जनता का आदमी : February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

जनता का आदमी

Anyone who’s ever used a fast food napkin knows that if you’ve got a real mess on your hands, often just one won’t do. But one man reportedly suing McDonald’s claims that when he asked for more napkins after only getting one with his meal, he was treated poorly. He’s suing for $1.5 million. In American dollars.

That money would buy a lot of napkins for the California customer who says he got short shrift on Jan. 29 after ordering a Quarter Pounder Deluxe, reports TMZ.

He claims that when he asked for more, a manager said no, insisting that he’d already gotten some.

According to his lawsuit, the man replied: “I should have went to eat at the Jack-in-the-Box because I didn’t come here to argue over napkins. I came here to eat.”

The customer — who is African American — claims that things took a racist turn at that point, saying that the manager replied something about “you people.”

TMZ has an email from the plaintiff where he emailed the general manager to complain, claiming he can’t work because of the “undue mental anguish” caused by the manager’s “intentional infliction of emotional distress” during the napkin incident.

We’ve reached out to McDonald’s to see if the company has any comment on the lawsuit, and will update this post accordingly.

You can follow MBQ on Twitter but she only eats McDonald’s on road trips or the day after her birthday, so don’t expect any napkin stories: @marybethquirk

Man Sues for $1.5 Million: THEY ONLY GAVE ME ONE NAPKIN!!! [TMZ]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

John needed a lot of blank DVDs to start a project, so he ordered some up from OfficeMax. He regrets that decision now. While his package came addressed to the correct name, the DVDs arrived smashed up after bouncing around loose in the box. John actually longs for the comical overpackaging that Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang is known for.

“Oh, how I wish I had used Amazon and been subjected to their incessant need to ship your packages so they arrive undamaged,” he wrote to Consumerist wistfully.

smashyDVD

He was able to get the order exchanged, but couldn’t specifically request that OfficeMax maybe throw in some air pillows this time.

DVD-SMASH

All we consumers ask for is a little balance, shippers. Is that too much to ask?

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

In the debate over whether or not to approve the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, there has been a lot of in-depth discussion of market share, divestments, fiber competition, and all sorts of other things the average cable subscriber doesn’t concern herself with because she has better things to do. What’s at risk of being overlooked is that Comcast is just a horrible company that really doesn’t care about its many millions of customers who have no other choice.

That’s why everyone at the Dept. of Justice and the FCC should put on their headphones (yes… right now; it’s a Friday afternoon so don’t look at me like that) and watch this Funny Or Die PSA that reminds us all — in very NSFW language — that Comcast just doesn’t give a, well… you know.

Comcast Doesn't Give a F*CK from Tarik Ellinger

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(kevindean)

Once upon a time many youngsters dreamed of careers as pilots. The thrill of taking flight and the glamorous depictions on television and the big screen created fantasies of a career in the sky. Over the years the industry has changed. Recently regional airlines have reported new regulations, higher costs of school and lower salaries are causing a pilot shortage that could result in fewer flights for consumers. But a new report by the Government Accountability Office shows that the issue may be more complicated than it seems.

The GAO report [PDF] found there is an adequate supply of pilots, but there may be a number of other factors that are creating a shortage for smaller airlines.

There are currently 109,465 active pilots with a first class medical certificate that are licensed to fly passengers and more than 100,000 other pilots with commercial licenses that could pursue an airline career in the future. With only about 66,000 pilots working for U.S. airlines, the report found that many may be working abroad, in the military, or in another occupation.

Failure by 11 out of 12 regional airlines to meet hiring targets for entry-level pilots last year may have more to do with the salary offered than with the number of pilots available. The average starting salary for regional airlines is $22,400, well below what major airlines offer.

A lower starting salary isn’t the only reason airline stakeholders are wary of future hiring prospects. Smaller airlines have reported that new FAA regulations have taken a toll on their pilot roster.

In January, regional airlines reported that a new FAA regulation, which requires 10 additional hours of rest for pilots, could mean fewer flight options. In fact, JetBlue grounded hundreds of flights during a winter storm in order to meet the regulation requirements.

