What's On Your Mind? Walgreens, Emerson, Farberware, Skype

Millie, of Willingboro, N.J., was at her local Walgreens last week when she said she purchased a bottle of Ecotrin.

“The outer container was sealed, however, when I opened the bottle, the foil was shredded and open,” Millie told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I immediately returned to the store and requested to speak with the manager. The cashier spoke with him on the phone and she was told to tell me to exchange it for another bottle. The cashier mentioned that a previous customer has returned the aspirin for the same reason.”

Millie says she reported it to Walgreens and Glaxo Smith Kline. It's a good reminder for consumers to always be on the lookout for unsealed food and medicine containers. Sometimes it's just a case of incomplete packaging at the factory. However, it could be a sign of tampering. In any case, the product should be returned and not used.

Burning issue

A number of consumers have reported overheating problems with their microwave ovens. Joe, of Whittier, Calif., is one of them.

“I bought my Emerson microwave four months ago and it keeps sparking and popping,” Joe said. “It stinks like burned rubber and I don't know if I should return it .”

Well, let us clear that up for you, Joe. You should definitely return it, and the sooner the better. Not only does it sound like it's a real fire hazard, the clock is ticking on your one year manufacturer's warranty.

Broken handle

Are appliances subjected to heat more susceptible to breaking? It sure seems like we get a lot of reports of coffee urn problems. Adrienne, of Fishkill, N.Y., says she purchased an electric Farberware coffee pot last October at Macy's in Pougkeepsie, NY.

“It was a Christmas gift for my brother,” Adrienne told ConsumerAffairs.com. “He just called me and told me the handle broke off. There's is no screw to screw back on, it just broke off. Do we return it to Macy's? I still have the receipt.”

If Adrienne still has her receipt and it's been less than a year since she purchased it, she should certainly try to return it. We're assuming the product came with a one year warranty that should cover a broken handle.

Grass isn't always greener

Skype is best known as a free service but it does have a premium service that carries a monthly charge.

Simon, of Darwin, Australia said he had been using the free service for years when, about a year ago, he signed up for an unlimited world calling subscription.

“For $14.99 it gave me calls to certain countries, voicemail, call forwarding, and 3 on-line numbers,” Simon said.

But recently he was on the Skype website and clicked on the special offers section.

“I found out that I could save 15 percent by paying for 12 months up front,” he said. “As I've had the subscription for over 1 year, and wished to keep it, I decided to click on the link and take advantage of the saving as any other loyal customer should be able to do.”

But he says the process required him to cancel his current subscription and start a new one. He says he was not warned that, in doing so, he would lose his three on-line telephone numbers.

“End result, I will have to pay $18 every 3 months for EACH online number I had free before,” Simon said. “So $216 extra per year, on top of the normal subscription price.”

Simon said he tried to get his old subscription back but was unsuccessful. He's not happy and feels like he was cheated. He cautions other consumers to think carefully about upgrades, and what it might mean to any special deals you already have.