Ben's Bits

Consumer protection that is. A couple of weeks ago I heard about a problem where Verizon gave an incorrect quote (several times) for data plan usage (seems they fail to understand the difference between $.002/kb (.002 dollars/kb) and .002 cents/kb) and refused to admit their mistake. That seems to be sorted out for the original poster now, though it appears to remain an issue for many others who had the same problem and who are now discovering they are not alone.

One other good thing to come out of this was my discovery of The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back web site. As someone who feels consumers are often used and abused by big businesses which fail to act responsibly it's nice to see the small guy get a voice. Incidentally, Time Magazine has named you (or me) person of the year. Isn't it interesting how massive distribution and viral publicity on the internet can do wonders to turn the table on big businesses which are not so nimble anymore?