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How about the right to be locked out of ALL of your Steam games if you dare to buy a game outside of your country?

This is a relevant article in relation to this one. http://consumerist.com/349527/get-out-of-att-without-etf-thanks-to-text-message-rate-increase

It tells about how to ditch ATT now that they are raising prices on text messages.

It's a case of a mistaken identity for a 5-year-old boy from Normandy Park. He had trouble boarding a plane because someone with the same name is wanted by the federal government.

"When his mother went to pick him up and hug him and comfort him during the proceedings, she was told not to touch him because he was a national security risk. They also had to frisk her again to make sure the little Dillinger hadn't passed anything dangerous weapons or materials to his mother when she hugged him."

Cory Doctrow adds: "if you wanted to systematically discredit the idea of a Department of Homeland Security, if you wanted to make an utter mockery of aviation safety, you could not do a better job than this."

This begins to remind one of the Good Germans.

Policy may be flexible, but some store employees clearly don't know that. See here and here. I had an Apple store Genius deny me my drive, even when I offered to pay.

Policy may be flexible, but some store employees clearly don't know that. See here and here. I had an Apple store Genius deny me my drive, even when I offered to pay.

My same day surgery where I spent a grand total of 10 hours in the hospital from checkin to check out would have cost over $20,000 without insurance. Now, say the insurance cost isn't subsidised by an employer and we will go ahead and skip the adjustment for age as it tends to grow to a disturbing level. Those 65 years of healthy you talk about would cost me approximately $780,000 to the insurance company. So there seems to be a pretty unbalanced pay/benefit here that you are complaining about. Now, I will also remind you that even in a privitized system you are subsidizing the patients who don't pay anyways, but you are subsidizing them at corporate profits level.

I think most of the people that scream at socialist health care have never bothered to really dig deep into what goes on here in privatized healthcare land. Hospitals cannot turn people away for not having insurance (good thing IMHO). However, this means that I could go in, get expensive treatment, and then go bankrupt and leave the premium paying members to foot my bill. Emergency Rooms are even worse because of the higher operating costs. So here in privatized healthcare land, by purchasing insurance you joined the pseudo-socialist healthcare system because you are subsidizing everyone else who refuses to buy insurance. I for one would prefer to pay the taxes as they should be less than the insurance premium because it is spread across everyone. It would also undo the mess that is "benefits" in hiring packages. I am certain there are drawbacks in socialist healthcare as well, and I think the proper solution is somewhere between privatized and socialized, but we seem to have taken the worst of both worlds and then wave our flag about how it is the best.

Here is another great story on insurance coverage. We may not have the worst, but we clearly do not have the best.

We've known for years that Best Buy are spammers; see, for example, http://mainsleazespam.com/companies/bestbuy.html and http://groups.google.com/groups?q=best+buy+spam&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wg for some background on that.

We also know that their personnel steal private customer data, see for example http://consumerist.com/consumer/insiders/leaks-how-geek-squad-investigated-its-own-porn-thieves-328654.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/the-rollercoaster-ride-of-pride%2C-shame%2C-and-morality/the-10-page-geek-squad-confession-+-stealing-customers-nudie-pics-was-an-easter-egg-hunt-257108.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/investigations/video-consumerist-catches-geek-squad-stealing-porn-from-customers-computer-271963.php for background on that.

And now we see that their official corporate policy is to issue threats against comedy troupes and bloggers.

Happily, there is a quick and easy fix for this, known as a "blacklist", so momentarily I'll be adding bestbuy.com, bestbuyinkfinder.com, and myrewardzone.com to it.

We've known for years that Best Buy are spammers; see, for example, http://mainsleazespam.com/companies/bestbuy.html and http://groups.google.com/groups?q=best+buy+spam&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wg for some background on that.

We also know that their personnel steal private customer data, see for example http://consumerist.com/consumer/insiders/leaks-how-geek-squad-investigated-its-own-porn-thieves-328654.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/the-rollercoaster-ride-of-pride%2C-shame%2C-and-morality/the-10-page-geek-squad-confession-+-stealing-customers-nudie-pics-was-an-easter-egg-hunt-257108.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/investigations/video-consumerist-catches-geek-squad-stealing-porn-from-customers-computer-271963.php for background on that.

