How many out there know that Montgomery Ward went out of business in 2001? Now, how many know that a catalog company bought the Wards name brand out of bankruptcy in 2004? If you did, I'm awarding quality points to you. Bravo.

Now here's the bad news for anyone doing business with Wards.com and six other affiliated sites that includes three Sears brands (SearsHomeCenter.com, SearsShowplace.com and SearsRoomforKids.com). At least 51,000 records were breached at the parent company of those brands, Direct Marketing Services Inc.

Someone hacked into and stole consumer credit card information, according to DMSI, which informed its payment processor and Visa and MasterCard, and filed a report to the U.S. Secret Service.

Continue reading "Direct Marketing Services doesn't tell consumers about data breach" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Reader Jeffrey Hudson thought I was being quite clever when I ended my Sunday column on Hank Larsen and his beef with the Oregon Grille in Hunt Valley by letting readers decide who was being petty and wrong in this complaint.

Upon reading the ending again, I have to agree with Jeffrey that it may lead people to interpret it differently. I really wasn't trying to be clever. It was unintentional. Here's what I wrote:

But the bottom line in this case is that Larsen could have chosen to dine anywhere that night. Given that he chose the Oregon Grille, that he has consistently visited the restaurant every year for eight years, and that he spent $350 on dinner that night, one would think that quibbling over a $7 price difference for a drink is more than just petty.

It's downright ridiculous.

Continue reading "The $7 quibble at the Oregon Grille restaurant" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Do your eyeballs pop out of your head every time you fill up the gas tank? Are you afraid to look at the price signs to see how much fuel is going to cost you next time you pull up to a pump? Do you need a release for some of that anger?

Settle down, people. I am NOT advocating violence.

ConsumerWatchDog, formerly The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, launched a campaign last week to get you to send a consumer letter to elected officials to let them know what each driver paid for the last fill-up, the price per gallon paid, and the family’s estimated monthly fuel bill.

The idea, CWD says, is to get the attention of "Washington’s elected officials, who rarely have to use their own money at the gas pump. With gasoline prices at or within a penny of their all-time highs, families are at the breaking point, while elected officials are in a bubble until they hear from constituents."

Continue reading "Gas prices got you angry? Good. Tell Congress." »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Computerworld reported this week that Dell Inc. will charge customers up to $50 for factory-installed Windows XP on some PCs after Wednesday, June 18.

For those out there who aren't crazy about Vista, you're going to have to pay up if you want to install the older XP on your new computer.

Computerworld says, "Buyers of the low-priced Vostro line of desktops and notebooks will pay $20 to $50 more for Windows XP Professional installed as a 'downgrade' from Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate than they would for Vista only."

Check out the story for more details.

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Remember when we told you that the Humane Society of the United States found downer cows at auctions in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas?

And then we told you that the Westminster Livestock Auction Market owner, James Horak, was charged with four counts of violating State Animal Health regulations?

Yesterday, the Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson said in response to those charges, Horak signed a consent agreement regarding violations of the Maryland Animal Health law at the auction on April 22 and 23.

“A very deliberate investigation has revealed that a ‘downer’ cow was not treated in a humane manner and the market was not prepared to handle downer animals that night,” said Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson. “Under the terms of the consent agreement, Mr. Horak, while not admitting guilt, is not contesting the charges filed against him and has agreed to a number of actions to assure that animals in his custody will be treated humanely and in accordance with State law. Even before signing the agreement, Mr. Horak already had instituted a number of these actions.”

Continue reading "NBotW Update: Westminster Livestock Auction Operator Signs Consent Agreement" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Apparently, PB plumbing was installed in about six million homes between between January 1, 1978 and July 31, 1995, the dates for installations covered by the settlement.

More than 330,000 homeowners have had their plumbing systems replaced under the free program so far, but tens of thousands more may be eligible for the free plumbing replacement.

Continue reading "Polybutylene Pipe Class Action" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Edward Lampert has a lot of work to do on his hands. If you don't know, he's the chairman of Kmart, which is the company that bought Sears. If you also don't know, Sears is struggling.

According to CNNMoney's Fortune blog, Sears recorded a first quarter loss as "sales in established U.S. Sears stores dropped nearly 10% from a year ago. The Hoffman Estates, Ill., retailer lost $56 million, or 43 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 3, reversing the year-ago profit of $223 million, or $1.45 a share. Revenue slid to $11.07 billion from $11.75 billion a year earlier."

Blogger Colin Barr says, "Since investor Ed Lampert took control of the company several years ago, Sears has been content to watch sales drop as the company focuses on boosting profit and buying back stock. But weakening consumer spending and tough competition have thrown a wrench into that strategy, and shoppers have grown exasperated with the company’s failure to update its stores - all of which explains why Sears shares have lost half their value over the past year."

That decision to run with a non-customer service strategy also helps explain why Sunday's column on Sears struck such a chord with readers who flooded me with e-mails and calls about their own bad Sears experience.

Continue reading "Sears: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Part Two" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

If you didn't catch it, I wrote about Michael Burnett and his complaint about Sears after a 37-inch LCD Sylvania TV he purchased there stopped working after 2-1/2 months. Boo on Sylvania for not even bothering to call me back about Burnett's problem with their TV, but the brunt of his anger was directed at Sears for canceling service calls and giving him the runaround about fixing the set.

