Avoid Advance Auto Parts in Allston, MA
Advance Auto Parts jumps the shark, sells me bulbs that don’t work in my car after claiming they will, and won’t give me a refund when I try to return them. Corporate claims they’re looking into the matter.
Category Archives: Consumer activism
Neighborhood CVS reneges on agreement to allow neighbors to park in lot, has them towed
Chapter 2: The Hearing
Background information about how small-claims court works, plus a detailed account of my recent hearing.
Neighborhood CVS reneges on agreement to allow neighbors to park in lot, has them towed
Chapter 1: The Incident My wife and I moved into our home in 1997. When we moved in, the neighborhood grocery store half a block from our house had just closed and was in the process of being replaced by a CVS which is still there today. Our new neighbors told us of the following:… Read More »
How GEICO went from 5/5 to 0/5 over the course of a single claim
Dear GEICO, I’m writing to explain how, over the course of your handling of a single claim, you went from being a company I would definitely recommend to others to one which I would under no circumstances recommend. If you actually care about winning and keeping customers, you might want to pay attention. One of… Read More »
Dear Sony, why are you so bad at this
What should have been a simple transaction on my PS4 instead turns out to be an hour+-long debacle of things going wrong.
Why you should not use RegScale
Companies that engage in slimy marketing practices tend to be slimy companies. RegScale fits that description, so you should avoid doing business with them.
“Archiving Your Tweets at Archive.Org” for Dummies
[UPDATE: As of May 26, 2025, I don’t think the instructions on this page work anymore, because I believe Twitter/X has blocked archive.org from archiving tweets.] I’m all done with Twitter, but I also didn’t want to just delete my account and remove over a decade of content that I created from the internet. I’m… Read More »
Why you probably shouldn’t use Express Scripts
My health insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, currently uses Express Scripts as its mail-order pharmacy. They’re switching to CVS Caremark as of January 1, 2023, which as you’ll see from below is probably a good thing. However, if your insurance company is still using Express Scripts, then I to encourage you to… Read More »
Elan Financial Services: why are you so bad at this?
I had a Visa card issued by Elan Financial Services branded through my bank (Eastern Bank). Elan is consistently mediocre. Their web site looks and works like it was built 20 years ago. Their monthly statements tell you how much “bonus” cash back you earned but don’t tell you which transactions fall into which bonus… Read More »
PSA: Always check if your psychologist is licensed, a.k.a., how Dr. Erick A. Medina screwed over my family
A couple of years ago, my wife and I needed neuropsychological testing for one of our children. We asked around among our friends for recommendations, and Dr. Erick A. Medina of Wellesley, Massachusetts was recommended to us. We spoke with Dr. Medina and liked what we heard, so we went ahead with the testing. In… Read More »