Last year, new regulations went into effect that require both captains and co-pilots to have a minimum of 1,500 hours of flying before being hired by airlines. Prior to the regulation, only captains were required to have 1,500 hours.

While the report found there is currently a sufficient number of pilots available, that could change in the future.

A Bureau of Labor and Statistics employment projection suggests there will be a need to hire between 1,900 to 4,500 pilots each year in the next decade as current pilots retire, the report notes.

Pilot schools interviewed for the report said they have fewer students entering their programs resulting from concerns over the high costs of education and low entry-level pay at regional airlines. The average cost to obtain a commercial pilot certificate and meet flying hour requirements is in excess of $100,000.

Regional airlines are now taking additional steps to attract and retain qualified pilots, the report found. To attract more pilots airlines are increasing recruiting effort and developing partnerships with pilot schools to provide incentives.

Current and Future Availability of Airline Pilots [Government Accountability Office]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(photo: afagen)

Wedding Week on How To Not Suck reaches its fairy-tale ending. After looking at all the big expenses, the things that cost a lot but shouldn’t, the oodles of extras, and booking your honeymoon, we deal with the happy problem of what to do with any money you receive from guests.

There’s a good chance you’ll be showered with gifts on your wedding day. Perhaps you’ll get a crystal vase. Or a pasta maker. Or his-and-hers (or his-and-his, or hers-and-hers) monogrammed bathrobes. Or maybe you’ll get a whole lotta cash.

Don’t blow it all in one place — at least not without some serious planning. Here’s how to put that money to good use and not suck at spending your wedding cash.

PAY OFF DEBT

Your married life is a new start for you — together. So together you should come up with a plan to eliminate as much of your high-interest credit card balances and other debt as you can.

Start by reading this post about how to not suck when you merge your money after marriage.

Take its advice to sit down and have a very frank discussion with your honey about any and all debt you both have.

Next, talk about what resources you have — including your wedding cash — to pay it off, and decide if you want to pay it off as a team, or if the one who chalked up the debt will be responsible for the bills.

Before you say the person who spent the money should pay it down, consider this: If you want to buy a house together, both of your finances will be examined for a mortgage (unless you plan to do it solo). Also, having the debt linger will mean there’s less available cash for other things.

And importantly, if you decide to pay it off over time, it will slow down your ability to save for other goals and you’ll pay more interest, making the cost of keeping that balance very costly indeed.

For example, a $2,000 credit card bill at 16% will cost $2,659 in interest and take 16 years to pay off if you only make minimum payments. Taking $2,000 in wedding cash (on which you’d probably earn minimal interest in the bank) and paying off the debt gives you a near-instant return of the $2,659 you would have paid in interest. Not a bad deal at all.

START AN EMERGENCY FUND

We hope your marriage is all wine and roses and stuff like that, but chances are, there will come a time when you have a financial emergency.

So if you’ve paid off all your collective debt and there’s money left over, consider stashing it in an emergency fund.

This would be an account in both your names that you don’t touch unless there’s a real money emergency, such as a job loss, a leaky roof or other major must-do repair. Use a money market of savings account for this. While they don’t pay much interest, your cash will be safe and liquid should you need to tap some funds.

So how much should you have set aside? Financial advisors suggest you keep between three and six months worth of expenses in your emergency fund. If your job isn’t very stable, consider upping the amount you keep on the side — just in case.

CREATE A LONG-TERM SAVINGS PLAN

Sit with your spouse and decide what your goals are. Do you want to buy a first home? Start a fund for annual vacations? Save for retirement?

These are all terrific ways to use, or save, some of your wedding cash.

But remember, the type of account in which you keep the money should depend on what the money will eventually be used for. If it’s retirement, then invest away in an IRA or other long-term and tax-advantaged plan, but if the money is for a home down-payment or other shorter-term expense, stay away from the stock market and choose a money market fund or other liquid account instead.

INVEST IN A FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY

When you’re starting out and financially merging two households, you’re going to have to deal with new expenses, new income and two potentially very different money minds.

Consider having a financial advisor give your situation the once-over, and help you set up a plan for long-term financial success. I’m partial to fee-based certified financial planners (CFP) who won’t charge you for advice rather than sell you products. (Those who charge commissions instead of fees may be tempted to push products that are profitable for the advisor and not so much for you, the investor.)

You can find a CFP in your area industry organizations such as the Financial Planning Association and National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

You should also consider meeting with an estate planning attorney. This kind of pro can help you create a will, health care proxies and other essential documents.

Search for a qualified pro though organizations such as The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel or your local bar association.

HAVE A LITTLE FUN

When your guests wrote a check or added cash to your wedding card, it’s pretty safe to say they wanted to use the money for something more exciting than paying the interest charges on your credit card debt.

So don’t go hog wild, but everyone should be able to enjoy spending a little money here and there. We all work too hard to earn what we have, and we should get to splurge a little, especially for an occasion as special as your nuptials.

Plus, as we all know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

PREVIOUS WEDDING WEEK ENTRIES:

•How To Not Suck At Planning Your Wedding, Part 1: The Most Expensive Steps

•How To Not Suck At Planning Your Wedding, Part 2: The Stuff People Pay Too Much For

•How To Not Suck At Planning Your Wedding, Part 3: The Costly Little Extras

•How To Not Suck At Planning Your Wedding, Part 4: The Honeymoon

Have a topic you’d like to see covered in How To Not Suck? Or maybe you’re an expert who would like to share your insight with Consumerist readers? Send us a note at notsuck@consumerist.com.

You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

DISCLAIMER: Any websites, services, retailers, or brands mentioned in the story above are only intended as some of many options available to consumers, and do not constitute an endorsement by Consumerist, Consumerist Media LLC (CML) or its staff. Per Consumerist’s No Commercial Use Policy, such information may not be used by others in advertising or to promote a company’s product or service. In addition, this policy precludes any commercial use of any of CML’s published information in any form, or of the names of Consumers Union®, Consumer Media, Consumer Reports®, The Consumerist, consumerist.com or any other of CU or CML’s publications or services without CU or CML’s express written permission.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(zyphbear)

Is it time you start saying goodbye to your [insert favorite toasted Quiznos sandwich here]? Not quite, but the sandwich chain is reportedly readying itself to file for bankruptcy-court protection in the next few weeks, under the strain of complaining franchisees and a $570 million debt load.

The Wall Street Journal cites insiders who say Quiznos has been wheeling and dealing with creditors for weeks to work on a restructuring plan to ensure a smooth cruise through bankruptcy court, but negotiations haven’t resulted in a deal just yet.

Even with a Chapter 11 filing to help Quiznos, the company will have to also work on its apparently testy relationship with many franchisees who say they just can’t compete with other businesses because it’s so expensive to run a Quiznos. And if your franchise locations aren’t thriving, that means the entire brand suffers.

Franchisees not only have to pay fees to the company to use the name Quiznos, but operators also have to buy most of their supplies and ingredients from Quiznos’ distribution business. Many franchisees complained that that business is overcharging them for what they could get cheaper elsewhere.

One franchisee said he spent about $350,000 to open a Quiznos franchise in 2005, but quickly realized that the business wouldn’t make enough money to cover expenses, and ended up selling the franchise for half what he paid for it. That was less than a year from when he bought it.

He says his annual sales would’ve come in around $600,000, but when he was losing $3,000 to $5,000 a month, it wasn’t worth it.

“It sounds like we were doing a lot [of business] but there was actually no profit because of food costs and labor,” he said.

Quiznos Moves Toward Bankruptcy Filing [Wall Street Journal]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Here are eight of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(JoelZimmer)

(Eric Arnold Photography)

(m01229)

(gblahe)

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Want to see your pictures on our site? Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

From the 2013 Frontline story on Emeritus and the assisted living industry. You can watch the whole thing here.

Last summer, a ProPublica/Frontline report put a spotlight on Emeritus Senior Living, one of the country’s largest private operators of assisted living facilities (and soon to be the largest, if a proposed merger goes through), raising questions about the company’s business practices and the general lack of regulation in the industry. Now comes news that Emeritus is under investigation by the federal government.

