Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Uncover Ancient And Mysterious 12-Year-Old GPS

Back in 2005, you needed a standalone GPS device if you wanted a disembodied voice to yell at you when you made a wrong turn. Before smartphones existed, a pocket-size GPS device that was small enough to be convenient for motorcycle and bike use was novel and useful. However, such a device available on the shelf at Walmart in 2017 isn’t so impressive. It’s also not much of a deal.

Reader Patrick is one of the Raiders of the Lost Walmart, a brave team of retail archaeologists who comb through the electronics sections of big-box stores to find gadgets that aren’t just obsolete or just plain old, but are also comically overpriced.

Reader Patrick noticed the Garmin Quest 2, a device first released in 2005, for sale at Walmart. He looked back at the price stickers, noting the rich history. It had been marked $578.76 in May 2009 and in July 2016, and finally discounted a little bit to $350.00 in June of 2017, a few days before he unearthed this artifact.

If you don’t mind having a used unit and downloading the manual online, you can buy this same GPS on eBay for $84.

Or you could spend more than four times that much in the bizarro electronics universe of Walmart.

“Hey, that could just be a photo from 2008!” you might be saying — so here’s a close-up of the dated shelf tag.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Dunkin’ Donuts Ramping Up Discounts To Bring In Customers

Dunkin’ Donuts, faced with slipping sales, has undergone a bit of a revamp in recent months, such as dropping the “Donuts” portion of its name at a California store to paring down its menu. Now, the company is focusing on deals, as in, giving customers more of them.

The chain announced its third quarter financials Thursday, noting that for the sixth straight quarter traffic to locations had fallen.

In all, traffic at U.S.-based restaurants declined 2% for the third quarter.

While same store sales increased by 0.6%, overall income for Dunkin’ Brands — which also counts Baskin Robins in its portfolio — fell slightly by about $500,000.

In the face of falling sales, and fewer customers walking through the doors, Dunkin’ CEO Nigel Travis tells Reuters the chain will increase the number of promotions it runs.

“Our franchisees are now seeing the value of value and you will see a lot more in the future,” said Travis.

The company plans to focus the deals on its mobile app, providing loyalty members with personalized ads and perks, Reuters notes.

In the past, the company has run promotions such as “2 for $2” egg and cheese wraps and prize promotions on drinks.

Nigel pointed to the company’s recent “Sip. Peel. Win” promotion as an example of a successful deal, noting it had driven hot coffee sales.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Borrowers In Student Loan Forgiveness Program Shocked To Learn Loans Won’t Be Forgiven

This month is the first in which student loan borrowers enrolled in the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program were expecting to see their student loan tab cleared. But that’s not happening for some borrowers after learning they were never actually enrolled in the programs, despite assurances from the companies servicing their debts. 

The situation is a culmination of problems within the servicing industry and the complicated forgiveness program.

It also further bolsters recent findings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that highlighted borrower complaints about student loan servicers mishandling the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

For those unfamiliar, in 2007 the government began offering a public service loan-forgiveness program that will forgive certain federal student loans for borrowers who work for government organizations and non-profit groups for 10 years and make 120 on-time monthly payments on their loans.

An Unwelcome Surprise

The New York Times spoke with one such borrower who expected to have his debt wiped away via the program this month.

However, that didn’t happen, despite the fact the man had followed the rules; making 120 on-time payments and working full-time as a teacher.

Instead, just two years before his debt was supposed to be forgiven, the man was informed that he hadn’t made a single eligible payment. That’s because he wasn’t enrolled in the correct program.

The man’s story begins back in 2002, when he entered a graduated repayment plan that allowed him to start with smaller monthly payments that grew over time as his income did.

In 2007, he signed up for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program through his loan servicer ACS Education Services, The Times reports. The company told him that as long as he made the 120 months of payments, his debt would be forgiven. ACS left the federal student loan business, and the man’s loans were sold to Mohela in 2012.

He continued making payments, The Times reports. However, the following year, a co-worker told him that just one servicer could forgive the loans, FedLoan. So the man worked to transfer his debts to that company.

FedLoan is the company contracted by the Dept. of Education to handle the forgiveness program and determine borrower’s eligibility. It’s also party to a lawsuit by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, accused of putting borrowers at risk of losing their eligibility for forgiveness.

Nearly two years after his loan was transferred, the man found out that the repayment plan he entered in 2002 wasn’t eligible for the forgiveness program. That meant that none of the payments the man had made counted toward forgiveness. He’d have to start all over.

The news was in contradiction to what servicers had been telling him. He tells The Times that he was told his loan was in “good status” by each company.

A rep for the owner of his first servicer ACS told The Times they could not comment on the man’s loans, while a rep for Mohela (the second servicer) didn’t have specific records noting what the man was told.

A rep for FedLoan tells The Times that the company informed the man of issues with his loan several times.

The Times, in reviewing the man’s documents, did find a notice in 2014 that stated the borrower hadn’t made any eligible payments.

The only problem was that the notice was on the back of a statement and not clearly visible to the borrower.

It’s a missed sign that several borrower likely made, The Times reports.

“There is going to be an enormous crush of borrowers who think they are eligible only to find that they are not,” Seth Frotman, the student loan ombudsman at the CFPB, said a statement. “We need to get ready for it.”

Just Another Issue

In fact, some borrowers have already accused the government of failing to keep its promise to forgive loans. As cited in a lawsuit against the Dept. of Education, some borrowers reported they believed they were fulfilling the program’s requirements when they weren’t.

According to a lawsuit [PDF], filed by four previously qualified participants and the American Bar Association, the Department of Education acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it changed its interpretation eligibility requirements without explanation.

While it’s fairly simple to determine what a government agency is, finding a qualified non-profit is more difficult. For that reason, the Dept. allowed prospective program participants to fill out an Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form.

The forms, which the Department encourages participants to fill out each year, are reviewed by FedLoan Servicing.

But at some point in the last several years, FedLoan began telling people who had previously been qualified for the forgiveness program that they were no longer eligible to have their loans forgiven. What’s more, the decision was retroactive, meaning none of the time they’d spent working toward the forgiveness goal would be counted.

After receiving such letters, the borrowers sued the Department of Education to find out why the changes were being made.

The Dept. of Education replied to the lawsuit, noting in a filing that the FedLoan approval letter was never a reflection of a “final agency action on the borrower’s qualifications” for the program.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Starbucks Baristas Probably Aren’t Sad That The Zombie Frappuccino Is Already Running Out

After giving employees more than six months to recover from this spring’s Unicorn Frappuccino, Starbucks has another limited-time novelty beverage that’s made more for Instagram than for human consumption. Yet the good news (perhaps?) for many of the chain’s employees is that supplies for the drink have already run out in many locations. Darn.

The zombeverage consists of a caramel-apple sweet blended base with mocha “blood,” topped with whipped cream that’s supposed to look like brains.

Like the Unicorn frap, the drink is designed more for looks than for flavor, and many employees report that the beverages are going straight in the trash after one sip. Or, at least, after customers snap a photo.

“I think the drink tastes pretty bad so I get it,” one worker observed on Reddit. “But not a single empty zombie frapp at my store yet, figure someone would suck it down.”

What Starbucks wisely did this time, though, was make sure that the drink is only in circulation for as long as supplies last. Business Insider noticed that this means a lot of stores have already sold out, with their staff presumably sighing with relief.

The sparkly color-changing unicorn beverage became an object of nationwide derision back in April, creating a brief and peaceful moment when all Americans agreed on something.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Even If You’re Locked In A Store’s Beer Cooler, It’s Not Okay To Drink Whatever You Want

As the saying goes, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. However, if life locks you in the beer cooler, don’t crack open a few cold ones — tempting though that may be — or you may find yourself charged with retail theft.

According to Marshfield, WI, police, a 38-year-old man entered a walk-in beer cooler at a Kwik Trip convenience store before midnight on Tuesday night, reports WAOW.com.

Although the store is open 24/7, the beer cooler automatically locks at 12. a.m. Thus, at the stroke of midnight, the man was stuck… and it sounds like he was fine with that situation.

“The subject found himself locked in the beer cooler, knew that Kwik Trip would not sell him any beer, so he decided to remain in the beer cooler,” the chief of police told the news station, adding that there were actions he could’ve taken to let someone know he was in there.

Instead, he allegedly drank an 18-ounce bottle of Icehouse Beer and three cans of Four Loko (which yes, still exists), and tumbled over a stack of Busch Light 30-packs.

He was only discovered at about 6 a.m. when another customer spotted him in the cooler. Though he fled the scene, he was later arrested and charged with stealing the beer. He’s in county jail on a probation hold from another case that required him to remain sober.

Kwik-Trip says it will review its security.

“I’ve heard of people being locked inside of buildings, never inside of a beer cooler or a beer cave,” the chief said, calling the situation a “unique” one in his 20-year career.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

More Than Half Of Opioid Overdose Deaths Now Involve Synthetic Drugs Like Fentanyl

Amazon’s Bookstores Apparently Aren’t Bringing In Many Sales

Are Amazon’s bookstores headed for the same future as struggling chains like Barnes & Noble? It’s possible, according to the company’s latest financials, which suggest the company’s physical bookstores aren’t doing so hot. 

Amazon announced its third-quarter earnings on Thursday. For the first time, it also broke out performance for its physical stores, noting that these entities accounted for $1.276 billion during the quarter.

Physical stores — which Amazon helpfully describes as places where a customer “can physically select items in a store” — include both Amazon’s bookstores and its newly acquired Whole Foods grocery chain.

While $1.276 billion in sales is pretty impressive for a company just jumping into the physical retail world, Amazon notes that a majority of those sales are from Whole Foods.

In fact, the company estimates that net sales from Whole Foods — since it was acquired in August — totaled $1.3 billion, which likely includes online sales of the brand’s products.

Additionally, Amazon doesn’t note exactly how much the bookstores contributed in sales for the third quarter, which means the figure could be so minuscule it doesn’t make a dent in the $1.27 billion in sales. We’ve reached out to Amazon for more information.

So what’s that mean? Mainly, that Amazon physical bookstores don’t ring up much in the way of sales.

Business Insider surmises that there are a few reason for this: There are only 12 Amazon bookstores, and the locations often function as a benefit to Prime members, not everyday customers.

For instance, as we’ve previously reported, Amazon has been charging different prices for Prime and non-Prime customers visiting the store.

Under the company’s pricing structure, customers who pay $99/year (or $10.99/month) for Prime membership can buy books and other products at the store for the same price they are listed on Amazon.com.

Customers who aren’t Prime members will be charged the product’s “list price.” As a result, many non-Prime members are better off purchasing books online.

In the end, the stores often function as a place for customers to simply browse books and test out Amazon’s devices, like the Kindle or Echo speaker.

Still, the lack of sales doesn’t mean Amazon is ready to give up on its bookstore concept. In fact, the company is doing just the opposite with three more stores slated to open in the future.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Southwest Airlines Thinks In-Air Concerts Are A Good Idea

Would you consider an in-air concert on your next flight an amenity, or something that would make you switch airlines? Southwest Airlines is continuing its series of concerts for captive audiences, partnering with Warner Music to have the label’s artists perform mini-concerts for Southwest’s passengers.

You may not be familiar with the series, but Southwest calls its in-air concerts “Live at 35,” as in 35,000 feet of altitude. They’ve been happening since 2011, and Southwest and Warner Music Nashville recently made a deal to make their midair concert series official.

A recent show on a flight from Nashville to Philadelphia, for example, featured country artist Devin Dawson. Billboard referred to the concert as having a “capacity crowd,” which one could also frame as a “fully booked flight of people forced to attend a concert.”

The audience mostly seems happy about the surprise, if a bit confused at first. You can watch a longer clip on Southwest’s site.

I checked the “Sing ALL ON ME at 35,000 feet in the air” box off the bucket list. Thank you @SouthwestAir #liveat35 https://t.co/SCK1U1PQ0K http://pic.twitter.com/0lYoSd7frU

— Devin Dawson (@zdevin) October 26, 2017

“You know, some people don’t really enjoy flying; some people get very nervous and don’t like it,” Dawson told Billboard. “I hope that something like this [concert] is just a cool surprise for some [passengers] that helps them forget about their everyday woes, and I’ll just play a couple of songs to make them smile.”

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

FAO Schwarz Is Back — With Piano Mat — At Bon-Ton Department Stores

It’s been nearly two years since customers have been able to shop at an FAO Schwarz store. That’s about to change… kind of: Department store chain Bon-Ton will open nearly 200 FAO Schwarz toy departments at stores this holiday season.

Bon-Ton announced Thursday that it will begin selling FAO Schwarz toys online and in newly developed toy departments at 186 of its department stores on Nov. 4.

The new toy department will open in each of Bon-Ton’s department stores, including Bon-Ton, Boston Store, Bergner’s, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s, and Younkers locations in 24 states.

“This cherished brand has been enjoyed by children and families for 155 years and we are delighted to carry this unique toy collection in our stores,” Chad Stauffer, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer for The Bon-Ton Stores, said in a statement.

The FAO Schwarz toy departments, which will be open year-round, will feature several classic toys from the brand, including the Piano Mat, All Aboard Train Set, Cuddly Plush bear, and other items.

The Road To Resurrection

FAO Schwarz closed its flagship store in New York City back in 2015, marking the first time in 153 years that the store didn’t have a physical retail presence.

At the time, FAO Schwarz owner — and now struggling retailer — Toys “R” Us said the closure was due to the high cost of operating the location on Fifth Avenue, noting that it was looking for other space to house the toy store.

Fast forward a year, and Toys “R” Us had changed its tune, selling FAO Schwarz for an undisclosed sum to ThreeSixty Group, a company that licenses and buys well-known brands.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Your Pumpkin Pie Probably Has No Actual Pumpkin In It

We hate to break it to the pumpkin purists out there, but that canned orange stuff you so lovingly scoop into pie shells every Thanksgiving is probably some other kind of squash dressed up as its gourd cousin.

“But the can says ‘100% pumpkin’ right on it!” you may be exclaiming in outrage. It does, and it’s totally allowed to, as MarketPlace pointed out in an August segment that’s been making the rounds recently: The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t make distinctions between pumpkins and its squash relatives, so food companies can slap whatever they want on the label.

“They’re all in the same botanical family, and it’s just a game of semantics,” Serious Eats senior editor Stella Parks told MarketPlace.

Indeed, the the FDA says canned “pumpkin” has been packed from either field pumpkin — Cucurbita pepo — or “certain varieties of firm-shelled, golden-fleshed, sweet squash (Cucurbita maxima), or mixtures of these. Pumpkin and squash are sometimes mixed intentionally to obtain the consistency most acceptable to users.”

To that end, the FDA notes that since 1938, the agency has “consistently advised canners that we would not initiate regulatory action solely because of their using the designation ‘pumpkin’ or ‘canned pumpkin’ on labels for articles prepared from golden-fleshed, sweet squash, or mixtures of such squash with field pumpkins.”

The FDA’s views on mixed gourds probably won’t change any time soon, as the FDA says the absence of evidence that this designation misleads or deceives consumers gives it no reason to revise its stance.

Hey, at least you’ve got something else to talk about with your family at the table this year.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

New LuLaRoe Lawsuits Accuse Company Of Running A Pyramid Scheme

LuLaRoe is a multilevel-marketing company that has brought brightly colored leggings and dresses to communities across the country since its debut five years ago. Yet the company’s sales representatives say that the company is really peddling false hope and intense stress alongside leggings and the dream of being an independent businessperson, and two new class action lawsuits against the company accuse it of exactly that.

Specifically, class actions filed this week [PDF] and two weeks ago [PDF] both accuse the company of running what California law calls an “endless chain scheme,” an even better term than “pyramid scheme.” That’s a term for a marketing scheme where selling actual merchandise to new participants isn’t the point, but recruiting new participants is.

LEARN MORE: John Oliver Wants To Sell You On Why Multi-Level Marketing Stinks

The plaintiffs also allege that LuLaRoe changed the rules and rates after implementing a recent refund program.

“Once consultants signed up, they were pressured to invest and reinvest by purchasing Defendants’ clothing products — regardless of whether they were able to sell their inventory. Plaintiffs were inundated with the slogan ‘buy more sell more’ and were told they would recoup their investments through retail sales and recruitment,” the initial complaint for one class action explains.

READ MORE: 4 Things LuLaRoe Sellers Say About The Stress & Cost Of Their Job

The plaintiffs allege that they were rewarded for placing larger and larger orders from the company, but not necessarily for selling that merchandise. You know, to customers.

Distributors with poor sales were told that they needed to recruit more participants and buy more inventory, with leaders suggesting tactics like running up credit cards, taking out loans, and selling pumped breast milk to finance their original assortment of inventory and ever-greater inventory purchases. Distributors have no control over the selection of sizes and patterns that they’re sent.

READ MORE: 4 Things To Know About LuLaRoe Sales Reps’ Problems With The Company

LuLaRoe said in a statement that its success “has made us the target of orchestrated competitive attacks and predatory litigation,” but that the company does take lawsuits filed against it seriously. “We have not been served with the recent complaints, but from what we have seen in media reports, the allegations are baseless, factually inaccurate and misinformed,” the company stated to the Press-Enterprise.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

841,000 Ford Fusion Vehicles Under Investigation Because Steering Wheels Shouldn’t Fall Off

There are a lot of things you’d rather not have happen when driving your car. “Steering wheel falling off and into your lap” likely ranks pretty high on that list. For that reason, federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into more than 841,000 Ford Fusion vehicles. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigations opened an investigation [PDF] into model year 2014 to 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles after receiving three reports that the steering wheel either became loose or completely detached from the vehicles.

This obviously poses a serious problem: If the steering wheel is no longer attached to the vehicle, the driver can’t control the car. This, NHTSA says, can increase the risk of a crash.

According to documents [PDF] from the regulator, the three reports submitted by Fusion owners involve one vehicle in each of the 2014, 2015, and 2016 model years.

In a complaint submitted in June 2016, the owner of a 2014 Fusion tells NHTSA that the vehicle’s steering wheel came loose while in motion. The car was taken to a dealer, where the airbag was removed and the wheel re-tightened to the steering column.

The owner of a 2016 Fusion tells NHTSA in a complaint that the vehicle’s steering wheel came loose while driving. He was able to steer the car to a mechanic, where it was discovered that the bolt holding the steering wheel to the column had come loose.

Finally, the owner of a 2015 Fusion tells NHTSA that the steering wheel came completely detached from the vehicle and fell into the driver’s lap as it was turning into a gas station.

NHTSA’s investigation documents note that no injuries or crashes have been linked to the issue to date.

The Office of Defects Investigations opened a preliminary evaluation of the issue in order assess the scope, frequency, and safety related consequences of the alleged defect.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Report: Haribo Gummy Candies Made With Slave Labor, Ingredients From Mistreated Animals

If you’re a fan of Haribo gummy candies, you may want to put that bag down for just a second: New reports about the candy company claim it’s sourcing ingredients that are made by workers living in deplorable conditions, as well as others that come from animals that are mistreated.

The A.V. Club points to a documentary from ARD, a German public broadcaster, that found that the workers harvesting carnauba wax — which gives gummies’ tummies that shine and prevents stickage — “are forced to sleep outside or in trucks, have no access to toilets and have to drink unfiltered water straight from nearby rivers.”

Many of these workers are reportedly underage. Authorities have attempted to raid the plantations to liberate workers from conditions that one Brazilian Labor Ministry official said “could be described as slavery.”

“The workers are treated as objects, worse than animals,” he said.

That’s not all, folks: The documentary also reports on footage circulated by animal-rights groups show the pigs that are used to make the gelatin for Haribo gummies “with open sores and abscesses living in indoor pens in their own excrement, and in some cases among their own dead.”

The two companies involved supplying the gelatin say they weren’t aware of these conditions and that measures for “species appropriate animal farming” were in place at the farms.

In a statement to Vice’s Munchies, Haribo expressed concern at these reports.

“We would like to emphasize that we are extremely concerned by some of the images shown on the consumer program broadcast on German TV channel ARD last week,” a Haribo spokesperson said. “The conditions on the pig farms and the Brazilian plantations shown are insupportable.”

Haribo says it will now be auditing its suppliers and has pledged to keep the public informed of what it finds.

“Should it transpire that urgent improvements are needed in this area, we will insist on their implementation and will not rest until these improvements have been implemented.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Researcher Claims Equifax Systems Contained Second Breach-Vulnerable Flaw

Could Equifax have suffered a second data breach following the massive hack exposing the personal information of more than 145.5 million consumers? It’s possible, according to a security researcher who claims to have found a second, separate security vulnerability within the company.

Motherboard reports that in late 2016, a security researcher tipped off Equifax to a security flaw after finding a webpage that could have allowed anyone to access the personal information of consumers.

According to the researcher, just a few hours after he began looking at Equifax’s servers and websites he found an access point to consumers’ Social Security numbers, full names, birthdates, and city and state of residence.

A webpage on Equifax’s system appeared to be a portal for employees, but was actually available to anyone on the internet, Motherboard reports.

The researcher said the page included a number of search boxes that anyone could force to display the personal data of Equifax customers.

The vulnerability, dubbed a “forced browsing” bug, allowed the researcher to compile several lists of customers’ personal information, Motherboard notes, after seeing the data.

“All you had to do was put in a search term and get millions of results, just instantly — in cleartext, through a web app,” the researcher said.

In addition to uncovering the flaw to gather personal data of customers, the researcher says he was also able to take control of several Equifax servers and find several other smaller bugs.

The discoveries, which occurred in December, were quickly reported to Equifax, the researcher tells Motherboard.

“It should’ve been fixed the moment it was found,” the researcher says, noting that the site remained up until June when Equifax finally took it down.

While this particular vulnerability hasn’t been tied to the massive data breach that Equifax suffered for several months this year — that hack was the result of a vulnerability in the Apache Struts software used in the company’s disputes portal — it shows that there were a number of ways hackers could have accessed the company’s data.

It also further illustrates that Equifax was not prepared to handle a breach or keep consumers’ data secure.

Equifax declined to provide comment to Motherboard on the issue, noting that, “as a matter of policy, Equifax does not comment publicly on internal security operations.”

Consumerist has reached out to the company for comment, we’ll update this post if we hear back.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

You Can Finally Add Multiple Stops To Your Uber Ride

About a year after Lyft started allowing riders to request multiple stops on their trips, Uber is joining its rival in offering the option for extra destinations.

Perhaps you’d like to pick up a few friends for a night on the town — or carpool home with your pals later. Either way, Uber passengers can have up to three stops on every trip.

Here’s how it works:

1. Press “Where to?” and then “+”
2. Add any addresses you’d like to travel to.
3. Request your ride.
4. Take that trip.

If you need to make changes during the trip you can add and remove stops as you go.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are five of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist