No, Office Depot Won’t Price-Match Its Own Website

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Mara was shopping online at OfficeMax Depot (not the company’s actual post-merger name) when she found a package of the labels she needed at a great price. She headed to her local Office Depot store, believing that she would find the same labels at the same price at the store. Wouldn’t that make sense? Yes, it would make a lot of sense. Instead, the labels cost $28.80 more in the store.

The savvy consumer would ask for a price match to the retailer’s own website, since that’s a pretty big discrepancy when she thought that the labels only cost $36.19.

Online:

In the store:

Naturally, Mara did the sensible thing and asked for a price match. That’s when she learned that Office Depot’s price-match policy doesn’t allow stores to match prices on the website.

Our stores will not match prices from our catalogs, online-only specials, or prices offered to our contract customers. OfficeDepot.com and our call centers will not match prices offered to our contract customers or on our in-store only specials.

What did Mara do? “They were unwilling to sell for the online price,” she wrote to Consumerist, “so I ordered online to pick up later.” The real irony comes when you’re able to order it online from inside the store, then wait there until the order’s ready, but not all stores prepare orders that quickly.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Advocates: Schools Using Forced Arbitration Shouldn’t Receive Federal Aid

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For-profit colleges that require students to sign away their legal rights, forcing them into arbitration in order to enroll in classes should not receive federal financial aid, a coalition of 47 consumer advocacy groups urged acting Secretary of Education John King on Friday. 

The group, composed of our colleagues at Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Higher Ed, Not Debt, and others, urged King to deny Title IV funding to colleges that require students to submit to binding arbitration in future disputes with their schools.

“We are deeply concerned about predatory schools in the for-profit college industry that defraud students and families while profiting from federal aid. These schools offer low-quality, high-priced programs, shortchange students in their support service offerings, and often misrepresent their abysmal graduation and job-placement rates,” the coalition writes in the letter [PDF].

The action was laid out in a petition [PDF] started by Public Citizen after nine senators sent a letter to the Department of Education asking for action on schools that use forced arbitration in mid-February.

Advocates and lawmakers are asking the Dept. of Education to craft a rule that would bar educational institutions from including pre-dispute arbitration clauses in enrollment or other agreements with students, as a condition of receiving Title IV assistance, which includes Stafford, PLUS and Perkins loans as well as Pell grants.

“Today’s coalition letter marks agreement by a broad range of groups that it is time for the department to address the harmful effects of arbitration clauses on students and federal aid programs,” Julie Murray, an attorney for Public Citizen, said in a statement. “These clauses don’t benefit the public or students who dream of an education,” she said. “They benefit the bottom lines of education companies.”

Forced arbitration not only takes away the student’s ability to have their day in court, it often prohibits students with the same complaint from joining their claims together into a single action.

There is pending legislation that seeks to bar schools from using mandatory arbitration if they want to receive federal funds, but that has been stuck in committee since last April.

The advocacy groups and lawmakers argue that forced arbitration clauses overwhelmingly favor schools.

By using arbitration clauses, for-profit colleges, such as the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges Inc, have shielded themselves from taking responsibility for their own alleged deceptions such as misrepresented job placement statistics.

Colleges that use arbitration clauses also retain the right to choose their own arbitrator and other key aspects of the potential dispute resolution process.

“Schools receiving taxpayer funding should not be allowed to hide fraud and avoid accountability through pre-dispute forced arbitration,” Jennifer Wang, DC office director for The Institute for College Access & Success, said in a statement. “High-quality colleges don’t force their students to sign away their legal rights, and taxpayers should not subsidize colleges that do.”

The use of arbitration clauses has skyrocketed by companies – including many in the for-profit education sector – since 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that it was perfectly okay for companies to take away a consumer’s right to sue or their ability to join other wronged consumers in a class action case by inserting a paragraph or two of text inside lengthy contracts.

A Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee investigation recently found that  21 of 27 for-profit education companies used forced arbitration clauses in their enrollment agreements.

The groups, and the lawmakers before them, claim that by banning the use of forced arbitration clauses, the Dept. would be able to better oversee the for-profit education industry. As it currently stands, students are deterred from filing claims of potential fraud because there is little they could gain from doing so.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Delta Trying To Sell More Premium Cabin Seats To Cut Down On Free Upgrades

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It’s the holy grail for many a frequent traveler with airline miles to burn: triumphing over everyone else waiting at the gate and scoring an upgrade to first or business class. But Delta Air Lines is sick of handing out those upgrades without making any real money off it. So, in an effort to cut down on the amount of upgrades, and thus, make more money Delta will be adjusting the price of its premium cabin seats.

The idea here being, if Delta can sell more of those seats, even at a lower price, it’ll bring in more cash than giving out upgrades, reports Bloomberg.

“We want people to be able to use those miles not to fly for free but to control your experience,” says Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s incoming president and architect of the airline’s revenue plans.

Right now Delta sells about 57% of its first- and business-class cabins, but it’s hoping to boost that figure to 70% by 2018, the company said in December.

Will other airlines follow in Delta’s footsteps? It seems likely, as whenever one airline makes a big pricing move, the other carriers often join in the fun.

Haunstein tells Bloomberg that offering upgrades is great for those who win the prize, but many other customers are unhappy with the system.

“We were really making nobody happy except the person who won the lottery at the gate,” he said.

Airlines Really Don’t Want to Upgrade People for Free [Bloomberg]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Inspectors In Massachusetts Combing Gas Stations, Other Card Readers For Skimmers

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Look out when you’re on the road: police and state standards agencies have noticed a scary trend near highways in New England. Bluetooth card skimmers are appearing on gas pumps and ATMs in New England, slurping up customers’ payment data and beaming it to thieves who may be sitting just around the corner.

While the Division of Standards in Massachusetts is stepping up their inspections, they can’t be everywhere at once, and have asked citizens to also keep an eye out for card readers that don’t quite look right.

Here’s a real recent example: the green plastic unit was found on the ATM at a Cumberland Farms convenience store in Attleboro, MA. It was attached to the outside of the card slot with double-sided tape: hardly a high-tech intervention, but it likely fooled at least one customer.

“It seems to be at stations off busy highways or stations that might close at night,” an inspector explained to news station WBZ. “They can come by very easily and install one of these devices very quickly.”

Using a debit or ATM card on a compromised payment terminal is especially dangerous since that gives thieves the ability to drain your bank account: when using a credit card, at least you can dispute the charges before your actual money disappears.

