“Customer Complaint History for The Magical Gift Company

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB processed a total of 10 complaints about The Magical Gift Company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 10 complaints closed in 36 months, 2 were closed in the last year.”

New BBB link: http://www.bbb.org/connecticut/business-reviews/gift-shops/the-magical-gift-company-in-torrington-ct-10001810#

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/632231.html

Revenge of Snowzilla

25-foot snowman appears ‘magically’ in Powers’ front yard

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
ebluemink@adn.com

Published: December 24th, 2008 12:00 AM
Last Modified: December 24th, 2008 01:05 AM

Snowzilla the giant snowman rose from the dead Tuesday morning after some holiday pranksters thumbed their noses at city orders and rebuilt him overnight.

When news of the controversial and world-famous Anchorage snowman’s demise exploded on the Internet this week, hundreds of Alaska and Lower 48 readers had two words for the city of Anchorage and anyone else who criticized the crowd-pleasing giant: “Bah humbug.”

And before dawn Tuesday, in downtown Anchorage, someone erected a small, misshapen snowman at the entrance to Anchorage City Hall: A crude mini Snowzilla brandishing a protest sign that read “Snowmen of the world unite!”

Others created a snowzilla.org Web site and began soliciting a legal defense fund for Snowzilla’s creators.

The Powers family first built Snowzilla in their front yard in 2005. Their snowman became an instant celebrity, drawing local gawkers and international TV crews to their Columbine Street home.

But complaints trickled in from neighbors who didn’t appreciate the increased traffic and noise at all hours.

Several weeks ago, city code enforcers — acting when this year’s giant snowman was half-complete — declared Snowzilla a nuisance and a safety hazard. They banned homeowner Billy Powers from building an “extraordinarily large snowman.” The city posted its stop-work order at the base of the snowman and on Powers’ front door.

Stung by criticism of its decision to outlaw Snowzilla, the city went on the offensive against Powers on Tuesday afternoon in a press release.

A city spokeswoman said Powers has violated city land-use codes for 13 years and ignored city efforts to “accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood.”

BAD BLOOD

When asked Tuesday morning about his other disputes with the city — involving the old cars, tires and other junk he stores in his front yard — Powers abruptly ended the interview and went inside his house.

“We’ve already had enough bah humbug,” he said.

According to officials, the city has a lien against his property for $118,000, the amount of money Powers owes in a court judgement for ignoring repeated orders to clean up the yard.

Did the bad blood over the property dispute influence the city’s decision to kill Snowzilla?

“It was certainly in the back of our mind but I think we would have done the same thing if it had been a different place,” said Richard Fern, a city code enforcement officer.

All but one of the families on his block like Snowzilla, Powers said.

As proof, he produced a petition neighbors signed last week. One of them, Barbara Hosier, included a note saying the snowman is “the best thing that ever happened in Anchorage.”

HOMAGE

At least for now, Snowzilla is back in a big way.

It’s about 25 feet tall, taller than last year, sporting a new corncob pipe and carrot nose. When word of its resurrection spread around town Tuesday morning, Snowzilla’s many local fans drove through the neighborhood to pay homage and snap photos.

It’s clear the snowman was built quickly: It looks a little lumpier and broader in the hips than it did in previous incarnations.

Who built it? Magic, said Powers. Christmas magic. And that’s what he’ll tell city enforcers if they pay a visit, he said.

No one from the city plans a visit right now. No need to ramp up the antagonism, Fern said.

The city will not take any action related to Snowzilla until after the holidays, he said.

The city got concerned in the first place because of angry complaints from a neighbor last year, who mentioned drunks coming to see the snowman at night and other problems, Fern said.

The city didn’t do anything about Snowzilla last year. This year, the code enforcers decided to post the stop-work order after it became clear that Snowzilla 2008 would be much bigger than last year, Fern said.

GODZILLA GUERRILLAS

Snowzilla has never been built so quickly, Powers said.

He refused to discuss who built the snowman or how many people helped it appear “magically” overnight. He wouldn’t say if his own family was involved.

Several people who drove by the Powers house Tuesday morning gave the monster snowman a big smile and thumbs up.

“I think it’s sad that we live in a community that would stop someone from building a snowman,” said Jason Palmer, who stopped for a moment to check out Snowzilla while making a flower delivery in the neighborhood.

http://search.buffalo.bbb.org/codbrep.html?ID=17001857

Summary:

The company’s size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.

Number of complaints processed by the BBB
in the last 36 months: 58
in the last 12 months: 33

http://ct.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=29&bbb=0111&firm=10001810

Summary:

Customer Complaint History

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB processed a total of 15 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 15 complaints closed in 36 months, 7 were closed in the last year.

BBB Accreditation
This business is not a BBB Accredited Business

And last but not least, a warning:

Industry Tips

Work at Home Promotions

Every day, ads for work-at-home jobs appear in newspapers across the country as well as in national magazines and on the Internet. Some offers include stuffing envelopes, assembling products, reading books, reviewing movies, medical
transactions, or selling advertising on the Internet.

BBB suggests using extreme caution when
responding to any such offer. While ads claim high earnings and short hours with little or no experience, BBB files nationwide indicate no evidence of anyone making the promised money. Rarely, if ever, are these ads an offer of legitimate employment. Generally, these “jobs” require up-front fees for information or supplies, and only the person who initially ran the ad makes any money.

You should be aware that the United States Postal Inspectors regularly investigate these fraudulent schemes, and that you risk investigation and possible prosecution by postal or other law enforcement agencies if you become involved in one of these schemes.

I’m gonna head south and try and get to the faster winds to start out with.