uKickstarter-Funded LinkWallet Misses Promised Deadline For Refundsr

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• Last year, we shared the frustrations of people who backed a product called PingWallet, (later LinkWallet) on Kickstarter. The wallets were supposed to ship at the end of 2013, then were delayed to the end of 2014. When that deadline passed, the founders declared that they would issue refunds to backers by December 22, 2015. That would be a satisfactory result if those refunds had ever been sent.

  Yes, it’s December 2015, and those promised refunds have never come. We tried to contact the co-founders for another interview, and found that the contact information that we had for them is no longer valid. It also happens that no one from the company has logged in to their Kickstarter account in over a year to receive messages there.

  

  What should backers do going forward? They could draw inspiration from two other cases of crowdfunded projects that were never delivered, Asylum playing cards and the board game The Doom That Came To Atlantic City, the creators of which were sued by the Washington state attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission respectively.

  Here in New York, for example, that department is called the Consumer Frauds Bureau. In Florida, the state where the founders of LinkWallet lived at the time, it’s called the Consumer Protection Bureau. Contact the equivalent department in your state or territory for help.

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uMan Arrested For Selling Stolen Gift Cards Re-Arrested For Allegedly Using More Stolen Gift Cards To Pay Lawyerr

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  When you’ve been arrested for allegedly selling stolen gift cards and it comes time to pay for an attorney, there might be one predictable route to go — but it’s not likely to work out so well.

  A Florida man who found himself behind bars after his arrest for allegedly peddling ill-gotten gift cards repeated that scheme a second time to cover his legal costs, according to police in Volusia County.

  On Dec. 14, the 27-year-old and his father were arrested after a seven-month Sheriff’s Office investigation found that as part of their business venture, stores that pay cash for gift cards, they’d bought gift cards from people who stole merchandise from stores, reports The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

  Investigators said the men would then resell the gift cards in bulk for a profit to Internet-based outlets, raking in $1.98 million in a nine-month period. Law enforcement said they seized 10,443 gift cards in a bust two weeks ago.

  On Tuesday, six days after he was released from jail on bail, the son was arrested and charged with one count of dealing stolen property, after allegedly contacting an Internet-based company to try to sell another 1,000 cards to pay for his legal fees. He’s currently being held on $20,000 bail, which one would think he won’t try to pay for with gift cards.

  Volusia man in gift card ring rearrested, deputies say [The Daytona Beach News-Journal]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uFrom The Heart Or Wallet: Get The Most Of Your Last-Minute Charitable Donationsr

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• 

  Whether it’s the lingering holiday spirit or just the desire to lower your annual tax burden before the deadline, you might be feeling a bit of a tug to donate your time, money, food, clothing, or other items to charity.  But before you make your last-minute gift, make sure you’re doing it right.

  As we’ve previously noted, there are a number of ways to not suck at charitable giving.

  GOING THE FOOD BANK ROUTE
  If you’re doing a little winter pantry cleaning to make room for all those holiday-themed products you scooped up at the grocery store, you might be tempted to make a donation to your local food bank. But before you head over with your cans of tartar sauce and sardines in oil, keep a few things in mind.

  • Why has this product been in your cupboard so long? If the answer to that question is that you would never dream of consuming it, then other people probably don’t want it either.

  So instead, xoJane’s Deb Martinson suggests, would-be donors should think of it like this: What would you want to eat, using only nonperishable foods?

  • Not everyone has the same things available to them that you might. For instance, some people might not have can openers or microwaves. That means some of the better items to donate might be things that would help produce on-the-go meals like peanut butter, tuna (with pop-tops) or crackers.

  • Just Ask.  If all else fails and you just feel completely unknowledgeable about what others would like to eat, simply call the local food bank. Many donation centers have a specific list of foods that are in constant need, some might not even be food but other necessities like toilet paper, soap, and diapers.

  (For more suggestions on how to donate to a food bank, check out our story from last year that offers many helpful guidelines.)

  DONATING TO A CAUSE OR ORGANIZATION
  When it comes to larger donations, consumers might pick a cause or organization that is near-and-dear to their hearts. While this is always a great option, there are certain things we should all remember before signing the check.

  • Is it a legitimate organization? If you’re giving to charity because you’re a good person, and because you want to lower your tax burden, then you must consider how you donate. To include a donation on your 2015 return, you must give to a legitimate, qualified organization — like, for example, Consumerist — before December 31.

  Consumerist’s “How Not To Suck,” column previously suggested that consumers readying to give a donation double-check that their charity of choice is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions exempt with the Internal Revenue Service.

  • You can’t deduct contributions to individuals. While we would never suggest you don’t help out an individual in need, consumers should keep in mind that those types of donations can’t be deducted. This also includes donations to political organizations and candidates.

