Consumer World Original

Mouse Print*-- Beware Albertsons' Bait & Switch Vaccine Offer

This is the time of year when supermarket and drug chains are competing to get you to come to their store for your annual flu shot. And typically they provide some generous incentives to do so. The "up to $20 off on your next grocery purchase" offer from Albertsons (Star Market, Safeway, and others) seemed like a generous one... until you read the fine print. That story is in Mouse Print* this week.

Want to Save on Car Insurance? Switch Companies!

One of the ways to cut your car insurance bill is to switch companies. Accordiing to Consumer Reports, 41% of consumers who switched car insurance companies saved $500 or more! C/R also has an interesting chart that shows which companies consumer are switching to the most, and which companies they are leaving behind.

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Look How Fast Food Prices Have Surged

It is not your imagination that a trip to McDonald's is no longer a bargain. Their prices have doubled on average over the past ten years, and in some cases more than that. A McDouble was $1.19 in 2014 and by 2024 it cost almost triple -- $3.19! See how prices changed there, and at Popeye's, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Wendy's, Burger King, Starbucks, and others.

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Consumer Alert

Are Sites Using Surveillance Pricing to Charge Different People Different Prices?

It is called "surveillance pricing" -- when sites allegedly use data they have collected about you and then change the price you are shown accordingly. Sometimes it might be higher, sometimes lower. Some states are considering legislation to ban the practice.

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