Tag Archives: Consumer Reports
From Credit Cards To Mail-Order Steaks: 87 Companies That Are Taking Away Your Right To Sue
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that even though most Americans have at least one financial product — checking accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts — that use forced arbitration clauses to strip the account-holder of their right to sue, very few of us know about these restrictions or understand what they mean. Read More ›
Best Cell Phone Carriers: Small Providers Top The Big Four In New Consumer Reports Survey
by Mike Gikas, Consumer Reports
Many of the most satisfied respondents are those who use smaller cell phone providers such as Consumer Cellular, Cricket, Page Plus Cellular, Republic Wireless, and Ting Wireless. Exceptional scores for value helped propel these cellphone providers to the top for overall customer satisfaction. These companies offer lower costs and responsive, knowledgeable staff members. And some of them compensate subscribers who use less service than they’ve planned for. Read More ›
Inside Consumer Reports
by Joseph Stromberg, Vox Media
This extreme scientific rigor, mixed with amusing attempts to roughly simulate consumer behavior, defines the testing of every kind of product at the labs. Bloomberg Businessweek has called it “scientific torture.” To test vacuums, for instance, staff spread cat hair on a strip of carpet, vacuum it, then weigh how much hair ends up in each vacuum’s brushes and storage bag. To test frying pans, they use a machine that scrubs them for hours with steel wool until their coating wears off. Read More ›