Consumer Protection

Texas Joins In $29 Million Settlement With Toyota Over Sudden Acceleration, AG Announces

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced today that Texans will be part of a $29 settlement with Toyota over its actions after claims that various models had sudden, unexplained accelerations that endangered drivers. Texas and 27 other states "investigated whether Toyota adequately and promptly ... More >>

Heights Residents, Beware of "Door Tag" Scam

Yesterday, when I got home to the house I rent in Lindale Park just east of the Heights, I found a door tag (see image) on my door alerting me that someone attempted to deliver a package and directing me to call a number to reschedule delivery. My first couple attempts ended with no connection until ... More >>

Texas Appeals Court: Longneck Bud Bottles Just Fine For Whomping Someone Over The Head With, Thanks

In an august decision that will shine in the annals of beer-related jurisprudence for as long as bar patrons whomp each other over the side of the head, a Texas state appeals court has ruled that Anheuser-Busch cannot be sued just because their longneck beer bottles are so damn handy for getting tha ... More >>

Don't Fall for the Mystery Shopper Scam!

Like most of the rest of us, Algernon Morehead of Humble could always use a few extra bucks, so he looked online last month for ways to become a mystery shopper -- people paid by market research firms to evaluate the shopping experience at a variety of companies (usually retailers). He filled out ... More >>

Brian Greenhouse: Son of Man Killed on Rodeo Amusement Ride to Get $1.9 Million

A state judge has approved a $1.9 million settlement for the son of the man killed on a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ride in 2011. Brian Greenhouse, 46, was thrown 28 feet to his death on the Hi-Miler roller coaster at the 2011 rodeo. His family sued the rodeo and Ray Cammack Shows, which oper ... More >>

Shanoop and Sandra Kothari: Alcohol Swabs with Bacteria Killed Our Child, Lawsuit Says

Alcohol swabs trigger federal suit​The parents of a two-year-old Houston boy who died after coming into contact with contaminated antiseptic swabs are suing the manufacturer of the swabs, which have been subject to a recall. In a federal wrongful death suit filed Sunday against the Triad Grou ... More >>

Toyota's Unintended Acceleration Problems Not Caused by Electronics, Feds Say

​The problem some Toyota drivers have had with unintended acceleration of their vehicles -- a problem we first wrote about last April -- is not caused by any electronic flaws in the cars, a lengthy federal study has determined. The lengthy federal study could not determine, however, just what ... More >>

Metro Danger Train Cure: Warning Labels

We don't think they will look like this​Ever since its debut, Metro's light rail system has experienced recurring trouble with vehicle collisions. They've redesigned the warning systems at intersections, they've installed enough glowing lights to make Vegas seem tame, and still the crashes ke ... More >>

All I Want For Christmas Is Food Poisoning

​Christmas is over, but indulging in its confectionary delights might have left some with quite a foul aftertaste from an unwanted case of food poisoning. Whole Foods and the U.S. FDA have issued a recall for gingerbread houses produced by Rolf's Patisserie and sold at Whole Foods after Novemb ... More >>

National Recall Includes Whole Foods-Brand Nutmeg

Ground nutmeg: KILL IT WITH FIRE​Just in time for the Christmas holidays, nutmeg has been recalled. Unlike the seasonally inopportune great canned pumpkin shortage of November 2009, nutmeg will be scarce for at least a little while thanks to a potential salmonella contamination. And trust me o ... More >>

Los Angeles Times Takes On Toyota's Acceleration Problems

​The Los Angeles Times published a lengthy story this weekend about unintended acceleration in Toyotas, something the Houston Press and Hair Balls have written about from time to time, starting with a cover story in April.The Times wrote the story in response to a highly publicized crash this summ ... More >>

Feds Not So Sure About Toyota's Claims That Floor Mats Are The Problem With Priuses

​The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a statement yesterday indicating that problems of unintended acceleration in Toyotas might be caused by something more than faulty floor mats. The statement from the federal agency was a response to Toyota's claims, released on Tuesday, ... More >>

Houston's Better Business Bureau Has No Love For Conn's, Despite What Conn's Implies

Yesterday, when we told you about Texas AG Greg Abbott going after the Conn's appliance chain for deceptive practices, we included the company's response.Conn's said "a current measure of our dedication to customer service by our more than 3,200 employees is our Better Business Bureau rating. We cur ... More >>

Conn's Uses High-Pressure Tactics To Dupe Consumers, AG Says

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken on a big local retail chain today, charging that Conn's Appliance stores have used high-pressure tactics to force consumers to buy defective products and then refused to live up to their warranties."According to the state's enforcement action -- and infor ... More >>

One Way To Get Into The Better Business Bureau: Sue Its Ass Off

After cleaning up its long history of customer complaints, a local moving company is trying to get back in Houston's chapter of the Better Business Bureau. Their method: a big fat lawsuit.Student Movers, Inc. is suing the local BBB in Harris County District Court for more than $6 million, claiming t ... More >>

The Houston Food Bank's Peanut-Butter Problem

Photo courtesy Houston Food BankIf you think tossing out all the potentially tainted peanut products in your pantry sucks, imagine having to pitch two tons of the stuff.That's what the Houston Food Bank has been up to for the past month. Thanks to the salmonella scare, the organization has been forc ... More >>

No Peanut Butter At HISD Schools

HISD is making a bold, courageous move against the scourge of possibly poisoned peanut butter.It's cleaning out all its vending machines of any trace of peanut-butter crackers, confiscating any such potentially deadly crackers from kids' lunches, and even taking away PB&Js from students who boug ... More >>

“What’s Cookin’? Two Centuries of American Foodways”

Get a taste of history at the Heritage Society’s new exhibit

Houston Company Gets Sued Over Alleged Magazine-Subscription Scam

Aftermath: Sharks and Sailors, Ume and the Jonx at Walter's

Hippie Cops and Loan Sharks

No beards allowed at HPD

Best of Ottawa International Animation Festival

Telemarketing Offers

MGR promises help with federal grants and racks up hundreds of consumer complaints

Texas coin companies target elderly investors

Heads you lose, tails you lose

And Just Where Was Tinker Bell In All This?

Jerking Our Chain

Manned Vehicular Slaughter

Gaps in Coverage

GlobalTec employees apparently aren't all they make themselves out to be

Costly Advances

Payday lenders take care of you till your check comes in, and for a long time after

Letters

Best Place to People-Watch

Best Watch Repair

Box & Box Jewelers

Best Consumer Advocates

Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston

Confidence Man

Is the BBB's Dan Parsons the most honest man in Houston?

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Activists push for a law to keep homebuyers from getting squeezed

Pumped Dry

Gas station dealers find big oil blocking the way in their struggles against extinction

Will the Real Texas Musician Please Stand Up

The land of gee-tars and fiddles

Pain in the Ass

America's Service Station claims to be the auto repair exception.So how come the high prices, cheap parts and minimal service warranties?

Closing Costs

When what should be one of the happiest moments in your life becomes an ongoing nightmare -- and you're not only living it, you're living in it

Time Lines

Buyers are the real prize in vacation-share pitches

See No Evil

Under director Jimmie Schindewolf, the city's public works department has averted its eyes from shoddy work, mismanagement -- and corruption.