NewsFlask.com

With the new year here, consumers are finally starting to overcome the “holiday hangover” and are finding extra cash in their pockets again. We find it necessary to inform these said consumers of whom to look out for when out spending their hard-earned cash. With a lot of thought and research, News Flask has developed the ten most hated corporations that are just out there to do one thing, take advantage of the little guy.

Beware! You may love a couple of them.

10. Netflix – The streaming movie and television site has continued to grow since going public in 2009, but with growth comes greed. At the beginning of 2011 Netflix had one of the highest customer ratings of any large American company and its stock was trading at over $300. But within the last six months the company has raised customer rates by more than 60%, causing its stock to trade around $90 at the start 2012.

9. Sears – The large department store franchise of Sears, which merged with Kmart, has been hurting since the takeover in 2005. Customers are becoming less frequent due to high interest cost and lack of reliability due to stock. Sears sales continue to plummet. After announcing these results, Sears Holdings said it would close 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores throughout North America.

8. Bank of America – The large American bank announced it was laying off 30,000 people in 2011. Its share value has dropped 55% in one year. The bank continues to face legal actions from the federal government, several states and some of its shareholders.

7. Best Buy – One of the largest electronic retailers in the world pissed off thousands of customers in 2011. More importantly, their error that caused so much customer grief was during the Christmas buying season. Best Buy offered deals on a number of electronic items and then could not fulfill orders. The company spewed out some non-sense that just made people even more pissed. Forbes magazine predicts that Best Buy, which has a history of disgruntled customers, will be bankrupt within a couple of years.

6. Nokia – With its stock dropping more than 50%, Nokia will likely lose its lead as the top handset company in the world to Samsung sometime in 2012. Instead of valuing the customers that remain, Nokia continues to punished them. Nokia was tied for lowest overall satisfaction in JD Power’s 2011 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study.

* with the Android and iPhone who seriously still buys Nokia anyway?

5.AT&T – The phone giant has received the lowest customer rating since its attempt to purchase T-Mobile, which would have created a Monopoly. Customers feared the company would have the power to set prices extraordinarily high, causing the government to step in and put an end to the madness. Stock continues to drop.

4. American Airlines - AA has been rated the worst airline for customer satisfaction for the last five years, and there seems to be no change in sight. In 2011 AA filed for bankruptcy, which collapsed their stock and hurt all of their shareholders.

3. Direct TV – With terrible reception and unexpected extra fees, customers have been staying clear of the satellite company giant. But be careful, they have been known to charge up to $500 to cancel their service.

2. McDonald’s - There isn’t much recent news surrounding the fast food burger chain, but everyone else feels that they should be near the top, so we feel the need to be that fat kid at school trying to fit in. Actually, that same kid should be the one hating McDonald’s the most – luring him into the cholesterol clogging abyss with cheap-ass toys, only to be disappointed – the shame!

1. Facebook – What? No way! You can’t believe it can you? How can a company that is used and loved by so many, be this bad? Facebook has the lowest customer rating score out of any of the other social media sites (from the American Customer Satisfaction Index). The site has repeatedly upset users by neglecting personal privacy, including the introduction of facial recognition software which spurred an investigation by the European Union, and the Facebook timeline. Facebook received significant negative press for forcing new settings on users that changes how their personal information is shared with others. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has only recently said that the company will no longer do this. Be prepared for huge changes as well. Facebook forces users to change to new styles and formats, which it will do again very soon when they go public. And with any media platform that hosts over 800 million active users, expect to see more and more of in-your-face advertising.

Imagine this, a McDonald’s ad next to your comment on your friend’s status about how great her relationship is. Get ready, because it’s coming!