Goodwill...sells broken IBM computers & rips-off consumers! Mandysa Lyons ignores complaints! Store fudges on legal responsibilities!

Bad will previals at rip-off charity in San Francisco!



If you're in the market for a computer, and on a budget, don't bother to stroll into  a "Goodwill" outlet looking for a bargain.

For good reason!

The charity is known to sell broken IBM Think Pads to unsuspecting victims

Ironically, Goodwill employees distribute a business card with the following outlandish slogan printed in bold-face on the front:

"We create solutions to poverty through the Business we operate."

Bullsh**!

The only opportunity they provide is a deceitful scam that enables employees to rip-off poor innocent consumers!

Just this weekend, for example, one customer snapped up a laptop for $225.00, returned home, and right-off-the-bat was embroiled in endless hard drive problems that he was unable to resolve.

Also, the customer noticed (after stopping for a lunch break to gobble up some finger food) that there were traces of unknown "chemicals" on his fingertips after typing on the keyboard for a few hours.

Yikes!

But, because of a so-called Goodwill "policy" promised at the point of sale,the consumer was not inclined to worry.

All the shopper had to do on his end was promptly take back the merchandise with the receipt, right?

After all, Goodwill promises a thirty-day money-back guarantee.

Not!

When the hapless customer trotted back to the outlet at 1500 Mission Street in downtown San Francisco, he not only got the run-around, but the dishonest staff tried to foist another useless piece of "junk" on him.

But, second-time-around the shopper wised up.

Before exiting the store with the iffy exchange, the once-burned (twice-shy) customer requested that the technician flip open the laptop and rev it up.

OMG!

The second IBM Think Pad (on sale for $225) was also a lemon.

The welcome page splashed to life, then - the dusty screen - went black.

Embarrassed, the Goodwill technician tried to shrug off the obvious.

The charity is is trying to sell broken-down computers to customers for a hefty profit.

And now, the Goodwill supporter was faced with a dilemma.

The Manager refused to give cash back in spite of the fact their computers were obviously not up to snuff or worth the asking price.

And, to the amazement of the customer - the Manager never even showed any remorse - whatsoever.

Without blinking-an-eye, she gruffly issued a credit for the $225, and informed the disgruntled customer that they would have to wait until a new shipment of PC's were delivered to the outlet at Van Ness and Mission Street in downtown San Francisco.

When the customer pointed out they were behind in their work schedule, and needed a computer right away, she barked back at the customer that they were essentially SOL.

So, the victim strode off to the Corporate Office next door to complain, where he summarily got the run-around there, too.

For example, when an employee put in a call to the Manager of the complaint department (a woman by the name of Mandysa Lyons) she was nowhere to be found!

How convenient!

In spite of promises that a call would be returned that afternoon, the Goodwill staffer has - thus far - failed to follow through.

Meanwhile, no one in the Corporate Office has lent a sympathetic ear, or offered up any constructive advice to make ammends.

Does that sound like "GOOD WILL" to you?

Notwithstanding, it should be noted that In their advertisements, Goodwill boasts that they are working together with other organizations in the neighborhood (Planet Green, for instance) to raise awareness about the positive impact donations make.

Yeah, it is pretty profitable to stock a broken computer on the shelf for free, then sell it to an unsuspecting consumer for $225.00 without guilt or shame.

What a scam, eh?

As the customer started to head out the door, he really got angry when he spied Goodwill's latest slick advert on a side-counter with a caption that screamed out at him:

"What fab Goodwill finds have you discovered today?"

The customer just about went berserk.

Talk about false, misleading, and erroneous advertising!

Goodwill is just another outrageous corporate rip-off , which passes itself off as a charitable organization - when, in fact - the second-hand-shop doesn't care about the community or its impoverished customers.

It's all about Corporate "greed"!

I say avoid Goodwill like the plague.

The employees are a bunch of scam artists at-the-ready to taking advantage of the disadvantage without conscience or any sense of morality.

http://www.thetattler.biz



Goodwill staff don't care about customers!

Western Dental...& Doctor Rita Metrikin (DDS) rip-off consumers!

Shortly after Hollywood hopefuls trek into town in search of elusive fame and fortune, they may be in need of a little cosmetic work (if only to boost their confidence a tad in the audition line).

After all, it's not only tough to compete with triple threats (performers who dance, sing, and act) but a humilating experience to have to stand next to a pack of polished show-biz types with dazzling white teeth and mega-watt personalities.

Subsequently, there may be a need for a lot of "smiling" - and buttering up to the casting department - to land a competitive edge.

So, what is an individual to do if their pearly whites are not up to snuff?

Rustle up an appointment with a local dentist to discuss the options, of course!

For starters, a likely cadidate may go for a bit of tooth whitener, or a couple of artfully-placed beautifully-crafted crowns.

Unfortunately, locating a qualified dentist to pull the transformation off - at a reasonable price - may be a tough proposition to pull off.

In fact, in recent days it has come to my attention that consumers need to be wary of a posse of dentists in the Big Bad Orange who are sloppy, unprofessional, and inclined to rip-off young innocents (and oldsters, too).

Such is the case with chains like Western Dental - and independent clinics run by Dentists such as Dr. Rita Metrikin (DDS) who operates a fly-in-the-wall operation in the heart of the city of broken dreams (Hollywood) - in addition to the "Dental Group of Beverly Hills" located at 250 N. Robertson (Suite 423) in Beverly Hills (CA).

in fact, Western Dental has the scam down to a high art!

Once a subject alights in a chair, staff engage in a bold-faced effort to take advantage of their client at whatever cost.

For example, on the premise that much-needed dental work is required to maintain healthy gums and build a solid foundation  for a handful of crowns, the dentist pitches an overhaul plan that sounds reasonable (but that is just the bait to land the sucker from the get-go).

But, what if the dental work is too pricey for the individual in question?

Western Dental proceeds to offer up an easy-pay-plan at alleged low-cost.

At this juncture, the illegal business practices commence.

Once the dental work has started, an employee saunters into the room to inform the patient that after running a credit check, it has been determined that a higher rate of interest is required on the loan  (which will end up pushing the monthly payments through the roof).

Say what?

The patient may be a little taken aback - especially if they know their rights.

After all, a business is not legally allowed to run a credit check without a consumer's permission!

Ooops!

Western Dental has been caught red-handed, provided the customer is familiar with applicable State & Federal Laws, pertaining to the issues.

After-the-fact, the patient may also end up with teeth that are not "straight or perfect" because, after all, the disreputable outfit is rife with unprofessional dentists who lack the skills to deliver up the goods.

If a customer complains about the overall "look" of the finished product, the employees at Western will just scoff, in a deceitful effort to wiggle out of the dilemma.

"You don't want your teeth to look like chickletts, do you?"

They'll take the position that teeth that are too perfect are not natural-looking.

Bet 'ya, ten to 1, I know what the patient's response will be.

"Look, if I am spending all this money on crowns, I want them to be perfect."

Amen!

If no accord can be reached, and the patient storms out without paying the balance, Western Dental will report their client to a credit bureau and damage their rating at three of the major reporting bureaus.

The same kind of horrors await individuals who have the misfortune to step into Dr. Metrikin's office at 7315 Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.

If  a patient determined from their insurance carrier before they sauntered into her office what co-pays apply, they'll waltz in for their appointment expecting to be treated fairly and honestly.

Wrong!

Dr. Rita Metrikin will try to "double-dip" and rip-off her clients at every turn.

For example, once initial preparations are performed on the first appointment, she'll try to collect "co-payments" that the consumer is not required to pay pursuant to the terms and conditions of their insurance policy.

If the patient is keen to the truth, and refuses to pay, Ms. Metrikin will stall dental work (even if there is an infection, an emergency need for an extraction, etc.).

The client may be forced to angrily stomp out of the clinic with unsightly gaps in their mouth because of her illegal (and deceptive) business practices which amount to fraud and theft.

Undoubtedly, Dr. Metrikin is part of a disreputable Russian contingent in the Los Angeles area, who prey on unsuspecting Americans.

It's time someone reported her to the Dental Association, and a network of Insurance Carriers, to prevent her from ripping-off consumers-at-large in the near or distant future!

Well, a consumer alert on the Tattler is the first best thing, eh?

http://www.thetattler.biz/

Dr. Rita Metrikin

Rite Aid Pharmacy...false advertising & deceptive business practices! Consumer Alert...

Well, it looks like a good deal, at first.

2 Boxes of Special K cereal (12 oz) for $4.00!

However, consumers are taken aback when they trot up to the cashier to pay for the purchase, and discover that the cereal is actually 2 boxes for $5.00.

What gives?
For starters, the customer must sign up for a "Wellness" card to be eligible for a discount price.

After-the-fact, though, Rite Aid Pharmacy still fails to cough up the advertised price once the scammed consumer has affixed their John Henry to the application (and their personal data - home address and telephone - have been summarily inputted into the giant retailer's computer banks).

For example, when the cash register rang up the wellness member's sale, the cereal was priced at $2.59 per box.

"If you bought two boxes, it would have been $5.00," a customer was rudely informed in front of a throng of bemused onlookers in a line that snaked precariously down one aisle.

So, how did Rite Aid arrive at the advertised (posted) price of 2 boxes for $4.00?

"If you buy two at $5.00, you get a coupon for $1.00 towards the next purchase," the clerk snarled, with a smirk on her face.

Gotcha!

Rite Aid is not only engaging in deceptive business practices, but guilty of false advertising - and quite possibly - fraud!

I trust that the Department of Consumer Affairs will swoop down and impose appropriate fines and penalties to deter this kind of dishonest (fraudulent) conduct in the future.

Consumer beware!

http://www.thetattler.biz





*Fraudulent promotion launched at 7th & Hope Street outlet
  (Los Angeles)

CONSUMER ALERTS

AM PM Markets
Balmoral Hotel (Vegas)
Gold Spike
Nevada Highway Patrol
South Strip Tow
El Cortez Hotel
Motel 6 (Vegas)
Expedia
Western Dental
The Artisan (Vegas)
Walgreens
Whiskey Pete's
Best Buy
Wild Wild West (Casino)
McDonalds
David's Food Store (San Francisco)
CVS (Pharmacy)
Royal King Cafe
Pavillions
Sahara Hotel (Las Vegas)
7 Eleven
Jack-in-the-Box
NetFirms, Inc.
Earthlink
Starbucks
Virgin (Mobile)

File a Complaint
http://www.ftc.gov

File a complaint with Better Business Bureau

http://www.bbb.org/

http://www.julian1st.wordpress.com

Blue Host...web company engages in deceptive business practices, fraud, and unethical conduct! Avoid like the plague...

Today, I experienced one of the worst horrors of dealing with the Internet.

Uh-huh!

Just try to sign up for a web hosting plan without experiencing technical snafus, headaches & nightmares, emotional traumas, and cash out-of-hand!

Locating a company to provide a reasonably-priced hosting plan is difficult enough, but when you run smack-dab into a company that practices deception - engages in fraudulent business conduct, and posts unauthorized charges on credit cards for exhorbitant sums not due, for starters - it makes for a mighty scary day on the WWW.

Blue Host, for instance, is one of those web-based companies that lures potential consumers to their site under false premises - the promise of low monthly hosting plans - then bills charges to credit card accounts which were not disclosed (or agreed to) in a cavalier fashion with no guilt or shame.

After-the-fact, staff give customers the run-around - and shame! - evade good-faith efforts by the "victim" to resolve the issues in a legally responsible and ethical way.

In essence, Blue Host  is run by a pack of dishonest thieves, judging from my experience thus far.

When I signed on for a new domain hosting plan, I was promised unlimited usage and scads of free storage, for a reasonable fee.

However, once the a-holes secured my credit card information - and billed me in about two seconds flat - an alleged malfunction at the server (their words, not mine) prevented me from completing the transaction (or, so I thought, according to their e-mails).

So, I was instructed to re-submit the order form.

Horse dung!

It was all a clever ploy to extract more $$$ from my bank account.

Do they think I was born yesterday?

Lo & behold!

Once the order was submitted, an invoice wormed its way into my mail box at Yahoo, confirming my worst fears.

In spite of their claims that the order was not processed due to a computer glitch, my account was dinged sums,  a follow-up invoice alleged were due!

Now, the run-arounds, commenced.

One fellow noted that he could not respond to my queries until I established my identity.

Hogwash!

If that was the case - logic dictates, without doubt - that they should have waited to ascertain that niggly little bit of precious information before they debited my bank account (don't 'ya think?).

No Sir!

So, I fired off a formal demand, requesting a strict accounting of the sums charged to my account.

That was several hours ago.  No response back, yet!

Then, out-of-the-blue (no pun intended), I received an e-mail from a staffer in "support" at the Blue Host rip-off outfit,  who informed me that my account was being placed "on hold" and into deactivated status on the grounds that employees were having difficulty getting in touch with me!

OMG!

Are they just idiots, clever con-man stalling and delaying, or what?

"Poppie-cock," I muttered under my breath with a nod to Judge Andrew H. Hauk (dearly departed).

I fired back an e-mail - and noted for the record - that I had been in touch with two of  Blue Host's employees all morning and that no one had the decency or professional courtesy to even respond back.

No reply back to that one, either.

If  Blue Host was going to close the accout, or deactivate it, weren't they required (by law) to address the issue of the payment and duly inform me if I would be receiving a credit back at the end of the business day?

Golly, what a friggin' mess!

So, I am penning this consumer alert to warn my readers (and others who stumble upon my blog) to steer clear of  Blue Host web hosting or whatever the fu**  the fly-by-night losers call themselves, today!

Meanwhile - I have tgo to-da-loo - and put in a telephone call to the bank.

It's the only way I'll get my credit back - I surmise - at this point.

I'd rather have a root canal, believe me.

Scumbags!

http://www.julianayrs.com

CVS...retailer dishonest about sale offers! Staff rude & insulting...

Get ripped off 27/7 at CVS!

One day I trekked down to my regular pharmacy and got a rude awakening.

Much to my chagrin, the corporate giant that runs CVS gobbled up the retail outlet I was loyal to, without so much as a:

"Wham-bam!  Thank you man!"

Like Wal-Mart before it, a CVS invasion into the mainstream marketplace has been making waves across the country .

For the most part, the reaction of consumers has been negative.

Outside one outlet  in Westwood, for example, a posse of activists scrambled to coral  customers as they exited the thriving enterprise with the specific aim of rustling up signatures for a petition seeking to trigger action against CVS (and their evil empire) for allegedly selling confidential medical information gleened from pharmacy records in violation of consumer rights.

Although a lawsuit was also filed against CVS in recent months for allegedly selling expired products on the shelves which posed a potential threat to customers' overall health and well-being (which was quickly settled out-of-court in spite of the fact CVS execs insistered there was no wrong-doing on their part) CVS management has continued to engage in dishonest conduct which may be ripe for litigation, too.

Shopppers have complained to consumer advocates - that after they plucked up sale items from the well-stocked shelves to take advantage of the savings - the original price was charged at the cash register instead of the discounted one advertised.

This past weekend, for instance, I spied two sales I was inclined to act upon.

One, offered regular-size chocolate bars (normally 89 cents each) at the yummy price of two for-a-buck.

Also, ten bottles of vitamin water (which normally retail at $1.69 each) were being offered for a sawbuck.

If  that paper-money jargon has you baffled, just quiz an old-timer at the market for the answer.

Uh-huh!

Ten bucks.

With bargains in hand, I stepped up to the rough 'n tumble line (CVS has the WORST check out system in retail chain hell. The bozo who designed the sucker must have had sh** for brains) snaking down an aisle to await my turn.

The first two items (candy bar snacks) didn't pass muster!

"This one is $1.59," the clerk smirked at me.

I motioned to the counter below where the price (the one I correctly quoted) screamed out in bold black type from a brilliant yellow tag.

"Well, it's a mistake," he responded rudely.

At this juncture, I heard a couple of snickers (no pun intended) from a couple of customers behind me,  who were starting to shift from one leg to another impatiently.

I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, set them aside, and motioned for him to ring up the remaining item.

When he announced the total, I stared back in disbelief.

Something was amiss.

After scannning the receipt, I spied the error right off-the-bat. 

Instead of charging me $1.00 for the Vitmain water, he inputted the sum of $1.99.

When I pointed out the overcharge, he got annoyed with me.

Apparently, a celebrated athlete was tied into a special promotion for the same thirst-quencher.

But, if I recalled correctly, that special was not advertised in the glass refrigerator at the back of the store.

So, I trotted down the aisle and verified that the sale price I was referring to was correct - at which point - I called out for him to check the sale price for himself.

In response, one of his co-workers strode up and took a glance at the offending tag, then retorted:

"We have two sales. You were charged for the other one."

"Well, I want the one that was advertised here," I firmly underscored without batting-an-eye.

Frustrated by the confrontation - and obviously not intelligent or experienced enough to fathom how to resolve the dilemma - he suddenly contradicted himself.

"That sale ended today,"  he replied smugly.

 "So there! Gotcha," he appeared to be saying.

"Sir," (I used the term loosely - after all - he was a seriously overweight twenty-something kid with a spiteful unprofessional attitude) "the law requires that you sell me the item for the avertised price".

Oh, did that get his goat!

To shake things up a bit, I thought I'd throw a little scare in his direction.

"CVS just settled a lawsuit for violating consumer laws. Do you want to be sued again?"

His jaw dropped.

Meanwhile, the line at the counter was bloating-up by the minute.

Boy, were the natives getting  pi**ed.

Suddenly, the little dough-boy yelled out to the cashier in an exasperated tone.

"Give it to him for a buck."

The cashier rang up the charges, I paid, and that was that.

When I headed out the door, I was absolutely floored when I overheard a nasty remark the disgruntled CVS worker uttered up to his co-worke behind my back.

"Because of that a**hole, I have to change all the price tags!"

Well, that was it in a nutshell, wasn't it?

Or, was it?

Why didn't CVS Management instruct staff to strike sale tags as soon as the goods were no longer available at bargain prices?

CVS's failure to inform employees about consumer laws was highly suspicious, too.

After all, pricing errors on advertised sales should be honored without question.

In the case of CVS, it appears that the company is relying on employee igornance (and their failure to disclose) to get them out of a "fix" when they are caught red-handed fudging on sales items to rack up profit.

I was also miffed at the failure of CVS staff to recognize the repercussions of their reprehensible unprofessional conduct, which interrupted the natural flow of things.

For example,when a customer snaps up a sale item and there is an obvious error in price, the clerk is forced to void the charge, then re-calculate the totals, and-so-forth and-so-on (with obvious delays).

In that event - in addition to the purchaser - the customers in line behind are also forced to deal with the frustrations involved, as well.

On the morning in question - boy! - did I face their ire.

The snafu wasn't my fault, but judging from the nasty glances in my direction, you'd think so.

Heck, I just wanted CVS to honor the sale price without having to twist an arm or two.

Fat chance!

Suddenly, something dawned on me today, as I was penning this post.

What does CVS stand for?

It's a secret code, a get-out-of-jail free card, used frequently at the Evil Empire.

Can't Vouch (for) Sale.

http://www.julianayrs.com/