Last year, one Target employee managed to get 200,000 signatures on a petition asking Target to reconsider its plan to have employees start work at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Target not only went ahead with that early opening, it’s apparently moved up the opening time to 9 p.m. this year, causing a round of new petitions.… [More]
You might be able to figure it out from the name, but a Pluot is a hybrid between a plum and an apricot. As for what percentage of each of those fruits are represented in a Pluot, well… Walmart doesn’t seem to know.… [More]
It’s almost time to head to turkey town and gobble away, America. But those regal birds will cost you a bit more this year, as the price of turkey has been rising this year. Then there’s all those other fixins, and before you know it, the average consumer will spend about 1% more for Thanksgiving dinner than last year.… [More]
The federal government recently filed a lawsuit over a Countrywide scheme dubbed “The Hustle” that removed impediments to a mortgage approval so the company could sell as many mortgages as possible to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now comes news that a Countrywide exec who ignored warnings about the Hustle is currently running Chase’s foreclosure review initiative.… [More]
We already know that Walmart is pushing back its Black Friday sale start time to 8 p.m. on Thursday (yes, that’s Thanksgiving!), but what about all its competitors? When are those doors going to come banging open to allow the frenzied flow of devoted discounters to get to work? Let’s just say it might be a good idea to scheduled … [More]
Usually when I’m caught commenting to a friend that “that shirt looks like my baby nephew threw up on it and then tossed glitter on it” by a store associate, I cringe. Because they work for that company and I just said something awful. But at some retailers, like Zara, sales associates actually take that kind of feedback to the … [More]
While you might enjoy a 7UP now and again, you probably know you’re drinking a soda and not some sort of healthful elixir with magic antioxidants derived from a bunch of berries. But one advocacy group is suing Dr Pepper Snapple, the makers of varieties of 7UP, saying it’s misleading consumers about the health benefits of the beverage.… [More]
Facing criticism — and consumer complaints to the FCC — over its decision to limit the non-WiFi use of Apple’s FaceTime video chat app to customers who have shared data plans, AT&T announced yesterday that it will allow folks with the iPhone 5 (but without unlimited data plans) to use the app over its network.… [More]
If some random person pulls up to you at a gas station and asks you if you’d like to buy an iPad for $200, go with your gut instinct. Unless your gut instinct tells you that this sounds like a really great idea. It isn’t. A Texas woman did just that. Now she’s stuck with an iPad that only lets … [More]
If you look at all the LG appliances pictured in the Home Depot flier advertising savings for customers who buy multiple appliances, you might be confused by the fine print at the bottom of the image.… [More]
Asking strangers to help you in exchange for money always carries a bit of risk, but for those people who don’t have good enough credit to qualify the loans they need, sometimes it seems there’s no other choice. In a sign of continued hard times, some cash-strapped folks are posting ads on Craigslist seeking a loan co-signer to help them … [More]
Reader Justin sent us this picture of a comically overpriced microSD card on the shelf at Best Buy. Oh, this storage device is overpriced by $310! Best Buy, you’re so silly! Only it’s not as silly as the casual observer might think, because this isn’t really an item for sale. … [More]
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many businesses in New Jersey and New York raised their prices in response to higher demand or weakened supply. But when those prices are jacked up so high that it’s disproportionate to the additional cost to the business, that’s gouging. Today, the state of New Jersey filed suit against eight businesses accused of crossing … [More]
Chocolatey Nesquik, that beloved after school treat, wouldn’t be such a delight if it contained say, salmonella. Nestlé has issued a voluntary recall of some of its batches of the chocolate drink mix because there’s the possibility of salmonella contamination in one of the ingredients used to make the powder.… [More]
Not even a year ago, JCPenney began its bold new venture into everyday low pricing instead of sales and coupons and the like. By June, JCP had become less hard-line about the “no sales” thing and fired the relatively new company president. And yet things have continued to slide, with sales down 27% in the last quarter.… [More]
Here are ten of the best photos that readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or just plain neatness.… [More]
It’s been several weeks since we discovered a security issue involving systems maintained by our former hosting provider and not only switched hosts but also made the difficult decision to shut down commenting while we search for the best possible solution. We realize that many of our readers are very upset about the lack of comments. We’d like to take … [More]
Because air bags are not supposed to go POOF! all up in your face while you’re driving, the folks at Chrysler have announced a recall of 745,000 model year 2002-03 Jeep Liberty and 2002-04 Grand Cherokee vehicles.… [More]
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