Bender Ball Ripoff Warning Video from Youtube
In case you need further and possibly funnier proof that the Bender Ball a infomercial product sold by Savvier LTD is a ripoff check out this funny video warning.
Previous Bender Ball Coverage:
Ordered a Bender Ball? You Joined a DVD Club.
My Phantom Cable Box
This evening we received our Time Warner bill which was kindly padded with 3 random DVR and HD charges and a viewing of Transformers. After 10 minutes on hold a rep “kindly” explained that we had in fact purchased Transformers and watched 2 hours worth of it on November 30th. the Time Warner “eyeglass” apparently allows them to see the minutia of details regarding movie on demand purchases. This “eyeglass” allows the rep to see not only when the movie was purchased but also each pause, fast forward, rewind etcetera. After assuring me that a. I had purchased Transformers and b. she couldn’t refund the charge I switched gears to the multiple DVR and HD tier charges.
After trying to explain that I had a guaranteed package price for another 6 or so months I finally had the rep explain to my why I was being charged for an additional half a month. After much back and forth we finally determined that Time Warner shows a Phantom 4250 cable box in our house which was assigned in September a a free promo. Problem is in September we had a tech out to check line strength and when he closed the case our current box was disassociated from the account rendering it useless. Either the tech or the rep who reneabled the account added the box and a 3 month promo to our account. If teh tech did it maybe it is sitting in his house ordering movies all day, if it was the rep then my money is on a commission or a required sell rate. This magical box was also the box that ordered Transformers.
The rep wanted to schedule a visit so that a cable company rep could verify that we weren’t stashing a cable box in the closet. After Amber volunteered to empty the closets so that Time Warner knew we weren’t hold’n the rep’s second supervisor saw the futility in a visit. Thankfully they are “looking into it” and will get in touch within a week or as soon as they track down the box’s location in the Time Warner system. Normally I’d want the issue solved on the first call but it seems out there enough that I’ll give them a week, besides I need to focus on the car dealer who owes us for the repair on a our new vehicle which was sold with a potentially fatal safety issue.
How To Respond To Blogger Criticism
According to Marshall Kirkpatrick you Fix it!
I had an opportunity to comment today on the question of how a company ought to respond to bloggers who have damaged their reputation. Below are my thoughts. I’d love to read yours, too.
The best thing that companies can do in response to bloggers who have done their reputation harm is to take the bloggers’ complaints as seriously as is appropriate. Readers will determine the validity of blogger criticism for themselves, but if the criticism is valid then there’s no hiding from it any more.
When a Blogger Criticizes Your Company via Tobias Buckell
RedEnvelope.com An Example in Customer Satisfaction
While talking with my friend who had recently received an order from RedEnvelope.com she told me that she received a call from the webstore to say they were sending her a second shipment of the same item. Apparently they have had a large number of complaints about shipments arriving broken so they re-shipped any order which may have been affected. She was especially excited by the promptness of the company. RedEnvelope also does not appear to be asking for any items which aren’t broken to be returned.
This is an excellent example of a company doing the right thing especially in a holiday season. Good job Red Envelope, you just gained a place in my places to shop bookmark folder. To other companies, being proactive and using an actual human rather than a voicemail or email are good steps, please begin to follow suit.
Blast From the Past: Door to Door Magazine Sales
Just over a year ago I wrote about our experience with DSS Inc. a subsidiary of All Star Promotions and the shady magazine sales they run.
Boy am I a sucker sometimes. Anyway I looked into the company DSS Inc, which is owned/operated by All-star Promotions based out of Texas. Well All-Star has had 49 BBB complaints in the last 36 months so I have issued a stop order to my check and I am sending the cancellation in tomorrow via Fax. Apparently if you do not cancel your order within 3 days before midnight in writing All Star et al will pursue you with a debt collection agency.
The article has been getting numerous comments lately and it is good to remind people that these door to door sales for magazines are often under shady circumstances. These prices are often way over even retail price. If you want to save money look for the digital version or a blog covering a similar topic. If you enjoy magazines as much as I do then try to subscribe through a more beneficial source.
Good sources for magazine deals:
- Slickdeals free magazine forum
- Blogs with similar topics – look for giveaways used as a source of promotion for the blog
- The Magazine’s website – often they have online specials
- School fundraisers – Real ones, from people you know. (Ask your Boss or Co-Worker, one is bound to have a kid selling subscriptions)
If you are new to the world of free magazine subscriptions you are likely asking how or why they give away the magazine which others pay so much for. The reasoning is quite simple, money. Magazines make their big bucks through advertisers and the advertisers pay more for ads which are seen by more individuals. Hence giving away subscriptions translates into more money for the publisher.
Remember, don’t by subscription from door to door sales unless you have money to throw away.
Don’t Fall For Fake Check Scams
I understand that we are all tempted by the possibility to get rich quick or to get something for nothing but please, DO NOT cash a check and wire some of the money to someone else. Recently a collection of banks, creditors, associations and the USPS have banded together for an awesome PSA campaign about check scams. The campaign revolves around fakechecks.org where there are a collection of videos, quizes and information regarding check scams.
I found fakechecks.org through a commercial during primetimeTV a few weeks ago, it is embedded below.
I think this campaign is very worthwhile endeavor. I wish the various banks and creditors behind this would get together and work to educate consumers about credit in general. I think everyone could use more information about the risks of credit and clearer rules and fee structures wouldn’t hurt either.
Ordered a Bender Ball? You Joined a DVD Club!
My wife just got her Bender Ball, which looks nifty and was relatively cheap.
The item description for the package we purchased fails to mention a DVD subscription price of 19.99 plus 3.99 shipping.
Even when you view the “See What’s In the Complete Kit” page the 30 Day subscription isn’t mentioned.
It isn’t until you get to the checkout page that it is mentioned.
Yes it is good practice to read the cart description as I am sure someone will point out but joining a subscription service is something that should be noted on the actual item description rather than buried in the shopping cart.
If you ordered a Bender Ball and don’t feel like being milked for 20 bucks monthly call 1-800-601-7088 and ask to be removed from the continuity program. I wonder how many people fail to either see this or check their credit card statements for these charges.
Wells Fargo Phone Banking Number leads to Sex Phone Operator
UPDATE:
Either Wells Fargo fixed this or the telco routing my calls was simply having a bad day. These numbers now all rout to Sallie Mae.
We recently had some student loans transfered to Wells Fargo from Sallie Mae, and can gain an additional .5% interest rate reduction by setting up an autopayment from a Wells Fargo checkign account. We decided to open an account and you can only fund it with $500 to start meaning we need to get some additional funds into the account before the loan payment is due. Unfortunately short of a direct deposit that appears to be a problem. In order to do a direct deposit I am instructed at several points on the direct deposit form (pdf) to call a 1-800 number to find my routing number. Well I dial up 1-800-TO-WELLS and I get one ring and an extremely loud lady proclaiming.”For a good time call 1-800-XXX-XXXX”! I think I must have misdialed so I try again only to be asked to call so and so for a good time!
I decided to try the website for locating my Wells Fargo Routing Number where I find the problem.
call us 24/7 at 1-888-TO-WELLS (1-800-869-3557).
Did you catch that? Somebody forgot to globally update the Wells Fargo numbers to 888. Whoopsie!
The mis-numbering is interspersed throughout the website which makes it hard to believe Wells Fargo doesn’t know.
Me, I just want the money in my account so I can pay off my student loans and the nearest branch is 50 miles away.
Tune in next week for Tips and Tricks for Dealing With Sallie Mae!
Josh Smith is a blogger, database manager and adjunct professor of business and technology. 
