Category Archives: Consumer activism

Lawyer letter from Village Automotive Group

[You can read the whole series of Honda Village postings here.] I received in the mail today a letter from E. Peter Mullane, the lawyer whom Village Automotive Group has apparently retained to respond to my Chapter 93a letter about their deceptive advertising practices. It is worth noting that E. Peter Mullane’s chief claim to… Read More: Lawyer letter from Village Automotive Group »

Design defect in American Leather sleeper sofa sold by Jordan’s Furniture

February 1, 2010 Legal Department Jordan’s Furniture 450 Revolutionary Drive East Taunton, MA 02718-1369 To whom it may concern: I am writing to you about a design defect in a piece of furniture sold to me by Jordan’s Furniture. This defect is sufficiently serious and egregious as to violate both the implied warranty of merchantability… Read More: Design defect in American Leather sleeper sofa sold by Jordan’s… »

St. Elizabeth’s apparently faster at responding to complaints than treating patients

The letter I posted on my blog earlier today was mailed this morning. My wife received a call from someone at St. Elizabeth’s at 3:15 today: “… I just wanted to let you know that we received your letter and are looking into it….” My letter obviously didn’t make it through the mail from my… Read More: St. Elizabeth’s apparently faster at responding to complaints than treating… »

St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (Boston) ER: wait 0 minutes to be seen, 9 days to be treated

January 26, 2010 John Holiver, President St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center 736 Cambridge Street Brighton, MA 02135 Dear Mr. Holiver, My wife, A… Kamens, was treated in your emergency room (ER) early in the morning on Sunday, January 17. The doctor who treated her told her to seek follow-up care with her primary care physician (PCP),… Read More: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (Boston) ER: wait 0 minutes to be… »

Honda Village is still at it; let’s see if the threat of a class-action lawsuit will put a stop to it!

[You can read the whole series of Honda Village postings here.] January 22, 2010 Ray Ciccolo Village Automotive Group 75 North Beacon Street Allston, MA 02134-1912 Dear Mr. Ciccolo, Once again, I find myself sending you a M.G.L. Chapter 93a letter because of Honda Village’s deceptive trade practices. In June 2009, Honda Village started sending… Read More: Honda Village is still at it; let’s see if the… »

Frank Shaw / Vanguard Realty: Another junk-mailing Realtor

I first asked Frank Shaw at Vanguard Realty in Brighton, MA to stop sending me junk mail in January 2008, through a contact form on his Web site.  He ignored me. More junk mail arrived in late March, so I asked him again, this time using both the form and a phone call. He sent… Read More: Frank Shaw / Vanguard Realty: Another junk-mailing Realtor »

Comcast Tech: “Comcast already disconnected? But I’ve got to disconnect SOMETHING!”

As I’ve discussed at length, I recently switched from Comcast internet & phone to RCN + Vonage because of dissatisfaction with Comcast’s business model (i.e., rip customers off at every opportunity), pricing (i.e., not at all competitive) and customer support (i.e., awful).  I thought this afterthought might be amusing to some… When the RCN installers… Read More: Comcast Tech: “Comcast already disconnected? But I’ve got to disconnect… »

Gutters and gutter covers — a third opinion

Recently, I wrote about trying to figure out what to do about my gutters.  Ned Stevens says three of them needed to be replaced at a cost of $600.  New England Gutter Kings says that they can be repaired for only $400, and for $1,360 I could install gutter covers that will be warrantied against… Read More: Gutters and gutter covers — a third opinion »

New scam: pay a usurious fee to get your rebate faster

I’ve just encountered a new (at least for me) scam in the ongoing quest by retailers and manufacturers to make rebates more and more onerous to apply for and therefore less likely to cost them any money. While applying on-line for a $10 rebate on an ASUS motherboard I purchased recently at Micro Center, I… Read More: New scam: pay a usurious fee to get your rebate… »