Bob O’Leary

Inspired by the NCAA basketball tournament, The Consumerist has a way to decide the Worst Company in America.

Based on nominations by its readers, the site put 64 of the most reviled and customer service challenged companies in a bracket. Right now, the tournament is completing its first round with News Corp, the parent company of Fox News, against Hallmark-Westland Meat Packing Company. We all know about Faux news, but Hallmark-Westland knowingly put sick cows into food for school lunches.

The competition is tough. You would think that TJ Maxx would do well, having exposed its customer’s credit data to crooks. But TJM is against Wal-Mart, a perennial favorite who made the Final Four, and losing badly.

While retail stores are prevalent in the tournament, the equivalent to the ACC here is cable companies. Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter Cable are all part of that power conference, with Comcast one of the tournament favorites.

In last year’s tournament finals, the RIAA beat out Haliburton. Even though Haliburton helped provide us with an unpopular war, the RIAA won with its malicious lawsuits against consumers with MP3s on their computers. Sadly, neither is in this year’s tournament.

There is still time to get in on the first-round action. Click here and vote for the companies that have screwed you over. The winners advance to the next round. They need your support!