  GIVING YOUR TIME
  While it is admirable for consumers to provide financial donations to charities, there may be no donation more valuable than your time.

  • How far will you time donation go versus your monetary donation? WalletHub has a calculator to help consumer determine what a charity can accomplish with their cash donation. By using the calculator, would-be donors could compare their time contribution to their financial one.

  • What skills can you offer the charity that they might be lacking? Consumers might be able to offer a volunteering donation that can’t be matched by a financial donation. For example, if you’re web-savvy, you might be able to help the organization revamp their online presence – a gift that could continue giving for years to come.

  • Donations of time can also provide tax deductions – kind of. Consumerist previously reported that consumers can deduct $0.14 a mile if they drove to the organization. You can also add the cost for tolls and parking. Make sure to keep good records. While the travel costs can be deducted, you can’t actually deduct an hourly rate for your volunteering since you’re not actually being paid.

  BE AWARE OF TIME AND PROCESSES
  • There’s A Deadline: With the end of the year just days away, our colleagues at Consumer Reports remind would-be donors to make sure they’re aware of important tax-related deadlines tied to charitable giving when it comes to sending checks in the mail or transferring investment securities to their favorite charities.

  • Is The Tax Deduction For You? While it might be nice to get a little break on your taxes for all that charitable giving, it’s important to remember that such deductions must be itemized. So if you don’t already itemize your taxes, it might not be worth seeking the tax benefit. After all, it’s really all about giving right?

  DON’T GET TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
  No matter how you decide to give this holiday season, make sure your donation is put to good use by checking that the organization is genuine.

  Parts of your donation might not go to the rightful pockets. A report from New York state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman last year found that only about 38% of all donations collected by telemarketers actually went to the charitable organizations.

  If you’re contacted by a person over the phone soliciting charitable donations for a non-profit organization, it might be best to resist giving on the spot.

  Instead, do your homework by researching the charity before you give. The National Association of State Charity Officials provides information on who to contact in your state to research information about charities and fundraising companies.

  Additionally, keep in mind that some charities have been found to use donations for other costs, such as paying administrators instead of those in need.

  The past year was rife with ne’er-do-wells that promised to give collected donations to those in need, but lined their own pockets instead.

  In May, four cancer charities were accused by federal regulators of swindling donors out of $187 million.

  The Cancer Fund of America, Inc. (CFA), Cancer Support Services Inc. (CSS), Children’s Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CCFOA) and The Breast Cancer Society Inc. (BCS) allegedly deceptively raised $187 million in donations by portraying themselves as legitimate charities and told prospective donors that funds would be used for help cancer patients by providing direct support and needed medical assistance.

  In reality, the regulators and state officials, claim the charities spent just 3% of the donations on actual cancer patients.

  Just two months ago, NY AG Schneiderman reached a settlement with a for-profit company accused of collecting donated items, like clothing, and then selling them for a profit. Under the settlement, Thrift Land USA agreed to pay a $700,000 in penalties.

  To better ensure your donations are ending up in the right hands used these tools offered by CharityNavigator.org, GuideStar.org and the Better Business Bureau to do some sleuthing.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uThis Year’s Avalanche Of Online Orders Won’t Be So Great For Retailers When Everyone Starts Returning Giftsr

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  While many retailers were surely over the moon with an increase of online sales this year, that same burst in orders will have one effect that likely won’t make companies happy. Because when it comes time to return gifts purchased online, retailers are often on the hook to cover the costs involved.

  It’s always been costly to handle returns, but when customers shop online, there’s invariably going to be a lot more gift returns, especially when it comes to clothing that the recipient hasn’t had a chance to try on. According to a Bloomberg report citing Customer Growth Partners, shoppers are expected to return 30% of clothing and shoes bought online, which is twice the return rate of items purchased in a physical store.

  Those costs will add up for the 80% of retailers who offered free shipping on returns over the holidays, with companies shelling out $5 to $7 for shipping, along with the cost of process a return. That can come to about $5 in credit-card fees and labor costs to get an item ready to resell it.

  Even if the retailer does manage to sell off that returned item, they’ll likely lose money in the process as many items won’t be in the right season any more. Heck, getting even $0.20 on the dollar for returned goods is a good price, Johnson explained.

  In addition to all of that, there’s a lot more fraud these days: 3.5% of holiday returns, or $2.2 billion worth, will be bogus, compared to 3.5% in 2014, says the National Retail Federation.

  “Return fraud remains a critical issue for retailers with the impact spanning far and wide, in-store and online,” Bob Moraca, vice president of Loss Prevention for the NRF, said in a statement. “While technology has played a significant role in deterring many in-person fraudulent transactions that would have otherwise gone unseen, there is little that can be done to prevent a determined criminal who will find a loophole one way or another.”

  Online Surge Means Many Not-So-Happy Returns for Retailers [Bloomberg]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWhen The Biggest U.S. Airlines Try To Compete With Low-Cost Carriers, Travelers Winr

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  Usually we wouldn’t be fans of fighting, but when it comes to companies vying for consumers’ hard-earned dollars, the more they try to one-up each other, the better it is for us. So it’s cause for celebration now that the three biggest airlines in the U.S. are paying attention to their low-cost rivals, bringing down ticket prices for everyone.

  American, Delta, and United are all responding to moves by the likes of Spirit and Frontier, which offer fares on the cheap in exchange for charging fees for things like printed boarding passes and seat assignments. Spirit has been growing in scope, doubling its seats in Chicago since 2012, and added 27% in Dallas notes the Wall Street Journal, while another cheaper option, Southwest, has grown its capacity in Dallas.

  The Big 3 are taking note: instead of avoiding broad fare battles with their low-cost rivals, they’re responding more aggressively now that fuel is so cheap. For example, a round-trip flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to New York’s LaGuardia Airport starting out Jan. 15 and returning Jan. 14 was $87.19 on Spirit, $116.20 on United, $136.20 on American and $206.20 on Delta.

  An associate from a firm that tracks about 300 big domestic routes from the three largest airlines estimates that the lowest leisure fares in late December were down 24% on average from a year ago. In Chicago prices were down even more at 54%, while Philadelphia saw a 48% drop and Dallas fares dipped 40%.

  For the entire year, prices didn’t drop quite as dramatically: a study by Expedia and Airlines Reporting Corp found that most North American economy-class ticket prices fell 5% through the first 10 months of 2015 compared to the same period a year before.

  Southwest wasn’t included in the study, but told the WSJ its average one-way fare dropped 4% in the third-quarter over last year.

  But although the big carriers have been under pressure by politicians, the government, and consumer groups who claimed they were colluding to keep fares high, executives say they’re just responding to market dynamics.

  “We are being price competitive really across the board,” Scott Kirby, president of American told the WSJ. “And that has been an evolution.”

  He noted that the company’s response to discounters is now “more comprehensive” than the former “hit or miss approach,” because 87% of its customers — representing half of American’s revenue — fly once a year or less and are very sensitive to price. That group can’t be ignored, he says.

  United’s chief revenue officer Jim Compton said recently as well that his airline felt the heat after American started trying to price-match Southwest at O’Hare, by cutting fares at Chicago’s Midway Airport.

  “Once a large competitor does that, it’s a lot of inventory at O’Hare that’s exposed competitively,” he said.

  For its part, Delta has been offering “Basic Economy” fares on some routes that overlap with discounters as a defensive move, the company’s chief revenue officer Glen Haunstein says. Those low fares are now available on about 450 routes.

  Airlines Challenge Low-Cost Foes on Fares [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uDOJ Investigating Blue Bell Listeria Outbreak, Could Result In Criminal Chargesr

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• Is it a crime to knowingly ship food to customers that may be contaminated with deadly foodborne pathogens? Earlier this year, executives from the Peanut Corporation of America were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in an outbreak that made thousands of people sick, killing nine. The beloved ice cream brand Blue Bell may be back on store shelves, but federal investigators are currently asking whether anyone should be held criminally responsible.

  CBS reports that the Department of Justice has started to investigate the company, trying to determine what the company’s leaders knew and when they knew it. Front-line workers told reporters that they had tried to call bosses’ attention to unsanitary and potentially unsafe conditions, including water leaks onto ice cream processing equipment.

  An investigation by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year turned up evidence that the company found Listeria bacteria on surfaces in the plant, but elected not to do anything about it and kept the ice cream lines churning.

  Dept. of Justice investigating Blue Bell for deadly Listeria outbreak [CBS]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFCC Report Finds Cable Internet Is Getting Faster, But DSL And Satellite Still Likely To Miss The Markr

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• The FCC’s job — well, one of the FCC’s jobs — is to make sure that everyone has access to decent broadband connections. You can’t understand what you can’t measure, though, so as part of that, the commission has to measure just how broadband is holding up. They issue a report, called Measuring Broadband America, roughly once a year to share their findings. The new one, the fifth, has just been released and while there’s still a lot of room for improvement, on the whole it seems to be a high note on which to end the year.

  The last time the FCC updated this report, in June, 2014, the FCC found that while the news was, on the whole, trending positive, some ISPs were still falling short on delivering consumers what they paid for. Over a year later, the new report shows that there’s been some improvement… but some users, particularly DSL customers, are still being left behind.

  Let’s lead off with the happy part: for many of us, the internet is getting faster. Over the past five years, cable and fiber ISPs have promised and delivered significant technological improvements that boost the available network speeds dramatically, and even DSL has seen a slight increase. Unfortunately for rural subscribers, available satellite internet speeds, on the whole, have stayed level or even fallen.

  

  Those speeds, of course, are what ISPs say they’re delivering to you — but consumers’ reality may be different from the one businesses push on paper. And that brings us to the FCC’s other key question: are you getting what you’re paying for?

  The FCC compares an ISP’s actual speeds to its advertised speeds to find out. If a company promises you 50 Mbps download speeds, and you get 50 or higher, that’s 100% or more. If that company promises you 50 Mbps download speeds, and you get 40 Mbps or less, that’s less than 80%, and it’s no good.

  On average, though, cable and fiber companies are indeed coming very close to the promised mark for most consumers’ download speeds, and they’re even more likely to hit or exceed that mark for upload speeds. Satellite companies are underpromising and overdelivering hugely, which is great for consumers… but DSL companies, with a couple of exceptions, appear to miss the mark rather broadly.

  

  Of course, sometimes crap happens, and so the FCC doesn’t ask ISPs to meet a perfect standard. Those advertised rates are “up to” for a reason, after all; even the best-maintained, most-robust network is sometimes going to have too many people using it, or weather interfering, or whatever. Instead, the commission want companies to deliver at least 80% of the speed they promised you, at least 80% of the time. For cable and satellite customers, ISPs are pretty consistently meeting or exceeding that standard. For DSL and even some fiber ISPs, though, the results are a lot less good.

  

  Hughes satellite consumers are seeing their ISP significantly overperform the promised level of service, which is great. ViaSat/Exede customers are, well, not so lucky. That huge gap between the two bars, for those that service, indicates that the download speeds consumers get are pretty wildly inconsistent and hugely variable, based either on when or from where subscribers access it.

  In general, though, things are looking up. “Today’s report confirms that advances in network technology are yielding significant improvements in broadband speeds and quality,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. “Faster, better broadband will unleash new innovations and new services to improve the lives of the American people. This comprehensive assessment of broadband performance helps to keep consumers informed and hold ISPs accountable.”

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uNetflix “Making A Murderer” Documentary Inspires Viewers To Seek Justice… Through Yelpr

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• Netflix recently premiered a 10-part true-crime documentary Making A Murderer, about controversial murder investigation in Milwaukee. Some viewers of the show have been so moved by what they’ve watched that they’re forming virtual picket lines on Yelp and other review sites.

  This feels incredibly wrong to write this, because I’m not sure how one can “spoil” a matter that’s in the public record and has been the subject on ongoing news coverage — some of it national — for more than a decade. BUT, if you know nothing about the Steven Avery case and don’t yet want to know how the documentary concludes, then maybe go read something else.

  Ken Kratz, the special prosecutor who handled the Avery trial, continues to use the case to promote his private law firm in Wisconsin, boasting on his site that he “Successfully tried one of the largest and most complex homicide cases in Wisconsin history” —
  

  And even including news articles about his performance in the case and his involvement in the prosecution of Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey, who was convicted of taking part in the murder despite a lack of physical evidence:
  

  Anyone who has seen Making A Murderer knows that Kratz does not exactly come across well in the documentary. He claims — in spite of the fact that the crew spent a decade filming just about every aspect of this case — that he was not given an opportunity to provide his side of the story for the series, a claim the producers deny.

  With the Avery and Dassey cases in legal limbo — both have exhausted their state-level appeals — viewers who are convinced that the two men are victims of prosecutorial misconduct (or who just don’t like Kratz) have taken their protest to the virtual sidewalk of his law firm’s Yelp page.

  Below are just a smattering of the more than 100 Avery-related reviews posted:

  

  

  

  It’s gotten to the point where visitors to the page now see an “Active Cleanup Alert,” indicating that some of the reviews you read might be motivated more by headlines than by, per Yelp terms, actual business dealings with the firm:

  

  Len Kachinsky was Brendan Dassey’s perma-grinned defense lawyer. In the documentary, he is depicted as being convinced of his client’s guilt, to the point of having his investigator talk the teen into a written confession (complete with explicit stick-figure drawings that don’t mesh with the physical evidence). While his law firm’s Yelp page has not yet been demolished by angry viewers of the show, there are more than a handful of protest posts:

  

  In fact, according to the Inquistr, since the release of the documentary, his firm has scrubbed Kachinsky’s name and bio from its website.

  Interestingly, the firms for Avery’s two prominently featured defense attorneys, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, show no signs of any criticism or praise on Yelp. In fact, we couldn’t locate a Yelp page for Strang’s firm in Madison, Wisconsin.

  One company that is receiving 5-star reviews from viewers of the documentary is the Avery family salvage and auto repair business in Two Rivers, WI. While it only has about a half-dozen Yelp writeups at the moment, they are all positive and supportive of the family.

  The outpouring of pro-Avery sentiment is even more noticeable when you look at the Google reviews, where more than 200 have been written in the last week, nearly all of them voicing outrage over the case or support for Steven’s family:
  

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uUnited Airlines Flight Slides Off Chicago Runway After Landingr

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  Winter storms have wreaked havoc on post-holiday travel this week, canceling thousands of flights across the country. Perhaps hardest hit was Chicago, where nearly half the flights in and out of the city were canceled Monday. Issues continued at O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday when a United Airlines flight slid off the runway.

  ABC 7 reports that United flight 1977, which was arriving from Seattle, landed safely around 8 a.m. before suddenly sliding into nearby grass.

  A passenger says that things were going smoothly on the landing when the two front wheels of the plane seemed to glide off the pavement.

  Chicago fire officials say that no one was hurt in the incident and passengers had to sit on the plane for about an hour before emergency equipment was able to push the aircraft back onto the runway.

  One passenger Tweeted that the wait on the plane was the result of the runway being too icy to move the plane from its spot on the grass.

  @almacponce this is what is happening right now. Runway is to icy to move the plane. http://pic.twitter.com/3sZSds9LS2

  — eagle raider (@angiostud) December 30, 2015

  Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration say they are investigating the incident.

  While snow was falling at the airport this morning, it’s unclear if weather played a factor in the incident.

  United Airlines Plane Slides Off Runway At O’Hare Airport [ABC 7]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uFamily Of Late Nursery School Teacher Claims ‘Big Bang Theory’ Ripped Off “Soft Kitty” Lullabyr

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  If you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory, you’re no doubt familiar with the method employed by other characters to soothe uptight scientist Sheldon when he gets upset: a lullaby about a soft, nice kitty that helps him settle down to sleep when he’s having trouble. That “Soft Kitty” song has also turned into big merchandising bucks, money the show doesn’t deserve according to a new lawsuit that claims the lyrics are a ripoff.

  The family of a late New Hampshire nursery school teacher named Edith Newlin, who passed away in 2004, filed a federal complaint [PDF] claiming that the “Soft Kitty” song that’s proven so popular for CBS’ show about wacky scientists and their neighbor who works at a Cheesecake Factory was taken without credit from a poem she wrote in 1933 called “Warm Kitty.”

  Newlin’s daughter said she had never watched the show and didn’t know about it using “Soft Kitty” until she was researching an article about her mother in August 2014. She and her sister say there’s only a “minor change in word order” between the song that’s performed on the show and their mother’s original poem, which goes: “Warm kitty, soft kitty,/ Little ball of fur, / Sleepy kitty, happy kitty, / Purr! Purr! Purr!”

  

  In comparison, the song sung on Big Bang Theory goes, “Soft kitty, warm kitty/ Little ball of fur/ Happy kitty, sleepy kitty/ Purr purr purr.”

  Willis Music published the poem in a collection called “Songs for the Nursery School,” whose registration was last renewed in 1964, according to the lawsuit. The show runners worked out a deal with Willis Music for that song privately, the lawsuit claims, but never asked Newlin’s heirs for permission. Even worse, the sitcom cites co-producer and Chuck Lorre Productions principal Bill Prady with the lyrics for the song, the complaint says.

  Besides just appearing on a TV show, the lawsuit says, the song has raked in merchandising money that takes the ripoff to another level.

  “The Soft Kitty lyrics have been displayed in their entirety on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, pajamas, mouse pads, mobile phone covers, wallets, air fresheners, refrigerator magnets, singing plush toys, and other products,” the complaint states. “With the exception of the singing plush toys, these merchandise items display the complete and verbatim Soft Kitty lyrics without any musical accompaniment.”

  To that end, watching a clip of “Soft Kitty” on the official YouTube page for the show, multiple ads pop up on the video with links to “Soft Kitty tees” and a “Soft Kitty hoodie.”

  The daughters are seeking damages and an injunction for copyright infringement.

  Check out the song as seen on Big Bang Theory below:

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uIcahn Reportedly Wins Pep Boys Bidding Battle For $1B; Bridgestone Leaves Racer

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• 

  And just like that, it appears the auto parts retailer love triangle has ended: Bridgestone, the one-time preferred suitor of Pep Boy, reportedly bowed out of the months-long bidding war with Icahn Enterprises. 

  The Chicago Tribune reports that Bridgestone, which Pep Boys originally agreed to sell itself to for $835 million in October, won’t counter Icahn’s latest $1 billion for Manny, Moe, and Jack.

  If Bridgestone follows through with its decision to drop its love for Pep Boys, the company likely won’t go away empty-handed. When Pep Boys agreed last week to a new $17 a share (about $950 million) deal with the Japanese company, it included a $39.5 million break-up fee if Pep Boys ultimately sold to a different company.

  While we weren’t really anticipating a bidding war when Pep Boys announced a deal in October to sell its 800 retail locations to Bridgestone — which operates 2,200 tire and car service centers in the U.S. under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brands — that is exactly what happened.

  In early December, Icahn, the operator of Auto Plus, offered to pay $837 million ($15.50/share) for Manny, Moe, and Jack.

  From there, Bridgestone upped its offer to about $950 million, a deal that Pep Boys also agreed to.

  On Monday, Icahn upped its bid one more time to the tune of $1 billion, or $18.50 per share.

  Icahn appears to win $1 billion Pep Boys bidding war; Bridgestone bows out [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uT-Mobile Denies “Throttling” YouTube, Says Video Is “Mobile Optimized”r

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• Right before Christmas, YouTube publicly called out T-Mobile’s Binge On streaming program for allegedly slowing down all video content, potentially in violation of new federal “net neutrality” rules. Now T-Mobile counters YouTube’s argument by claiming that it’s just trying to provide users with speeds that are appropriate for use on mobile networks.

  To back up a couple months, T-Mo introduced Binge On back in November, with the headlining idea being that users’ data plans would not be charged for accessing certain participating video streaming services.

  What wasn’t screamed out in that announcement was that Binge On video doesn’t stream at full resolution. Furthermore, it isn’t just the videos from Binge On participants — like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and Sling — that gets this treatment. T-Mobile is also capping resolution on services that don’t participate in Binge On, like YouTube.

  “Reducing data charges can be good for users, but it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent,” a YouTube rep said last month.

  You may not have noticed, but the YouTube rep’s use of the term “throttling” is incredibly problematic for T-Mobile.

  See, the recently enacted neutrality rules explicitly prohibit broadband providers — including wireless companies — from throttling access to “particular classes of content, applications, or services.”

  It’s perfectly fine for the content company to push lower-resolution video to mobile devices, or to give customers that option of receiving streams that aren’t full-quality, but if a broadband provider is monkeying around to deliberately slow down that stream, a line may be crossed.

  Speaking to DSLreports.com, a rep for T-Mobile contends that the company is not doing anything wrong with YouTube content.

  “Using the term ‘throttle’ is misleading,” explains the T-Mo rep. “We aren’t slowing down YouTube or any other site. In fact, because video is optimized for mobile devices, streaming from these sites should be just as fast, if not faster than before. A better phrase is ‘mobile optimized’ or a less flattering ‘downgraded’ is also accurate.”

  This is where things get interesting. T-Mobile argues that it’s not throttling because the videos stream “just as fast, if not faster.”

  If you were talking about website loading times, then there’s really no problem with that argument, but when talking about streaming video, it’s often not simply a question of how quickly something streams. The FCC may eventually have to settle the question of whether it’s okay for wireless providers to downgrade video for optimal network performance, or whether that practice counts as throttling.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uRaiders Of The Lost Walmart Still Playing Game That Shut Down In July 2014r

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• Eventually, all things end, and that includes multiplayer online games. The game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes shut down in July of 2014, but Walmart is trying to keep its legacy alive by continuing to sell useless game discs in the discount bin for fifteen bucks.

  

  The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are the brave explorers and retail archaeologists who find retail antiquities in the world’s big box stores, bringing them back to share with Consumerist and with the world. New raider Alex found this fine specimen of an extinct game in the discount bin of a Walmart in Florida.

  “Sure enough, this $15 purchase gets you access to a game that went free to play in 2012 and went completely offline on July 31st of 2014,” he wrote in his field notes. “I was half tempted to purchase it anyway, but my better judgement prevailed.”

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uHealth Insurer Apologizes For Robocalling Senior Citizens In The Wee Hours Of The Morningr

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  There’s perhaps nothing more annoying than rushing to answer a ringing phone than to find a robot on the other end. But when that robocall is coming in at three in the morning? That’s an annoyance 10,000 senior citizens went through when a Massachusetts health insurer said it accidentally robocalled customers between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. this week.

  Tufts Health Plan in Quincy, MA accidentally sent out the automated call early in the morning on Tuesday, reminding patients to get their flu shots, reports The Patriot Ledger. The call — targeted to those over 65 enrolled in a certain insurance plan — was supposed to go live from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., which means someone probably didn’t check the right box.

  Customers called up Tufts to ask why in the world they were being woken up at such an ungodly hour, and the provider says it’s going to try to reach out to all who were affected.

  “It’s unfortunate that it happened and I would just want to issue a complete apology to all those who received a phone call,” a spokeswoman told the paper. “I’m sure it was jarring to be woken up like that and it certainly was not our intent.”

  The phone reminder systems is something Tufts uses “very sparingly,” she added, and another version of the call went off without a hitch last week.

  “The intent is good, you know, to remind folks to get their flu shots this time of the year. It was just a human error this time,” she said.

  A former Patriot Ledger editor who received the call at 4:45 a.m. called up the provider and talked to someone about what had happened. He had a bright idea that would resolve the situation.

  “She asked if I wanted to leave my number so that someone could call me back,” he said. “I told her, no, but can you give me the number of the president so I can give him a call tomorrow morning?”

  10,000 receive Tufts Health flu robocall between 3 and 5 a.m. [The Patriot Ledger]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uUPS Changed Shipping Deadlines To Ensure On-Time Deliveryr

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  How do you make sure that packages shipped using three-day delivery service make it to their destinations on time during the week before Christmas? Retailers probably didn’t like the solution that UPS used this year, but it worked to prevent a last-minute rush of packages. They simply added a day to the shipping time during the runup to Christmas.

  Without a last-minute rush of packages using three-day or two-day shipping on the 21st and 22nd respectively, UPS didn’t have a sudden glut of packages going through the system, rushing to their destinations without the benefit of a magic sleigh to get them where they needed to be.

  This worked: the Wall Street Journal reports that the busiest delivery day for UPS was December 21, instead of later in the week and closer to a crucial gift-giving deadline. It was better for the company to shift the shipping deadline and maybe miss some last-minute shoppers’ business than to deal with a last-minute shipping rush, paying overtime or not delivering packages at all.

  A company spokesman said that most packages didn’t need extra time, but it was better to build it in than to deliver packages late if bad weather or other unexpected crises cropped up.

  UPS Adds a Day to Deliver on Time [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

u14 More Tiny Urban Target Stores Will Open In 2016-2017r

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  Yes, Target is a chain of big-box stores, but the company sees its future in considerably smaller boxes. Instead of suburban stores of more than 100,000 square feet in the suburbs, all but one of the stores that Target has planned in 2016 and 2017 are small-format stores in urban areas across the country.

  Target’s mini-stores began a few years ago with separate branding. Small stores of maybe 80,000 square feet were called “Target Express,” and then came even smaller stores of around 20,000 square feet called “CityTarget.” Earlier this year, the company decided that all of these sub-brands were confusing, and decided to simply call all of their stores of all sizes Target.

  Planned stores in 2016 will be in Long Beach (CA), Philadelphia (two of ’em!), New York City (Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens), Brookline (MA), Cupertino, (CA) and Chicago. Mini stores slated to open in 2017 will be in Cambridge (MA), two in Los Angeles, and another in Philadelphia. The one full-size big box will open in 2016 in Allentown, PA.

  2016 store openings [Target] (via Racked)

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uMusician Files $150M Lawsuit Against Spotify For Royaltiesr

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  To make a song available on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, the services negotiate with record labels and representatives of songwriters. David Lowery is a musician (best known for the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven), a professor, and an activist for artists’ rights in the new music economy, and his latest effort is a class action lawsuit against Spotify for mechanical royalties.

  Lowery’s argument has been that performers and songwriters aren’t benefiting from the new music economy as much as they did from the model from last century, where they collected royalties from selling albums and singles. The new system, where they earn teeny fractions of a penny per play of a song,

  The lawsuit argues that while Spotify (and other streaming services) may have licensed recordings from record labels, they didn’t seek permission for a mechanical license from the songwriter for the song itself, which would give artists the opportunity to withhold their music from streaming services if they wanted to.

  One of those artists is, of course, David Lowery, who notably wrote a few years ago about how he earned $16.89 for one million plays of Cracker’s hit song “Low” on Pandora, which isn’t really a sustainable income stream.

  There’s another related issue that involves streaming services playing music without paying songwriters or securing their permission. When services can’t find an artist or their representatives, but the recordings are available to stream, they simply hold it in an escrow account until they get around to finding the artist, or their representatives or heirs. The question is: how hard are the streaming services working to find the artists and cut them checks?

  Spotify Hit With $150 Million Class Action Over Unpaid Royalties [Billboard]

  SEE ALSO:
  Who Is Really Making Money When We Don’t Buy The Music We Listen To?
  How Much Does A Songwriter Earn When Pandora Plays His Song 1.16 Million Times? Hint: It’s Not Much

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uSidecar Calling It Quits, Ceasing Service Dec. 31r

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• There will be one less ride-sharing company to shuttle you and your packages around the city come January 1: Sidecar plans to shutter its ride and delivery service by the end of the year. 

  Sidecar CEO Sunil Paul announced that the company would cease ride and delivery operations at 2 p.m. PST on December 31.

  While the end is near for Sidecar’s services, Paul made it clear that the company as a whole wasn’t going away. Instead it will focus “on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing.”

  “This is the end of the road for the Sidecar ride and delivery service, but it’s by no means the end of the journey for the company,” he wrote.

  Sidecar, which was founded in San Francisco in 2011, was a rival for Uber and Lyft for a time before transitioning to focus more on deliveries of packages and medical marijuana in certain areas.

  “I’m extremely proud of our team and all that we’ve accomplished,” Sunil said. “We are the innovation leader in ride-sharing despite a significant capital disadvantage, continually rolling out new products that set the bar for others to follow.”

  [via TechCrunch]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSay Goodbye To Microbeads: President Signs Act To Ban Microscopic Plastic Particlesr

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• If your favorite face wash includes tiny microbeads, you better savor it. After playing catch-up with several states, the U.S. has finally passed a measure that would keep the microscopic plastic spheres from going down the drain and possibly into the stomachs of our seafood. 

  President Barack Obama yesterday signed into law the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 [PDF], which would phase out the use of microbeads in consumer products over the next several years, MLive reports. 

  The Act, which passed the U.S. House unanimously in early December signaling widespread support for the ban, prohibits the “manufacture and introduction into interstate commerce of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally-added plastic microbeads.”

  Under the bill, a ban on manufacturing products with the beads, the first step, would begin on July 1, 2017, followed by product-specific manufacturing and sales bans in 2018 and 2019.

  The bill’s definition of a microbead — “any solid plastic particle” less than five millimeters in size intended for use as an exfoliant — also closes a potential loophole that environmental groups feared could keep the small spheres in use: simply using a different kind of plastic.

  “As someone who grew up on Lake Michigan and represents a large chunk of Michigan coastline, I understand firsthand how important it is to maintain the beauty and integrity of our Great Lakes,” Illinois Representative Fred Upton, who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement in early December.

  The small bits of plastic, often found in face washes, soaps and toothpaste, have become a hot topic for lawmakers and environmentalists in recent years, with many states taking action to end the use of microbeads.

  A report issued by the New York Environmental Protection Bureau last year outlined just how unsafe the small plastic pieces can be.

  According to the report, after microbeads are washed from our bathrooms, they easily travel through wastewater treatment plants and enter our waterways. The tiny beads then act as sponges for toxic chemical pollutants and become an attractive snack for marine wildlife. And because we humans often like to eat seafood, that means there’s a pretty good chance the spheres could end up in your stomach.

  Despite the findings, legislation to phase out the use of microbeads state-wide has passed the New York Assembly twice in the last two years, but has stalled in the Senate both times.

  Last year, Illinois became the first state to pass an ordinance that would gradually fade out the use of microbeads beginning in 2017 and ending in 2019.

  The state bill even had the cooperation of product manufacturers. An official with the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois said at the time that the quick deal resulted from unique circumstances, and the availability of substitute ingredients, such as oatmeal and sea salt.

  Earlier this year, the state of California voted to phase out the use of microscopic exfoliating beads in personal care products sold in the state.

  Michigan also considered a ban on the use of the beads this year. MLive reports that legislators debated the bill, but failed to reach a consensus.

  The issue hasn’t just been on the minds of activists, either. Several major manufacturers, such as Proctor & Gamble, and Unilever, have pledged to phase out use of plastic microbeads.

  In February 2014, L’Oréal said it would begin phasing out the materials this year in their Biotherm products and continue with Body Shop products in 2015. All of the company’s products are expected to be microbead-free by 2017.

  Colgate-Palmolive has already discontinued using microbeads in all its products, telling Consumerist in a statement in October: “Some groups have raised concerns regarding the potential contribution of microbeads to pollution of the world’s oceans. Recognizing that consumers have questions, as of year-end 2014 we are no longer using this ingredient.”

  Obama signs ban on microbead pollution [MLive]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uGuacamole Lovers, Rejoice: Avocados Are Pretty Darn Cheap Right Nowr

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  If you’re the kind of person who runs shouting through the streets for all to hear when you find cheap avocados, pay attention: despite earlier concerns that the growing popularity of the fruit would make it more expensive for shoppers, avocado prices instead have fallen steeply. More guacamole for everyone!

  One California-based growing company, Calavo Growers,said it had to battle sharply lower avocado prices in its fourth fiscal quarter. It wasn’t quite predicting that.

  “During our fiscal fourth quarter, the industry experienced prolonged and meaningful downward pricing pressure on per-unit avocado prices,” Chief Executive Lee Cole said in the company’s earnings release reported by MarketWatch. “This was a unique situation, reflective of an avocado industry rapidly transitioning to annual consumption well in excess of two billion pounds.”

  Calavo packed 22% more fresh avocados in that quarter this year, compared to a year before, and said the company expects the trend to continue into 2016.

  The big drop in prices is likely unexpected, especially as California is in the middle of a drought that’s dragged on for three years so far. That state produces more than 80% of the avocados in the country, according to trade group Hass Avocado Board. Elsewhere, Chile and Mexico have also had issues with water, and Mexican growers have faced issues with drug cartels.

  In any case, now would be a great time for you to serve an absolutely ginormous bowl of guacamole at your New Year’s Eve party, just because you can.

  Avocado prices are falling sharply, not rising [MarketWatch]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist