The Fearless Consumer


THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Survey says: You pay for the drive to Crozet Published on Jun 15th, 2006 0 comments On the subject of fences, at least, Robert Frost had it easy: all he had to do was walk along a stone wall once a year, replace the rocks that had fallen on his side, and listen to his neighbor...
Lessee lessons: Two of three tenants still sad Published on Jun 8th, 2006 0 comments Tenant woes dominated this space in late April and early May, with each of three successive columns ending with at least the shadow of a hope that things might get resolved. Now I can report that one...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Fine print: The rental car insurance thicket Published on May 25th, 2006 0 comments The next time Pete Marshall rents a car, I predict he'll either study his receipt with laser-beam intensity or make sure he has only one bank card in his wallet. That's because his failure to do...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Don't call us: Sears manager shares philosophy Published on Apr 6th, 2006 0 comments It's a safe bet the folks at Sears don't read my column; if they did, they'd be answering their phones. Instead, it looks like customers who try reaching them by phone would do better to hang up and...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Rueful renters: Take pictures right away Published on Mar 30th, 2006 0 comments Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been!" This week's contretemps brings the late Maude Muller's famous lament to mind because, yet again, I'm writing...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- One ringy-dingy: It's probably just a customer! Published on Mar 23rd, 2006 0 comments It was the quintessential Fearless Consumer moment. There I was, in the appliance department at Sears, with four or five salespeople– and a ringing telephone. The reason there were so many...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Mulch madness: Trashy debris sparks suit Published on Mar 16th, 2006 0 comments Heard the one about the termite-infested Lousiana mulch? According to one alarmist email, trees ravaged by Katrina "were turned into mulch and the state is trying to get rid of tons and tons...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER-Off the hook: FCC complaint gets fast response Published on Mar 9th, 2006 0 comments "Cingular is not meeting my needs," Winston Barham informed the Federal Communications Commission, "and I wish to be released from my contract." Barham got his wish– not...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Open-door policy: High tech gizmo traps pup Published on Mar 2nd, 2006 0 comments Pity poor Lucy the beagle: Last June her owners– I mean, of course, her parents– spent $250 on an electric pet door, and things were looking great: All Lucy had to do was get near the...
FEARLESS CONSUMER- Tapped out: $493 faucet plumb crazy Published on Feb 23rd, 2006 0 comments "I try to be careful," Downing Smith's email began, "but if I let my guard down, I seem to get taken." But did he? After talking to the business in question, Virginia Plumbing, I'...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Post the policy: Facts make returns easy Published on Feb 16th, 2006 0 comments Which is likelier to be fraught with consumer angst: buying a used car or buying a pair of earrings? Okay, okay– buying a used car. But after doing the research for this week's column, I can...
THE FEARLESS CONSUMER- Homework helps: Research cars to the max Published on Feb 9th, 2006 0 comments Jennifer and Donnell Hopkins bought cars in haste, and now they've had plenty of time to repent in leisure. I told their story last week ["Buyers' remorse," Feb. 2], which came down to...
FEARLESS CONSUMER- Buyers' remorse: Fine print has important info Published on Feb 2nd, 2006 0 comments "You should have handed us 'Stupid' T-shirts when we walked out the door." That's what Jennifer Hopkins claims she told Brown Toyota's used-car manager, Steve Simmons, when she and her...
Sound familiar?: Lethal greets new arrivals Published on Nov 18th, 2004 0 comments Talk about a rough introduction to Charlottesville: getting towed by Lethal, being charged more than the law allows, and searching– in the middle of the night– for an ATM, because (as...
Net misery: AOL 'services' not free Published on May 13th, 2004 0 comments "Get 1099 hours FREE for 50 days," the ad on AOL's website trumpets; "No credit card required." Click on the link, however, and you'll learn that a credit card– or, as it's cleverly put, "a...
Dell spell: When backup is key Published on Nov 27th, 2003 0 comments "I'm in the midst of a Dell nightmare that has me waking up screaming." Yikes! I was almost afraid to keep reading. The email, from Gail South, brought back memories of my two columns on Kay...
"Free" reign: how to cancel CompuServe Published on Sep 25th, 2003 0 comments The computer that Elizabeth Petofi bought from Circuit City in February 2002 came with one free year of the CompuServe online service. As part of the deal, she was required to furnish her debit-card...
Days for Knight: Consumer scolds busy contractor Published on Sep 18th, 2003 0 comments One of the most frustrating situations a consumer faces is the self-employed businessperson who agrees to do a job, collects some or all of the payment, then either doesn't do the work or does it...
A Charlottesville consumer primer Published on Aug 7th, 2003 0 comments Few things are more thrilling to me than listening to both sides of a dispute between a consumer and a business, then doing the legwork– whether it's showing up unannounced at...
Slaughter's saga: Ex-councilor tangles with Dell Published on Jul 31st, 2003 0 comments No one could accuse Kay Slaughter of being too quick to throw in the towel: The well-known citizen and former City Councilor has earned a reputation for sticking to her issues– particularly the...
Missing ride: Up, up, and awry Published on Jul 24th, 2003 0 comments What a lovely gift for Mother's Day: a hot-air balloon ride, during which Robin Warner and her daughter would float above this beautiful slice of earth and delight in the view, the day, and each...
Snail's Pace: Feeling a little gouged Published on Jul 10th, 2003 0 comments "On June 2," Mary Walter's email began, "Pace's Transfer picked up our belongings from our house in Charlottesville and delivered them to Arlington on June 3. They were extremely careless, at least...
Bright Beginnings: Violations galore vex center Published on Jun 26th, 2003 0 comments Last August, Heather Williams enrolled her two children, Sarah and Alex, at the Mill Creek branch of Bright Beginnings Preschool, where, she emailed me, they received "excellent care and nurturing....
Updates: Positive Changes folds... and more Published on Jun 19th, 2003 0 comments This time last year, Positive Changes Hypnosis was collecting money from Charlottesville clients who were willing to pay as much as $1,500 for a year of hypnosis sessions. In return, they would get...
Still in: Lethal's A-OK with AAA Published on Jun 12th, 2003 0 comments Last week's column ended with a cliffhanger: Would AAA retain its emergency road-service contract with Lethal Wrecker, or call it quits? The question arose because, on at least two occasions, Lethal...
Rude awakening: 'Dad, Lethal wants $150 in cash' Published on Jun 5th, 2003 0 comments Talk about a rude awakening: At 4am on May 23, Thomas Adkins' 19-year-old son woke him with a mixture of good, bad, and alarming news. The good news was that although he had driven his pickup into a...
Snow tow: How neighborly was that? Published on May 29th, 2003 0 comments Remember February? Tons of snow, freezing cold temperatures, and, if you lived on a hill, little or no chance you'd be able to drive up it. That's what happened to J.P. James, who lives on a hilly...
Sticker shock: What to do when the price is wrong? Published on May 22nd, 2003 0 comments Saturday Night Live once ran a parody ad for a label-maker that would discreetly print price stickers. As a fast-talking pitchman waxed rhapsodic, shoppers gleefully "repriced" such items as diamond...
Rear-ended: In more ways than one Published on May 15th, 2003 0 comments If Pam Vozsonyi could go back to Monday, March 10, she definitely would have called the police– and spared herself at least part of the frustration she's lived with ever since. Vozsonyi was...
Trench foot: Refilling wasn't so Speedy Published on May 8th, 2003 0 comments When Greg Nelson needed to get his water supply line replaced, he called Speedy-Rooter. He made the call without checking out the company's website, speedyrooter.com, but if he had, he would have...