Shopping Experience: Is this deceptive?

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A week ago (10 days ago), I ordered a bathing suit online at JcPenneys. They advertised it was on sale $10 off the full price, and since I found a free shipping coupon online, I ordered it. It arrived. I don’t live near a store.

Yesterday I realized that I was going to a dentist near a Penneys, so I decided to go in and look at what they were charging locally. I went in, found the suit, and low and behold the suit was $20 off the regular price.

It’s sad to say that I expected as much.

Read moreOnline they give you one price and at the store, you find another. Some times the store is cheaper, sometimes online is cheaper. You never know which it will be, so I check frequently when I am able to.

I went up to the register with my receipt and I asked for a credit. The woman at the check out counter told me that she couldn’t help me. The catalog business she explained is not the same as the store. I immediately piped up in front of the other waiting customers that this was a deceptive practice!! You should have seen their faces…

I said if you are one store, you should sell the product for the same price across the board. The customer service rep then said to me, “Well, did you get free shipping?” I acknowledged I did and shot right back at her, “Yeah, so does that make it right–charging me for shipping underhandedly?” Everyone around me was tense because I laid my thoughts on the table. People looked away! It always amazes me. The customer service rep told me to go to the catalog department to find out what could be done.

So I trucked on over to the catalog department and said, “I want a credit. This is $10 less than what I paid in the past week or two”. She promptly informed me it was not their policy to price match in the store. I said fine. Ring up this suit here, and I will be back tomorrow and I will bring you the other one so you can give me a credit. I’m not paying ten dollars more for nothing. You’ll just have to do more work– that’s your choice. She told me she would give me a credit, though it was against their policy.

Do you find these practices deceptive? I sure do…

I think as consumers we need to speak out against this and stop it!

Misty Croslin Voice Stress Test

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A reader asked me for an opinion on my Feedback page about Misty Croslin. What is fascinating is when I was listening to it, I heard something interesting.

If you go to time marker 7:00 and listen from there, you will hear Misty say, “I didn’t have nothing to do with her. I love that little girl more than anything, would never hurt her, if I knew who hurt her, I wouldn’t tell.”

Did I hear that right? Does she says she wouldn’t tell?

Isn’t that fascinating. She wouldn’t tell?

That’s the truth!

River Cruz

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The other day a reader asked me for my opinion on River Cruz on my Feedback page. Cruz is the woman who claims she had an affair with George Anthony, and that George confessed to her that Caylee’s death was an accident.

Read moreThe reader wrote:

River Cruz supposedly had an affair with George Anthony two years ago. Supposedly authorities came to her to get the info. She says that she is not hoping to make money off of the information. Both she and her sister Skye Benhaida were interviewed. Videos of both are on WFTV. http://tinyurl.com/y... more

River Cruz supposedly had an affair with George Anthony two years ago. Supposedly authorities came to her to get the info. She says that she is not hoping to make money off of the information. Both she and her sister Skye Benhaida were interviewed. Videos of both are on WFTV. http://tinyurl.com/ykrveth

http://www.wftv.com/news/22846532/detail.html

http://www.wftv.com/video/22828740/index.html

They’re all short videos. Do you think that the two women are being truthful. I thought that the sister seemed to be taking delight in the whole thing on her first interview. River Cruz herself seems to want to be left alone and doesn’t seem interested in getting attention for this although my guess is that she’ll be happy enough if she gets some money from the tabloids in the end.

http://www.wftv.com/video/22847997/index.html

I responded two days ago on the 17th (I just see UserVoice isn’t showing dates! What the heck? They used to):

These two are sending mixed messages. There is quite a bit of shoulder shrugging where I wouldn’t expect to see it. This is also not a high stake lie, but I don’t believe we are hearing 100% of the truth. I’d need to see more to break it all down.

There is definite interest to get money from this, if you want my opinion, from both women. Was there an affair? I am undetermined at this time.

Nancy Grace interviewed River Cruz’s sister on her show on the 17th. You can read the transcript here, and River’s sister denies selling the story to the National Enquirer or having interest in any money.

Yet last night on Nancy Grace, what do you suppose Nancy Grace was holding up? The National Enquirer with River Cruz’s story!

Is that a hit? A success at calling out a liar? You decide. I’m pissed User Voice doesn’t have date stamps anymore! We all need to complain to them to change that!

Shantina Smiley’s Ex-Husband Jerry

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Shantina Smiley, 29, mysteriously disappeared last weekend under strange circumstances. You can read the story here.

When I watched this video of her ex-husband, I was immediately concerned by his demeanor and emotions. While this video is nothing conclusive (one hot spot by itself isn’t enough to say anything), I want to see more of him. If anyone sees more video of him speaking about this, will you share it with me?

I saw a video of the fiance, and he appeared genuinely concerned.

My Thoughts: James Sikes

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Global Recall Of The Toyota Prius After Breaking Problems

James Sikes is not convincing in the tale of his horrific ordeal that could have easily ended his life. I would immediately expect to see fear–regardless of when this interview was taken. Fear from a potentially life-threatening situation doesn’t resolve quickly, if ever. As humans, we have strong emotionally memories, even years later. Some last a lifetime. When we recollect a fearful situation, our faces remember it, too, and strangely for Sikes, his face has no memory.

Read moreWhen I watch Sikes speak, these are my thoughts:

  1. The first thing Sikes says is, “Somehow it got stuck….I…I…I don’t know….I don’t know…” at which point he shrugs his shoulders in doubt. Why is he doubtful here?
  2. Furthermore, while eye contact is almost never (99% of the time) a clue to deception, here his aversion to look at people is notable. It’s unusual behavior and not your typical “lack of eye contact or looking in a different direction as we think”. You can feel there is an aversion to look at others, a feeling like he just can’t do it. It doesn’t make sense.
  3. Sikes clearly looks insecure, and I don’t think he is an insecure man. Why is he so insecure at a moment where the world is distrusting of Toyotas and would likely be on his side more than ever? If you are honest, this is a big oomph in your sails! This is a red flag for me.
  4. Most people who experienced this terror would be certain about two things: the vehicle went crazy (out of control, nuts, had a mind of its own/something similar) and that it was scary (unnerving, frightening/something similar). Period. It’s really the two key elements I would expect to hear Sikes talk about for certain, and yet we don’t hear this at all. These are absent. Why?
  5. I am flagged by the fact I do not see confidence about the facts, but I also don’t see any emotions: fear, horror, sadness, or any feeling one would experience when one is potentially facing death. Ninety miles an hour in a car with no ability to stop it is life-threatening no matter how you look at it. That evokes strong emotions. Period.
  6. Sikes finishes the statement above with, “…somehow the pedal was stuck”. This flags me. How did he know the pedal was stuck? Cars can suddenly accelerate without a stuck gas pedal.

    I was in a runaway vehicle before and when you get out, you don’t have a clue what happened. You just know the damn car wouldn’t STOP! For me, the engine revved up undeniably. It stood out to me as a notable element. Sikes doesn’t talk about this at all. His details are sparse. If you pushed on the gas pedal, you wouldn’t notice the revving because it would be expected.

  7. How come he assumes the pedal was stuck and doesn’t question anything else like the electronics? Or the brakes? Why doesn’t he leave it open to consideration? Most people who want to know the truth want to explore all potentials. One could argue that he just used the “stuck pedal” as a description, but I find it odd he doesn’t question any other potential.
  8. Sikes continues, “It wasn’t sticking on anything that was visible.” Who can drive above 50 or faster, and take time to look at their feet and the gas pedal and still navigate the highway traffic? Anyone? Is this physically even possible? The thoughts scare me.
  9. Look at the tensed-eyebrow expression Sikes makes at 0:19. You can see him thinking as he speaks. He is stressing here. The lack of fear with the stress is concerning. Ironically, when you listen to his 911 call which is odd in and of itself, he seems to express fear, yet in person, its strangely missing.
  10. Sikes says, “I pulled to a point where I can feel it still (smirk) in my shoulder, but it was just stuck. That’s the only way I can explain it.”

    He pulled on the gas pedal? Is this physically possible??

    When Sykes says this, he shrugs his shoulder. Do you see it? He is also shaking his head no the whole time as he says it and he keeps expressing stress in his eyebrows. Why on earth would he feel a positive emotion here when talking about pain he endured due to a freak malfunction of a car that almost cost him his life?

What is sad to me is that I am sure there are a lot of valid complaints of runaway vehicles out there that are legitimate, and this will just cause people to doubt the truth when they see it now. That’s frustrating. So many people looked at me when it happened to me a long time ago, and only now are they coming around and being honest enough to say, “Wow, that is what might have happened to you!”