According to ProPublica’s A.C. Thompson, Emeritus has been the subject of a joint investigation by the Justice Department and the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services for more than a year. Investigators are reportedly looking into allegations of improper Medicaid billing and other issues.

Sources tell Thompson that company lawyers have instructed employees to “not feel compelled to provide answers, documents, or information to any government investigator or agent,” telling them they “may politely decline to answer,” or refer agents to the Emeritus legal department.

That said, the e-mail to employees did ask them to be truthful with any answers they did provide to investigators.

A rep for the company confirmed the existence of the investigation but deemed it a routine civil probe and said Emeritus has been cooperating fully.

Emeritus has previously paid $1.86 million to settle allegations of Medicaid billing fraud in Texas, where authorities claimed the company “routinely submitted false claims to the Texas Medicaid program” for 11 facilities in the state. Emeritus did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement.

Medicaid/Medicare also only accounts for about 14% of total revenue for Emeritus, though that still adds up to more than $250 million a year.

Consumer advocates tell ProPublica that, as in the Texas case, it is usually state authorities that investigate Medicaid billing concerns, which raises the question of why federal investigators are involved.

Only last week, Emeritus announced a proposed $2.8 billion merger with Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living. If the merger is approved, the combined company would operate some 1,100 facilities in the U.S., housing more than 100,000 seniors. The merged business would also take the Brookdale name, which did not receive the high-profile spanking given to Emeritus in the wake of the Frontline episode.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

The original photo of Corey Moncrief catching a fly ball inside of a catalog. (MLB.com)

Advertisers have been slapping their logos on outfield walls at baseball parks for longer than any of us have been alive, but have any of those advertisers taken advantage of the opportunities available for visual trickery?

As MLB.com’s Dakota Gardner points out, this photo of Cleveland Indians outfielder catching a fly ball looks like his image has been poorly photoshopped into an image of a kitchen from a home furnishings catalog. But it’s really just large photo ad for a luxury homebuilder.

We think advertisers could take some lessons from this and start plastering outfield walls with ads that would make it look like an outfielder is shagging flies in a Walmart:

(SchuminWeb)

Or while waiting in line to pay his bill at Comcast:

(Bclinesmith)

Or getting a final workout in before receiving a pat-down from airport security:

(frankieleon)

We expect this will be the next big thing in baseball-wall advertising. Of course, I might regret suggesting this the first time that Marlon Byrd tries to run straight through the outfield wall of Citizens Bank Park thinking someone built a Burger King below section 105.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(Daniel Milford Flathagen)

In a ruling that reverses the case of man who was ticketed in January 2012 for looking at his iPhone 4 to check a map while stuck in traffic, a state appeals court in California says it’s okay for drivers to read maps on their phones while behind the wheel. He’d been challenging a $165 ticket.

That ticket challenge worked its way through the state’s legal system, all the way to the 5th District Court of Appeal, which ruled in the man’s favor on Thursday, reports the Associated Press.

It’s illegal to use phones while driving in California, but that’s not the right the man said he’s fighting for. He doesn’t want people distracted while cruising, texting or checking Facebook. He just wanted the law rewritten for police officers so they can do their jobs.

“We’re distracted all the time,” he said. “If our distractions cause us to drive erratically, we should be arrested for driving erratically.”

In his case, his car was at a stop due to road work. He picked up his phone to see if he could figure out an alternate route out of the mess — something anyone who hates traffic jams would do, and who loves a traffic jam? But a California Highway Patrol officer on a motorcycle saw him on his phone and issued a ticket.

He challenged the case in traffic court, then appealed in a county superior court and lost again. But he moved up to the appellate court with the help of a law firm that offered him free help.

And this time, the appellate judges were on his side: The ruling says that while the law prohibits people from yapping on cellphones without a hands-free device, it could’ve been more clear. It doesn’t apply to people looking at a map, only to those “listening and talking” on cellphones.

You also can’t text while drive in California, which is another law entirely.

From here, it’ll be up to the state attorney general’s office to challenge the ruling or not, and bring it up to the California Supreme Court. That body doesn’t let just any case be heard, so it could be tricky. The AG’s office is reviewing the ruling, a spokesman said.

The man will also recoup his $165 fine, and hopes that legislators will now tweak the spotty law.

“They’re going to have to do something,” he said. “I just hope they take a look at the big picture.”

California court: Drivers can read cellphone maps [Associated Press]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(SchuminWeb)

Walmart may be the nation’s largest retailer and its biggest supermarket chain, but the latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index once again show that Big W continues to lag far behind all of its competition.

For the seventh year in a row, Walmart received the lowest score on the ASCI rankings of department and discount retailers. With a score of only 71, Walmart was at least 10 points behind category leaders Nordstrom and Dillard’s.

Since those two retailers are significantly more “high-end” than Walmart, one might conclude that customer satisfaction is tied to the price of goods being sold. But stores like Kohl’s and Dollar General received top marks in the ACSI survey, demonstrating that you need not charge top-dollar to have happy customers. Meanwhile, Macy’s received a below-average score of 75, putting it only slightly above Walmart in the list.

“[This] suggests that discounting is not necessarily associated with weak customer satisfaction, nor is high-end retailing a guarantee of the opposite,” writes ACSI about its retail results.

THE NOT-SO-SUPER SUPERMARKET

Since ACSI began including Walmart in its supermarket rankings in 2004, the store has had the lowest score each year — and 2013 was no different.

That said, Walmart’s score of 72 in the latest survey is tied for its best-ever result, though it was still 14 points below industry leader Publix (which has had the highest score for 20 years running) and six points behind the industry average of 78.

“A decade of low customer satisfaction ratings demonstrates that low price does not does compensate for quality,” writes ACSI in its report, “neither in merchandise nor in service.”

ACSI’s average for smaller grocery stores resulted in a score of 81, beating out every brand name on the list except Publix, including Kroger, Safeway, Winn-Dixie, and even Whole Foods, which failed to beat the industry average for the first time in since 2009.

For both the retail and supermarket categories, “Speed of checkout” was the category in which stores fared the worst, meaning retailers could probably make customers a lot happier just by opening up a few more checkout lines.

On the opposite end of the scale, customers seem to be generally pleased with the convenience of store locations and their hours of operation. That will be an interesting figure to watch over the coming years as retailers face increased competition from online merchants. If stores are closed or hours are cut, will it bother customers or will they not notice because they will be getting those purchases elsewhere?

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(Smiley Kailee)

Most American restaurant-goers are used to writing a tip on the receipt after they enjoy a sit-down meal, but with a growing number of eateries — like food trucks and pop-up restaurants — that straddle the line between traditional dining and fast food, it’s unclear whether customers are expected to leave a tip or just be on their merry way. That’s why some new payment systems include an extra step to put the idea of tipping in the consumer’s mind.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on foodservice companies that use tablet/smartphone payment systems and are setting things up so that the customer has to confirm that he doesn’t want to leave a tip.

It’s similar to a format that many taxi operators have used since they transitioned to accepting credit cards. The payment screen will suggest multiple tiers of a tip (say 10%, 15%, or 20%), or allow a customer to enter in a custom tip. Some systems also have a “no tip” or “tip in cash” option, but vendors hope that customers will go for the easy choice of just picking one of the suggested percentages.

The power of the tip suggestion was made clear last year when payment service Square tweaked its checkout procedure. Before the change, there was one screen that asked for a tip followed by a signature screen. Then Square tried to consolidate those screens, putting both the tip and signature on the same page. This change also defaulted to no-tip, meaning customers could just skip right past that section of the screen, then sign and be done with their order.

“As soon as that happened, we noticed we weren’t getting any tips,” said the operator of a San Francisco food truck. “It clearly wasn’t working.”

Facing a backlash from vendors, Square quickly re-tweaked its settings so that the vendor had the choice between the one- or two-page process.

Although Square says that some vendors like the expediency offered by the single-screen checkout, the percentage of its vendors’ transactions that include a tip had increased from 38% to nearly 50% in a year, with the average customer leaving a 17% tip.