And now we see that their official corporate policy is to issue threats against comedy troupes and bloggers.

Happily, there is a quick and easy fix for this, known as a "blacklist", so momentarily I'll be adding bestbuy.com, bestbuyinkfinder.com, and myrewardzone.com to it.

We've known for years that Best Buy are spammers; see, for example, http://mainsleazespam.com/companies/bestbuy.html and http://groups.google.com/groups?q=best+buy+spam&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wg for some background on that.

We also know that their personnel steal private customer data, see for example http://consumerist.com/consumer/insiders/leaks-how-geek-squad-investigated-its-own-porn-thieves-328654.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/the-rollercoaster-ride-of-pride%2C-shame%2C-and-morality/the-10-page-geek-squad-confession-+-stealing-customers-nudie-pics-was-an-easter-egg-hunt-257108.php and http://consumerist.com/consumer/investigations/video-consumerist-catches-geek-squad-stealing-porn-from-customers-computer-271963.php for background on that.

And now we see that their official corporate policy is to issue threats against comedy troupes and bloggers.

Happily, there is a quick and easy fix for this, known as a "blacklist", so momentarily I'll be adding bestbuy.com, bestbuyinkfinder.com, and myrewardzone.com to it.

He works for Verizon now:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/'002/verizon-customer-gets-full-refund-220726.php

I've run into several big-ish companies that are very "customer friendly".

Maglite. I had one of there flashlights and the switch broke. Looked them up on the web to get a replacement part and they sent it at no charge for the part or shipping.

LL Bean. I've had nothing but great interactions with them as well as others.

Crutchfield. Could they do more to make customers happy.

There are others, but not nearly as many as their should be. I think a lot of companies feel like they are abused by a small percentage of their customers and they feel they have to screw them all to make a profit, which is true when your profits are razor thin (think Wal-Mart and Best Buy).

He has to be directly tied to one of the things you mentioned

Specifics like what was ordered when are covered up by claims of "executive privilege" and exactly the sort of thing uncovered in impeachment hearings, where executive privilege doesn't apply.

AND it has to outrage enough people to spark action.

If you aren't outraged, something is wrong with you.

Like it or not, a lot of people actually agree with the wiretaps

What people. And "a lot of people" also supported lynchings and forcing school prayer into schools. Doesn't make it right or legal.

and since they are international calls it's not even an open-and-shut FISA case.

And since one end of those calls were in the U.S., yes of course it is an open and shut case.

I don't know what 4th amendment search-and-seizure rules you are referring to.

Wiretapping without warrants.

I think that you are referring to Gitmo with regard to the 5th and 6th amendments, but he has followed the letter (though not the spirit) of the law there and complied with Supreme Court rulings so it would be hard to make a case against him.

No, he hasn't, and no, it isn't. There are still hundreds of people being held that have been there for years without a trial or an attorney.

Would you put congress on trial for treason every time they pass a law that is later found to be unconstitutional?

Look up the definition of treason and try again.

I'm not aware of how he has been directly tied to 8th amendment violations.

Waterboarding, sensory deprivation, and other "enhanced interrogation" techniques. If you're going to insist on the "directly involved" red herring again, this is the sort of detail turned up in impeachment hearings.

So yeah, your extremism

Bush. Broke. The. Law. And. Violated. The. Constitution. That you are still babbling about anyone who wants to hold him accountable for his actions as being "extremist" is an extreme case of pot calling the kettle black.

making Bush out to be some kind of war criminal. He might be a bad president, he might be an idiot, and he might make really bad decisions - but he's not a war criminal.

Straw man.

This is exactly the kind of unhelpful disinformation that I was talking about. First, the children's bill had nothing to do with Iraq

Straw man.

As it happens, there is a very legitimate concern that raising the minimum salary level too high will cause people to drop kids from their employer's plan and go with the government's free plan. Why didn't we hear discussion about how to prevent this from either side, instead of the partisan attacks on both sides of the aisle.

Yes, more people should be moved to the governments plan. The whole damned country in fact. With private insurance, you are paying exorborant premiums only to have the insurance companies take that money and use it to try and deny you claims. They've gone so far as denying claims for a late night miscarriage by calling it an elctive abortion. We pay over twice as much money per patient as other western countries for worse care. Freaking Cuba, which spends 1/30th as much per patient as we do, is catching up to us in quality of care.

There's nothing innately more "right" about the $8 billion that Bush wanted or the $30+ billion that the Dems wanted - just a matter of opinion, so don't make it out like the Bushies are evil. You know what? Even if they wanted the feds to pay exactly $0 to the healthcare of children, it wouldn't make them evil. It's a perfectly legitimate opinion.

Well lets see....some kids will inevitably die without that $30 billion for a well-managed program. That you say that paying zero for these kids is a perfectly legit opinion once again shows that something is seriously wrong with you.

It took some looking. The article has a link to the extortion letter. The letter has the URL for the settlement support center. The URL in the PDF is not clickable.

The page with the link to the letter is here; http://consumerist.com/consumer/riaa/the-riaa-p2plawsuit-letter-sent-to-college-students-241054.php

The Settlement demand letter is here; http://consumerist.com/assets/resources/2007/03/riaaletter.pdf

https://www.p2plawsuits.com/ Settlement support center link is here.

It took some looking. The article has a link to the extortion letter. The letter has the URL for the settlement support center. The URL in the PDF is not clickable.

The page with the link to the letter is here; http://consumerist.com/consumer/riaa/the-riaa-p2plawsuit-letter-sent-to-college-students-241054.php

The Settlement demand letter is here; http://consumerist.com/assets/resources/2007/03/riaaletter.pdf

https://www.p2plawsuits.com/ Settlement support center link is here.

The absence reminds me of this Robot Chicken clip: http://consumerist.com/consumer/videos/veringular-were-dropping-your-calls-and-there-isnt--you-can-do-about-it-314260.php

Believe me, they will notice your letter and do something about it.

Really?

1. Silent
2. Denied by Comcast
3. Disruptive
4. Trying to cover it up

1. Silent
2. Denied by Comcast
3. Disruptive
4. Trying to cover it up

If you think companies aren't in the business of getting sued you'd better look again. They'll do anything they can as long as the court case would be cheaper than not doing it. When it looks like they'll lose, they settle. It's foolproof unless the customers have millions to fight back with.

That's why I suggested hucking a flaming brick through the windows of their foreign cars. Nobody at the company is going to notice a lawsuit, but if you revoked their foreign products something might happen. Fighting them in court is one way, but personally I think justice would be handled better if everyone who got screwed by them screwed them back - the court system doesn't penalize companies effectively.

1. Start a small business which promises not to screw their customers (which runs the chance of the big guys changing their business model to run you out of business. Don't worry though, if you survive long enough, you can grow to the point where you can start screwing people too)
2. Join it, and work your ass off to be in a position where you can do a little screwing yourself.
3. Move somewhere else where instead of large businesses screwing you, the government screws you instead.

Ignoring my hatred of Sprint (and, of course, the little thing where they fire you for calling customer support "too much"), can I ask why you want Sprint over Verizon?

At least in my case, there's a practical reason to prefer Verizon over Sprint: I can get actually get Verizon service where I work, while Sprint manages to fail to provide any access. According to the map, there's service here, but when I had Sprint, I got at most 2 bars of service and frequently one or none.

A while back, Small Dog Electronics shipped one of their customers an iPod box with only a bar of Irish Spring soap inside. Here's how their Customer Service department handled it:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/customer-service/no-ipod-soap-210348.php

I guess, unless you bought your copy of Orange Box from an international retailer, as those buyers just found out, when Valve deactivated their games without notice. How is that even fucking legal?

I like this quote from the Washington Post article: Her take on Comcast: "What a bunch of sub-moronic imbeciles."

Another quote: "Manassas police spokesman Sgt. Tim Neumann says there have been other police calls to that Comcast office..." I would love to know why.

Quote from the parent comment: "I called Comcast and started screaming. This got me somewhere as I finally got escalated to the CEO's office where they had a customer care executive assigned to me."

You never get to the CEO's office, I'm guessing. They just say that to try to make you think they believe your complaint is important. In 2005, the Comcast CEO made $14.3 million, just for that one year. I know, I know what you are thinking: "I'm sad. He had a bad year!" But, don't worry, in 2006 he made $27.8 million.

I think that it is safe to assume that someone who makes millions each year for doing a bad job has no concerns whatsoever about any troubles you have with his company. Any phony expression of concern is handled by people who barely make a living.

In case you want to express your horror that he only makes tens of millions instead of hundreds of millions each year, contact the Comcast CEO directly: Brian Roberts.

Why is being rich considered by rich people a license to be evil?

Replying to my own post, check this post from the Consumerist out...

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but it did happen for the longest time. Ever get signed for something at Best Buy, but you swear that you never signed up for anything. Here is the trick that is used, and that I was taught from a Best Buy manager. When a customer would refuse either AOL, MSN, NetZero, magazine offers, or whatever other D-SUB we had, we'd sign you up anyway. You know those Best Buy gift cards that are all over the store? Well those are just American Express cards, with a Best Buy face. So, we'd go through the motions of selecting your address but when it asked for your credit card, we'd swipe through a gift card. Since it was an American Express card in reality, the system took it and you were signed up. The customer had to deal with the late fees because they couldn't charge the credit card the provided. Not our problem.

Replying to my own post, check this post from the Consumerist out...

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but it did happen for the longest time. Ever get signed for something at Best Buy, but you swear that you never signed up for anything. Here is the trick that is used, and that I was taught from a Best Buy manager. When a customer would refuse either AOL, MSN, NetZero, magazine offers, or whatever other D-SUB we had, we'd sign you up anyway. You know those Best Buy gift cards that are all over the store? Well those are just American Express cards, with a Best Buy face. So, we'd go through the motions of selecting your address but when it asked for your credit card, we'd swipe through a gift card. Since it was an American Express card in reality, the system took it and you were signed up. The customer had to deal with the late fees because they couldn't charge the credit card the provided. Not our problem.

I'm sorry, but all men are born with an innate right to defend themselves from others and the government. You government takes away your innate rights. People are born with the right to life, liberty and to pursue their dreams and to property, so long as they do no deprive others of their right to live, liberty and property. All people have the right to speak freely, the internet you are using to try and advocate stripping my rights is far more free than your press, all people have the right to self defense against tyranny and crime, all people have the right against search and seizure without proper warrant, all people have the right to not self incriminate, and the right against double jeopardy, all people have the right to a jury of peers and a public speedy trial, and all people have the right to a punishment that is not cruel or unusual.

I'm sorry your horrible government cant enumerate rights for you. We believe, and have shown, that free people do thrive. Your government executes more people each year than are murdered in the USA, and your government is guilty of killing tens of millions.

Lets have a list of what PROC/China is up to of late:

The PRC Chinese government has murdered countless people:
"DEATH BY GOVERNMENT: GENOCIDE AND MASS MURDER"

http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.TAB1.GIF

http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.FIG1.GIF

http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE1.HTM

China tires recalled:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/26/business/26tire.php

The organising committee of Beijing's Olympic games has promised to investigate charges that official merchandise is being manufactured using child labour.

The PRC Chinese poison dog food:
http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070523/chinese_protein_export_scandal-id -104033.html

The PRC Chinese poison toothpaste:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/us/02toothpaste.html?ex=1181620800&en=d26dab8b 2bd85303&ei=5070

The PRC Chinese poison Children's Toys:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/chinese-poison-train/15-million-thomas--friends- toys-recalled-due-to-lead-paint-from-china-268658.php
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070614/thomas_recall_07061 4/20070614?hub=CTVNewsAt11
http://blogs.eastbayexpress.com/92510/2007/06/thomas_why_hath_thou_forsaken.php

Chinese Seafood Detained for Safety
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070628/D8Q239O00.html

CNN "The China Syndrome" Special on China's dire problems in keeping food clean:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2007/07/04/vause.china.syndrome.cnn

- Cow milk so inundated with antibiotics you can not make Yogurt from it.

- Pigs force-fed waste water.

- Lard made from separating fats from sewage.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2118920,00.html

China Jails 2 Protestant Church Leaders

BTW: We're having 1,000 humble pies delivered to your house.

Heh, didn't you see the memo
We're all, tigerdiect sucks now (they always have, but still!)

Verizon calculates like that too!

An excellent site for consumer right and lots a great info on how to handle these situations
http://www.consumerist.com/

I would submit your story to this site as well, chances are the editor's will provide some really good feedback (and additional negative feedback for PC World).

You should also post this complaint on Consumerist.

Try Ben Popkin over at http://www.consumerist.com/

He is a wizard in dealing with issues like these.

Not certain if he operates in the UK though.

I hope folks that want to go that route opted-out from the arbitration agreement, then.

There was a posting very similar to this on The Consumerist a couple weeks ago. Oddly enough, they both involved a person who made separate transactions.

Link here: http://consumerist.com/consumer/top/tigerdirect-un lawfully-restrains-and-verbally-abuses-customer-fo r-not-submitting-to-receipt+showing-demands-292688 .php

I think it will be interesting to see where these things go. Personally, I think it's best not to involve the authorities in these minor situations. As for the slippery slope argument I find it a bit weak. It seems as reasonable as leaving your backpack at the front of the store, wearing a shirt and shoes, or not wearing roller blades. They're not asking for any personal information, or personal identification. They're not asking to see what you bought at other stores, or what you have in your backpack. They're asking to validate the receipt that was printed up for you by a different employee seconds earlier, and count the items in your bag. Yah, I agree it's stupid and corny and there are better ways to handle the situation. But, this isn't some authoritarian attack on your personal space either.

Anecdotally, I carry my groceries home in reusable canvas bags. I have to get the cashier to validate me before I can use them because the scales are sensitive enough to detect the extra weight of the bag, with the first item I scan (even a 1lb tub of butter, OH MY!). There's no reason why they can't have a similar check at the point where the cashier scans the product and disables the RFID. Simply have a third cashier that validates the various items the machine is unable to accommodate. Ironically, the days I do set the door alarm off I usually just wave at the cashier to let her know I was the one that set it off, and she waves back in acknowledgment.

I posted the story up here:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/civil-rights/tiger direct-unlawfully-restrains-and-verbally-abuses-cu stomer-for-not-submitting-to-receipt+showing-deman ds-292688.php

The DA refused to prosecute, and I talked to a few lawyers, but none would take the case on a contingency (and said it would be 10K-20K).

I had called a cop, who also asked me for my DL. I complied (I think I'm still a little brainwashed into doing whatever an officer asks, just because they can make your life miserable at their discretion). She ordered the store to let me go, but refused to arrest.

What I found from a cursory googling seems to contradict this. They have a right to detain you if there is reasonable suspicion that you've shoplifted. Unwillingness to produce a receipt could be argued to constitute reasonable suspicion. So while they can't physically force you to show the receipt, they can physically detain you until police arrive.

The cop, however, seems totally out of line for demanding to see the guy's license, considering Ohio has a law that specifically forbids this except in cases of traffic stops.

1. I post content.
2. Google steals said content.
3. I sue Google for infringement.
4. Google moves for summary judgment because I agreed to that behavior in the user agreement.
5. Move that that part of the agreement is unconscionable, and, if possible, try to get class status.
6. Court rules in my favor, Google pays me.

I've been following this matter on the web since the Bioshock release and monitoring Slashdot's Firehose as the story submissions popped in. This particular story submission was one of the worst of the bunch. There are genuine issues with Bioshock's DRM decision to use Securom which will unfortunately be dismissed due to the poor choice of article. Whether or not this is a rootkit, the fact that the game won't run unless a user completely disables or uninstalls legitimate utilities such as antivirus programs or process monitors is enough to make a security conscious user worry.

References:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/punishing--the-one s-that-don.t-steal/bioshock-comes-with-nasty-drm-t hat-sets-off-anti+virus-software-ruins-everyones-d ay-292841.php
http://forum.sysinternals.com/forum_posts.asp?TID= 11000

Looks like China imports a lot of soybean from us anyhow.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/us-poison-tractor/ china-upset-about-hazardous-us-soybeans-292638.php

But, come on "editors". I know it's Saturday but let's do some simple stuff at least.

The link in the original firehose submission is this:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/victories/cingular s-class-arbitration-waiver-ruled-unconscionable-by -9th-circuit-court-of-appeals-290806.php

Though I agree it is poor form not including one in the article.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/victories/cingular s-class-arbitration-waiver-ruled-unconscionable-by -9th-circuit-court-of-appeals-290806.php
It was edited out of the Firehose entry (by mistake, I assume)

"If it merely swapped the damaging goods we buy for less damaging ones, I would champion it. But two parallel markets are developing: one for unethical products and one for ethical products, and the expansion of the second does little to hinder the growth of the first... It is easy to picture a situation in which the whole world religiously buys green products, and its carbon emissions continue to soar."

Maybe it's just me, but perhaps the fact that they normally shit on their customers whenever they get the chance to. Must I remind you about the rootkits, exploding batteries, or shutting down Lik-Sang? There are probably more examples, but these three are the ones that come to mind almost immediately. Oh I almost forgot - the marketing isn't too great either.

Then again, maybe I'm just cynical too.

For one reason and one reason only. The majority of Dems are in Hollywood's pockets. The corruption in the all 3 branches of Government are unreal at this point. The next President likley to be a democrat will ALSO be in Hollywood's pocket (RIAA, MPAA, etc) Obama and Hillary are one of the likley 2 and both have gotten significant contributions from Hollywood. So expect more of this. Hollywood is getting bold because they know they have the elections bought and paid for it is fairly certain they have also contributed to the front runners of the Republican side as well to cover their bases. If you want to flame me for this go right ahead. You can waste that energy flaming or you can use it to actually find out who donated to whom. To make it easy here is a list. http://consumerist.com/consumer/worst-company-in-a merica/contact-information-for-50-politicians-who- take-campaign-money-from-the-riaa-264638.php The only real solution is to avoid ALL RIAA Artists and listen CC licensed music. The RIAA and MPAA is looking to control content to whatever end (money, populus manipulation, whatever, ect). Well they cannot control content when the artists are not under contract. This is the fundamental flaw that we need to exploit. The funny thing is we will often find more creative music out there than what is being pumped out of Holywood these days. People seem more motivated by money and far less by the actual art. There are plenty of options out there. I am looking to start a CC music only radio station in the near future after reading this.

And here is another fairly recent article and gives more ammo to my argument: http://consumerist.com/consumer/fraud/att-phone-st olen-youre-still-responsible-for-the-450-in-soft-c ore-porn-downloads-284922.php

I've got to agree with you, and share a thought I've been having lately

Retailers won't sell you an AO rated game, but yet they line their shelves with "unrated" DVDs, and sell anime porn

Damn those Republicans all in the pockets of corporate/special interest screwing the little guys! Err, oh wait...

Both Hillary and Obama have receive $2000.00 in political donations from the RIAA Mafia.
http://consumerist.com/consumer/worst-company-in-a merica/contact-information-for-50-politicians-who- take-campaign-money-from-the-riaa-264638.php

When are people going to wake up and realize that BOTH parties are corrupt?

Neither Hillary nor Obama care about your rights (and dont get me started on Bush et al)

Please, look into the ONLY Pro-Freedom, Pro-Liberty, not in the pocket of special interest candidate running, Dr. Ron Paul http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

according to various news outlets, turning a phone off doesn't solve the problem because the software is 99 parts code, 1 part magic
example: here