HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dtasman@dante.nmsu.edu (Dan Tasman)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Blockbuster Video (Re: More Video Rental Horror Stories)
Date: 20 Aug 92 02:53:48 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: New Mexico State University

peterson@CS.ColoState.EDU (james peterson) writes:

> One thing I *don't* like about Blockbuster, at least here in
> Fort Collins, Colorado, is that they seem to censor their movie offerings,
> either by offering "cut" versions of movies (they seem less concerned
> with violence than with sex), or by not offering movies someone in the
> organization deems "too controversial."  "The Last Temptation of Christ"
> is not available through Blockbuster here, ofr example, evidently to
> avoid offending the religious right.  If they wanted to avoid offending
> people, it's too late -- I'm deeply offended.
> 
> Does anyone know if this practice extends to Blockbuster oulets nationally?

Blockbuster Video generally has the same inventory at ALL their stores  
nationwide.  One of their shortcomings is that they don't do demographic  
studies to determine what titles to put in their libraries.  

Most larger video store chains won't carry pornos, although some carry "Cable  
X" versions of hardcore films.  The really big chains don't find this a  
problem, although to many of the moms and pops adult's their bread and butter.

As far as films with politically sensitive topics goes, it really depends on  
the market.  My mom, who works for a large video rental chain in the  
Buffalo/Upstate New York region, often told an anecdote where two groups of  
protesters were in front of the flagship (20,000+ titles) store.  One group  
consisted of pro-lifers, Moral Majority types and nuns who protested the  
upcoming release of Last Temptation of Christ, and threatened a boycott if the  
video was made available in their stores.  The second group consisted of  
feminists urging the chain to carry the video and not bow down to the religious  
zealots, or else they'd organize a boycott of the chain.  Buffalo, a big  
college town and the buckle of the Catechism Belt... some things just don't go  
well together.


--
   Dan Tasman                                       dtasman@dante.nmsu.edu
                                                     molson@rever.nmsu.edu
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   "I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree
    Indeed, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at all."
                                                                Ogden Nash
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan)
Subject: Re: Where to Report a Credit Card Scam?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 16:25:36 GMT


In article <1992Aug15.090436.9182@ntmtv> robin@ntmtv.UUCP (Robin Coutellier) writes:
>On July 30, I received a piece of mail trying to masquerade as a telegram.
>It was postmarked from Dallas, TX, from a place called Credit Approval
>Dept.  It congratulated me for being pre-approved for a "gold card" with
>a 10K line of credit.
>
>	Make check or money order payable to Credicorp Gold Card.
>
>	sincerely, blah blah blah.
[...]
>Before I did anything, however, I received another piece of mail from
>them printed on cheap computer paper (holes still in it).  It was
>postmarked from Washington, DC on August 4, with no return address on the
>envelope.  It gave slightly more info and again demanded payment of $29.95, 
>this time asking for it to be sent to a P.O. Box in New York City.
[...]
>The "terms" refer to the card as a "Global GOLDX" card.

This sonds a lot like one of those "Gold Cards" which is only good for
ordering merchandise from a special catalog, put out by the same people
who issue the card. By sending in your $29.95, you get the exclusive
privilege of using your new GOLDX card to purchase overpriced,
low-quality goods on credit. Clearly, the people who put out such crap
are hoping that desperate and/or inattentive people send off their money
in hopes of getting a Gold VISA or MASTERCARD, and don't notice that
what their really getting is a Gold (!VISA && !MASTER) Card. While this
is still a scam, it might not be the same type of scam you originally
thought. Look at the materials and see if they make any mention of
"catalogs."

>Who do I report this to?  I'm guessing the Post Office, but I don't know
>the procedure, and I didn't see it while skimming the faq post.

How about the BBB? Or the Attorney General's office?
  