Another food truck owner uses PayPal Here to accept customers’ credit card payments. He used to run the system from inside the truck, swiping cards for customers and asking if they wanted to leave a tip. But then he put the process in the customers’ hands with an iPad mounted on truck’s exterior. Since then, tips have at least doubled, says the owner.

Vendors tell the Chronicle that the combination of the power of suggestion — putting the idea of the tip in the customer’s mind — and the ease-of-use — taking all the math out of the process — has resulted in more and bigger tips.

“The easier you make the behavior, the more likely it is to occur,” says Nir Eyal, a Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer.

It also means that take-out orders — which most consumers don’t tip on, or only leave nominal tips for — are now a center of tip revenue for restaurants with these payment systems.

“It’s not something you’d traditionally tip a lot for,” explains an employee at one SF sandwich shop. “It’s crazy. We’re just pushing in these orders, la-di-dah, and people are like, ‘Sure, you deserve a $5 tip on a two-sandwich order.’ “

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(diaper)

A few weeks ago, we presented you with a list of 15 things that you should buy at the dollar store. Okay, great, but it’s a big store: there must be something that you should avoid, either because of crappy quality or because paying a dollar isn’t such a good deal. Right?

Over at Wisebread, they wrote up a list and also flipped it around, detailing ten items you should buy at the dollar store and then that you should avoid.

1. Electric Appliances

If it has an electric plug, don’t buy it. Counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories seals are a thing, so that’s no guarantee of quality. Just stay away.

2. Plastic food storage bags, plastic wrap, aluminum foil wrap

Offerings at your dollar store may vary, but the quantity and quality of these offerings just doesn’t measure up.

3. Kitchen utensils

It might seem like a good idea at the time, and it’s only after you’re dealing with a melted spatula or shattered paring knife that you rethink your choices.

4. Vitamins

Now experts say that maybe we shouldn’t be taking so many vitamin supplements in the first place. You’re better off visiting a health food or drug store for your supplements if you do want to take them, though.

5. Toys

This depends on the age of your kids, but the toys available in dollar stores might just be flimsy junk, or could be dangerous.

6. Medicine

By the time they hit the dollar store, meds could be expired, stored in sketchy circumstances, or they might be counterfeit to begin with. Stay away.

7. Oven Mitts and Potholders

You might question this until the day when your cheap potholder melts. Buy something made of, you know, cotton.

8. Soda

Usually not such a great deal in dollar stores – watch for deals in grocery and big-box stores, if you’re going to drink soda at all.

9. Tools

You buy a $1 hammer, you’re going to get $1 of use out of it.

10. Chewing Gum

Like soda, the deals at the dollar store aren’t great. Watch for deals elsewhere.

10 Things You Should Never Buy at the Dollar Store (and 10 You Should) [WiseBread]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

#FreeEmily

When you try to leave a store only to discover that you’ve been locked inside and no one is around to help, many thoughts may cross your mind. “I’ve got to tweet this” probably won’t be one of them, but you’re not the Canadian writer who spent a harrowing 45 minutes or so locked inside a Hudson’s Bay store in Toronto.

The nightmare began shortly before 8 P.M., when employees thoughtlessly locked the doors without letting Emily Keeler out.

I am trapped at @HudsonsBay_Co at Yonge and Bloor and everything is closed, no one is here. Do I head to bedding for the night or?—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Her dispatches came complete with photographic proof:

But seriously how do I get out of here? http://t.co/i3xOAnNkop—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

A dude shouted thru the glass to say I should try the mythical fifth floor back doors first.—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Nope! http://t.co/Bi25ziDKJY—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Okay, thank you everyone for reminding me of Today's Special an Mannequin. I am smiling through the fear and isolation.—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

So I am going stand near the adjacent office again. Their security said they needed HBC's own security to get in here.—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

If they can't get a hold of HBC security in 10 or so, I guess I'll have to call the cops on myself?—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Thank you for being worried if you are, but I'm totally fine for now. The office security dude said he'll figure this out.—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Being alone in an empty store is creepy when the radio won’t stop.

The in store radio is still playing. Including Bay Ads.—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Non emerge police dispatcher was all "what do you mean, you're trapped in a department store?"—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

CTV confirmed that the police did receive a non-emergency call around 8:30 from someone stuck in a department store.

Finally, at 8:32 PM, sweet freedom.

I'm free!!—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

These nice managers freed me! http://t.co/5WR1mmgOAf—

Emily M. Keeler (@emilymkeeler) February 27, 2014

Ms. Keeler has refused interviews, saying, “I think I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.” That’s okay: the tweets tell the story.

Toronto woman trapped in The Bay live-tweets ‘terrifying’ ordeal [CTV]

Laura spent a harrowing five minutes locked inside a Sears last week, but failed to tweet about it. You should follow her anyway.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(BenBalter)

There are numerous federal laws that explicitly give wronged consumers the right to file a lawsuit against the company that harmed them, but all those statutory rights are being taken away by companies that insert arbitration clauses into their terms of service.

A new report [PDF] from Public Citizen examines the current state of forced arbitration and how it is increasingly being used to allow companies to skirt or possibly break the law.

For example, the federal Credit Repair Organization Act specifically states that credit/debt repair companies must include statements in their disclosures that state, “You have a right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair Organization Act.”

But in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012′s CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood that this “right to sue” isn’t really a right to file a lawsuit and have your case heard in a court of law, but merely a statement saying the consumer will have some forum in which to resolve the dispute.

So if a sketchy credit repair company (which is not hard to find) violates the CROA but includes a forced arbitration clause in its contract, your complaint will never be heard in court.

Then there’s the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which also explicitly grants consumers who allege violations of that law to bring action against the company “in an appropriate court.”

But in Dec. 2013, when a Florida man alleged that Sallie Mae had violated the TCPA, he found that he was stuck having to arbitrate the case because of an arbitration clause in the promissory note he signed. So his case would not be heard in a court of law, but in arbitration.

Other laws that can be skirted in similar ways include the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act.

Each of these laws give consumers the statutory right to seek legal redress, but forced arbitration clauses can be used to force any attempt at resolution out of the courtroom and into a private arbitration process that is weighted heavily in favor of the company that wrote the contract.

“As these provisions indicate, proper enforcement of consumer protection laws depends not only on state and federal enforcement but also on consumers’

ability to act on their own, which forced arbitration substantially impairs,” writes Public Citizen in its report.

THE SNAKE BITING ITS OWN TAIL

While some wronged consumers attempt to get around arbitration clauses by claiming they are unconscionable and therefore not legally enforceable, companies merely get around this potential pitfall by including a stipulation in the clause that leaves it up to the arbitrator to determine whether the terms of a contract are fair or not. In 2010, the Supreme Court signed off on such circular clauses in its ruling in Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson.

“With companies’ widespread use of forced arbitration in contracts, our only option as consumers is to challenge the validity of the arbitration clause itself in court,” explained a plaintiff whose case against Citibank was forced into arbitration. “But that option is also gone.”

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?

A recent preliminary report on forced arbitration from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirmed that an increasing number of banks and credit card companies are using arbitration clauses to avoid litigation and put bans on class actions.

Forced arbitration clauses are now found in everything from wireless contracts to loan agreements to video game consoles. While the CFPB doesn’t have oversight over many of these companies, the Public Citizen report calls on the Bureau to use its authority to create a rule barring these clauses from contracts of those businesses it does oversee — banking, lending, credit, debt collection.

“[T]hese terms allow companies to escape accountability while engaging in illegal and predatory practices that harm the financial marketplace,” concludes the report. “The Bureau can and should act to restore consumers’ legal rights in all financial sectors by issuing a rule that eliminates forced arbitration in their contracts.”

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(Sochi2014.com)

When there’s a $775 million broadcasting investment on the line, you better believe that a network like NBC is going to go after video pirates just like Peter Pan and his gang in Neverland. In this case, Neverland was the Winter Olympics in Sochi, an event that NBC says it protected its rights by busting 45,000 instances of illegally posted videos or pirated streams.

