Consumer Complaints

Having a problem with a business and don't know where to turn? WalletPop's Consumer Ally is here to help.

My family has been trying for weeks to get the H1N1 vaccine but the few clinics that have been held around the Milwaukee area have been mobbed.

Now we learn that all clinics for the next few weeks are cancelled because there is no vaccine to be had. Even high risk groups such as pregnant women are learning that the vaccine is not available at their doctor's office or anywhere else.

So imagine our surprise when we learned that the H1N1 vaccine is available for prisoners in Wisconsin's correctional system. Apparently, prisoners throughout the system have had access to the vaccine

You'd think any fast-food chain would have taken a lesson from KFC and the Great Free Chicken Fiasco of 2009 and avoid offering customers an outrageous deal via the Internet, where word of just about anything -- good or bad -- can spread faster than greased lightning.

Nevertheless, Boston Market stepped into similar pile of fowl doo-doo last week when it offered its loyal customers a coupon for a $1 chicken entree via its Web site. While not free, it was still one hen of a deal. For $1, diners got a choice of a quarter white or 3-piece dark chicken dinner, along with mashed potatoes and cornbread. Vegetables weren't part of the deal.

When David Spade's tasteless DirecTV ad went out in late October, it was immediately hit with a hail of criticism.

Writers, including our own Jami Bernard, were quick to point out that the commercial, which used footage from 1995's Tommy Boy, essentially came off as a cruel and shameless exploitation of deceased actor Chris Farley.

Although Spade has repeatedly stated that he considered the commercial a tribute to Farley, he recently told People magazine that "The movie is important to me, and I would hate to offend [anyone] because that's one of my favorite things I've ever done. So I would apologize to someone who took it that way." He went on to state that "I wouldn't want anyone to get a whiff that I'm trying to get something off Chris."

As Bernard pointed out on WalletPop, the Farley estate was complicit in the ad. Farley's brothers have already received $25,000 for a billboard bearing his likeness; presumably, they accepted a lot more cash for this ad.

It was confirmed a world wide pandemic almost six months ago, and a national medical emergency last week, but where are the shots for the H1N1 vaccine? With widespread infection in 46 states, school closings, and employees missing work, it would be nice to have the H1N1 vaccine about now.

"This is a challenging time," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a press conference Tuesday. "We wish we had more vaccine available."

Stopped at my local Shell station recently to fill up my van. I have used my Shell MasterCard for almost six years due to the discount that it offers for Shell purchases.

Much to my surprise, the pump refused to authorize my card and said, "See Attendant."

Well, I HATE going into the stations, that is part of the reason I like to pay at the pump. I talked with the attendant who informed me that my card was declined.

What? I have never missed a payment, never been late, and always paid my balance in full. I quickly got on the phone to the credit card company who informed me that a "recent full review of my credit resulted in the cancellation of my card." When I tried to press them as to what was the issue, they suggested I review my credit information. I informed them that it would have been nice to know I was canceled BEFORE I went to the gas station to get the gas. She said, "A letter will be coming shortly."

Since both of my college kids are on my gas card, I quickly got calls from them wondering if we were going into bankruptcy. I dodged their questions while I looked up my credit information on the internet. Yes, there was a very old bill that I had refused to pay because I didn't owe it from 2006, but also a recent entry from Boston Store. Now, I have no idea why Boston Store reported me to the credit agencies. I don't owe them money, paid them on time, and have never missed a payment.

Call it the E = MC squareoff.

Bolstered by its successful anti-screen media campaign that led Baby Einstein to offer a refund for its kid videos, leaders at a Boston-Based non-profit are weighing whether to fight on -- and demand that Walt Disney Company drop "Einstein" from the name altogether, WalletPop has learned in an exclusive.

"We absolutely think they should change the name, but we haven't decided yet what we're going to do with our campaign," says Josh Golin, associate director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC). "We also think that Hebrew University, which licenses the rights to the Einstein name, should reconsider what kind of product they want his name associated with."

At issue for CCFC is whether it thinks continued use of "Einstein" in the megabrand's moniker constitutes a continuing claim of educational value in the videos, targeted largely at kids aged five and under. While "pleased" with Disney's offer to refund $15.99 each for up to four Baby Einstein videos, Golin says he'll watch the campaign closely "to see how things play out."

A recently closed pizza place just a lonnnng dough toss from my home on Chicago's North Side bragged that it served "the best pizza on Earth." And a Mexican joint not far from there advertises "burritos as big as your head."

In both cases, I chalk it up to hyperbole: I'm sure the owners of Katacomb never won a smackdown against any Roman pizzeria. Nor will a lawsuit force La Bamba to correct its slogan to read, "Burritos as big as a rhesus monkey's head."

So sloganeering represents nothing new, though the fine line between bragging and outright lies can prove a tricky, treacherous balance -- especially where our kids are concerned. Now it comes as no shock to me that Baby Einstein has admitted that it won't make my kid into Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer or even Al Franken. Truth be told, never did I expect to stick my kid in front of the vids, leave him in the cathode-ray oven for a few hours, then have him emerge as one smart cookie.

But here's what I do find disturbing, and why I suggest you put in for the $16-per-video refund (limit four) if you bought between June 5, 2005 and Sept. 4, 2009. The name "Baby Einstein" (concocted by creator-mom Julie Aigner-Clark at her home in Alpharetta, Ga. in 1997) implies an undeniable connection between the product and some sort of brain development Junior would enjoy from watching it.

And according to a New York Times piece, the videos could have the exact opposite effect on kids under two. The Times quotes a letter from lawyers for the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: "The Walt Disney Company's entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development. [Those claims are] false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children."

Ugh. I have to lie enough to my kids, what with the Easter Bunny, Santa and all that. Now Mickey Mouse is lying to them, too. (Disney bought Baby Einstein in 2001, and created a spinoff for older kids, "Little Einsteins.")

Home repair contractor Kaile Warren had a rags-to-riches story that was enviable. The former homeless home improver credits "divine intervention" with giving him the idea for a home improvement company and brand name that would ultimately place him on a national stage that included appearances on Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the CBS Early Show, to name a few.

But according to an investigative report by USA Today, Warren has all but crashed and burned taking more than a dozen investors with him who poured an estimated $4.5 million into his Rent-A-Husband chain of home improvement franchises.

Today, Warren is reportedly more than $3 million in debt with assets of just $145,000, faces investor complaints, one lawsuit, and investigation by the Maine Division of Securities.

Here's a video by USA Today on the story:

Advertisements trumpeting "Bernie Madoff Auction" ahead of events being held at hotels around the country appear to have little or no connection to the criminal or his victims, a WalletPop investigation found.

Instead, customers who show up are likely to find a garden-variety auction of items from estates and liquidations and, perhaps, the possibility that a victim of Madoff might sell something, too.

Consumers who were lured to the auctions recently in two Florida cities -- West Palm Beach and Naples -- noted the advertisements created an expectation for something that wasn't there.

Twitter isn't perfect, and not just because we're all sick of hearing about it. The one-line updates can be maddeningly short, and too many users do a lot of reading but not much posting.

On a typical day, the average Twitter stream can look like a tedious march of news of the weird and alarmist predictions of a dire future. But after a recent trip, I discovered that it does have its uses.

Sure, there are lots of people who treat Twitter like an inane chat room, and use it to announce when they're going to bed, and what kind of pickle they're eating for lunch. But many companies use it, too, to manage vocal customers.

When you put a battery in a flashlight the flashlight shouldn't start burning. One my son brought home from a birthday party did.

It came from Target -- three for $1 in a package marketing them for Halloween. I dropped in a new Energizer battery, screwed on the top and the flashlight got warm right away. I shut off the flashlight and placed it on the kitchen table. A few minutes later a sizzling sound could be heard that we couldn't identify. The burning smell quickly led us to the flashlight, which was now smoking and melting from the heat. I grabbed an oven mitt, grabbed the flashlight and went out on the balcony and shoved it into a pot of dirt.

I'd have to say that after writing about dangerous products for more than a decade -- many cheap Chinese imports like this -- I hadn't had one go up on me. So I purchased another package of the flashlights and dropped batteries into two of them. One melted. The other was OK. Two out of three flashlights overheating isn't a good ratio in my unscientific test.

So I contacted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Target and the importer, Devrian Global Industries.

Dear WalletPop:

I'm writing to let you know of a battle that I've been fighting since late June. I am owed a credit of $275 for an overpayment on my AT&T Dish Network account. Neither AT&T nor Dish disputes that I am owed the money; however, due to massive, persistent communication failures between Dish and AT&T and poor customer service toward me by both parties, I still have not received my credit.

Here are the details: Prior to leaving AT&T DIsh Network for AT&T U-Verse, I was sent a replacement Dish receiver that I did not request. It took me a while to return it. In the interim, I was charged $275 for the equipment. Complicating things, my online bank account was set to autopay any AT&T bill, so it did, prior to my returning the equipment. The bill was paid in full. That includes the $275. I then returned the equipment, as Dish acknowledges. Because I returned the equipment, that $275 charge should be removed, as Dish also acknowledges. Dish Network has said on multiple occasions that they have informed AT&T through their systems that I am owed the money. Dish has also said on multiple occasions that they have credited AT&T the $275 so they can pay me. AT&T has had repeated problems seeing that confirmation in their systems. This has happened multiple times since June.

I have been so disillusioned by this process that I have canceled my AT&T U-Verse service, which I actually enjoyed, and have moved all of my services -- TV, phone and Internet.

Matt Schulz
Austin, Texas

As the father of a 5-year-old, I'm always looking for stuff to do with my child. Especially free stuff.

But when I came upon an online offer of free kid movie video rentals at Hollywood Video, I was skeptical. I found blogger after blogger after blogger who made it sound like the free offer was at all of the company's stores nationwide.

If it was true, I expected to find the deal reported on at WalletPop and by the national news media. After all, free movie rentals for kids is a freebie many people would gladly take advantage of.

The press release from PRNewswire says the free movies are "available now at nearly 1,800 Hollywood Video stores nationwide."

Wrong.

I e-mailed Hollywood Video to find out what was up with the widely circulated press release from Aug. 16. The old date led me to believe that it wasn't for real, along with the fact that the promotion wasn't on the company's Web site.

It turned out I was right, at least partly. The promotion was only for stores in Portland, Oregon. Not nationwide.

"This promotion is a promotion that is strictly being offered at select Portland, OR stores in children's movies," read an e-mail reply from a Hollywood Video customer relations representative. "Each movie that is included in this promotion with have (sic) stickers placed on them so that they can be identified by our customer's (sic)."

For Hollywood Video customers in Portland, Ore., or at least the participating stores in Portland, it's a freebie to take advantage of. Too bad the rest of the country can't get in on the deal, too.

Eight months after computer giant Dell Inc. reached a settlement with 34 states over allegations that included the company duping consumers over financing offers, New York state's attorney general settled claims against the company for more than all the other states combined.

The 34-state settlement cost Dell $3.35 million. The New York settlement: $4 million.

Dell was sued by New York in 2007 for fraud, false advertising, deceptive business practices as well as abusing consumers in its debt collection. The company and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo battled out the claims in court, where a judge in 2008 ruled in favor of the state and upheld the the allegations. How compensation would be worked out had been up in the air since.

Dell did not respond to a request to its media relations office for a comment on the settlement.