10 Worst Companies in 2010 So Far (Besides BP)

While it’s no contest for which company is THE most hated right now, one CNNMoney article attempts to highlight the many, many other companies (not named “BP”) that have managed to eat up tax dollars, provide shoddy customer service and otherwise act like “miscreants,” having only been overshadowed by the oil company’s time in the spotlight. Here’s a short list of what I’m calling “The Jerks of 2010”:

Cable companies  Customers have had customer service issues with the likes of Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and Comcast for nearly a decade. The companies have virtual monopolies of the market, and price hikes and broadcast channel blackouts have further mired the companies’ reputations. It’s no surprise that several customers report planning on cutting back or eliminating their cable service altogether this year.

Facebook  As the social networking giant attempts to monetize its biggest asset – its users’ information including cities, likes, dislikes, activities, etc. – it loosened and convoluted privacy settings beyond comprehension. The ensuing backlash and bitterness prompted an apology from founder Zuckerberg and a re-tooling of the settings to make them easier to use.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  Tax-payer dollars continue to pour into and out of these companies. It has cost $145 billion in just two years, and their execs are still asking for more!

WellPoint  The health insurance giant tried to hike up premiums by almost 40 percent at a time when many Americans are already hanging on by a financial thread. Then reports started coming in that the company automatically investigates all breast cancer patients as fraudulent as an attempt to deny coverage of related claims. Jacking up prices and lowering coverage caught the attention of President Obama, who said we had been “held hostage” by such practices for too long.

Nike  The sports apparel giant came under fire for keeping on as spokesmen the likes of Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger, athletes who were very publicly outed as a serial philanderer and alleged sexual assaulter, respectively. Just a few years before, the company kept on then-spokesman Kobe Bryant throughout a rape trial. The one time the company did drop an athlete for making the news was the case of Michael Vick, who was busted for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring. This prompted outraged consumers to retort that the company cares more for mistreated dogs than mistreated women.

And that’s just the beginning! For the complete list – including AT&T and Goldman Sachs – click here.

–Lauren Vasquez, Associate Editor