NBC paid a huge chunk of change to the International Olympic Committee in order to be the sole, exclusive TV and streaming rights holder, notes the Associated Press. So it’s not surprising that it would unleash its full force of sword-wielding boys — or more likely, technological tools — to stop as much piracy during the games as it could.

The network said it worked with Olympic officials to nip about 20,000 videos of the competitions from YouTube using filtering technology that prevents them from going up in the first place, or finds them shortly after posting and scraps them.

A further 20,000 were bumped from distribution on similar sites around the world, NBC said.

An additional 5,000 or so illegal streams of Sochi material were also kept off the Web, many of those posted on for-profit websites trying to make a buck off consumers who wanted to watch a live feed, which wasn’t available legally.

Those sites are often where consumers turn if they couldn’t access NBC’s live feeds without proving they had a cable or satellite TV subscription. And further provoking consumers to seek other means, perhaps, could’ve come from NBC’s decision to not stream some events live at all, like the Opening Ceremonies, and instead show edited highlights later.

It sounds like a hefty number of crackdowns, but NBC couldn’t offer up any figures to compare it with from the London Summer Olympics in 2012 or the Vancouver Winter games in 2010, but the network insists that 99% of this year’s viewing took place on legal channels.

“When all the players in the digital ecosystem cooperate and work together, it is possible to create an online environment in which legitimate commerce thrives, jobs are created and consumers receive content how, when and where they want it,” said John McKay, NBC spokesman.

NBC says thousands of illegal video stopped [Associated Press]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

hotdogtoaster

Live from the store-closing sale of yet another Kmart, reader Amanda sent us this strange unitasking appliance that we were not previously aware existed.

What if you say to yourself, “that’s good, but I really wish that it had cross-branding for some kind of fizzy sugar water.” You’re in luck!

(Amazon)

While checking to make sure this was a real product and Amanda wasn’t just messing with us, we discovered that the company is real. They also make cotton candy and snow-cone makers, and popcorn machines, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Amazon reviews on this product are mixed, by the way. “This toaster is poorly made and I’m taking it back! I’ll stick to the microwave or boiling water!” wrote one reviewer. Poor quality is a recurring theme, as is the fact that the hot dogs barely cook. Maybe you’re better off microwaving, after all.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

(Valley News Live)

On the one hand, there’s the flabbergasted look on someone’s face when 20 pizzas she didn’t order arrive at her door. On the other, she’s not going to eat all those and she certainly isn’t going to pay for it, and now the Domino’s delivery driver made a trip with all those darn pizzas for nothing and seriously, guy who pranked his ex-girlfriend? You just caused a pricy headache.

It’s all fun and games and revenge until there’s a $297 bill to be paid and a backup on deliveries, which is what happened in a small Minnesota town when cops say a man ordered up 20 pizza and had them delivered to his ex-girlfriend as a prank.

But that prank could turn into a criminal charge if the guy doesn’t pay the tab, police say. Not to mention that the order caused a slowdown at the Domino’s, which results in pizzas going out later to other customers and perhaps, a smaller tip for the hardworking drivers.

“It’s not a victimless crime. There’s a lot of people who work hard at their job to make that food,” a police officer explains.

Indeed, the delivery driver who tried to bring the pies to the unwitting customer says it’s already hard out there for a Domino’s worker.

“You know, I go out on the road and put myself out there to deliver these pizzas and make a living,” she explains. “People joke around about this. It’s not fun. All I want out there is respect.”

Her manager agrees — keep other people out of your personal beefs, okay?

“She’s carrying four different bags. Running to her car with two and then another trip… hustling to get the pizzas there,” the manager points out.

The Domino’s in question says it didn’t waste those unwanted pizzas, and instead brought them to the police, fire department, and local ambulance service in town.

Follow MBQ on Twitter because all she writes about these days is pizza, apparently: @marybethquirk

Pizza Prank in Fergus Falls Leads to $400 Dollar Citation for One Man [Valley News Live]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

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Friday, February 28, 2014

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