Bank of America and Walmart Take the Lead in the Elite 8 Round of Consumerist.com's 'Worst Company in America'

Consumers Fight Back Against Poor Policies, High Prices and Hidden Fees

NEW YORK, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Irritated consumers have moved bank giants, retailers, and other companies that continue to miss the mark on customer satisfaction into the Elite 8 of Consumerist.com's sixth annual "Worst Company in America" tournament.  Top-seeded Bank of America, a fixture of the tournament since acquiring Countrywide, cemented their spot in the Elite 8 with a whopping 87 percent of the vote against DirecTV. They will face the world's largest retailer Walmart in the first match-up of the latest round, live today.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110406/DC78520)

Fan-favorite and 2010 Grand Champion Comcast has advanced to the Elite 8 round for the fourth straight year and will go head-to-head with telecom giant AT&T.  Ticketmaster, notorious for its endless service fees, is emerging as a potential contender beating out Sony with 83 percent of the vote and has made it into the Elite 8 round for the third year in a row.  The ticket giant will face Chase, who recently upset customers by pulling the plug on its debit card reward programs.  

Rounding out the Elite 8 match-ups is heavy fan favorite BP and health provider WellPoint, known for it's major practice of weeding out policyholders after they've been diagnosed with a medical condition that could cost the insurer a significant amount of money.

The 'Worst Company in America' is a parody of the NCAA basketball tournament, currently taking place. Each week, companies go head-to-head in the single elimination tournament and will be knocked out by Consumerist.com visitors' votes until a Grand Champion is named on April 18.  Consumers can log-on to Consumerist.com today to vote in the first match-up of the Elite 8 between Bank of America and Walmart, live at 3:00 p.m. ET. Throughout the next two weeks consumers will see Apple, BP, and Ticketmaster, among others, fight for the glory of the following round – the Final Four which kicks off on April 12th.

"Companies usually have one of the three traits that secure their spot in the 'Worst Company in America' tournament," said Meghann Marco, Executive Editor of Consumerist.com. "These companies either have a product that's annoying to use or aggravating to fix when broken, they've earned headlines for outrageous behavior or they've lessened the choices available to consumers."

Consumers can check back regularly at Consumerist.com for updated brackets and voting opportunities throughout the month of March and April.  The 2011 Grand Champion in Consumerist.com's "Worst Company in America" will receive the prestigious Golden Poo Award, a golden statuette modeled after a pile of poo.

Upcoming elimination dates:

• April 12 – Final Four
• April 14 – Championship Battle
• April 18 – Winner!

Ready? Set? Play ball! The 2011 Elite 8 are…

Click here for direct link to bracket.

Here are the Elite 8 match-ups:

About Consumerist.com

The Consumerist's parent company, Consumer Media LLC, is a subsidiary of Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, and ConsumerReports.org, and the nation's leading not-for-profit consumer advocacy organization. Since its founding in 1936, Consumers Union has fought for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To maintain independence and impartiality, CU accepts neither outside advertising nor free samples. It employs a staff of "mystery shoppers" who buy products in retail stores around the country, just as any other buyer would, and then ship them to the Consumers Union labs, where technical experts test some 3,000 products yearly. 

SOURCE Consumerist.com