Boy, that column must have hit a nerve because I heard from more two dozen readers yesterday by e-mail.

Dorene Schmidt scolded me for only telling the bad story about Sears:

It seems unfair that you wrote such a derogatory article on Sears without seeking the other side.

In 1997 we purchased a 54" screen. We had a few problems in the first few months but they were quickly fixed. NINE YEARS later, we began to have one problem after another, having a repairman out to fix it. We maintained a service policy on our television and were told since they were out three times in a few months our television would be REPLACED. Although television similar to our were now selling for less then half of what we paid for it on sale, we were told to go to the store and pick out a TV for the price our television originally sold for! We ended up with a very nice 52" LCD television. We have never had problems with Sears in the 35 years we have dealt with them.

So if you're going to print ONE bad news story, making Sears look bad, than you need to do a story on the GOOD side of Sears.

No, I don't own Sears stock and am not being paid to e-mail this to you.

Continue reading "The Good Life at Sears?" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

On Sunday, I wrote about BlueHippo and the unending complaints that are still coming in about the Woodlawn-based retailer that sells computers and other electronics to people with poor credit.

Maria Allwine of Baltimore wrote in to say:

How about a story on who owns Blue Hippo and its history. I think publishing the names of the owner(s) and the history, finances, etc. of this company might be helpful.

The bad news is that I didn't include that information because I only have 25 inches of space to work with for my Sunday column. The good news is that The Sun and fellow blogger (a.k.a. Financial Guru) Eileen wrote a terrific story on this very question back in 2006.

But, being the generous, thoughtful soul that I am, I'm going to copy and paste the lengthy article after the jump instead of making you search and pay for it in our archives like my bosses would like for you to do. Why? Because it's all about you readers, that's why.

Continue reading "BlueHippo Blues" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I know I've told you that I'm a recovering spender so the urge to spend without thinking is always with me. I'm much better about shopping around for big-ticket products, but the one area where I still mindlessly spend is the grocery store. I have to constantly remind myself to pay attention to prices or else suffer sticker shock at check-out.

Just ask my Mama about the time she sent me to the store to fetch a frozen duck. Like a dope, I paid $30 at the Giant's for the same duck that Food Lion sold for $12. Oooh, my Mama was mad at me.

Now, I find out it's not just prices I have to pay attention to these days. I also have to keep an eye on the net weight and package of products I'm buying, says Mouseprint.org, a sister site of ConsumerWorld and MrConsumer.

Mouseprint, which exposes the fine print in product labels and contracts, has found that ice cream manufacturers have downsized their ice cream containers from 56 ounces to 48 ounces.

Continue reading "The incredible shrinking ice cream" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

So for the last few weeks, I've been getting a weird e-mail every week from some guy I don't think I know, saying, "Hi, I looked for you on Reunion.com, the largest people search service -- but you weren't there."

The e-mail then directed me to click on a link to see who had been searching for me.

First of all, I didn't really remember anyone by this guy's particular name. Second, I'm incredibly suspicious of weird e-mails asking me to click on links.

So, of course, I just routinely delete weird e-mails for fear of bugs, scams and other possible nefarious schemes. Turns out I was smart to do so. According to our sister paper, The LATimes, the e-mail is part of Reunion.com's misguided and super-annoying attempt to sign up more members.

Continue reading "Annoying reunion e-mails" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Did you catch my column yesterday on the credit card industry and how Congress is trying to rein in abusive practices? Here's some of the issues that the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights would deal with:

•Universal Cross Default Clauses: If you are declared in default by any other creditor, be it your landord, utility company or a library fine, then that automatically represents a default on your credit card. You can be charged penalty interest rates even if you have been making payments on-time to the card issuer.

•Arbitrary Interest Rate Changes: Carry a balance too close to your credit limit and wham, your interest rate goes up. Open up another credit card and wham, your rate goes up. Pay late once and wham, your rate goes up. Sneeze and your rate goes up. Why? Because your contract includes a clause that says, “Any term can be changed at any time for any reason, including no reason.”

Continue reading "Credit Card Reform" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The OAG's Consumer Protection Division is calling on all Maryland consumers who purchased, but did not receive, goods and services owed to them from Pennsylvania-based company, LA Weight Loss Centers, Inc. and Pure Weight Loss, Inc. Don't ask me why they're based in PA, but their name says "LA." I don't know, maybe companies from LA sound more chic or purportedly know more about losing weight?!

In any case, the OAG is investigating the closing of 18 facilities owned and operated as LA Weight Loss and Pure Weight Loss. In December 2007, the business told consumers that its facilities would close on January 4. As a result, the OAG's CPD is asking you to fill out and return a claim form if you are owed refunds for goods and services not provided to you prior to the closing of the Maryland facilities.

Consumers may download the claim form from the Attorney General’s website at www.oag.state.md.us/Healthclub/LAWL.htm. Consumers may return their completed claim forms either by faxing the forms to (410) 576-6566 or mailing them to:

Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
200 St. Paul Place, 16^th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
Attn: Barbara Jefferson

Consumers without internet access may call the Pure Weight Loss Telephone Line at (410) 230-1711 to have a form mailed to their homes.