Category: "Public Service Articles"

Paul's Pet Peeves - Letterboxing & Pillarboxing DVDs (Bonus: Robin Williams DVD Edits)

Paul's Pet Peeves series of articles in which I express my feelings about some little thing that bothers me. Today's article is about the use of 4:3 Letterboxing & 16:9 Pillarboxing on DVDs. As a bonus, I will also list all of the edits on the Robin… more »

What I Learned About The Aetna NationsBenefits OTC & Healthy Food Extra Benefits Card

I have been an Aetna health insurance member since October 2022. A benefit of my plan is that it comes with an allowance for Over-the-Counter (OTC) and Healthy Food items. As of January 1, 2023, this benefit is being provided by NationsBenefits, LLC. In… more »

Aetna Rewards Program Sends Out Gift Cards That Look Like Spam

Back in September, I enrolled in an Aetna health plan because I was hoping that it would help me find a dentist in my area that offered the Nitrous Oxide gas. I won't get into the issues that Aetna is causing with that. Instead, I want to focus on… more »

How To Remove Anti-Theft Hard Security Tags From Items You've Purchased

Retail stores use hard security tags on clothes, purses, and some other supposedly "expensive" items to prevent the items from being stolen. That is all well and good - except for the ones Walmart and Target put around DVD box sets that cut indentations… more »

Subway Employees Make Up Their Own Rules About Coupons

I am not a big fan of Subway restaurants. While they offer many wonderful sandwich options, the customer service I've experienced over the years has usually been anything but wonderful. After giving them second, third, and fourth chances, I am no longer… more »

Burger King Gripes

When you are a low-income family, you tend to eat at fast food restaurants because your budget doesn't allow you to regularly dine at healthier eating establishments. (Burger King and McDonald's use to offer salads, but both took them off their menus… more »

GameStop Store Manager Bullies Customers Into Doing What *HE* Wants

I've been a regular customer to GameStop stores for the past few decades, ever since they purchased all of the Funcoland and EB Games stores that were in the area. Although I don't go there for games anymore, I still go to check out what kind of pop… more »

eBay Killed My Business Because I Refused To Join Their Managed Payments Scheme

Time of Death: September 28, 2021 at 10:42 PM Eastern. Cause of Death: eBay's self-centered pettiness. Age: 14 years. Thus reads the coroner's report of my eBay business, which I opened sometime shortly after the closure of Yahoo Auctions (which… more »

ShippingEasy.com/Stamps.com and/or UPS Tried To Steal Money From Me

It is my duty as a consumer advocate to report on any business who tries to steal from their customers. This morning, ShippingEasy.com (also known as Stamps.com) tried to steal money from me. Read on to find out the details... more »

Unprofessional Dentists in Valley Stream, New York

When you're poor or low-income, and have to rely on government-provided medical insurance ("Medicaid" and/or "Medicare"), you don't have the greatest choices for medical care. You will, usually, NOT have access to the best doctors and treatments in any… more »