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Tag Archives: FTC
Consumerist Ideas For President Obama
Dare consumers hope for real change this time? The President recently asked CEOs of top American corporations for new ideas for his second term. Will they include moving jobs back to America? Or ways to help consumers? If the CEOs let him down, here are new ideas 1. Change the Department of Agriculture’s mission from […]
The School for Scamsters
If you can’t beat them, be a consultant. $F$ My epiphany moment came today. There it was, dollar signs shining in the sky. Intelligent Design at work, but I too insensitive to see a Higher Purpose guiding my research into techno scams: Be a techno scam consultant, dummy! A growth industry, unhampered by serious regulation, […]
FTC CAPs Scamsters
CONSUMER SENTINEL NETWORK I have uncovered a secret weapon used by the Federal Trade Commission: CAP. It’s the acronym for Collect-And-Post. It is the weapon of choice for battling scamsters that engage in credit card fraud, identity theft and Do-Not-Call violations. When consumers report them, the scamsters are listed on the Consumer Sentinel Network. The […]
The Cassowary and The Sentinel
New Symbol for The Consumer Sentinel Network When the two-wattled cassowary decides to travel, it begins by flapping its wings. However, evolution has made the wings a decorative item only. They move the air but not the bird. When flapping ends, hopping begins and the cassowary hops to where it tried to fly. The bird […]
Discovery Averted or Almost Arrested?
What Happened to International-Destinations’ 888-Number? This morning International-Destinations 888-680-5749 “booking” number announced it was “disconnected” or had “moved.” Then it went up again. What was going on? If new to my blog, International-Destinations sends robo-faxes—with Continental Airlines logo illegally shown—to tens of thousands of consumers. I-D claims to have airline/land packages at unbelievably low rates […]
OBAMA THROWS WARREN UNDER THE BUS
Financial Services Industry Protected From Consumers Whew! It was a close call. The financial services industry almost got the regulator they feared the most: Elizabeth Warren as Chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She could have been the end of financial services as we know it and are abused by it. She wanted […]
DO NOT CALL Does Not Work
DO NOT CALL was once the promising child of the Federal Trade Commission. By now the FTC should be sued for lack of child support. The DNC Registry has been turned into a defenseless database ignored from 8AM to 9PM by auto-dialers, scamsters and telemarketers. Less than 10 years ago, DNC was promoted as the […]
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Dr. Seuss Turned Down Ronald Reagan
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FedEx Wins DIBY Award
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Mutual Benefits Joins GCC of C
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Citi Is Mad at Judge Rakoff
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Questions For Melania
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What Is God Telling Todd Akin?
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Romney: Yachts For The Navy
- Sophisticated Robo-Campaigns Ahead
- Sophisticated Robo-Campaigns Ahead
- Christie Is Finally Finished
- Trump’s Ten Commandments
- What Should Yale Do About Kavanaugh?
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United’s Possibly Priority Luggage and Lesser-First Class Services
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Hype Will Upset Pharma
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Gary Nelson: I just wonder what will be taking place on these "...
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Joseph Ting: e: Fleeced by fees when you travel by Stephanie Ro...
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Nadia K. Faulkner: http://www.johnythegame78r2.com...
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Ellie Esposito: Same thing happened to us. Would be nice to know d...
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Josh Saintperle: Hmmm -- last time I called Comcast for a problem, ...
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E.A. Blair: If I claimed to be in a constant conversation with...
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Charles Selden: Hope my post was helpful....
Why This Blog?
My name is Charles Selden. I write this blog for consumers who have been abused by corporations. Like you.
Me?…abused?
That’s right. Abuse is not confined to children, spouses, the elderly, or baseball umpires. The most regularly abused person is the American consumer. It has gone on so long that most people accept it as “just the way things are” and are sure nothing can be done about it. You have been abused as a consumer--unless within the last 12 months you have not shopped for food, called a toll-free number for technical assistance, tried to find “your question” in a list of FAQs, bought an appliance or computer, eaten out, booked a flight, watched cable TV, taken a vacation, used a credit card, paid a medical bill, bought an item on the Internet or purchased a cashmere sweater. If all of your purchases and calls for help ended happily, you are either exceptionally lucky or a wee bit delusional. The fact is abuse of consumers is profitable for corporations, although abuse is not a word they would use.
There’s no shame in being a consumer abused by a corporation. The shame is that more consumers do not fight back when abused. That’s where this blog comes in.
I’ve been a consumerist for more than four decades. I look forward to corporate abuses, especially the compensation and fun parts. The corporations do their part and I do mine. This blog chooses a few of the “better” episodes to amuse and instruct consumers. The blog will not urge you to join a movement or contribute to a cause. Indeed, it is absolutely not about trying to change what corporations do to consumers. Why spoil a good thing?
As for my Manifesto, it owes a lot to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. He used the word abuses to describe what King George and his cohorts were doing: “a long train of abuses…to reduce them under absolute Despotism.” Corporations treat consumers that way.
To see how I fight back, try my blog for a while. Laughter is good for your spirit and getting compensation for abuses is good for your bottom line.
Portraits by Mike Peters
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