It’s useful to check whether the plastic pieces seem to fit together. Does the card reader look like it was slapped on with some double-sided tape? Maybe it was. Teach yourself the habit of pulling gently on the card reader to make sure it’s firmly attached.

This won’t protect you against invisible skimmers that are inside the machine, but the type that stick or snap on the card reader are still out there in the wild.

Mass. Inspectors Look For Skimming Devices Inside Gas Pumps [WBZ]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

California Could Be Second State To Raise Minimum Smoking Age To 21

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Just days after the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted to increase the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, the state’s Assembly passed a package of tobacco bills, includinga measure that would raise the state smoking age to 21 and ban the use of electronic cigarettes in public places where traditional smoking is prohibited. 

The Los Angeles Times reports that the six bills will now go to the state Senate for consideration. The Senate previously approved the measures, but must now vote on amendments made by the Assembly.

The bill package, which were supposed to be voted on last year, passed with a 42-26 vote Thursday following several action by lawmakers to block the hearing.

While the Los Angeles age limit increase covered all consumers, the state measure provides an exemption for those under 21 who are in active military service.

That amendment came about after criticism from veteran groups and some lawmakers who argued that 18-year-olds who are able to marry, vote, and join the military, should be able to make their own decision on whether or not to smoke.

Under the e-cigarette measure, smoking of the devices will be limited in public places and prohibits the marketing or sale to minors.

The L.A. Times reports that the bills were championed by the coalition called Save Live California, consisting of American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association. The groups contended that 95% of adult smokers start before the age of 21.

21 to smoke? California Assembly approves raising smoking age [The Los Angeles Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Lawsuit: New York Shouldn’t Charge Sales Tax On Tampons

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Should tampon sales be taxed by the state? Five Manhattan women don’t think so, and have filed a lawsuit against New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance saying it should be tax-free.

While other medical items are sold without a tax — including Rogaine, food powder, dandruff shampoo, ChapStick, adult diapers, and incontinence pads, the lawsuit notes, medical items used only by women like tampons and sanitary napkins are taxed.

“The department’s double standard for men and women finds no support in the tax law and serves no purpose other than to discriminate,” the suit says, as reported by the New York Daily News. “It is… undisputable that tampons and sanitary pads serve multiple medical purposes. They are not luxury items, but a necessity for women’s health.”

According to court papers, the average woman will spend at least $70 a year on tampons and pads, bringing in New York a total of $14 million in taxes every year.

Those taxes hit poor women especially hard, one plaintiff tells the New York Daily News.

“It’s a regressive tax. Poor women don’t have the ability to buy tampons in bulk. They buy in small packages and thus they are taxed more,” she said.

The lawsuit is seeking an order permanently banning the state from taxing tampons or pads.

There are others trying to change the tax, including Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal who introduced legislation in Albany seeking to end “a regressive tax on women and their bodies.”

New lawsuit challenges New York State’s tampon tax [New York Daily News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Boeing Creates Self-Cleaning Airplane Bathroom, Claims To Kill 99.99% Of Germs

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Ah, the joy of airplane bathrooms: at one point we’ve all had to cram ourselves into the small, overused closets to do our business during a flight. While the facilities are cleaned between flights, some germs or dirt might remain. In a bid to ensure restrooms meet passenger standards, Boeing has created a self-cleaning lavatory. 

Boeing recently applied for a patent for the self-cleaning bathroom, which uses Far UV light to disinfect surfaces, Business Insider reports.

The airplane manufacturer claims that the system, which is activated when the lavatory is unoccupied between uses, is able to kill 99.99% of germs and eliminate orders in just three seconds.

That means you won’t have to wait too long for a cleaner bathroom if you’re lined up in the rear of the plane.

“We’re trying to alleviate the anxiety we all face when using a restroom that gets a workout during a flight,” Boeing’s director of environmental performance Jeanne Yu tells Business Insider.

In addition to the self-cleaning aspect, the new bathroom prototype incorporates a hands-free faucet, soap dispenser, trash flap, toilet lid and seat, and a hand dryer, the Associated Press reports.

“Some of the touchless features are already in use on some Boeing airplanes today,” Yu tells BI. “But combining that with the new UV sanitizing will give passengers even more protection from germs and make for an even better flying experience.”

Of course, you shouldn’t expect to see the self-cleaning bathroom on planes anytime soon. The concept needs further study, Boeing says, noting that once it is offered it could take years for carriers to update their aircraft fleet to include the lavatories.

Boeing has built an airplane bathroom that cleans itself [Business Insider]
Cleaner skies: Boeing designs self-sterilizing jet bathrooms [The Associated Press]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Intuit Finds New, More Caring Owner For Quicken

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When you can’t give a pet the care that it deserves anymore, you find a new home for it. Accounting software company Intuit is packing up its original product, the personal finance program Quicken, and sending it off to live with new owners. The private equity firm H.I.G. Capital and Eric Dunn, the general manager of the Quicken brand will purchase the program and its brand.

The program, a pioneering early PC and Mac application, was the earliest piece of the Intuit financial empire, leading to the development of tax preparation software TurboTax and small business software Quickbooks, and more advanced products for professional accountants that work with the consumer tools.

Intuit will keep Mint, the cloud-based personal finance software that it acquired in 2009. Mostly, though, Intuit will focus on its services for small businesses, and Quicken will go off and do its own thing with desktop and smartphone personal finance apps.

Confusingly, Quicken Loans, the company behind a problematic ad aired during the 2016 Super Bowl, is not part of Quicken. Intuit owned the lender for a while, which is when it acquired the Quicken name, but was later spun off into a separate company.

Update on the Quicken Sale from Eric Dunn [Intuit] (via CNN)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Samsonite Is Packing Up Rival Tumi And Taking It Home With $1.8B Deal

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Luggage company Samsonite is taking on some extra baggage — on purpose. The company confirmed Thursday that it’s agreed to buy rival Tumi for around $1.8 billion.

This will give the world’s largest luggage purveyor a presence in the premium luggage market, notes The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the deal. It’ll also allow Tumi to expand into Asia and Europe.

“We can use the machine of Samsonite foot soldiers on the ground to expand Tumi’s global footprint. Tumi can help us cover our gaps,” said Samsonite Chief Executive Ramesh Tainwala.

This is no whirlwind courtship, either: Samsonite has had its eye on buying Tumi for about 15 years, the company says.

Beyond rolling luggage, Tumi also makes tablet cases, briefcases and other carrying accessories. The company has more than 100 of its own stores, while also selling its products through retailers.

In the Bag: Samsonite Confirms Deal to Buy Tumi [The Wall Street Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

N.Y. Driver Charged With A Felony Learns There’s No Such Thing As A DIY License Plate

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If you’re in a bind and don’t have valid registration for your vehicle, whipping out some cardboard and colored markers for a little DIY project is not the way to go, unless you want to end up with a felony charge on your hands. That’s the lesson police say one New York woman learned when she was caught driving with a license plate of her own creation.

An Erie County police officer spotted the illegal plate when pulling over the 28-year-old driver in Springville, NY, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.

The driver had no license plate on the front of the vehicle, and on the back, she’d placed a blue and yellow cardboard cut-out with some letters, numbers and the words, “EMPIRE STATE” on it.

“In case you are wondering, homemade cardboard license plates are NOT legal,” the post read. “The homemade plate was seized and placed into evidence.”

She was driving with a suspended registration and no insurance, officials say, and is now facing a felony count of possessing a forged instrument, a misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle with a suspended registration and three vehicle and traffic infractions.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Staples To Close 50 Stores In Preparation For Life With Or Without Office Depot

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As it awaits the final verdict from regulators on its pending billion-dollar purchase of rival office supply chain Office Depot, Staples is preparing to go it alone by announcing plans to shutter at least 50 of its own stores in order to slow declining sales. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that while Staples plans to fight to prove its takeover of Office Depot is in the best interest for everyone, it’s also readying a contingency plan by focusing on its own business activities.

Chief Executive Ron Sargent says the company has been working on a “Plan B” for several months that would improve the company’s stand-alone performance “despite the fact that we’re focusing all our energies and efforts on getting this acquisition behind us.”

Part of that just-in-case plan involves reversing a decline in sales that has haunted the company for years by closing some underperforming stores.

The office supply chain plans to add 50 more stores to its closure list this year, in addition to the 73 stores that closed last year.

This isn’t the first time Staples has taken action to ensure its business continues even if the challenged Office Depot merger fails.

In January, the company took steps to streamline its operation, changing its management team and reportedly laying off hundreds of employees at its headquarters.

That action came just a month after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block the merger based on the findings that a merged company would reduce competition nationwide in the market for “consumable” office supplies – pens, paper, sticky notes, etc. – sold to large business customers.

Because Massachusetts-based Staples – the world’s largest seller of office products and services – and Florida-based Office Depot are each other’s closest competitors in the sale of office supplies to large business customers, the agency believe that the proposed merger would “eliminate beneficial competition that large companies rely on to reduce the costs of office supplies.”

Last month, Essendant, a smaller national supplier, agreed to take over some of the commercial business contracts currently held by Office Depot and Staples if the merger goes through.

The FTC’s lawsuit is the second time the FTC has taken action to ban the marriage of the retailers. In 1997, the commission won a ruling from a federal judge blocking a deal.

Staples Prepares Plan B as Merger Stalls, Sales Sink [The Wall Street Journal]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Regulators Investigating 420,000 Ford Trucks For Brake Failure Issue

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After receiving dozens of complaints from consumers about brake failure, federal regulators have opened a probe into 420,000 of Ford’s most popular truck brand, the F-150. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigations recently opened an investigation into model year 2013 and 2014 F-150 trucks with 3.5-liter, six-cylinder engines.

According to a notice [PDF] from NHTSA, the agency has received 33 consumer complaints about brake failure in the vehicles, including some drivers reporting that pedals can suddenly go to the floor with a complete loss of braking.

Of the reports received by NHTSA, 31 came in the last 12 months, including 20 in the last seven months. Four of the complaints resulted in crashes.

“Whenever at a stop in traffic, the brake pedal drifted to the floor causing loss of brakes resulting in striking the car in front of me,” one F-150 owner tells NHTSA. “The truck [has] been at Ford to replace multiple pieces of the brake system with absolutely no better result.”

In other instances, the drivers reported that the brake light or low fluid level illuminated while driving.

“Brake light came on while driving at 65 MPH,” one consumer writes in a complaint. “Immediately tested brakes and felt normal application. Three miles later approaching a four-way intersection, initiated second pedal application and brake pedal went to floor with no associated braking action.”

Some of the owners say that when they took their vehicles to a dealership for repair, they were told the issue was a result of brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder to the brake booster.

“Service inspection found master cylinder had leaked all fluid from reservoir into brake booster and into vacuum line,” another consumer reported. “Replaced brake booster, master cylinder, vacuum check valve, and vacuum line.”

NHTSA says it will investigate how often the issue happens and how large it might be before deciding on whether or not a recall is needed.

A spokesperson for Ford tells the Associated Press that it takes customer safety seriously, and will cooperate with the investigation.

[via The Associated Press]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Timberwolves Fans Suing Over Team’s New Paperless Ticketing System

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Sometimes, even the biggest sports fans can’t make it to their team’s game, for whatever reason (rain, snow, sleet, in-laws visiting unannounced) and in those cases, they might want to sell their ticket to someone else. That process has been “fundamentally, unlawfully” altered for fans of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, a new class-action lawsuit alleges, after the team instituted a new paperless ticketing system.

The Flash Seats system, instituted for the Timberwolves’ 2015-16, as well as for tickets to WNBA games played by the Minnesota Lynx, serves to pad the pockets of the organization while hurting ticket buyers, the plaintiffs say in their lawsuit filed Thursday in Hennepin County, reports the Minnesota Tribune.

With the new system, ticket buyers use an app on their mobile device or scan a credit card or ID to claim their seats once they’ve arrived at Target Center.

Making fans use paperless tickets allows the Timberwolves to “control the use, resale, and transfer of tickets by season-ticket holders — and to employ minimum resale prices, added fees, and other draconian restrictions on subsequent transfers of the tickets,” the lawsuit alleges.

GLS Companies and an individual ticket buyer are the plaintiffs in the case; both hold season tickets for the current season. The suit alleges that the organization didn’t implement the Flash Seats system until after season-ticket holders had already forked over more than $20,000 for this season’s tickets. Had they known about the change, they might not have purchased those tickets, the lawsuit says.

Ticket holders are limited to reselling their tickets through Flash Seats, which only serves to profit the Timberwolves, the lawsuit says, making it “impossible for ticket holders to list the tickets on a secondary marketplace or platform such as StubHub or Ticketmaster, or even to physically sell or transfer them in a hand-to-hand transaction.”

The minimum resale price required through Flash Seats affected the individual plaintiff recently, when he tried to sell his $240 face value tickets to the Wolves vs. Celtics Feb. 22 game for just $100 each, the lawsuit says. He could only set his price at $180 or higher, however, with Flash Seats, and ended up not being able to sell them and recoup any of his money.

“We are aware that a lawsuit was filed this morning in Hennepin County District Court and it is our policy not to comment on pending litigation,” reads a statement from the organization released on Thursday from President Chris Wright. “What we can tell you is that the Timberwolves and Lynx organizations are confident that Flash Seats supplies the best possible experience for our fans. Flash Seats give our ticket holders the maximum possible convenience and complete control over their Timberwolves and Lynx tickets.”

Timberwolves sued over paperless ticket policy [Minnesota Tribune]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

DNC Chair Backs Pro-Payday Loan Bill; Thinks 300% Interest Is A Consumer Protection

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You currently can’t get Republican and Democratic lawmakers to agree on a lunch order, let alone jointly support legislation. But one controversial piece of legislation is not only garnering support from both sides of the aisle, it’s also got the Chair of the Democratic National Committee pushing for legislation that would undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability to regulate predatory lending.

The misleadingly named Consumer Protection and Choice Act was introduced last fall by bank-backed Florida Congressman Dennis Ross, in response to the news that the CFPB would be drafting rules intended to curb the more predatory aspects of payday lending.

Even though the CFPB has yet to release its draft of these rules — which would then be subject to the lengthy public comment process, allowing all interested parties to chime in — the bill would not only delay the Bureau’s efforts to rein in payday lending, but would exempt states with existing restrictions on payday lending.

Ross was quickly joined by several of his fellow Floridian lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat — including Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. They contend — again, without any evidence — that Florida’s existing limits on payday lending would be undermined by the CFPB rules, and that needy borrowers would be robbed of access to credit.

And recently, according to Huffington Post, Wasserman-Schultz has gone from merely adding her name to the bill’s list of sponsors to actively advocating for the legislation.

In a memo being circulated around Capitol Hill, the DNC Chair describes her state’s law as a “model” that other states should follow for payday loans, rather than the CFPB rules that don’t exist yet.

A rep for Wasserman-Schultz told HuffPo that the current face of the Democratic party helped to write the Florida rules when she was a state legislator.

“The Congresswoman wants to work with the CFPB on the way forward, and believes the Florida law is an example of how to achieve their shared goals of balancing strong consumer protections with preserving access to credit in underserved communities,” says the rep.

But while the Florida payday lending rules do include some protections — limiting borrowers to a single loan at a time; requiring a 24-hour cooling-off period between loans — consumer advocates say they are not to be held up as some sort of paradigm for others to follow.

For example, the Florida rules do put a $500 limit on a single loan, but they allow lenders to charge up to $55 in fees for that loan, which has to be repaid somewhere between 7 and 31 days. For a two-week loan, that comes out to an APR of more than 280%.

Additionally, while the one-day cooling-off period does present a speed bump for borrowers who need to take out another loan to pay back the first one, consumer advocates say it is not preventing the practice that keeps borrowers in a cycle of revolving debt.

In a letter [PDF] sent in December to all members of Congress, a coalition of groups — including our colleagues at Consumers Union — noted that “In spite of the industry-backed Florida law, 88% of repeat loans were made before the borrower’s next paycheck,” and 85% of payday loans are issued to people who have taken out at least seven loans per year.

HuffPo cites recent data from Pew Charitable Trusts, which found that the typical Florida payday borrower takes out nine loans in a year, and spends about six months of the year in debt. Pew calculated the average APR on Florida payday loans at 304%, not much of an improvement on the national average (in states where payday loans are allowed) of 390%.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Six Flags Adding Virtual Reality To Roller Coasters

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Don’t get sufficiently nauseated from the ups, downs, turns, and loops of riding a roller coaster? Then plan a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain, which is tacking on a virtual reality aspect to one of its coasters.

Six Flags announced Thursday that it has partnered with Samsung to equip riders of its recently revamped New Revolution roller coaster with VR headsets to provide a unique experience.

Under the program, the VR headsets will show a space alien battle that is synched with the twists and turns of the roller coaster ride.

“This remarkable technology is a definite game-changer for theme park rides and represents everything our brand stands for – delivering the most thrilling and innovative rides and attractions in the world,” John Duffey, Six Flags President and CEO, said in a statement.

A version of the Revolution’s VR element, which is expected to be ready for visitor use this spring, will eventually be added to other roller coaster rides at nine Six Flags parks around the country.

Over time, Six Flags says it will change the VR images so that repeat riders don’t see the same scene each time.

“They can change the story to have aliens or it can take place in a submarine,” Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, tells the Los Angeles Times. “They can change it annually — just rewrite the software rather than spend $25 million for a new coaster.”

[via The Los Angeles Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Siblings Arrested For Robbing Girl Scouts Of $200 In Cookie Money

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Most people look at Girl Scouts selling cookies outside of a store and see children learning important lessons about commerce. Every year, though, there’s at least one person who looks at them and sees a big box of cash guarded by little girls. This cookie season, the first criminals accused of having this terrible idea were a brother and sister in Florida, who were arrested yesterday for running off with about $200 in cookie money last weekend.

The crime of opportunity happened at a Walmart store in Deltona on Sunday afternoon. According to police, the troop leader noticed the brother acting strangely and apparently casing the cookie stand, staring at the Scouts’ cash box while asking questions about the cookies.

His older sister, deputies say, was on the scene with a small child. The trio left to get in their car, then the brother ran back, grabbed the money out of a 12-year-old scout’s hands, and ran back to the vehicle.

They were identified based on surveillance camera images, which were released to local news. People who knew the siblings identified them from the images. They’re both in jail and scheduled to appear in court this afternoon.

Brother, sister accused of robbing Girl Scout [News 13]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Costco Raising Entry-Level Employee Minimum Wage For The First Time In Nearly A Decade

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In a bid to attract more quality workers, Costco says it will raise the minimum wage for entry-level workers for the first time in nine years. 

Costco announced the wage hike during an investor call on Thursday, saying it will pay workers $1.50 more per hour for stores in the U.S. and Canada starting as early as this month, The Associated Press reports.

The raise will bump overall pay for entry-level workers to $13 or $13.50 from $11.50 or $12 per hour.

Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti says that while the wage increase will hurt the company’s earnings for the current quarter, it was something Costco simply had to do.

In fact, he told analysts he believes the company needs to offer top salaries at all levels. Costco’s highest hourly wage is currently $22.50, but even those employees are expected to receive a 2.5% increase at some point this year, Bloomberg reports.

“You’re on your feet, you’re lifting cases, you’re pushing carts at these entry-level jobs,” Galanti said during the investor call. “And so we thought it was time to do it.”

The pay increase was also seen as a way for Costco to retain its current workers and attract new employees, Craig Rowley, an analyst for consultant group Hay Group’s retail, tells the AP, noting that the turnover rate for part-time retail associates is around 67%.

Costco is just the latest retailer to lift entry-level pay for employees. After years of pressure from workers and advocates Walmart began increasing its hourly pay for all employees last year. The most recent increase came last month when the company boosted pay for 1.2 million workers to at least $10 an hour from $9 an hour.

Costco Hikes Entry Level Wages for First Time Since 2007 [The Associated Press]
Costco Will Raise Minimum Wage as Competition for Workers Grows [Bloomberg]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

AMC Theaters Will Be The Largest U.S. Theater Chain With $1.1B Acquisition Of Carmike Cinemas

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The odds that the screen you see that new flick on is owned by AMC Theaters are about to go up, now that the chain is gobbling up fellow theater chain Carmike Cinemas in a $1.1 billion deal.

The acquisition will make AMC Theaters the largest movie chain in North America, notes the Los Angeles Times: currently, AMC is the second largest U.S. movie theater operator, behind Regal Entertainment Group, while Carmike is the fourth biggest. Adding Carmike’s 274 locations will bring AMC’s total theaters to 653, topping Regal’s 572 U.S. cinemas.

The deal announced on Thursday will have AMC buying Carmike for $30 a share, as part of a $1.1 billion deal that also has AMC assuming Carmike’s debt.

“This is a compelling transaction that brings together two great companies with complementary strengths to create substantial value for our guests and shareholders,” Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Entertainment, the parent company of AMC Theaters, said in a statement.

“Wherever you go, this deal is complementary,” Aron added. “We’re strong in large cities, they’re strong in smaller cities. We’re strong in the Northeast, and they’re strong in the Southeast.”

AMC Entertainment was bought by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, which also owns the biggest chain in China, in 2012 for $2.6 billion, creating the world’s largest cinema company.

AMC Entertainment to buy Carmike Cinemas in $1.1-billion deal [Los Angeles Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

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Here are six 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.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. 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 Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Hotels.com Leap Day Coupons Less Useless Than They Appear

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Last week, we tried to figure out a promotion from Hotels.com that had an extremely lengthy list of hotels specifically excluded from a coupon. We’re glad to note that not only was that promo not as bad as we thought, a new coupon from the hotel aggregator, but another promo clarifies things a bit for the easily confused. Like us.

To give you an idea, we hit “print” out of curiosity on that exclusions page for the Leap Day promotion, and the total came to 39 pages. Things weren’t as bad as they seemed, though: a Hotels.com representative got back to us and pointed out that while the exclusion list is long, we and the tipster underestimated how many hotels there are on the site in total.

“We have more than 130,000 top rated independent and boutique hotels in popular destinations that are included in this coupon,” a representative of the site explained. Here’s how you would spot them when idly browsing the site:

That was good to know, and makes the Leap Day promotion much more appealing.

Bill, the original Leap Day tipster, noticed a different and much clearer coupon and sent it over.

“At least they’re being a little more honest this time,” he says. A lot more honest, we think: just don’t have your heart set on staying in a chain hotel.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Dozens Of Tech Experts Ask Court To Not Force Apple To Unlock iPhone

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The day after Apple filed its formal objection to a Feb. 16 court order compelling the company to assist the FBI in unlocking an iPhone that belonged to one of the terrorists who killed 14 people last December in California, a group of nearly four dozen tech industry experts have asked the court to rethink its decision.

The issue, for those coming late to this story, involves privacy protections on the iPhone. If FBI agents fail too many times at guessing the correct passcode, the information they seek could be wiped from the device.

In the hope of getting around this, the FBI has asked Apple to push an update to this iPhone that would allow them to unlock the phone without the risk of erasing the desired content.

Apple contends that there is no legal precedent for forcing a tech company to make its devices less secure. The company is also concerned that aiding the FBI by creating this hack would set a dangerous precedent.

Last week, Apple filed its motion to vacate [PDF], arguing — among other things — that creating a back door to bypass iPhone encryption has the negative effect of “making its users’ most confidential and personal information vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, hostile foreign agents, and unwarranted government surveillance.”

This morning, a supporting brief [PDF] filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 46 different experts attempted to bolster Apple’s position in this case.

“What the government blandly characterizes as a request for technical assistance raises one of the most serious issues facing the security of information technology,” begins the brief, “the extent to which manufacturers of secure devices like Apple can be conscripted by the government to undermine the security of those devices.”

The authors of the brief include professors in engineering, computer science, cryptography, and other fields from MIT, Rice University, Cornell, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, and numerous other institutions. They contend that forcing Apple and its employees to create a workaround to effectively weaken the product they developed “places a significant burden” on their First Amendment rights.

The court has directed Apple to create this new code to assist the FBI. In order for that code to work, it must contain Apple’s digital “signature,” which is an indicator that the company has approved and endorsed the code. Since Apple would be doing this work under duress, the tech experts say this would be compelling the company to violate its constitutional right to free speech.

“Apple’s code and digital signature, separately and together, affirm a commitment and belief regarding the authenticity of the code and the value of their customer’s privacy and security,” explains the brief. “The order compels Apple and its engineers to repudiate that belief, and undermine the very security they designed. In other contexts, compelled speech and affirmations of belief that substantially hinder the speaker’s ability to communicate its desired message are clearly unconstitutional.”

In a statement, EFF Civil Liberties Director David Greene likens the court order to the government forcing Apple to endorse something it can’t possibly agree to.

“In our democracy, no one — not technology companies, coders, or average citizens — can be forced to write an article, carry a sign, post an update on Facebook or write and sign computer code that communicates or endorses a government idea that they don’t agree with,” explains Greene. “What the FBI asked the court to do violates free speech rights and puts the security and privacy of millions of people at risk. We are asking the court to throw out this dangerous and unconstitutional order.”

The Feb. 16 order to assist the FBI was granted under a statute known as the All Writs Act, which allows a judge to compel a person or group to assist enforcing a court order — but only if that assistance is both necessary and “agreeable to the usages and principles of law.”

However, earlier this week, a federal judge in a similar case in New York ruled that the All Writs Act did not give the government the authority to force Apple to assist the FBI. And, concluded the judge, even if the Act did apply, Apple was too far removed from the criminal conduct involved, and would be unduly burdened by the requirements of such an order.

While the New York ruling does help to support Apple’s position, it does not resolve the California matter.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Barnes & Noble Is Opening 4 New Prototype Stores, Closing Fewer Than Expected

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It was just three years ago that Barnes & Noble announced that it planned to close about one-third of the 689 stores that it had at the time by 2023. Things have apparently changed in the book business since then, because the bookstore chain announced today that it will open four new stores and close eight by the end of the year.

The chain currently has 640 stores, indicating that the company is doing better than it projected back in 2013. While its online business is down somewhat, same-store sales are improving across the chain. Overall sales from their physical stores fell slightly in the last year, but good same-store figures indicate that business is up overall in the stores that are staying open.

The real problem for Barnes & Noble is its Nook e-readers: the electronic book machines and color tablets continue to lose money, but not as much money as they did in the past. Sales of devices, accessories, and content fell by a third in the last quarter. One plan to send more customer traffic over to the Nook store is to unite the online store app and Nook content app for smartphones,

Maybe bookstores are cool again: after all, even Amazon, purported killer of bookstores, has opened one of its own in Seattle, and may open more.

Barnes & Noble To Open New Stores In Next Fiscal Year [Wall Street Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Why Do Low-Fat Cheeses Always Have Lady Mascots?

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Hold it right there, fella! You, with the reduced fat Galbani string cheese in your hand! Don’t you know that stuff is for the ladies? Otherwise, why would all the less fatty cheese options feature a female character with flowing locks, while the regular fat packages have a male anthropomorphized cheese stick?

What is it about cheese that makes it so susceptible to gender-specific packaging? We don’t know the answer, but it keeps happening. First, there was Monterey Jack and Monterey Jill from Lucerne.

And now Galbani — the brand formerly known as Sorrento — is pulling the same thing, as a Jezebel reader reported to that site. The implication being, perhaps, only women need to worry about getting fat from eating cheese.

As you can see on the Galbani site, as well as the photo above, all the regular fat string cheese products feature an male anthropomorphic surfing cheese guy, while all the reduced fat options have a surfing cheese gal.

It’s not just string cheese: Colby Jack Snack Cheese? Fella. Reduced Fat Colby Jack Snack Cheese? Gal.

What gives? Is this sexism? Why must cheese have a gender at all, can’t it just be cheese that I love to eat? For the first question, we reached out to Galbani, and will update this post if we hear back.

Is Galbani String Cheese Sexist? IDK But It Is Bad [Jezebel]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumer Advocates Petition FCC To Stop Comcast Exempting Their Own Stuff From Data Caps

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Zero-rating — that thing where a company can exempt some services from data caps, to encourage customers to use it instead of other services — is still a big question mark, legally speaking. Is it “innovative” and “competitive” or does it violate net neutrality? The jury (or really, the FCC) is still out on that one, but a new formal complaint may finally force their hand toward some kind of decision.

In a petition to the FCC (PDF), the advocacy group Public Knowledge has formally complained to the commission about one particular data cap exemption: Comcast’s.

Comcast’s over-the-top broadband video service, Stream, launched in 2015 and does not count against the data cap that Comcast subscribers are increasingly subject to.

According to Public Knowledge, that exemption is a straight-up violation of the merger conditions the FCC placed upon Comcast when allowing them to buy NBCUniversal back in 2011, and is “inconsistent” with the Open Internet Rule (net neutrality).

“Comcast’s violations are not merely technical violations,” the complaint reads. “Comcast’s actions could harm consumers by turning the online video distribution marketplace from an open and competitive market to one dominated by cable incumbents such as Comcast.”

Comcast has admitted that their data caps are more about revenue than about actual network management, Public Knowledge points out, but “the business justification seems clear: the cap is set in such a way that viewers cannot easily stop using Comcast video services without accruing financial penalties.”

The problem with Comcast specifically stems from their vertical integration, they continue: “Comcast is taking advantage of its position as an infrastructure provider to ensure that the dominance it enjoyed in traditional cable services extends online.”

Giving Comcast an edge means taking other providers out of play, the complaint continues, which therefore reduces competition. And reducing competition, of course, drives up prices and reduces services for consumers.

In a statement, John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge, said, “When Comcast bought NBC-Universal, both the FCC and Department of Justice recognized that Comcast could take steps to unfairly disadvantage online video. Among other things, both agencies prohibited Comcast from excluding its own services from data caps or metering, and required it to count traffic from competing online video services the same as its own. Comcast’s behavior violates the plain terms of its merger commitments and the consent decree.”

The FCC has so far been undecided on zero-rating programs. They do not violate the letter of the Open Internet Rule, but they may or may not violate its spirit. The commission has promised to take a case-by-case approach, but so far that consists mainly of polite conversations with ISPs to talk about their plans so far.

With an actual complaint now filed — against Comcast no less — the commission will have to come to some sort of finding one way or the other, which would likely then become a precedent wielded in future cases as well.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

Maytag Blue Cheese Recall Expands To Cover Hy-Vee Supermarkets

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The recall of potentially listeria contaminated Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese expanded Thursday, as Hy-Vee announced it would voluntarily recall the product and remove it from shelves in 240 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The cheese, produced by Maytag Dairy Farms, was sold in packages of crumbles, whole wheels, or cuts, and re-packaged in foil or clear plastic wrap with scale labels in various weights. The potential for contamination was discovered after testing by the state of Iowa revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in two lots of product. [FDA]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Family Finds 7 Rare Ty Cobb Baseball Cards Hanging Out In A Crumpled Paper Bag

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If I hadn’t already insisted on going through everything in my parents’ attic and basement back at home, I’d be calling them to search thoroughly right now, just in case there are any million-dollar baseball card collections hiding amid the dust*. To wit: the family of a deceased man found seven rare Ty Cobb baseball cards likely worth more than $1 million sitting in a crumpled paper bag in dilapidated home’s attic

Card experts in California said they’ve verified the legitimacy of the seven identical Cobb cards, which date back to a printing period of 1909 to 1911. Only 15 were known to still exist before this big haul.

“I am not sure if any other baseball card find is more remarkable than this new discovery,” Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator, said in a statement (via The Associated Press), calling the find “spectacular” and “miraculous.”

A publicist said the family wishes to remain anonymous, saying only that they’re from the a southern state, and found the cards at the house of a deceased great-grandfather. They first took the cards to a dealer in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Though experts were dubious at first, Orlando says his office and outside expert examined the cards and now believe they are the real deal.

The collection is likely worth more than a million dollars, Orlando says, though it’s unclear if the family is planning to sell their big find.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Sears Delivers Filthy Oven, Has No Idea Why

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A woman who loves to bake for her family saved for two years to buy a new built-in convection oven. Sears delivered it, and then she had to wait a few weeks to have it installed. That’s when she discovered a problem: what was supposed to be a new oven was full of baked-on filth and even grime on the glass. Sears says that this shouldn’t be possible, yet somehow it happened.

It could have been a store return gone terribly wrong, but the customer had to take her case to CBS Sacramento to make things right. It’s not like she was going to use what was supposed to be a pricey new oven when it was pre-dirtied, even if Sears promised her a new one soon.

“I’m not going to eat food that’s coming out of a filthy oven,” she told the TV station. “I’m not going to serve that to my family.”

Sears, for their part, has no evidence that the oven really arrived covered with caked-on filth. “We have no evidence that it arrived in the condition that she suggests,” the company told the TV station.

How can you prevent something similar happening to you? When receiving an appliance, piece of furniture, or other big-ticket item, make sure that you inspect it before the delivery crew leaves. Signing that you received it means that you certify that it arrived in good condition.

Unfortunately, signing for the delivery and leaving it boxed up for the contractor left no evidence that there was something wrong.

The good news is that Sears replaced the oven with a nicer model that was clean, and this tale of a strange filth-encrusted oven ended with cookies and casseroles for all.

Call Kurtis Investigates: Why Did My New Sears Oven Show Up Dirty? [CBS Sacramento]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Apple Will Now Offer Customer Support, Tips & Tricks On Twitter

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Have a quick question for Apple? If you can keep it within 140 characters then you can skip the email or phone call and simply Tweet the tech company. 

Apple today launched its first all-encompassing support Twitter account, @AppleSupport, to answer user questions, provide tutorials, and other helpful information, 9to5 Mac reports.

In its description, Apple says the account is meant to be a place to easily “provide tips, tricks and helpful information when you need it most, and if you have a question, well – we’re here to help with that too.”

So far, the account has provided a tutorial on how to create checklists in the Note app and answered several hundred questions.

The Notes app has some awesome hidden tricks. A favorite of ours: how to turn lists into checklists. #AppleSupport http://pic.twitter.com/6fdzsRT1i4

— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) March 3, 2016

It’s unclear how in-depth the account will get with customer questions, 9to5 points out, noting that it’s likely difficult inquiries will be directed to the proper AppleCare channels.

Of course, this isn’t the first Twitter account for Apple, the tech company has several handles, including Apple Music, Apple Music Help, App Store, and iTunes.

However, 9to5 reports @AppleSupport is the company first dedicated to support site for Apple’s entire range of products.

Apple launches official company Twitter account for tips, tricks and customer support queries [9to5 Mac]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

FBI: American Airlines Flight Attendant Deliberately Set, Distinguished Fire In Plane’s Bathroom

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Federal law enforcement officers have arrested an American Airlines flight attendant accusing him of deliberately starting a fire in the plane’s lavatory, and then extinguishing it himself in a supposedly heroic action. 

The 23-year-old man was charged by federal agents with destruction of an aircraft or aircraft facilities and false statement or entries generally for the Feb. 1 incident, the FBI said in a statement. 

According to the agency, the man was working as part of a crew on an American Airlines flight traveling from Dallas to Detroit when he allegedly found and extinguished a fire in the rear lavatory.

The incident was reported to the captain, who, in turn, notified the control tower and the aircraft was granted emergency status for its descent into Detroit. The plane landed safely and all passengers and flight crew were uninjured.

This week, the FBI announced the employee was arrested after an investigation into the incident by the National Transportation Safety Bureau concluded that the fire was started deliberately and that no one else had been in the bathroom for at least 15 to 20 minutes prior to the fire being found.

According to the FBI and NTSB, at some point during the flight the attendant reportedly used a Bic lighter to set fire to paper towels in the bathroom.

After putting out the fire, the crew member allegedly exited the bathroom, stood in the hallway for several minutes and then pretended to discover the fire.

He then extinguished the remaining smoldering paper towels with a fire extinguisher after declaring an emergency to the other flight attendants, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The FBI says in a statement that after being arrested on Monday, the flight attendant admitted to setting the fire himself. He was charged and released on bond on condition that he did not fly without permission from a court.

A spokesperson for American Airlines tells NBC News that the airline takes “this matter very seriously, and have been cooperating with law enforcement throughout their investigation.”

FBI: Flight attendant set bathroom on fire on Detroit-bound plane [The Detroit Free Press]
Flight Attendant Started Fire in Lavatory on American Airlines Jet: FBI [NBC News]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Another Day, Another Company Switching To Cage-Free Eggs: This Time, It’s Kroger

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Hot on the heels of Albertsons Companies’ announcement that it will only source eggs from cage-free hens in all its various grocery store brands by 2025, including Albertsons and Safeway, Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, says it’s doing the same thing, in the same timeframe.

Kroger notes in its announcement [PDF]that it’s been a leader in cage-free eggs, and already offers a store brand of cage-free eggs. As of 2015, 15% of the eggs Kroger sold were cage-free, the company says.

Like other brands that have gone cage-free (or have promised to do so) the company says it decided to make the change because of its customers.

“As our customer base has been moving to cage-free at an increasing rate, Kroger’s goal is totransition to a 100% cage-free egg supply chain by 2025,” the company says in its announcement. “The Kroger family of stores is committed to working with our suppliers during this transition in a way that ensures eggs are readily available, safely produced, and affordably priced for all of our customers.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

U.S. Airlines Competing To Nab One Of 20 New Scheduled Routes To Havana

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Now that the United States and Cuba have decided to let bygones be bygones and relations are thawing between the two countries, more Americans will soon have the chance to visit the nearby island nation by air. There will be 110 new scheduled routes to Cuba, with 20 of those flying daily to the country’s capital of Havana, and major U.S. airlines are stepping up to the plate to bid for the first regularly scheduled, non-charter flights.

American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and JetBlue have all turned in their applications to the U.S. government to fly commercial flights to Cuba.

The most competition will likely be for those 20 daily flights to Havana, notes USA Today, while Cuba’s other nine airports will each get 10 daily flights.

Everyone won’t get what they want, as a brief glance at the airlines’ wishlist for those highly-coveted 20 Havana flights reveals: Alaska Airlines wants one; American wants 13 total out of various U.S. airports, plus one each on Saturdays only out of Chicago, and on Sundays only from Los Angeles; Delta wants five; Frontier wants four; JetBlue wants 12; Southwest wants nine; United wants one daily round-trip, with two on Saturdays, and Saturday-only daily service from Chicago, Houston, and Washington D.C. There’s also a smaller airline called Silver Airways, which is seeking daily and weekly flights to Havana as well.

I wouldn’t call myself a mathematician, but that would appear to be more than 20 flights.

This is all happening because of an agreement reached by the U.S. and Cuba in 2015 that allows commercial air travel to resume for the first time in more than 50 years. However, Americans still won’t be able to travel to Cuba as tourists, but the U.S. government does allow travel to the island under 12 criteria, including family visits, government work, journalism, professional research, humanitarian work, and education.

In February this year, U.S. and Cuban officials officially signed the arrangement providing for the re-establishment of scheduled air services between the two countries.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Federal Court Enters Injunction Against Grower Of Listeria-Laden Sprouts

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Back in 2014, we began asking whether everyone should just quit eating raw sprouts, and the sprout industry hasn’t done much to prove that we should since then. One of those companies that was part of the 2014 recalls apparently hasn’t cleaned up its metaphorical act and its literal sprouting facility, and the Food and Drug Administration went through the federal courts system went through the federal courts to stop them from sprouting until the company meets certain conditions.

Inspections of the sprouting facility, Henry’s Farm, have showed sanitation problems dating back to 2012, and testing turned up Listeria on surfaces that come in contact with food and in the company’s products. The production facility also had standing water, live and dead insects, and evidence of rodent activity.

Worse, they didn’t use any antimicrobial substances, which may be the only way to ensure that commercially available sprouts aren’t contaminated with some kind of bacteria.

To be allowed to distribute food again, the company must:

• Pay an independent laboratory to check their finished product and also surfaces in the facility for dangerous pathogens
• Hire an independent sanitation expert to help design new procedures
• Publish a Sanitation Control and Food Safety Plan prepared by that expet

• Sanitize their facility

• Destroy all sprouts that were being processed before the injunction.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Target Recalls Valentine’s Day-Themed Mugs That Pose Fire Hazard

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Imagine one morning sitting down to a nice cup of coffee in your cutesy mug only to realize its only lukewarm. No worries, the label on the cup says it’s microwave safe… except that it isn’t, and the minute minute you hit “start,” sparks start to fly. That’s the case for 12,300 Valentine’s Day-themed mugs sold by Target now being recalled for posing a fire risk. The retailer says the cups, which were mislabeled as microwave-safe, have been linked to three reports of sparks during microwaving. Customers should stop using the cups immediately and return them for a refund. [CPSC]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Amazon Debuts New, Smaller Alexa-Enabled Devices: Echo Dot, Amazon Tap

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Alexa is getting a few friends, two, to be exact. Amazon today launched the Amazon Tap and Echo Dot, smart speakers that incorporate personal assistant and know-it-all Alexa technology in smaller version of the company’s traditional Echo speaker. 

The e-tailer announced the new additions to the Alexa-enabled family today, noting that the smaller speakers were created as an answer to customers’ desire for smaller, portable versions of the tabletop Echo.

The $90 Echo Dot is described as a hands-free, voice controlled device that uses the same far-field voice recognition as a traditional Echo.

The device can be connected directly to your speakers with an audio cable or via Bluetooth. Amazon says Dot adds voice-control to your existing home stereo system.

While Amazon will start preorders — exclusively for Prime members — for the device starting today, it’s only available through Alexa Voice Shopping, meaning you must have the original Echo speaker or FireTV. Orders can be placed by saying, “Alexa, order an Echo Dot.” There’s currently a limit of two Dots per customer.

The $130 Amazon Tap, first rumored to be in the works back in January, is essentially a smaller, portable version of Echo, complete with a carrying cradle that can connect to a backpack or allow the speaker to be easily held.

While the device offers all of the same capabilities as Echo – ordering pizza, reordering Amazon supplies, playing music, or searching for information – that option has to be triggered manually by hitting a button on the speaker. All Amazon customers can preorder the Tap directly from the e-tailer’s website, no Alexa required. The devices are expected to ship starting March 31.

VentureBeat reports that in addition to unveiling its new Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon also released a new developer API today that enables the devices to integrate with smart thermostats, like Nest.

[via VentureBeat]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Customer Claims Uber Driver Staged Vomit Scene To Collect Bogus $200 Cleaning Charge

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If you own a car that you use to drive strangers around in, it’s a nasty, expensive surprise when one of your passengers vomits up their dinner/night on the town in your car. But one Uber customer says she was hit with a $200 fine for a phantom puking session that never happened while she and her friends were in the car. Instead, she claims the driver faked the whole thing just to collect the dough.

A New York City woman who says she used to use Uber often is now swearing off the service forever, claiming that her driver accused her of barfing in his car to collect a $200 cleaning fee, reports Gothamist. He even backed it up with photos of the alleged upchuck, which the customer says were faked.

After taking an Uber home with a boyfriend and a friend one night, arriving home around 1:30 in the morning, she woke up the next day to find a $200 cleaning fee added to her $19 fare in her Paypal account, with no explanation.

When she took her issue to customer service, reps said things like her driver recalled her party being drunk, and told her that “the cleaning fee goes 100% to your driver.”

This made her take pause and wonder if she was being scammed — after all, it seemed very convenient that the fee goes entirely to the driver.

That scammy feeling intensified when she saw the photos of the alleged pukey car a rep shared with her: for one thing, she and the other passengers were confined to the back seat, and the photos showed vomit on the front passenger’s side dashboard. That, and all the puke was conveniently confined to easily cleaned surfaces. The color was off, too: the substances in the pics was yellowish, while she says she and her friends ate very dark food that night.

“It just doesn’t line up,” she told Gothamist.

Finally, Uber customer service wrote to apologize for the overcharge, and said she’d be refunded within 1-3 days. He also promised to follow up with the driver and “make sure to take appropriate actions.”

Gothamist received a statement from Uber, with a spokesman confirming that if a passenger is wrongly charged a cleaning fee, the company will investigate and then provide a refund.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist