Category Archives: Consumer activism

Greenlite USA: “You actually expect us to honor our warranty?”

Greenlite USA sells rather inexpensive compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. In the Boston area, you can find them at Aborn Hardware on Harvard Street in Brookline.

Buy.com’s customer service department is staffed by imbeciles

I just sent this letter to the contact email address for a recent buy.com press release:

Comcast lies about the speed of its high-speed internet offering

I wrote previously about how absurd it was that Comcast was selling a 6 Mbps internet connection whose upload speed was only 384 Kbps. As shown in the email exchange below, the problem was even worse than I thought — the speed of my connection was only 4 Mbps. After several rounds of arguing with… Read More »

Sign up for Comcast, kill trees

I have received no response to the letter below, which I sent to Comcast over a week ago. I can’t say that I’m terribly suprised. My opinion about Comcast continues to plummet. Names preserved to embarrass the guilty.

Comcast: The bloom is off the rose

I wrote previously about my positive experience switching from Speakeasy DSL and Verizon POTS service to Comcast High-Speed Internet and Digital Voice. I’m sorry to say that I’ve had a number of rather bad interactions with Comcast since that rosy day. I’m not sure I can remember all of them, but here are some:

Another apology from British Airways

Continuing the ongoing saga of our luggage delayed by British Airways, my wife received the following letter from BA last week. I believe that this letter was independent of the exchange I had with BA, since I wrote to them under my name, not my wife’s. I suspect they’re actually determining from their databases whose… Read More »

Triple damages awarded in Sprint case; Sprint tries too late to make the save

I just found out that the clerk magistrate who heard my small claims case against Sprint has awarded me the triple damages I requested. She mailed out the decision yesterday, September 20. I haven’t gotten it yet, but I spoke to a clerk on the phone today who confirmed the decision. Also yesterday, totally out… Read More »

You call this a bus stop?

Believe it or not, this is an MBTA bus stop (on the outbound side of Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, right before the BU Bridge): Note the clear informative signage (not!), the comfortable, shaded bus shelter (double not!) and the easy access to the bus from the sidewalk (as long as you don’t mind walking over… Read More »

Review: Comcast High-Speed Internet and Digital Voice®

I recently switched from Speakeasy DSL and a Verizon land line to Comcast High-Speed Internet and their Digital Voice® local phone service. The executive summary is that I’m very happy so far.

CVS response to complaint about asking for ID

I got this mostly useless response to the complaint I sent CVS about their clerk asking to see ID for a credit-card purchase: