Monthly Archives: January 2007

There is Cell Service in Nicaragua?

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January 29, 2007

Oliver Desofi, a 77-year old retired bank executive, has won a battle with Cingular…thanks to the efforts of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Cingular refused to remove more than $31,000 in roaming charges for calls that he said he never made. Desofi couldn’t have made these calls…as all the over 4,000 calls were made in Nicaragua…a...
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Tales of the Undead

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January 24, 2007

We are not sure which is harder…trying to get yourself declared not dead when an organization thinks you are, or trying to convince an organization that your loved one has died and thus will not need them anymore… Sprint refuses to cancel the account of a man’s brother, who died suddenly in December. After...
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Baby Born Early As Father Can't Bear To Miss Bears

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January 22, 2007

Generally, the attendance of a father at his child’s birth is not optional. This potentially put Chicago Bears superfan Mark Pavelka in a bind. Pavelka had scored much coveted tickets to Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against eh New Orleans Saints, but with his wife pregnant and due on Monday, the prospect of birth and...
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Twenty-Eight Tips For Winning Customer Service Phone Battles

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January 20, 2007

We bring you another part of the Consumerist’s series on tips on exercising your rights as a consumer, with our comments Use a speaker phone – recording helps too Set aside at least 30 minutes – On hold time alone can take that away Get a human – Gethuman is very useful. And you...
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Tiggers Ain't Such Wonderful Things

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January 15, 2007

You go on vacation with your family to Disney World…one of the ‘Most Wonderful Places on Earth’, and a costumed man dressed as Tigger sucker punches your fourteen year old son. But at least you capture it on video. Tigger claims it was “self-defense”…and exactly what led up to the event in front of...
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Blogger Finds Own Apartment Listed on Craigslist

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January 15, 2007

As proof the Internet is a dangerous place…someone harvested a woman’s blog to produce pictures and details about her apartment and used them to post an ad on Craiglist advertising an apartment for rent. The blogger, Beth, found out about it when a stranger called about the apartment. Beth contacted ‘Beth’, the one who...
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Shortchanged? Set the Place on Fire

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January 15, 2007

WFTV Florida reports that an angry woman is accused of setting a Walgreens on fire. One moment…she was angry about receiving incorrect change, and the next, she was going up and down the aisles lighting things on fire with a lit cigarette. In the Walgreens TV commercials, they recount the story of the town...
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Complain to Win: 7 Stages of Esclation

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January 15, 2007

Another bit of advice from the Consumerist, on how to get satisfaction. Ask for what you want really nicely. Hone in on solutions, not on how bad it makes you feel. Cut to the Chase…expect solutions now…not at some indefinite time in the future. Volunteer Mediators are your friend. Complain to the relevant organizations…consumer...
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Super Bad

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January 11, 2007

We understand that it’s not unusual for passionate people to argue. However, a recent fight between Dan Gulley Jr. and David James Brooks Jr. reminds us of Henry Kissenger’s oft-quoted dictum “University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” The men, who were friends, were at another friend’s house recently when...
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How to Fight Companies and Win

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January 11, 2007

We recently decided here at Giving up The Ship to add to the focus of this blog with stories of consumers fighting against corporate illogic and insanity. In that vein, we refer you to this post from the Consumerist…their guide to fighting companies and winning. Get Screwed by a Company – It happens all...
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