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: berger@atropa (Mike Berger)
Subject: Re: Homeowners insurance scam (State Farm)...
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 23:48:13 GMT

bkottmann@falcon.aamrl.wpafb.af.mil (Brett Kottmann) writes:
>	Now, it's always been my position that you can buy insurance for
>whatever amount you want.  So what if State Farm is saying $100/sf?  Tell them
>you want $85 or $90 or whatever and they can accept that or lose your business.
*----
Will ANY reputable insurance company do this?  It's not as clearcut as
some people might think.  Let's say you insure your house for $ 50,000
even though you know it would cost $ 100,000 to replace.  A fire causes
$ 15,000 damage.  Would you expect $ 15,000 insurance?  The insurance
company would undoubtedly offer you $ 7500 - the 50% coverage you requested.
It seems like you'd be better off lowering your rates by accepting a
very large deductible.
--
	Mike Berger
	Department of Statistics, University of Illinois
	AT&TNET     217-244-6067
	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: evanh@sco.COM (Evan Hunt)
Subject: Junk mail warning - "Exposures" catalog
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 23:07:36 GMT



This is a warning to anyone interested in ordering from the "Exposures"
catalog (they sell photo albums, frames, and expensive decorating stuff.)
Since ordering from them we've received just about every expensive, snooty,
home decor catalog on the face of the earth. They're coming at the rate of
around five a day now. I strongly urge you to request them not to sell your
name - unless of course, you want 25 new catalogs a week. We're on a fair
number of mailing lists, but I've never seen anything like this deluge before.

I've also found them to be seriously overpriced and not worth the money, but
that's just my opinion.

-- 
"I had generously shown on the stage my interior life as a raging beast, but
 my exterior life as a mediocre human being and dilettante of of normal int-
 elligence remained unchronicled...I *knew* that beneath my work's primeval,
 hysterical facade there was a calm little writer in an armchair just waiting
 to burst forth." -- Wally Shawn, on the writing of "My Dinner With Andre'"
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: quodling@peevax.enet.dec.com
Subject: Complaint address for AMEX?
Organization: The New Software Group
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 22:45:00 GMT

I had a hard time with American express getting authorization to use my gold
card to charge airline tickets (This is outside your normal spending habits,
sir...) does anyone have a address at AMEX that I can send polite complaints
to?

--
Peter Q.
Aussie in Transit...


Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jeh@raster.kodak.com (Ed Hanway)
Subject: Re: Need Address and Name
Keywords: sarcasm
Organization: Eastman Kodak Company, Digital Systems Center
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 14:03:36 GMT

cab@col.hp.com (Chris Best) writes:
: I'm still surprised it broke, though, and them saying "it's not
: designed to carry wood, so it's not covered" is really sleazy.
: If it wasn't stated in writing, I can't believe it's enforceable.

You know, that's the same story they gave me after the accident.
Something about "not designed to have large, manned, wind-catching
apparatus tied to the luggage rack, so it's not covered."  I pointed out
that there was nothing in the warranty that specifically mentioned
parasailing, but they wouldn't listen.  What sleaze.

--
Ed Hanway --- jeh@raster.kodak.com
This message is packed as full as practicable by modern automated equipment.
Contents may settle during shipment.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: markr@mot.com (Mark)
Subject: Re: Terrible Experience With Alamo.......NOT!
Reply-To: markr@mcil.comm.mot.com
Organization: MCIL
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 06:03:52 GMT

In article <1992Aug13.181635.27806@news.columbia.edu> pjl2@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Paul J Landsberg) writes:
>Yuh-Ming Shyy writes:
>>Here is the story of my own terrible experience with Alamo. 
>>Personally, I'll NEVER EVER do any business with ALAMO again. 
>[horror story deleted]
>
>Ok, so we have n data points saying Alamo ain't so good.  However,
>let me show you the flipside.  One, Hertz has a nasty surcharge for
>NYC residents.  Of course it is lowest in Manhattan where our city
>official (punks) reside.  Why should I ever rent from a place that
>discriminates based on the county you live in.

They are just charging extra because of the large liabilities they
incur in certain parts of NYC. (partially because of an insane
NYC law on vicarious liability - i.e. Hertz is responsible for
just about all court awarded damages)

Besides, rental companies have always charged based on their costs,
why is it $69.99 in FL, $89.99 in CA and $220 in NY ?

Mark
From: konstan@elmer-fudd.cs.berkeley.edu (Joe Konstan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Pelligrino magazines
Date: 18 Aug 1992 02:30:01 GMT
Organization: Picasso Research Group, UCB Computer Science Division
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: elmer-fudd.cs.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Aug17.191539.5604@linus.mitre.org>, kalagher@mwunix.mitre.org (Dick Kalagher) writes:
|> I personally had good luck ordering magazines from Pelligrino.  However, 
|> my daughter ordered from him last fall and still has not received 
|> anything.  She has written to Pelligrino twice requesting a refund and 
|> left several messages on his answering machine.  He has ignored them all.  
|> She even sent a letter certified, return reciept requested, so we know he 
|> got it.
|> 
|> Is anyone else still in a situation of haveing sent Pelligrino money and 
|> received no magazines?  Has anyone contacted DEC, since he used a mail 
|> account their to solicit subscriptions?  Has anyone written to the New 
|> Hampshire Attorney General or the Postal Authorities?

I had good luck, at first, ordering a bunch of magazines from Bob
Pellegrino, but also had two orders (from December and January) that never
went through and had the same experience that he has ignored requests for
a refund.  

Somewhere along the way, he sent out mail claiming that he could no longer
use his magazine (distributor/wholesaler?) and was in the process of
changing to another one.  He also mentioned that he could no longer use the
computer account for these purposes.  My guess is that people have
complained to DEC, but I couldn't be sure.

Personally, I haven't pursued this much since it isn't worth the time for
the relatively small sum of money involved.  I really don't know whether 
Bob expects this, and is trying to scam a whole bunch of people out of $5
and $10, or if he really  did try to do this as a service and was
overwhelmed by the hefty demands of running a business.  In either case, 
I'd be happy to join others who might want to pursue this further, but don't
have the time to lead such an effort.

Joe Konstan 
konstan@cs.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: pjs@euclid.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter J. Scott)
Subject: Re: Health vitamin scam?
Reply-To: pjs@euclid.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA/Caltech
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 17:07:55 GMT

In article <9710042@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>, lief@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Lief Sorensen) writes:
> My wife received in the mail today one of those "You have been selected to
> definitely receive one of these gifts"!
> 
>      (1) Cadillac Coupe Deville (not to exceed $20,000)
>      (2) $7500 in cash
>      (3) Big Screen Stereo Tv ($2500 market value)
>      (4) Diamond Sapphire Tennis Bracelet ($1200 market value)
>      (5) $1000 in cash
>      (6) Hawaiian vacation (average room cost more than $500)

Notice that #6 says "Cost", not "Value"; it is not saying *who*
is paying for the room!

Prediction: you will win #6; it will cost you $$$ to find this
out.  Then your prize will consist of a bunch of merchant
discount coupons to use on your Hawaiian vacation, which they
will book for you for a paltry fee of $$$$.  These coupons will
turn out to be useless, and various other unexpected fees will 
cost you $$$$$.  That's assuming they're one of the more
reputable telemarketing organizations, and not one of the ones
that sends out cards like this, collects $$$$$$$$, and you
never hear from them again.

-- 
This is news.  This is your       |    Peter Scott, NASA/JPL/Caltech
brain on news.  Any questions?    |    (pjs@euclid.jpl.nasa.gov)
From: timlee@public.btr.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Insurance Company Safety Re: Universal Life
Date: 23 Aug 92 06:38:45 GMT
Reply-To: timlee@btr.com (Timothy J. Lee)
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Distribution: usa

richw@grok64.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM (Rich Wescott) writes:
|My wife recently heard part of a news story regarding the safety of
|buying Universal Life policies. Does anyone out there know about this
|story? 

No, but insurance companies do fail occasionally.  Libraries often
have lists put out by credit rating agencies (Weiss Research,
Standard & Poor, Moody's, etc.).

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee                 timlee@btr.com  ...!decwrl!btr!timlee
This message comes with no warranty, not even an implied warranty of
fitness for any particular purpose.
From: amalik@bubba.ma30.bull.com (Alka Malik Sobti)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Making an Offer for a Home with a LIEN, Title Insurance
Date: 18 Aug 92 17:54:23 GMT
Reply-To: amalik@bubba.ma30.bull.com
Distribution: misc
Organization: Bull HN, Worldwide Information Systems, Billerica, Mass., USA


I had posted this earlier but did not see any responses on the net and
did not get any responses mailed to me.  I am re-posting it.

	We are thinking of making an offer to a house.  But, we found out 
        from the seller's lawyer that there is a lien attached to the home.
        There is no realtor or broker involved (at the moment only the seller,
	buyer, seller's lawyer are involved, the buyer(us) do not have
	a real-estate lawyer).
	
 	Since I had never heard of liens, I would like to get some advice as 
	to 
		- should we not make an offer in a situation like this 
		  OR
		- if we do consider making an offer, then what should one
		  look out for and are there any special procedures in the
		  making/writing an offer, getting a real-estate lawyer, 
		  home-insurance etc. in order to get a clear title.  
		  What is covered in the title insurance?
	
		  And let's say that if the offer goes through and we buy 
		  the house with a clear title, then can something come up 
		  later on regarding the lien on the house (due to the
		  seller).  Or any other complications, etc. 

	I would like to get any suggestions/advice at the earliest.  I would
	prefer if you e-mail the responses to me directly since I hardly 
        read news.  Also, if I should be posting this message to some
	other newsgroup please let me know. 

	My e-mail address is:
		amalik@bubba.ma30.bull.com

	Thank you.

							- Alka
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:15123 rec.radio.shortwave:6238 rec.photo:14083
From: hale@btree.uucp (Bob Hale)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.radio.shortwave,rec.photo
Subject: Re: WARNING KODAK batteries leaked!
Date: 12 Aug 92 18:52:40 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Brooktree Corporation

In article <wb9omc.713224390@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu> wb9omc@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) writes:
>
>It has been years since I have seen any battery that was being used
>*properly* leak.....

Interesting.  Historically I have had a lot of trouble with Eveready
batteries leaking.  In one case I had a single D cell sitting on a
wooden shelf in the garage on its base and it leaked all over the
shelf.  It wasn't even installed in anything.  It was nrand new;
it had never been used in anything.  I quit using Eveready batteries
after that.

More recently I have been using Duracells in everything.  One time
my wife told me that the TV remote control wasn't working.  I opened
it and found that there was battery goo all over one of the cells
in the battery compartment (AA cells).  Of course, this did a job
on the battery contacts.  It took quite a bit of work to clean out
the compartment and refurbish the contacts; I probably would have
been better off replacing the remote with a new one.  The remote
control had worked fine the previous day and had not been abused
in any way before the failure; it had just been sitting on the table.
The other cell had plenty of life left when I load tested it but I
threw it out anyway.

I conclude that the incidence of leaking batteries is much less
than it used to be, but it still is a significant possibility.

Bob Hale                                      ...!ucsd!btree!hale
...!btree!hale@ucsd.edu                       ...!ucsd!btree!hale@uunet.uu.net
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: robin@ntmtv.UUCP (Robin Coutellier)
Subject: Where to Report a Credit Card Scam?
Originator: robin@volans
Reply-To: robin@ntmtv.UUCP (Robin Coutellier)
Organization: Northern Telecom Inc, Mountain View, CA
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 09:04:36 GMT

On July 30, I received a piece of mail trying to masquerade as a telegram.
It was postmarked from Dallas, TX, from a place called Credit Approval
Dept.  It congratulated me for being pre-approved for a "gold card" with
a 10K line of credit.  It then said:

	Mail your $29.95 annual fee by check or money order along with
	this telegram to activate your credit immediately.

	Failure to do so will result inour reevaluation of your
	elegibility.

	Please return this telegram with payment by August 17, 1992.

	Make check or money order payable to Credicorp Gold Card.

	sincerely, blah blah blah. 

That's it, no terms, nothing to sign, zip.  This was unsolicited mail.

This has all the earmarks of a scam to me.  I was pondering how and
where to report this, since I think more gullible people would respond to
it.  Before I did anything, however, I received another piece of mail from
them printed on cheap computer paper (holes still in it).  It was
postmarked from Washington, DC on August 4, with no return address on the
envelope.  It gave slightly more info and again demanded payment of $29.95, 
this time asking for it to be sent to a P.O. Box in New York City.

The 2nd letter also had what they called "card disclosure for your
files".  It specified such specific terms as "we reserve the right to
increase your charge limit automatically and progressively based on your
payment performance, our finances etc.".  Gee, "etc" is a little VAGUE
for a contract, don't you think?  Also, they refer to their annual fee 
as $39.95.

In both cases, the demand for $29.95 appeared to be a bill, not an
application.  The "telegram" says the $29.95 is an annual fee.  The
"terms" say the $29.95 is an application fee.  The fine print says that
it's your responsibility to solve any disputed, undelivered or
unfulfilled goods or services from any merchants.  All transactions
between you and merchants are entirely your responsibility.
 
The "telegram" says there is an interest rate of 12% annually.  The
"terms" say the interest is 0%.

The "terms" refer to the card as a "Global GOLDX" card.

Who do I report this to?  I'm guessing the Post Office, but I don't know
the procedure, and I didn't see it while skimming the faq post.  

I've never see such a ridiculously phony attempt to con money out of people, 
and I get a LOT of junk mail.  Has anyone else out there received the same
come-on?

Robin Coutellier                   
Northern Telecom, Mountain View, CA
ames!ntmtv!robin   	          
ntmtv!robin@ames.arc.nasa.gov    
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:15362 alt.locksmithing:1484
From: tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.locksmithing
Subject: Re: Was this a ripoff?
Date: 19 Aug 92 20:51:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.Bt90Lw.EwD
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana


In article <1992Aug18.162602.3058@csi.jpl.nasa.gov> eldred@rrunner.jpl.nasa.gov (Dan Eldred) writes:
>
>You can buy a lock rekeying kit for a number of popular brands (I have one
>for Kwikset) for about $10, which includes enough pins for doing several
>locks (depending on the new key you use) and instructions and a special
>tool for getting the lock apart.

Question: Suppose I buy one of these kits and rekey my lock. I now have
a lock which my old key no longer fits, and thus I cannot use. How do I
get a key cut to fit this new lock without the assistance of a
locksmith?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: tamu@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Todd Henderson)
Subject: Re: Movie Rental Place wants my Credit Card #
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:25:46 GMT

darylb@sword.eng.hou.compaq.com (Daryl Biberdorf) writes:

>In article <BsvpEy.A8J@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tamu@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Todd Henderson) writes:
>>At block buster(I hate this place) they use your credit card as a charge
   .
   .
   .
>>only want to see a bill(elect., phone) with your address to confirm that
>>you live where you told them, I assume so they can track you down.

>I don't know of a video rental place that I've ever used that *didn't*
>do this.  It's usually stated clearly on the rental agreement that you
>sign when you apply for membership.

>>I hate block buster, I hate block buster, I hate block buster.  Sorry, but
>>their prices and credit card policy drives me crazy.  One more for the
>>road.  I hate block buster.  Ahhhh, that fills so much better.

>I don't like Blockbuster, myself, but this particular practice seems to be
>common.

Some of the smaller, mom and pop places are a little more trusting.  I have
found one or more everywhere I've lived.

The worst thing about block buster is, the times that I have broken down
and joined, they've lost all my info and wanted me to fill out another form.
This happened at 2 of them.  Even though they are all privately owned I think,
they should only require one card.  In Champaign you have to have a different
card for Block Busters just across town I think.(I know if you drive to the
next town you need a new card!)

Todd


>Daryl
>--
>Daryl Biberdorf                 |  Compaq Computer Corporation | standard
>darylb@sword.eng.hou.compaq.com |  20555 SH 249  M/S 060701    | disclaimer
>dlb5404@tamsun.tamu.edu         |  Houston, TX 77070           | applies

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: veeduh@leland.stanford.edu ()
Subject: Re: Charles Givens Organization
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 22:59:45 GMT

In article <1992Aug22.181055.25287@eng.umd.edu>, georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark) writes:
> 
> A friend of mine is a member. He likes it a lot. Since I'm his friend,
> he lets me listen to his audio tapes and read his CGO newsletters. They're
> OK, but there are other sources where one can get the same information
> for only a fraction of the cost.
> 
>

What "other sources" do you recommend?  Other seminars, books or periodicals?
From: PNCSPPC@CCVAX1.CC.NCSU.EDU
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Low-Cost Health Insurance
Date: 20 Aug 92 17:43:39 GMT

What are the best deals out there for health insurance?  Cost is rather
important to me because I'm on a tight budget.  Previously I was covered
by student health insurance.  But now I am between degree programs and I
need a new policy to tide me over until the fall of '93.  Thanks in
advance for any help (which would be greatly appreciated).
 
Phil Calvert
 
<Bitnet: pncsppc@ncsuvax / Internet: pncsppc@ccvax1.cc.ncsu.edu>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.legal,alt.peeves,rec.skiing