uWayback Burgers, Denny’s Vie For The Affection Of Burger King After McDonald’s Turned A Cold Shoulderr

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  (Mike Mozart)

  After an offer to “settle the beef” in the name of raising awareness for Peace Day was unceremoniously shot down by McDonald’s with a rather passive-aggressive note, Burger King has received a proposal – or two – of its own to consider.

  Would you consider ordering a Slampper or a Whipple Whipple next time you’re at Burger King? Those two collaborations could certainly be making an appearance on the menu board if the company accepts a proposal from either Denny’s or Wayback Burgers, respectively.

  Fortune reports that just days after McDonald’s shot down The King’s call for a truce – and the creation of something called the McWhopper – smaller burger chain Wayback Burger made its love for Burger King known, offering to take over the Golden Arches’ spot in the proposed collaboration.

  .@BurgerKing, we won't leave you hanging. #McWhopper #WhipleWhiple #SettleTheBeef http://pic.twitter.com/wCFiYuGOPO

  — Wayback Burgers (@waybackburgers) August 26, 2015

  The Connecticut-based chain – which operates around 100 locations in the U.S. and overseas – extended an olive branch to Burger King, while also taking a jab at McDonald’s rejection.

  “Wayback Burgers would be happy to take Burger King up on its offer to partner to raise money for UNICEF surrounding International Day of Peace,” Wayback Burgers President John Eucalitto said in a company statement. “Our nine patty burger, The Triple Triple, could be a great vehicle to work with. Perhaps we could create the Whiple Whiple. Besides, wouldn’t Burger King prefer to partner with a fresh and innovative brand that is on the rise? Either way, we hope to hear from you.”

  While Burger King’s first alternative proposal comes from a smaller burger chain, the second is from an entirely different genre of restaurant, Adweek reports.

  Not one to shy away from a little fun on social media, national diner chain Denny’s quickly jumped into the collaboration fray suggesting several mash-ups of menu items with Burger King, including: the Slampper, the Whammper and the Whoppaslamus-rex.

  hey @burgerking how about a Slampper© or a Whammper© or a Whoppaslamus-rex© or something? http://pic.twitter.com/zWHXfgIPYV

  — Denny's (@DennysDiner) August 27, 2015

  So far, Burger King hasn’t responded to the offers from either Wayback Burgers or Denny’s, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the fast food chain is taking its times deciding between its suitors.

  Move over McDonald’s, Wayback Burgers wants to partner with Burger King [Fortune]
  Denny’s Offers to Partner With Burger King, Since McDonald’s Is Being a McChicken [AdWeek]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uTime Warner CEO Isn’t Worried About Cable TV’s Fate: “Netflix Is Good, But Not That Good”r

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  (dbrooks125)

  While cable companies’ investors might be shaking in their boots whenever the word “Netflix” pops up, the streaming video service isn’t the giant slayer it’s been made out to be — at least according to Time Warner Inc. Jeff Bewkes, who says his HBO is better than Netflix.

  Bewkes spoke at a cable conference in Amsterdam yesterday, saying investors don’t need to freak out as customers continue cutting cords and leaving cable providers for services like Netflix, reports Bloomberg.

  “Netflix is good, but not that good,” Bewkes said. “The pessimism in the market about the sector is overdone — our industry will figure out how to take content and sell it on demand.”

  It’s true that they’re making an effort: traditional broadcast and cable networks like HBO, Showtime, Starz and CBS have all hopped on the streaming bandwagon recently. But most of the pay-TV competition isn’t coming from cable, it’s coming from Netflix (with 65 million subscribers) and the likes of PlayStation and Dish, both of which offer streaming content without a cable contract.

  Bewkes’ reassurances come on the heels of a slew of disappointing second-quarter earnings reported earlier this month by companies like Time Warner, Discovery Communications, and the biggest player, Disney, which has continually had to defend its high-cost sports behemoth ESPN.

  The Time Warner CEO says his company doesn’t need acquisitions to grow, and instead is just going to sit back and distribute its HBO’s video-on-demand service HBO Now, which has been thriving on the backs of popular shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective, as well as expanding the service to more countries.

  These comments aren’t all that different from those made by Comcast’s David L. Cohen at an industry conference in July, who, while admitting that cord-cutting is partly the fault of cable companies who “have made video too expensive,” noted that traditional cable companies won’t ever entirely go away. In fact, Netflix relies on some of those same cable companies to beam its service to customers over the Internet.

  “Remember, you can’t get Netflix without broadband service,” Cohen said, which is good for Comcast as it’s a broadband provider as well as a company.

  Netflix also needs companies like Comcast and Time Warner, both which create original programming that could at some point, ostensibly, be licensed for viewing through Netflix.

  Bewkes Says TV Can Withstand `Not That Good’ Netflix [Bloomberg]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uFake Boss Wire Transfer Scammers Have Now Stolen $1.2 Billion From Companiesr

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• All year, we’ve been sharing information about a scam hitting companies all over the world, where very clever and resourceful scammers impersonate bosses and extract money on false pretenses. The best protection against this kind of fraud is education, and while law enforcement are doing their best to let people know about the scam, the number of victims is only increasing, and law enforcement estimates that the scammers have drained $1.2 billion worldwide from businesses’ bank accounts.

  The scam itself is very simple: our fake e-mail up top sums up the basics. A scammer e-mails an employee, pretending to be the CEO, boss, or other person in charge. They ask for a certain amount to be transferred to an imaginary supplier.

  While the return address will appear real, the actual domain name that the message comes from and that the user replies to will be a fake version that the scammer has registered: perhaps bossmeg@c0nsumerist.com or consumeri5t.com.

  Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and the FBI now warns companies to keep information like when your company’s bosses plan to travel off public websites and social media, since the premise of these e-mails is usually that the person requesting a wire transfer is out of town.

  BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE [FBI] (via Krebs on Security)
  

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uBank Of America Reportedly Settles Overtime Lawsuit For $36 Millionr

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  (Adam Fagen)

  When working a few extra hours, you have a reasonable expectation to be compensated for that time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, which was the case for nearly 400 employees of Bank of America who sued the company alleging it failed to pay them overtime. Now, the company has agreed to settle the case, providing $36 million to the wronged employees.

  The San Francisco Business Times reports that a lawyer representing the 365 current and former employees announced the settlement just days before the case was set to go to trial on Aug. 31.

  “Employers take grave risks by cutting corners, and not fairly compensating their employees in tune with state and federal law,” the lawyer says.

  The settlement, which must still be approved by the court, stems from an April 2013 lawsuit that alleged Bank of America and its subsidiary Landsafe Appraisal Services incorrectly applied “administrative” and “professional” exemptions to residential staff appraisers.

  According to the suit, employees – primarily based in Northern California – regularly worked form 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. without overtime compensation from either company.

  The case illustrated how companies often use in-house overtime rules that differ from federal guidelines, the Business Times reports.

  A portion of the nationwide, class action lawsuit was previously settled for $5.8 million.

  Bank of America to pay $36 million in California overtime infraction case [San Francisco Business Times]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uHermès Says It’s Talking With Jane Birkin About Crocodile Leather Used In Namesake HandBagsr

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  (twicepix)

  If you’ve got a product named after you, should you be able to control how that item is made? Actress Jane Birkin is certainly trying to have her say, telling the company to take her name off the luxury handbag named after her because they’re made from crocodiles who are inhumanely slaughtered.

  Hermès International SCA says it’s holding talks with Birkin, noting that it was also shocked by an animal-rights group’s video showing reptiles who were still alive and moving after being shot by a bolt gun at a Texas farm, Hermès Chief Executive Officer Axel Dumas said, according to a report from Bloomberg.

  “We agree that the best international rules should be applied in our crocodile farms,” Dumas said at an earnings presentation in Paris. Hermès is making an effort to show Birkin that its practices are often better than others, though it’s unclear what that means.

  Birkin demanded her name be removed from the bags, which sell for anywhere from $9,400 to $68,000, after watching the footage in July. She told Hermès to rename the bags until better practices replace the “cruel” methods used at some slaughtering facilities. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said some workers at the farm were told to cut into 500 conscious alligators with knives when the bolt gun didn’t work, among other alleged mistreatment.

  Hermès has pledged to penalize any breach of its animal welfare code, and said it was investigating the farm and that the crocodile skins it receives from that supplier — which it does not own — aren’t used for Birkin bags.

  Hermès Holds Talks With Actress Jane Birkin Following Complaint [Bloomberg]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWoman Says Walmart Tech Totaled Her Car, Company’s Effort To Make It Right Falls Shortr

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  (Patrick)

  A Texas woman who took her car to her local Walmart’s service center for a routine oil change says a technician totaled the vehicle and now the company isn’t offering her a fair settlement, leaving her stranded and her business suffering.

  NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Investigates took a look at the case this week after the woman claimed the company continues to give her the run-around nearly two weeks after the incident occurred.

  The ordeal began last month when the woman brought her SUV to Walmart’s service center for an oil change. A technician for the company totaled the car when he drove it into a wall to avoid hitting another person after the throttle reportedly became stuck.

  While the retailer’s insurance company offered to pay the woman $3,200 – the estimated value of her 1998 Ford Expedition – and cover costs for a rental car, the woman says the deal isn’t enough and the company has yet to cover rental fees, leaving her in a bind.

  The woman says the $3,200 won’t be enough to cover the cost of a new, dependable used SUV and it doesn’t account for the money her company has lost while she’s been without a vehicle.

  As a florist, the woman says she relies on her SUV to make 15 to 20 deliveries a day.

  Because there’s been confusion regarding the retailer’s promise to cover the cost of a rental vehicle during the two-week investigation into the accident, the woman has had to hire someone else to make deliveries, or borrow a vehicle from a friend.

  “I’ve had to turn away deliveries because I couldn’t go that far or send somebody that far to deliver,” she tells the station.

  While Walmart’s insurer has completed its investigation, the woman says it’s far from over.

  In fact, she said her conversation with the insurance rep made it seem as if the company still hadn’t come to a conclusion on why the incident happened.

  Since the conclusion of the investigation, the woman says an insurer has agreed to pay $140 for a tow charge and a day’s rental fee. But the woman says that’s simply not enough as her costs continue to mount.

  A rep for the company says he’d need to get approve for compensating her for additional costs.

  “I just need to get a vehicle. I need for them to reimburse me for the time and money that I’m out of, you know, and just make it right,” the woman says.

  When NBC 5 Investigates contacted Walmart about the rental car issues and the compensation offer, the company declined to answer questions, instead saying, “We always want to take care of our customers as quickly as possible and we’re pleased this has been resolved.”

  According to NBC 5 Investigates the company’s insurer is now considering further compensation.

  Wal-Mart Offers Woman $3,200 After Totaling Her Car [NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uClass Action Suit Alleges Nestle Benefits From Fishing Vessel Slavery To Make Fancy Feastr

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  If they knew, cats would probably prefer to catch their own fish. (eren {sea+prairie})

  Last week, we shared the news that a Costco customer had filed a class action lawsuit against the warehouse retailer, claiming that they sell shrimp benefiting from slave labor. Now cat owners have filed a similar lawsuit against Nestle, parent company of Fancy Feast cat food, claiming that the company uses mistreated and enslaved workers to catch fish destined for cat food cans.

  Lawsuits regarding the treatment of workers in the seafood industry seem to have their roots in a recent New York Times investigative report about the terrible conditions for workers on Thai vessels that catch forage fish far from the shore. These small fish become food for our pets, for meat animals like pigs, and for the fish being raised on seafood farms.

  The ships operate so far from land that mistreatment of workers is a serious problem: the Thai government isn’t even aware that some of the vessels exist. Non-governmental organizations and even the U.S. Department of Labor agree that seafood imported from Thailand is likely to benefit from slave labor at least in part.

  “Knowing that the much of the fish sold in Nestlé’s pet food is likely the product of
  slave labor is material to consumers not wishing to support slave labor with their purchasing power,” the plaintiff’s attorneys say in the initial complaint. As much as cat owners joke about being enslaved by their pets, the cats themselves probably wouldn’t appreciate it, either.

  Class Action Filed against Nestlé for Slave Labor, Human Trafficking Used to Produce Top-Selling Pet Food [Hagens Berman]
  ‘SEA SLAVES’: THE HUMAN MISERY THAT FEEDS PETS AND LIVESTOCK [New York Times]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist