uWhy Gasoline With More Than 10% Ethanol Will Make Your Mower Sadr

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  (Misfit Photographer)

  Modern cars are designed to get around just fine with gasoline containing ethanol in their tanks, but not all gasoline that you buy at the corner gas station is healthy for other items that you own that use gas. Think outdoor power equipment like push mowers, string trimmers, and chainsaws. Cars made in 2006 and afterwards can take fuel that’s up to 15% ethanol, but that mixture can be disastrous for small gas-powered appliances.

  There’s a trade group for these items, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, and they are not happy that higher-ethanol blends are becoming more common in gas stations, but lack consumer warnings at the pump that explain this clearly. Something like “Hey dude/dudette, don’t put this stuff in your chainsaw,” it might say, but most consumers say that they don’t notice the puny warnings that the EPA requires.

  Why shouldn’t you use these cheaper blends in your outdoor power equipment? Since you probably don’t use your lawn mower as often as your car, all of that time sitting around idle means that the ethanol has time to draw water from the gasoline, making the fuel goopy and crusty, which hurts any plastic and rubber parts that it reaches as well as affecting carburetors. Worse, ethanol makes small engines run hotter, reducing their lifespan.

  You can prevent this by checking what kind of fuel your small gas-powered equipment prefers: that information should be in the manual. Don’t automatically fill your gas can with the same stuff you put in your tank, especially if your car is much newer than average.

  The cheapest gas can be trouble for outdoor gear [Consumer Reports]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uThe Last Full-Service Dunkin’ Donuts Prepares To Shut Its Doorsr

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  (Consumerist Dot Com)

  Though you might not even have been aware it existed, the last full-service Dunkin’ Donuts diner is preparing to close, and will be renovated to look like the rest.

  That means no more wait staff serving fried fish and grits, something many customers will miss: while the Lake Park, FL restaurant serves doughnuts and coffee like other Dunkin’ Donuts locations, it also has a grill, serving up hot food and sandwiches. The Palm Beach Post spoke with a few of the diner’s customers who will miss the old days once the place is remodeled.

  “I’m so sad,” one said, adding, “We can go anywhere to get the doughnuts but you can’t go everywhere and find food like this.”

  It was the first Dunkin’ location to open in Florida, in 1962, and the last full-service spot left standing. For now — the restaurant’s last day of dining room service is Saturday, with the fast-food side closing Aug. 16. The place is expected to reopen with its new look on Aug. 31.

  The owner says he made the decision to renovate because he can’t offer the menu items that other Dunkin’ locations have, including the 10 he owns across the county, because they don’t have the right equipment. The remodel will mean guests are served faster and more efficiently, he says.

  There’s a bright spot, however, as customers will still be able to drink coffee from a ceramic mug at the counter, just as they do now.

  “This particular Dunkin’ Donuts has a rich history and the new, remodeled location will include several elements that are a nod to its past,” the owner says. “Despite the changes, it’ll still be a unique neighborhood gathering place for the community to catch up with old friends, make new ones and enjoy great food.”

  World’s last Dunkin’ Donuts diner to close [The Palm Beach Post]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWoman Sues Starbucks For $2 Million Over Drink Allegedly Tainted With Chemicalsr

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  (ronnyg)

  A Utah woman has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Starbucks and several employees claiming she was given a drink that contained a cleaning solution.

  The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the woman filed the suit after she suffered severe damage to her esophagus at a Utah Starbucks in July 2012.

  According to the lawsuit, the woman experienced severe nerve damage and chronic burning mouth pain after ingesting Urnex, a speciality cleaning product for coffee and espresso equipment.

  The suit, which names Starbucks and John Does one through five as defendants, alleges the company was negligent in more than one way and failed to adequately train workers.

  As for the employees, the suit claims they created a dangerous situation and failed to remedy it, and knew or should have known of the dangerous condition but failed to take adequate steps to prevent injury to customers.

  The woman, who is seeking $2 million in damages, contends that the incident has already cost her $186,000 in medical expenses, wage loss and household expenses.

  A spokesperson for Starbucks tells the Tribune that the company takes the lawsuit very seriously.

  “The safety of our customers is our highest priority,” Laurel Harper, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said Tuesday. “We take this obligation seriously and are investigating [the customer’s] claims.”

  Utahn claims her Starbucks coffee was tainted with cleaning solution [The Salt Lake Tribune]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uPolice: Man Pretended He Was His Brother To Avoid $7,500 In Unpaid Tollsr

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  (Alan Rappa)

  It’s a classic caper: passing yourself off as your brother or sister to squirm out of trouble when you’re caught doing something you shouldn’t. But New Jersey police say one man didn’t quite pull off the sibling switcheroo when he was stopped for $7,500 in unpaid tolls.

  Port Authority police in New Jersey say officers stopped a 44-year-old man after he drove through an EZ-Pass lane on the George Washington Bridge toll without paying, reports NJ.com.

  A police spokesman said the man couldn’t provide any documentation for the motorcycle he was riding and the license plates didn’t match the bike. After a search, police said they found baggies of cocaine in his pocket, which he at first said was just candy.

  While he was being taken into custody, officers say he gave them a government ID card that had his brother’s name and photo on it. Unaware that it wasn’t him, police issued the man a summons under his brother’s name and let him go.

  When Port Authority police figured things out, they issued a warrant for his arrest. He was later arrested by State Police on unrelated traffic warrants and was turned over to Port Authority police Officer to face wrongful impersonation, theft, hindering apprehension and cocaine possession charges.

  Man used brother’s name to dodge unpaid tolls, drug charge, police say [NJ.com]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uClass-Action Suit Accuses CVS Of Overcharging Customers For Generic Drugsr

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  (Chris Rief)

  The country’s second largest pharmacy chain is the latest party in a class-action lawsuit that accuses CVS of deliberately overcharging hundreds of thousands of patients for generic prescription drugs.

  Bloomberg reports that the pharmacy customers claim in the class-action seeking lawsuit that CVS intentionally overcharged them for prescription drugs by submitting claims for payment to third parties at inflated prices.

  According to the lawsuit, since 2008 CVS has engaged in “massive fraud” that led to “substantial ill-gotten gains” by charging three or four times the typical price for generic drugs.

  At issue in the lawsuit is CVS’s Health Savings Pass, a discount program for patients paying cash for prescriptions. The plan costs $15 per year to join and offers 90-day supplies of some generic drugs for $11.99.

  The complaint contends that patients who purchased prescriptions through third-party plans paid higher prices than those who paid through CVS’s program.

  CVS allegedly failed to present insurance companies with the discounted price, resulting in customers paying higher co-pays based on the more expensive prices.

  “Not only was the HSP program a means by which CVS could maintain and increase its market share by fending off discounted prices from its competitors, but importantly, CVS also intended that the HSP program would serve as a mechanism to hide CVS’s true usual and customary prices from third-party payers,” the lawsuit says.

  A CVS spokesperson tells Bloomberg that he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit, as the company had yet to be served, but that a similar suit had been dismissed in Massachusetts.

  “It is important to note that co-pays for prescription medications are determined by a patient’s prescription coverage plan, not by the pharmacy,” the spokesperson said. “Pharmacies charge the co-pays that are set by the coverage plans.”

  The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order banning CVS from running the alleged scheme.

  CVS Health Accused in Suit of Overcharging for Generic Drugs [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWalmart Customer With Tourette’s Claims She Was Kicked Out Of Store, Told Not To Returnr

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  (Mike Mozart)
  

  A Florida woman with Tourette’s syndrome is suing Walmart, claiming she was banned from the store, in violation of the American with Disabilities Act. She and her husband are seeking more than $2.2 million in damages for emotional distress.

  People with Tourette’s may exhibit facial tics and other involuntary repetitive movements, and have outbursts of profanity, known as “coprolalia,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

  The woman was shopping at Walmart with two of her children in August 2011 when she was ordered to leave and not come back by a manager and a security officer, according to a circuit court filing complaint, reports Florida Today.

  Her lawyer says the Walmart workers also called the police, who issued a no-trespassing order against her.

  “It’s putting part of her hometown off-limits for her. And it’s a place she’s accustomed to frequent, and she has the right to frequent. They used to do this to people who had black skin, or who didn’t speak English, or were Chinese (or of) Asian ancestry. Women were excluded from some places — and that’s just been in my lifetime,” her attorney told Florida Today.

  He added that most people understand when they hear her having a verbal tic, or using profane language.

  “They recognize it as Tourette’s, and they just shrug it off like water off a duck’s back,” he said.

  The lawsuit was filed in mid-May, and seeks $2 million in damages for the woman’s emotional distress, as well as $200,000 for the husband, due to “loss of consortium” with his wife.

  Walmart’s legal counsel stated in a court filing that store employees did not act improperly; did not physically or psychologically harm the customer; and had no prior knowledge of her Tourette’s syndrome or medical condition.

  The woman says she is often traumatized by the treatment she receives because of her outbursts. Since the alleged incident at Walmart, she says she’s led a more secluded life, and her kids do her grocery shopping for her.

  “God didn’t make everybody to be the same. You know, this is who I am. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s genetic. It’s hereditary. And it’s something that I have to live with for the rest of my life. This is just me,” she told Florida Today.

  Brevard woman with Tourette’s sues Walmart over ban [Florida Today]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uI Can’t Buy A Car Because Lexus Thinks I’m Deadr

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  (БРАТСТВО)
  

  Dead people do not need cars, and they also have trouble making the payments. That’s probably why one woman’s credit score plummeted to zero when a lender accidentally put her down as dead. It was due to human error, but she’ll need to wait 30 days to move on with her new car purchase because someone at Lexus Financial Services picked the wrong thing in a drop-down menu.

  Yes, that is literally what happened. Unfortunately, it just takes one creditor accidentally telling the bureaus that you’re deceased to send your credit score plummeting to zero and to make it impossible to sign up for new lines of credit.

  What can you do about it? You can’t prevent people from clicking on the wrong thing at your lender, unfortunately, but the best thing to do is check your credit periodically for errors like this. Use AnnualCreditReport.com at least 30 days before you plan to start shopping for a new home, car, or other thing that requires credit bureaus to believe that you’re alive.

  It takes about 30 days to clear an error for the system, but this 100% alive aspiring car owner was lucky: she had contacted CBS Sacramento about her plight, and their calls to Experian and Equifax prompted the credit bureaus to correct Acura’s error a few weeks earlier than they normally would have, and she got to zoom off in her new car.

  Call Kurtis: I Can’t Buy a Car Because Lender Declared Me Dead [CBS Sacramento]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist