Buzz
Nothing comes free in life, and if you're receiving something without paying, there's a strong likelihood that someone is bearing the cost elsewhere. In today’s digital age, where nearly all transactions and assets are connected to the internet in one form or another, even a minor coding error can cause serious financial setbacks for a business. Here are 10 instances where a company badly dropped the ball in one way or another.
10. Sony Nearly Hands Over The Interview To Pirates
As many of you may recall, The Interview created a significant amount of trouble for Sony right before its release. The company suffered a major setback when hackers infiltrated their servers, stealing several unreleased films and threatening to leak them online unless Sony agreed to remove The Interview from theaters. When Sony refused to comply, threats of attacks were made against any theater daring to screen the movie. Faced with the potential for violence against theatergoers, Sony ultimately decided the safest course of action was to withdraw the movie from theaters, disappointing patriotic movie fans across the nation.
Surprisingly, Sony went ahead and made The Interview available for rental online via a digital download service called The Kernel. However, the issue arose when users could rent the movie on Kernel, then download it for free and keep it indefinitely. Not only could renters hold onto the movie, but they could also share the Kernel link, enabling others to download the movie for free without any restrictions.
9. Amazon's Automated Pricing System Goes Wild
Around once a month, Amazon clears out certain used or returned items that haven’t sold as quickly as expected. With such a massive inventory, the prices for these items are automatically set by a computer system, which leads to a rush of customers trying to grab the best deals before they sell out. While the clearance prices are generally good, they were outdone by a major pricing glitch in 2011.
Out of nowhere, the prices of video games in Amazon’s electronics section plummeted drastically. In an instant, they dropped from $40 to just a penny. Yes, you read that right—only one cent for a brand new game. Usually, when such massive online pricing mistakes occur, you’d expect the orders for these dirt-cheap games to be quickly canceled. However, Amazon’s Prime shipping service complicated things. Shoppers could still place orders for these one-cent games and have them delivered right away with two-day shipping. While some orders were indeed canceled, it's unclear just how many thousands of games made it to their destinations.
8. One Man Amasses All The Airline Rewards
Most credit card rewards programs aren’t worth much since they often require you to spend an absurd amount of money before you start seeing any meaningful rewards. Spending $5,000 just to earn a $30 Arby’s gift card isn’t exactly something to boast about, so you won’t hear many stories about people going to extreme lengths to redeem their rewards. There is, however, one exception to the norm—Brad Wilson.
With a plan so deceptively simple that anyone could replicate it, Mr. Wilson took advantage of a government program to purchase US-minted $1 coins using his credit card. He then deposited these coins back into his bank account, using them to pay off his credit card bills. It was like a never-ending loop, but instead of becoming the king of the jungle, Wilson became the king of air travel, amassing millions of rewards points that allowed him to redeem over four million free airline miles for himself and his wife. This earned them top-tier status with American Airlines, granting them even more complimentary perks. Unfortunately, the program ended once it became clear the government had made a mistake in trying to encourage people to use more coins.
7. Sega Launches Console With the Most Vulnerable Piracy Protection Ever
In 1999, the Sega Dreamcast was released in the US, introducing a new type of CD known as GD-ROM. This format could hold a massive gigabyte of data on a single disc—almost twice the capacity of a regular CD. Sega designed this new media type to be their primary defense against piracy, as blank GD-ROMs weren’t available for purchase and the Dreamcast could only read GD-ROMs as game discs. Unfortunately, Sega overlooked a critical flaw in their piracy protection system.
The Dreamcast also supported a special kind of music CD, called Mil-CDs, which provided extra features like enhanced menus and video playback. Soon after the Dreamcast’s release, hackers discovered a way to bypass the need for GD-ROMs entirely, tricking the console into running standard CDs as though they were Mil-CDs. This allowed every Dreamcast to play pirated games right out of the box without needing any modification. Although Sega tried to fix this issue in later models, the damage was already done. Millions of consoles capable of running free games were in circulation, and Sega left the console market just two years later.
6. Walmart Preps for the Holiday Rush by Slashing Prices
As the holiday season approaches, online retailers start gearing up for their massive end-of-year sales. It’s critical for stores to be ready for shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as they stand to earn billions in those few weeks of retail frenzy. Missing out on these events is simply not an option. In 2013, Walmart found itself in a nightmare scenario while preparing for the season’s rush.
A glitch in Walmart’s website code led to prices on many products plummeting to unbelievable levels. HDTVs were marked down to just $10, and projectors originally priced over $500 were selling for the cost of a Starbucks coffee. The situation turned into pure chaos, as these absurd prices were available at all Walmart locations across the country. With Walmart’s convenient pick-up-at-store option, customers could buy these items and collect them almost immediately, before any cancellations could take place. To make matters even more absurd, Walmart issued $10 gift cards to apologize for the countless canceled orders. These cards were also sent to those who managed to have their orders fulfilled.
