Category Archives: Consumer activism

Citizens Bank promises, doesn’t deliver, $50 promotional credit to me and presumably many others

July 23, 2010 Lawrence Fish Executive Chairman RBS Citizens, N.A. 1 Citizens Plaza Providence, RI 02903-1344 Dear Mr. Fish, Please find enclosed a complaint about your institution which I just filed with the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. You promised me a $50 promotional credit and then never paid it. I spent almost… Read More: Citizens Bank promises, doesn’t deliver, $50 promotional credit to me… »

Yad Sarah: Good work, bad fundraising

I periodically post about organizations which can’t handle one of these two simple requests: (1) don’t spam me; (2) don’t send me junk mail. If an organization is incapable of implementing effective policies and procedures to accommodate these two straightforward requests from donors, they are probably also incapable of implementing effective, efficient policies and procedures… Read More: Yad Sarah: Good work, bad fundraising »

Maybe the T should ask the people who drive cars about changes to bus schedules?

The MBTA just spent $900,000 in federal stimulus money to buy 25 new buses for use along Route 28 (Mattapan Square to Ruggles Station).  These longer, articulated buses don’t fit in the current bus stops, so the stops going to have to be enlarged, eliminating between 60 and 92 parking spaces along a stretch of… Read More: Maybe the T should ask the people who drive cars… »

Herb Chambers Honda gets in on the “fake important letter” scam

This came from Herb Chambers Honda a couple of days ago: This one is a tiny, tiny bit less deceptive than the Honda Village mailings: notice how it has the word “Auto” hidden in the return address! The mailing inside was also deceptive.  No, actually, it was an outright lie.  It’s one of those “trade… Read More: Herb Chambers Honda gets in on the “fake important letter”… »

First impressions of the new Waltham BJ’s

I’ve posted some price comparisons and comments about the Kosher food selection at the new Waltham BJ’s on this page. Executive summary: You can save a lot of money on the stuff they carry, but the Kosher food selection is bad. I’m going to keep updating this page with additional pricing information and any changes… Read More: First impressions of the new Waltham BJ’s »

The Jordan’s king-size pillow that wasn’t

As I recently wrote, my wife and I have been shopping for mattresses at Jordan’s Furniture.  We still haven’t settled on a mattress to buy, but one thing that was very obvious to us the first time we tried them out was that our old bed pillows were awful, and we walked out of Jordan’s… Read More: The Jordan’s king-size pillow that wasn’t »

Beware the “free safety inspection” from your plumber

[Read the whole series of postings about Winters Plumbing here.] We hired Winters Plumbing about six months ago to replace our heating system (old ducts in basement needed to be removed due to peeling asbestos, and while we were at it we went ahead and replaced the furnace as well).  After the job was done,… Read More: Beware the “free safety inspection” from your plumber »