HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: tvervaek@col.hp.com (Tom Vervaeke)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Continental, Compassion Fares, and Price Gouging
Date: 22 Jan 1993 17:34:25 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: itchub21.cs.itc.hp.com


We had a death in the family earlier last year. Had to fly home with no
advance notice. United has a "bereavement" fare - for Denver to
Baltimore it was $486 or something like that. I asked what the 7 or 14
day advance fare was: $358. I asked what the regular no-advance-notice
fare was: $750 something. I said the bereavement should be the same as
the advance. They said no. We took what we could get.

I did not consider it a bargain. I would have driven if we had had the
time. For a Denver - KC I would have rented a car for the week and
driven. It would have been much cheaper.

I hate flying, being treated like cattle, fed cattle food, using
bathrooms made for minature people, and being late, late, late...



( ___ )------------------------------------------------------------( ___ )
 | / | Tom Vervaeke           Email:tom_vervaeke@hp0800.desk.hp.com | \ |
 | / | Technology Specialist  Snail: 1900 Garden of the Gods Rd.    | \ |
 | / | Hewlett Packard Co.           Colorado Springs, CO 80901     | \ |
 | / | Colorado Springs, CO   Voice    : 719-590-2133               | \ |
 | / | USA                    Fax      : 719-590-2117               | \ |
 | / |--------------------------------------------------------------| \ |
 | / | Quote of the week...                                         | \ |
 |___|           Quote deleted do to lack of creativity !!!         |___|
(_____)------------------------------------------------------------(_____)
   ^                                                                  ^

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house,misc.kids
From: EMN002@email.mot.com (Mary Beth Northrup)
Subject: Re: Emptying Water System in Unused House
Organization: Motorola, Inc. Plantation, FL
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 21:24:08 GMT

In article <93019.105102JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET>, <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET> writes:
> 
> In article <1993Jan15.164940.7983@tc.fluke.COM>, kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt
> Guntheroth) says:
> >
> >Most commercial building owners who leave buildings unoccupied during the
> >winter pur anti-freeze into the toilet bowls instead of draining them.  Then
> >they just (illegally) flush the anti-freeze down the toilet when tennants
> >arrive. ----------
> 
> The last two times I changed antifreeze in my car I thought, now what do I
> do with this stuff (the waste).  The back of the antifreeze bottle says to
> pour it into  a SANITARY sewer (one going to a treatment plant, not down the
> the storm sewer).  While in concentrated form antifreeze is poisonous, diluted
> it doesn't cause much harm.
> 
> JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET
> 
> 
> 

Antifreeze (a glycol ether) is biodegradable and can be broken down by the
local municipal water treatment plant (when reasonably well diluted). 
If you pour it down a storm sewer, it's going straight into the 
environment in a concentrated form which won't easily degrade. So,
it's much better to get rid of it by pouring into the sanitary sewer than
into a storm drain or septic tank.

Mary Beth Northrup
EMN002@email.mot.com
From: surendra@plsparc.UUCP (Surendra Goel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Insurance Comparison
Date: 22 Jan 93 15:10:07 GMT
Organization: Personal Library Software, Inc.


I am also looking at 3 companies for whole life coverage. To my surprise all of them claim to be better than others and offer the same kind of coverage with
no future premium guarantee. They all say that the premium will be paid off
in 10-12 years at the current rate of dividend but it may change if the premiums
go up or the dividend is lower than the current rate.  The company I am looking 
at currently are:

	MetLife at the rate of $1045
	State Farm (Universal Life plan) at the rate of $750
	Time at the rate of $850
	
Does anybody know anything about these plans or have any suggestions for
what to look when selecting the plan/company? Any e-mail response is 
also welcome.


Thanks
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: todd@pvi.com (todd)
Subject: Continental, Compassion Fares, and Price Gouging
Organization: Precision Visuals, Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:47:30 GMT


A friend of mine had an unpleasant experience with Continental
Airlines last month and wanted me to ask the general wisdom of
the net about this.

She purchased a reduced rate ticket to fly from Denver to Kansas
City for Christmas to visit her family.  The cost of the ticket
was $325.  The week before Christmas, her mother died (what timing),
and so my friend needed to leave a day earlier than originally
planned in order to get to the funeral.  She called Continental
to see what they could do about giving her a "Compassion Fare".

Continental then changed her ticket to a day earlier, but charged
her a $25 change fee and the difference between her original fare
and the $490 "Compassion Fare".  So, she actually had to pay an
extra $200.  She didn't think that was exactly compassionate, but 
wasn't really in the frame of mind to complain or argue, and so 
she took the new offer and paid the extra money.

Feeling this price was unfair, she later asked her credit card 
company if they could help by refusing to pay the difference, but
they couldn't do anything.

Her questions:

1. Is this kind of "Compassion Fare" normal in the airline industry?
	Obviously, she feels that Continental made money off her bad 
	situation (which is true).

2. Would it do any good to write a letter to someone to complain?
	The ticket agents she talked to in person and over the phone
	seemed completely unconcerned with her poor treatment.

3. Who would be the right person to write to in order to complain
	about this?  She would really love a name and address instead
	of just sending it blindly to Continental.  

4. Is there a regulation against this kind of "price gouging"?

5. Would it do any good to write to the FAA, the Better Business 
	Bureau, or the bankruptcy court handling Continental?

I thought I should ask for advice here.  Thanks for your time.

Todd.

--

------------------------------------------------------------
Todd Alan Bradley -- Supreme Ruler of The Galaxy
Visual Numerics, Inc.	Boulder, CO	303-530-9000 ext 293
Send mail to: todd@pvi.com
From: gruen@cogsci.ucsd.EDU (Dan Gruen)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: PEPSI CLEAR & TAB CLEAR
Date: 20 Jan 93 22:17:52 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <1993Jan19.143606.14925@nynexst.com> dtorok@nynexst.com (David Torok) writes:
>
>What I wonder is:  They've been test-marketing it in the Rhode Island
>area for about a year.  Obviously enough people like it there to
>warrant a nationwide rollout!  Maybe New England likes bland-tasting
>soft drinks?
>

Perhaps a lot of folks from Coke went up north to Rhode Island and
messed up the testing!  :-)    The strange thing is that all of this
negative press makes me want to rush out and try a can of the stuff
for myself before it's pulled from the shelves...


dan


Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jchen@wind.bellcore.com (Jason Chen)
Subject: Where to file complains when disputing with an airlines?
Reply-To: jchen@bellcore.com (Jason Chen)
Organization: Bellcore, Morristown, NJ
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 93 05:09:18 GMT

I recently had an extremely bad experience with Northwest Airlines.
To make a long story short:

As I was returning to the States enroute Seoul, Northwest cancelled the
flight between Seoul and Detroit probably due to low occupancy (no official
reason given). I lost one precious day, and the only compensation NW provides
is hotel and meals during the stay in Seoul.

They promised  me to inform my family about the flight cancellation, but never
did. My family went to the airport to pick me up only to waste 4 hours of 
their time and suffer emotional stress. They even called NW before they left
home. NW told them the flight would be "On Time." 

I would like to demand reasonable compensations from NW for the lost of time
and emotional stress that it has caused to myself and my family. My question
is where I can file complains if NW ignore my demand?  and what do you think
an "reasonable compensations" should be?

Jason Chen
From: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Insurance question
Date: 22 Jan 93 17:53:27 GMT
Reply-To: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Organization: NCR E&M CLEMSON Liberty, SC

In article <wfLKkAK00WBOI22X1A@andrew.cmu.edu> dg10+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Goldreich) writes:
>
>A friend of mine will be taking out auto insurance soon.  In the past
>he has gotten a couple of speeding tickets.  He is planning on 
>"forgetting" about the tickets when the insurance company asks.  
>(I don't believe he has any points or any other easy way for the
>insurance company to find out.)

If the tickets occurred within the last 3 years then he *does* have points,
and the insurance co. will find out about them when they query the state
database (assuming the tickets are in his home state; and there may be some
data sharing between states, I don't know).  If they were more than 3
years ago the insurance co. probably isn't interested in them anyway.  They
may not even ask him about his driving record, since they can get the
info elsewhere.

.
.
.
From: reb@Ingres.COM (Phydeaux)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: The dreaded toll booth! (was: Toll Roads (was: Speeding ticket in OKlahoma --- what's SP8?))
Date: 25 Jan 93 20:27:09 GMT
Reply-To: reb@Ingres.COM (Phydeaux)
Distribution: usa
Organization: E 4th St Home For The Overeducated Underemployed - New Jersey Div.

In article <1993Jan25.174256.17091@wri.com> markm@wri.com writes:
>What about the (approx) 15 miles of 355 in the Chicago 'burbs?  I drive it  
>about once a month, but it costs me 85 cents to go about 8 miles.  It costs 50  
>cents when you get on at the south end (I-55) then another 35 cents when you  
>exit at Roosevelt Rd.

I just moved back to NJ from Chicago ... there was,  recently, a court
decision about   how toll money   could be used.  Since  the tolls are
classified as user tolls, the Illinois Tollway  has to  use  the money
collected on the same portion of  the roadway it  is collected on, and
not  for  extending their system  to other areas.  Well, suddenly they
found themselves with lots of money, and without  anythign to spend it
on.  What did they do?  They started tearing  up and repaving sections
of road as "preventive maintenance."

I do not know about Illinois, but  in the  NYC/NJ area, the  GW Bridge
and Garden State Parkway  were  both supposed to  have tolls until the
bonds used  for construction were paid  off.   For the GW  bridge, the
Port Authority uses the tolls as a way to  finance all sorts  of other
projects.    They also   talk about raising   the  tolls  as a way  to
discourage people from driving into NYC.  What a  crock.  If  you want
to find out the details what these authorities *really* think of tolls
(personal  cash cows) read  _The_Power_Broker_ by  Robert Caro -- It's
about Robert Moses and the State of NY.
						reb
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: schwartz@nynexst.com (Steven Schwartz)
Subject: Re: Toll Roads
Originator: schwartz@baba
Reply-To: schwartz@nynexst.com
Organization: Expert Systems Lab., NYNEX Sci. and Tech., White Plains NY
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 18:26:33 GMT


Three road systems where tolls where actually removed:

- The Connecticut Turnpike (I-95/I-395) and Merritt/Wilbur Cross
Parkways (CT-15).  Plaza-style (as opposed to exit ramp) toll booths
were removed after at least one major traffic accident.

- Long Island's Southern State Parkway.  The toll plaza was located near
the NYC/Nassau County line.  The parallel Northern State Pky never had a
toll.  The ironic thing is that Gov. Hugh Carey resisted removing the
tolls until he was forced to, then posted a large sign on the eastbound
side:

		WELCOME TO A TOLL-FREE LONG ISLAND

			HUGH CAREY, GOVERNOR

That sign came down a long time ago.  The toll plaza was replaced by 
a tourism center (eastbound) and a state police barracks (westbound),
along with public phones and soda machines.

- The Loop and Meadowbrook Parkways.
This is an overwater connection between Freeport and Long Beach, NY.
There is still a parking fee, charged at toll booths, for Jones Beach.

Sometimes, when enough people push hard, the tolls -do- get removed.
-- 
Steven H. Schwartz		Expert Systems Laboratory
schwartz@nynexst.com		NYNEX Science and Technology Center
PROFS: SCHWARTZ@UNIX		500 Westchester Avenue
914-644-2960			White Plains NY 10604
From: duveneck@cs.uwp.edu (Sandy Duveneck)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Car Phone Experiences Wanted
Date: 26 Jan 93 16:37:28 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.1993Jan26.163728.12919
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Parkside
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

We've got a phone for our 16 year old son and it sure is nice to know he
can call us from anywhere.  We usually can't get him, though since he
neglects to turn it on every time he's in the car.

The main reason I'm posting though is Today this morning had someone on
who was convinced that cellular phones are causing brain cancer in CEOs of
major companies.  The person from University of Wisconsin said he had been
on a committee that set up standards and had compiled various studies and
then set a power rate 10 times less than what they thought was dangerous
and then cut that by 50 times for individual use and the phones in use now
use even less power.  He said there's less danger than a garage opener,
but there will always be somebody that's on the other side.

Sandy
-- 
|Sandy Duveneck		Just think, if Edison hadn't invented the light     |
|UW-Parkside		bulb, we'd all be sitting here in the dark working  |
|Kenosha, WI		on our computers.  (Joke page in  magazine.)        |
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: shenai@amnese.eng.uab.edu (Aravind Shenai)
Subject: Manual for a Dishwasher
Originator: shenai@amnese
Reply-To: shenai@amnese.eng.uab.edu
Organization: Biomedical Engg, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 00:20:46 GMT

hi

my cousin has a Philips ES22 (made in germany) dishwasher.
unfortunately she doesn't have the user manual and is having a tough
time installing it. she bought it because she got it at a very very
low price. if any of you have this dishwasher I would like to get a
xerox copy of the user manual. i will pay for postage and xerox.
please respond by email only.

thanks

Aravind
-- 
ARAVIND SHENAI                           | Internet : shenai@atax.eng.uab.edu
University of Alabama at Birmingham      |
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: clippy@bnr.ca (Dwayne Clipperton)
Subject: Re: Gevalia Kaffe Offer
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Distribution: na,local
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 00:20:42 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.100309.1@mcvax4.d48.lilly.com>, kroin@mcvax4.d48.lilly.com writes:
|> I just got this wonderful offer in the mail from an outfit called
|>  Gevalia Kaffe.  $10 for a trial offer in which you receive a European style
|>  automatic drip coffee
|> maker(4cup) and a pound of really wonderful (i am reading this) coffee. It's
|> one of those we'll keep sending you coffee at probably $10 a pound until you
|> tell us not to. You keep the coffee maker whatever you decide. You don't get
|> the next shipment for six weeks and may cancel by letter or phone before then.
|>  I would really be interested in the offer if the coffee is that good. If not,
|> I could still console myself with the free coffee maker. The co. is based in
|> Sweden and has local importers.Anyone dealt with them or have any info about
|> this offer? Thanks, Stan -- 
|>       +--------------------------------------------------------------+
|>       J.S.K@Lilly.Com is really Julian Kroin,late of Indpls. IN.
|>       +--------------------------------------------------------------+

So far, the responses appear to be mostly positive - not bad for
mail order.

Could someone mail me their address, I'd be interested to see what
their prices are like for Canadians.


Thank you.

clippy@bnr.ca
From: mikeb@macbeth.ocpt.ccur.com (Mike Bixenman)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: PRODIGY -- WHAT ABOUT
Date: 22 Jan 93 20:40:18 GMT
Organization: Concurrent Computer Corporation, Oceanport NJ
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

andor@inode.com wrote:
: CompuServe's number is 800-848-8199.
: They have a monthly "Basic Services" membership that costs $8.00/month with
: unlimited access during all hours and at all speeds (up to 9600bps) to a
     < deleted text >
: number listings, etc. They have a rather generous Email policy, and are
: connected to the Internet, to Easylink, to MCI, etc. for Email. You can also
: send FAXes from there for a charge. 
: Besides the "Basic Services", CIS also offers lots of vendor support forums,
: database access, etc. at additional hourly fees.

I think that CI$ is $7.95 per hour and anything over 2400 baud is charged
additional. They also have an extra charge for sending e-mail over the
Internet.
The price still beats their hourly system, where you are charged $2 if you 
use it or not and $6/hr when you are logged on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mike Bixenman           mikeb@ocpt.ccur.com     CIS=73220,3644
 Concurrent Computer Corp.      	"The statements that I make
 2 Crescent Place		        are from MY brain. I will   
 Oceanport, NJ 07757  U.S.A.            not speak for anyone else."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From: fino@point.cs.uwm.edu (Alexander Finogenov)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Stores can't "detain" shoplifters
Date: 28 Jan 1993 16:22:34 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.2.5

In article <C1BtDM.GKy@news2.cis.umn.edu> konstan@saturn.cs.umn.edu (Joe Konstan) writes:
: 
: I certainly agree that a store would have a high liability risk by
: detaining someone.  I'd also guess it would cost them more money to
: establish probable cause in court (let alone the rest of the suit)
: than to follow this policy.  And, they would be opening themselves up
: to criminal proceedings if their probable cause wasn't sufficient.
: 
Why it should cost a lot of money to prove something which has been recorded
on the video tape?  I think most of stores have their security cameras all
over their place.

I also once witnessed (more than 5 years ago) as a couple of store's
employees chased a thief (I assume so because I was riding in the bus at that
moment) to the street, pushed him to the ground in the middle of the traffic,
pulled a package from his hands, and after that they took him back to the mall.
They were not dressed as policemen or security.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: kckbxr@next04cville.wam.umd.edu (Robin of Locksley)
Subject: Re: Am I being sleazed by this insurance company?
Organization: Workstations at Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 19:53:24 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.220455.15604@cs.ucla.edu> coleman@rocky.cs.ucla.edu  
(Mike Coleman) writes:
> I applied for auto insurance yesterday and I'm trying to decide whether  
I've
> been sleazed.  I share an apartment with two women not otherwise related  
to me
> (i.e., they're basically strangers).  The insurance company informed me  
that
> if I didn't put them on my policy, they would exclude all coverage for  
them as
> drivers on the vehicle.  I'm not thrilled with this, but I agreed to do  
this
> since I have no intention of letting either of the women drive the  
vehicle.
> 
> Now for the sleazy part.  Even though they are excluded, the insurance  
company
> wanted to have their driver's license numbers.  The agent said something  
about
> the company wanting these because they are of the opposite sex.   
Apparently
> what is being insinuated is that because I'm male and they are female,  
I'm
> more likely to defraud the company by allowing my roommates to drive and
> claiming I was at the wheel if an accident occurs.
> 
> I don't feel that this information is any of the company's business  
(given the
> ironclad exclusion I signed), nor any of mine for that matter.  At this  
point,
> I'm telling the company I won't give them the license numbers.
> 
> Is the insurance company's behavior improper?  Illegal?  Would all  
companies
> ask for this, or did I just find a dud?

Personally, I'd try and contact an attorney to see if this could  
constitute discrimination (should they turn you down), then if so...sue  
them in a big way!  It doesn't seem as though there are enough  
checks-and-balances for insurance companies.

bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: sasdvp@unx.sas.com (David V. Phillips)
Subject: Re: FAQ: BMG phone number?
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 18:41:49 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.

kmcintyr@boi.hp.com (Kevin McIntyre) writes:


>Yes, it's another lost soul looking for the number to 
>BMG (either a 1-800 number or a "regular" number).  I
>tried directory assistance for 800 numbers but they didn't
>list it :-(.

No 800 number that I've managed to find out.

Regular number:  317-542-0414
--
David Phillips  sasdvp@unx.sas.com  SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC
"They that can give up an essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". -- Benjamin Franklin (1759)
"Gun control is being able to hit your target." -- Me.
From: ssdesai@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Sunil S. Desai)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Need help in resolving lawyer's bill dispute!
Date: 22 Jan 93 19:06:42 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


Hi!

Can anyone help me resolve a dispute in lawyer's bill?

Based on someone's recommendation, I had called up a lawyer and discussed
that I needed an employment contract reviewed.  He said it takes about half
an hour to review and his charges were $125/hr.

I fax him the contract.  Saw him the next day in his office.  He goes over 
the contract (which was pretty standard).  I spent exactly 50 minutes
at his office.  While leaving his office he said he will call me that next 
day if he had any additional comments.  He calls me after two days and says
he has no additional comments on the contract.  The call lasted less than a
minute.

Based on his houly rate and time spent, I figured he will bill me about $200.
I got a bill for him for $325.  The bill lists a) review of contract, 
b) discussion with me, c) contract research, and d) conference call with me.

The bill does not mention his rate.  It does not indicate the time spent on 
each of the above listed item either.

I called him and discussed the bill.  He got very upset.  Gave me all kind 
of BS about how reasonable his rates were and how much other lawyers would 
have charged.  I told him I came to him based on someone's recommendation 
and what other lawyers charge did not concern me.  He had discussed the 
rate and given me an estimate, all I wanted was more details on what the 
bill was based on.  He said he will call me back.

He has not called me back.  And I keep receiving these PAST DUE notices from
his offices.

- What can he do if I refuse to pay these unreasonable charges?  
- What are my options?
- How can I resolve this dispute?  (I do not want to go to another lawyer
  who will charge me $250 to get this bill reduced to $200!)

Any help will be appreciated.

Sunil    ssdesai@gandalf.rutgers.edu
~~~~~
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,co.general