5. Zavvi Hands Out Free Gaming Consoles While Threatening Legal Action
In 2013, the game Tearaway was launched for the PlayStation Vita at a retail price of $40. In the UK, however, customers who didn’t own a Vita had the option to buy the game bundled with a new Vita for £190, which seemed like a great deal. Somewhere along the way, British retailer Zavvi messed up and ended up sending the £190 bundle to customers who had only ordered the £20 game. As a result, people were getting a free PlayStation Vita along with their game. Zavvi wasn’t pleased about this turn of events.
When a company makes an error like this, it’s not unusual for them to cut their losses and turn the situation into positive press. Apparently, Zavvi didn’t take this route and instead decided to escalate matters by sending letters to customers threatening legal action unless they returned the wrongly shipped items. There was much debate online about whether the Vitas were technically unsolicited goods, which would have made them legally classified as a gift. As of now, it’s unclear whether Zavvi followed through with their threats or if customers simply returned the products.
4. JC Penney Accidentally Issues Coupon for 100% Off
Everybody loves a good deal, which is why most people are fond of coupons. However, some individuals take their love for coupons a bit too far, even going so far as to create counterfeit ones that give them 100 percent off their purchases. With these fraudulent coupons, they can snag items from stores without the usual need to rush or deal with security.
Although it seems unbelievable, real 100-percent-off coupons have existed before. One instance occurred when JC Penney released an online coupon offering $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. As you might expect, $10 minus $10 equals $0. While you wouldn’t exactly break the bank with a $10 cap, JC Penney didn’t set a limit on how many coupons could be used, so customers could get as many $10 items for free as they wanted. The retailer quickly ran out of stock on all items priced below $10 before they could shut down the coupon for good. Who’s up for a free towel?
3. Sony Promises 14-Day Trial But Ends Up Giving Lifetime Memberships Instead
Typically, phrases like “14-day trial” and “lifetime membership” aren’t exactly synonymous, unless you’ve got an unexpected short life expectancy. But in February 2014, Sony’s PlayStation Plus service had a different story to tell. Initially launched as a bonus for gamers to receive free games each month, the program changed with the introduction of the PlayStation 4, becoming a required subscription for anyone wanting to play games online.
To attract users to their new console service, Sony launched a special promotion on their online store: the first 14 days were free, with automatic billing kicking in after the trial period. The only requirement was that a credit card be linked to the account so that charges could begin once the trial ended.
Here’s where the twist occurs. Once users entered their credit card information, the site presented them with the option to select a subscription plan for after the 14-day trial. They could choose between a one-year plan, a three-month plan, or another free 14-day period. Guess which one wasn’t supposed to be there. Users quickly realized they could select the free option over and over, stacking up decades of free service in the process.
2. T-Mobile Accidentally Gives Away Free Year-Long Contracts
Phone contracts and minute plans often come with outrageous prices. If only there were a company that gave away free contracts and didn’t worry about collecting payment. In 2011, T-Mobile did just that. The company advertised a 12-month contract for £10.21 a month, offering texting and 300 minutes, with the first month free. But due to a mistake, the website listed it as a 12-month contract with the first 12 months completely free.
It was clear this couldn’t have been accurate and was likely just a typo in the ad. But, surprisingly, those who did sign up discovered that the offer really was for 12 months of free service. Naturally, T-Mobile quickly took down the advertisement and issued a statement saying they wouldn’t be honoring the offer. However, after public outrage from customers and the media, T-Mobile relented and decided to fulfill the free contract for anyone who had signed up. In the end, approximately 2,000 people scored the deal before it was pulled.
1. Electronic Arts Gives Away A Library Of Games
In recent times, it has become commonplace for companies to launch their own online platforms in competition with the industry giants. Where once Netflix stood alone, now there’s HBO GO, Hulu, Crackle, FX, and numerous other streaming services vying for your attention and money. Similarly, where Steam was the only platform for PC gamers, now GoG and Origin are stepping in to take a share of the market with their own exclusive gaming platforms. When Electronic Arts (who had won the Consumerist Golden Poo award for two years running) introduced their Origin service, few people were enthusiastic, largely due to the negative associations with the EA name.
EA faced many challenges early on and needed a strategy to gather user feedback. They turned to surveys, offering users a $20 gift code as a thank-you for completing them. The issue arose when the $20 gift code wasn’t restricted to one-time use and could be applied by anyone, multiple times. This mistake allowed even those who didn’t use the service to claim every game priced at $20 or below for free. In response, EA decided to honor all purchases and move forward, all while attracting a huge influx of new users eager to get free games.
