Adirondack Barn Coat for $19.99, free shipping with coupon code 7420440Tanga: It's a Tangathon.Highlights From DealhackBuy.com: Skyfi2 XM Receiver with Boombox & Car Kit $50 ShippedHP Home: Save $400 or 25% off Desktop & 20% off Notebook PCsPriceline: Save on Rental Cars with Rates from $12/day

Drastic Measures: Harvard Bookstore: "We Own ISBN Numbers"
The Harvard Crimson ran a story last week about a student who was asked to leave the premises for writing down the prices of six textbooks at the Coop, Harvard's bookstore of record. The bookstore's president says that there's no official policy against students writing down information, but "we discourage people who are taking down a lot of notes." But what's more surprising, he tells the Crimson that the textbooks' ISBNs—which can be used to look up the same books online—are "the Coop's intellectual property."The Crimson speculates that the Coop may be reacting this way because of Crimsonreading.org, an online database that lets students search for the lowest prices by using ISBN. Harvard's Undergraduate Council President says he's spoken with an intellectual property lawyer and confirms that the ISBN-ownership claim is hogwash.We understand taking severe measures to protect your business against cost-cutting competitors—especially when they...

Electronics: Someone Invent This Electronics Company
After watching this 60 Minutes clip about how thanks to crappy and complicated technology, geeks will rule the earth, we got to thinking.Why doesn't someone make a new, friendly, consumer electronics company, like a Apple meets Fisher-Price meets pre-DRM Sony? Don't try to cram as many "advanced" features into new, hot, gadgets. Instead, make the product do basically what most people need it to do, and then do that very very well. Design the heck out of it, making it extremely intuitive and easy to use. Then make it cheaper than its competitors. Back it up with a lifetime warranty and a customer service department interested in creating life-long customers. Then, rule the earth.

Shopping: This IKEA Infographic Is Extremely Easy To Understand
BoingBoing has an infographic from IKEA that seems like a good idea at first, but then makes your brain hurt if you look at it for too long. BoingBoing Reader Matt says:This is a picture of Ikea's "Optimal" shopping hours. At first glance, it seems like a good idea, and a good chart to follow. If you actually try to figure it out though, it makes no sense. It appears to be a 12 hour clock, but it also appears to reference 24 hour time. What? Why did they choose this format? It sucks. We'll translate:M-F 10-9, sorta busy from 7-9.S 9-9, Busy as hell. Show up before noon(ish).Sun 10-8, Busy as hell. Show up before noon.We posit that anyone who has ever tried to set foot in an IKEA after 12pm on a weekend is in possession of this information.Bad info-graphic: Ikea shopping hours chart [BoingBoing](Photo:Matt)UPDATE: A BoingBoing reader offers this revision. (Photo:buriednexttoyou)

Backlash: Is The Consumer Backlash Against DRM Starting To Make Them Sweat?
Consumers don't like DRM and neither do we, but quite honestly—we thought no one cared what we liked and disliked. Now Ars Technica seems to think that DRM producers are starting to sweat from the heat of the anti-DRM consumer backlash.You all know the slogan: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." At the Digital Rights Strategies conference in New York City, a similar message could be heard: "DRM doesn't anger consumers, content owners abusing DRM anger consumers." And then there's this little nugget of hilarity:At a conference convened by the overlords of DRM, Sony vice president Scott Smyers admits that he circumvents the copy protection on DVDs (CSS) in order to make backups for personal use. Apparently Mr. Smyers doesn't agree with Hollywood or the Register of Copyrights, both of which argue that "backups" can readily be had in the form of new copies you can buy at the store. The corporate hypocrisy is obvious: what the corporate parent demands (DRM that...

Your Government: Philadelphia Mayor Cracks Down On Tax Evaders, Finds Out He Is One
Philadelphia's mayor, John Street, also known as the "iPhone Mayor," (because he camped out for an iPhone) told Philadelphia he was cracking down on tax scofflaws... only to find out that he is one. From KYW:About three weeks ago Mayor Street announced an aggressive effort to reclaim one-third of the $700 million that the city is owed in back property taxes: "If the taxes are delinquent, you will have to pay." A local newspaper did some digging and found that among those who owe money is John Franklin Street, our mayor. The Philadelphia Daily News found that he had not paid taxes on two of his four North Philadelphia properties since 2003, and owed $4,800. The mayor's spokesman, Joe Grace, says after the newspaper called, Street wrote a check: "As soon as it came to the mayor's attention, the mayor immediately issued a check for $4,798 to pay those tax bills in full." Street says the bills were going to the wrong address and is now asking Philadelphia residents to please provide...

Technology: OLPC Announces "Give One Get One" Laptop Sale
Early adopters, geeks, technology bargain hunters and idealists rejoice: One Laptop Per Child is opening its high tech stash to private consumers, at least temporarily, in an effort to help get their project off the ground now that production has begun. For two weeks beginning November 12th, you can purchase one of their green and white, portable, solar powered, open source laptops with the super-bright screen, for yourself for a tax-deductible $399, and a second laptop will be given to a needy kid somewhere else.The One Laptop Per Child program has had its share of critics and setbacks over the past several years. For one thing, the "$100 laptop" is now the "$188 laptop" due to parts costs. Now a bigger problem is that that countries are dragging their collective feet on handshake agreements to purchase the laptops. Nicholas Negroponte, the guy behind OLPC, tells Newsweek,"I had a handshake agreement with the leaders of three countries--Thailand, Nigeria and Brazil--all agreeing...

Leaks: Get AT&T Dry Loop For $23.99
Thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Citizen's Utility Board, people all across the Midwest, Southwest California, Nevada and Connecticut, can get AT&T dry loop DSL for only $23.99 (express) or $28.99 (pro), instead of $43.99 or $48.99. But they won't tell you this through the regular customer service line, because AT&T would really rather you have a landline along with your DSL, and pay more for the privilege. A current AT&T retention rep tells us this is the way to do the discount dry loop dance:Call the AT&T Dry Loop department directly at 888-800-4095Ask to switch to "DSL direct"If they give you a hassle, say it's a retention offerOur source this will not work for the Bellsouth region. This tip is untested, but sounds worth the shot.UPDATE: Reader writes that the speeds are Express 1.5/128-384, Pro 3.0/384-512.UPDATE: Another AT&T rep writes, "DSL Direct IS available in the BellSouth region (sort of). It is currently only a Save tactic, but it will...

Consumerist Articles Of The Future: So, it turns out that if you send salmonella ...
So, it turns out that if you send salmonella bacteria into space, it comes back super evil and kills mice much faster than regular earthly salmonella. Bad news for those of you who enjoy eating Walmart peanut butter in space. [WSJ Health Blog]

Videos: Fake Credit Card App Booths: An Extremely Unlikely Identity Theft Scenario
newVideoPlayer("Credit_Card_Scam_Today_show.flv", 475, 376);Jumping on the identity theft scare bandwagon, The Today Show demonstrated how thieves could successfully steal your personal information by making a fake credit card application booth. They made up a bank, had a printed sign, an electronic kiosk, a folding table, table cloth, and reasonably attractive blonde girl, and got people to input their name, address, social security number, etc, in exchange for a $5 coupon. We've never heard of this method being used to perpetuate an identity theft scam, perhaps because it's retarded.It requires:High cost/barrier of entry for would-be thievesLack of concern for low reward relative to riskExtended face-to-face contact with victimsExtended public displayGetting official permits (they did it outside a student union and inside a mall)Technical aptitude to program kioskDo identity thieves use fake credit card apps? Sure, but not with this degree of razzle dazzle. Let's focus on...

Recalls: Did The Chicago Tribune Embarrass The CPSC Into Recalling A Million Cribs?
When it comes to consumer reporting about hazardous children's products, the Chicago Tribune might be the most badass newspaper around. After shaming Walmart, Target, and Kohl's by finding (illegal) recalled toys on their shelves, the Tribune went after Simplicity cribs and a massive recall followed:Photographs taken of Liam Johns' crib by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office clearly show where it came apart.The drop rail had detached from its plastic track, creating a gap through which the 9-month-old boy slipped feet-first. Instead of falling to the floor, Liam got his head stuck between the rail and the mattress. Trapped in a hanging position, the boy asphyxiated.Liam's April 2005 death prompted an investigation by a federal watchdog agency and a family lawsuit against the crib's manufacturer, Simplicity Inc.But the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission didn't warn parents across the country about the potentially fatal flaw in Simplicity cribs--not after Liam...

Followups: Updates & Refutations
Tmobile says they fixed Motoko's fraudulent bill complaint.An insurance claims adjuster would like to adjust several of the claims made in "10 Things Your Auto Insurer Won't Tell You"Two airplane manufacturers and a UCLA professor take issue with a Dan Rather Reports episode claiming new Boeing 787 Dreamliners are made of a material more prone than other airplanes to shatter on impact.Jacqueline, the wife of an Alaskan fisherman, informs us that, "the marine smell of shell fish is more briny than fishy," and implores us to, "Always avoid fishy smells."

ID Theft: Guess Who's Not Getting Anything From The TJ Maxx Settlement? You!
Mouseprint.org has read the fine print and they say you're probably out of luck when it comes to the TJ Maxx Settlement: So, it is primarily shoppers who returned goods without a receipt during the relevant period who qualify for that part of the settlement. That amounts to some 455,000 people, a mere 1% of the total number possibly affected. These people have already received a direct notification of the breach from TJX, and will also be entitled to other compensation if they experienced actual losses.For everybody else who made a purchase at a TJX store by check, credit or debit card between certain dates, and who suffered more than a $5 loss as a result of the breach, you will be entitled to $30 to $60 in merchandise credit depending on the level of proof you have. Despite the large number of card numbers stolen, it appears that very few people actually became victims of id theft. That may best explain why most of the 45 million cardholders will not be entitled to compensation....

Decoded: "They are the secret language of the gadget ...
"They are the secret language of the gadget world: mysterious icons that are printed, stamped, and engraved on every electronic device and the packaging it comes in." Wired explains the meanings behind eight commonly used symbols you find on today's electronics. [Wired]

Shopping: Morning Deals
Starbucks: Buy One Get One Free Coupon (front, back) Saturday/Sunday until 9/30/07 YMMVWine.woot: Roshambo Trio for $39.99SlickDeals: Many Bluetooth GPS receivers - Starting at $27 + ShippingHighlights From DealhackDr Martens USA: Save Extra 15% off All Shoes Store-WideCircuit City: Zenith DVD Home Theater System $90 ShippedTiVo.com: TiVo Series2 Dual Tuner 80 Hour DVR $50 ShippedHighlights From BargainistHabitat Shoes: Clearance up to 50% offGuessFactory: 30% off purchases couponBackCountry.com: Closeout jackets & pants up to 50% off

Advertising: Thanks to distinctively annoying ad campaign, ...
Thanks to distinctively annoying ad campaign, HeadOn sales are up 234%. [AdAge]

Safeguards: TransUnion Will Let You Freeze Your Credit Report
Beginning October 15th, credit reporting company TransUnion will let consumers freeze their credit reports, which means imposters will not be able to use your credit to do things like open new phone accounts or sign up for credit cards. While this is great news, the other two major credit reporters, Experian and Equifax, are so far not offering a similar feature, although they say they're considering it.Of course, TransUnion isn't simply doing this to be nice. Unless you can prove you're already a victim of identity theft, the freeze will cost you $10. No word on whether that's a one-time or annual fee, but we'll be realists and assume it's annual. You receive a pin code that you can use to unfreeze the report for legitimate uses. A spokesman for Consumers Union points out that the offering is good, but not really effective unless the other big players participate:We think it's a major development... but you really need to be able to freeze all three of your credit files. Otherwise...

Leaks: Contact Information For Directors Of Time Warner Cable, San Diego Division
Here are the company contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses for the division directors of Time Warner Cable, San Diego division. If you're a TWC subscriber in that area with a problem and not getting any traction through regular customer service, one of these people should be able to help you. From Judy Walsh, division President, and Tad Yo, General Manager, to Marjean Boettcher in Finance, we've got your number, baby.TIME WARNER CABLE - SAN DIEGO DIVISION10450 Pacific Center Court San Diego, CA 92121Business Office (858) 695-3110 Customer Service (858) 695-3220JUDY WALSH - DIVISION PRESIDENTPhone: (858) 635-8297Fax: (858) 566-6248judy.walsh@twcable.comAssistant to PresidentLinda OakleyPhone: (858) 635-8480Fax: (858) 566-6248linda.oakley@twcable.comExecutive AssistantDESERT CITIES SYSTEM41-725 Cook Street Palm Desert, CA 92211Business Office (760) 340-1312 Customer Service (760) 340-2225TAD YO - VP / GENERAL MANAGERPhone: (760) 674-5300Fax: (760) 674-2392tad.yo@twcable.c...

The American Way: A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday ...
A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday against Simplicity Inc., Target Corp., and Graco Children's Products Inc. for their roles in the unfolding defective crib recall. The lawyer who filed the suit originally represented the family of a 9-month-old who died in 2005 from one of the badly-designed cribs, which can be dangerous if assembled incorrectly. [Chicago Tribune]

Happy Birthday: This month marks the 50th year of Which?, ...
This month marks the 50th year of Which?, a British magazine that conducts Consumer Reports-style independent product tests and campaigns on behalf of consumer rights in the UK. [Easier Finance]

Odd: McDonald's Delivers Via New York City Subway
Reader Christopher snapped this photo of some McDonald's employees making a delivery, via the New York City subway. Christopher is worried that the boxes contained what they say they contained—raw eggs and chicken fillet. We hope that someone just ordered a ton of McDonald's food for their office, because the idea that McDonald's thinks the subway is as good as a refrigerated truck is a little too hard to believe. In any case, that's a lot of McDonald's.(Photo:Thanks, Christopher!)

Insiders: How Tonya Should Go About Appealing Her "Elective" Miscarriage
I just read the story 'Blue Cross Blue Shield Calls Miscarriage "Elective Abortion," Denies Claim', and I work for BCBS in NY. From what I've learned (and this is just from my experience working for a year there). The best thing for Tonya to do is appeal. She should write a letter explaining what happened that night. Go to the hospital get medical records/Doctor reports/emergency reports anything that shows 1) the medical necessity of the services and 2) what exactly happened. In NY there is a 180 day time limit from the last time the claim was adjusted (but that may be different in her state). Also, in NY, there are at least 2 appeal levels (three technically, and sometimes 4) Here's how it works for the account I work for...(again, definitely different for different plans, if you call the customer service number, they'll be able to advise you on exactly how this works) A customer calls up, says they disagree with how a claim is processed. If there's something I can do, I do...

Subprime Meltdown: Proposed Law Would Let Bankruptcy Courts Rewrite Predatory Mortgages
Several Democrats proposed a bill last week in the House of Representatives that would allow bankruptcy courts to alter mortgages written by so-called "predatory lenders." The bill would save around 600,000 Americans from foreclosure, says its author, Representative Brad Miller from North Carolina.Some 5 million adjustable-rate mortgages are slated to reset over the next 18 months, and loan modifications are still "few and far between," Miller said in an interview. "Everyone will know what will happen in bankruptcy, so the fact that bankruptcy is an option would lead to negotations" between the borrower and lender ahead of that event, he said.Countrywide Financial Corp says it has modified terms on 17,000 mortgages this year. But throughout the industry, a Moody's Investors Services "found that lenders eased borrowing terms on just 1 percent of subprime mortgages with interest rates that reset in January, April and July.""House bill would let courts alter mortgages" [Reuters](Photo...

Shady: FCC Proposes $4,000 Fine On Comcast For Broadcasting "Fake News"
The FCC, always a source of amusement for this website, has decided to crack down on Comcast for broadcasting VNRs or "Video News Releases." VNRs are produced by PR firms for use as filler by lazy TV news producers. It's a great deal for TV: They get free content and don't have to deal with the pressure of doing their jobs properly, and the company gets product placement. Consumers are the only losers.The FCC filing says that a complaint was filed by the Center for Media and Democracy alleging that on September 21, 2006, Comcast broadcast a VNR for Nelson's Rescue Sleep without providing the sponsorship identification required by law. Comcast argues that they're not covered under that law because they didn't receive any compensation for showing the VNR. The VNR in question was shoehorned into a daily "consumer issues" segment on the CN8 show "Art Fennel Reports." From the FCC: CN8's cablecast featuring "Nelson's Rescue Sleep" was part of a daily segment on "Art Fennell Reports"...

Subprime Meltdown: Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas ...
Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell the most on record in July, indicating the threat to consumer spending was rising even before credit markets seized up in August. [Bloomberg]

Supply And Demand: Kraft Introduces New Butter Flavor Containing Diacetyl, The "Popcorn Lung" Ingredient
Recently, after numerous complaints of serious illness from popcorn workers and one complaint of illness from a consumer, ConAgra and Pop Weaver removed diacetyl from its microwave popcorn and now proudly announce to their customers that their product is diacetyl free. Kraft, on the other hand, decided that now would be a good time to introduce a brand new diacetyl-based butter flavor into the market. Kraft says the flavor "can help improve the nutritional profile of products by reducing their calorie content." Sadly, fake butter doesn't taste the same, so manufacturers will have to "adjust their formulations - perhaps through the addition of functional starches or shortenings - in order to build back the texture and mouthfeel normally achieved by butter." The flavor isn't limited to popcorn, it can be used for any product where one would need a "toasted butter flavor," including crackers, soups, and prepared meats. Doesn't Kraft worry about diacetyl's health effects when...

Recalls: BCI Single Post Swing Sets (falling), Baby's ...
BCI Single Post Swing Sets (falling), Baby's Bliss Gripe Water (cryptosporidium), Organic Pastures Raw Cream (Listeria monocytogenes), Private Selection Classic Churned Light Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream (unidentified eggs).

Green Watch: Walmart Tries To Make DVDs, Toothpaste, Soap, Milk, Beer, Vacuum Cleaners, and Soda Eco-Friendly
According to BusinessWeek, Walmart is using its considerable power to pressure its suppliers to reduce manufacturing energy consumption, and in doing so, cut costs. Seven categories will be the focus of Walmart's attention: "DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda." From BusinessWeek:The retailing giant announced the initiative Sept. 24 in partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a nonprofit group supported by institutional shareholders that focuses on climate change and carbon emissions. Wal-Mart says it plans to use the Carbon Disclosure Project's expertise to help set up the new program with its suppliers."We are working together to measure our global supply chain footprint and to encourage our suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said John Fleming, executive vice-president and chief merchandising officer at Wal-Mart. The article spends some time pondering Walmart's motivation for participating in the program. We don't think its...

Customer Service: When Asking Nicely Fails
When a company refuses to unscrew you, usually as a matter of "policy," it sometimes takes a little extra to get them to see why they're wrong. If saying please and escalating up the customer service lines fail, a few tactics can help bend their steely resolve in your favor.How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet BombCompany Ignoring You? Fax 'Em To DeathGet Your Complaint Resolved By Posting It To The Company's Stock ForumsHow To Reach Executive Customer ServiceThreaten To Perform Your Civic Duty By Warning Other Customers About Their BusinessA relevant appendix to these posts is our growing library of company contact info is listed under the "phone numbers" tag.(Photo: Getty)

Energy: Heating Costs Will Break New Records This Winter
If you're poor, maybe you just shouldn't have a winter this year. Government energy officials have announced that prices this winter for heating oil, electricity, propane and natural gas will all be at record highs: 28% more for heating oil, 30% more for propane, 7% for electricity, and 5% for natural gas.In actual dollars, this translates to a hit of around $400 more for average families using heating oil or propane, and around $50 more for those using electricity or natural gas.The National Energy Assistance Director's Association, which released the figures, have called on the Bush administration to "immediately release money from the government's Low Income Home Energy Program, commonly known as LIHEAP, to help poor families pay their heating bills as well as cover past-due high cooling bills from the summer."We grew up in a poor household, and trust us, one cold winter can wipe out an already tight budget for half the year. As the article states, "During 2005, energy expenses...

Xbox: Halo 3 Discs Arrive Pre-Scratched
Eager fans today cracked open the hot new video game Halo 3, only to discover that their game discs were already scratched. It seems in their midst of preparing for a global launch with mondo cross-promotion, Microsoft forgot to check they didn't use the the DVD holders with the defective nubs.The weak nubs allowed the DVDs to float around and get all scraped.Reader Mr. Chip Livejournals that 3 out the 4 he opened in Walmart, which were of the fancy metal tin "collector's edition" variety, were scratched upon opening. That's $70 for a game that's already scratched. PC World says the scratches are cosmetic and you can still play the game just fine, but wants to buy a "new" scratched video game?If your Halo 3 is scratched, you can get it swapped out for a shiny new one under the Xbox disc replacement program.Wal-Mart Manager Admits He'd Rather Sell Defective Copies of Halo 3 Than Let Me Find Undamaged One [Mr. Chip]

Wonder Bread: Why Generic Is Just As Good: Sometimes It's Just A Different Wrapper?
This random, unverified comment scavenged from Metafilter archives syncs in with our preconceived notions and suspicions just enough that we're going to publish it and wonder aloud if it is true.When I was a kid I remember taking a tour of the big Wonder Bread factory in our town. I was scarred for life when I realized that one of the production lines for loaves of bread that I was following split into two packaging lanes just before the plastic went over the loaf. One lane was for Wonder, the other was for the local supermarket brand.Is it really all just packaging? Bring on the blind taste tests.Experts say Brand X is now significantly less distinguishable from name brands! [Metafilter]

Anti-bargains: LetsTalk Triples Price Of Phone, Won't Refund Difference
Reader Brandon writes in to share a painful story of shoddy customer service and questionable pricing policies with LetsTalk, an online mobile phone and plan retailer. After ordering a $99 phone with a $100 mail in rebate, the order was delayed, then changed to add a free car charger to apologize for the delay (so far so good), then changed again without notice to $299 with a $200 mail in rebate. After calling to dispute the charges, he was promised the price would be changed back to its original amount—but the next day it was shipped out and his account was charged for $299.This is where it gets fun, because at this point LetsTalk entered into a creative game of empty promises and excuses (for a while it was a "computer glitch"). Then, in a particularly ballsy move, they told Brandon that they reserved the right to change their prices at any time as per their fine print.He found the fine print:Despite our best efforts to keep pricing information accurate, there...

Lawsuits: Customer Sues Home Depot After Being Glued To Toilet Seat, Says Incident Gave Him Diabetes
Bob Dougherty went to Home Depot. He wasn't feeling very well in a "Jo-Ann Fabrics" sort of way, so he used Home Depot's bathroom. Unbeknownst to Bob, some hilarious individual had doused the toilet seat with superglue, instantly joining Bob's ass and the toilet seat in an unholy union that was to be the subject of a 4-year-long legal battle. Bob says no one at the Home Depot would help him. He says they thought it was a hoax and ignored his pleas for help. Bob says he became frighted and sat there swallowing nitroglycerin pills for his severe heart condition while waiting for someone to rescue him. Eventually, after another customer called 911, paramedics had to unbolt the toilet seat and take both Bob and it to the emergency room. The operation proved unwieldy and the seat was torn from Bob's butt in transit, resulting in a very unappetizing photograph of Bob's angry, red bare ass that you can view at The Smoking Gun. This was 2003. Now Bob says the incident gave him post-traumat...

Food: Product expiration codes decoded. [Gary] ...
Product expiration codes decoded. [Gary]

Stats Feed: Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 ...
Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 Discs Arrive Pre-Scratched (4,053 views today), McDonald's Delivers Via New York City Subway (3,854) and How Tonya Should Go About Appealing Her "Elective" Miscarriage (3,416).

Your Health: Do You Really Need A Check-Up? Maybe Not.
We're always hearing about how important it is to see your doctor for a check-up, but is it? The WSJ Health Blog noticed a study that says "no." A lot of healthy Americans are going to the doctor for annual, preventive health visits, but there's scant evidence that these pilgrimages provide much benefit, concludes a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Annual physicals and gynecological exams account for about 1 in 12 visits by adults to their doctors. And the tab for all those checkups is pretty hefty at nearly $8 billion per year, based on an analysis of nearly 180,000 visits from two national databases. The authors, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, say that this is the first time that the number and costs of these preventive health visits have been crunched. So can we skip the check-up? The jury is out. It may not be worth what it costs, but it's certainly not harming anyone's health. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:...

Vacuums: Kenmore Beats Dyson In Consumer Reports Upright Vacuum Test
Dyson is not the Excalibur of upright vacuums, it's the Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922, according to survey and test results released in the latest issue of Consumer Reports.The white wizards of product testing rated the Kenmore at 74, soundly trouncing the Dyson's 64.The Kenmore "Progressive with Direct Drive 35922" garnered "excellent" ratings for cleaning carpet, emissions, pet hair, and cleaning bare floors.The Dyson "DC17 Absolute Animal" only got got "excellent" for emissions and cleaning bare floors.We wonder, however, if Consumer Reports neglected form factor, the glory of bagless, and swivel appeal (With a Dyson, you don't need to retract the vacuum to your body and then pivot to change directions). One doesn't go to Consumer Reports looking for soul, but effectiveness.The Dyson being $250 more expensive, in-store. But you can get both for over $100 cheaper by searching on Amazon for slightly used or refurbished versions.

Sustainability: How Many Earths Would It Take To Sustain Your Lifestyle?
"Consumer Consequences" is an online "game" where you enter data about your living, work, travel, energy, and eating patterns, then see how many earths would be needed to sustain your lifestyle if every single person on the planet did the same thing. It's a relatively fun way to graphically tally up your environmental footprint, and helps you highlight where you use the most resources (and, ideally, where you can therefore cut costs). What we found most interesting was the comparison section at the end, where you can see how your score stacks up against other people according to a wide variety of criteria, including gender, age, location, income, political affiliation, and education.We scored a 3.3, mainly because of the amount of take-out food we order every month. Funny, we've been testing Mint lately and it's pointed out the same wasteful behavior. Might be time to change habits?Consumer Consequences game [PublicRadio.org via Consumerism Commentary]

Marketing: "Green" Credit Cards Are Silly
Bankrate has an article about co-called "green" credit cards that donate a portion of your purchase to environmentally friendly causes. Why are we saying they're silly? From Bankrate:If you want to save the whales, offset CO2 emissions or contribute to another "green" cause, it is now as simple as swipe and sign.Environmentally friendly credit cards are affinity cards issued by a credit card company. The card issuer donates a portion of your purchases (typically 1 percent through a rewards program) to a green cause. Sometimes the consumer gets to choose the specific cause, but most often the funds go to a general fund from which contributions are made to a variety of causes of the affiliate company's choosing. We tend to disagree. Saving the whales isn't as easy as "swipe and sign." If you want to give money to environmental causes, sign up for a cash back card and cut the charity a check from the proceeds. It's tax deductible, and you get to decide where your money goes. The...

IPhone: AT&T Stores Try To Promote iPhone Price Cut As "Manager's Special"
A reader reports that a Bellevue, WA AT&T store is trying to play it like the company-wide iPhone price drop is a "manager's special." When he called the regional manager, our reader was told the signs were the brainchild of the regional marketing department.Does Steve Jobs manage this store? As if. Disingenuous, to say the least.

Survey Says: Best Buy Says You Don't Know What You're Doing With HD
Best Buy hired a firm to take a survey of the state of the American public's knowledge of HDTV, and sad results are in. You don't know what the hell is going on with your television. Half of HDTV owners who responded to Best Buy's survey "admit they are either not watching HD programming, or they aren't sure if they are. Of these respondents, 35% didn't realize they needed to subscribe to HD programming to watch HDTV." Ok, this is sad. Just... sad.The survey also suggested that ignorance about how to set up the HDTV was a source of embarrassment:While 41% of HDTV owners admit to knowing little to nothing at all about HD, they would not want to admit that to friends and family; Half (52%) of HDTV owners agree it would be difficult to admit their HDTV wasn't set up right after showing off to friends and family. The unsurprising news is that this survey is essentially a sales pitch for Best Buy's overpriced cables and installation packages—both of which you can skip,...