Consumerist
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news from the swamp
Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing: Cellphone Companies And The Customers They Hate
Today at 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will pry through bone and muscle to see if cellphone companies really do have hearts of pure stone. The Committee will question the industry's most egregious practices: junk fees, illegal contract extensions, and early termination fees. The industry is working overtime to cast itself as the consumer's best friend, with AT&T recently agreeing to prorate ETFs as part of a desperate attempt to show that federal regulation is unnecessary.
AT&T doesn't have the cojones to appear before the committee, so the heavy task of defending the industry will fall solely to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam. Facing off against the industry, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson - who sued Sprint for illegally extending contracts - and representatives from Consumers Union, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, and a researcher from George Mason University.
Set your phones to vibrate and keeping hitting refresh to watch as the Senate asks Verizon: "Can you hear me now?"
(Photo: KB35)09:50: The video feed is alive and well.
10:05: C-SPAN was going to cover this hearing, but apparently the Attorney General confirmation hearing is more important.
10:09: "Meeting to order!" "Let me say two things: I will have to leave soon." Looks like Amy Klobuchar is going to chair this meeting. Good, we like her style. More »
9:45 AM on Wed Oct 17 2007
By Carey Alexander
4,990 views, 28 commentsLatest by chocopina: i just found out that cingular/att charges my account 1 minute for calls that i do not answer/pick up. they more »
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news from the swamp
Liveblogging the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On CPSC Reform
Starting today at 2:30, the Senate Commerce Committee will take up S. 2045, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007. Beyond reauthorizing the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the next seven years, the Act would:
- Boost the CPSC budget from $62 million to $147 million by 2015;
- Add 80 new staffers;
- Repair the CPSC's decrepit inspection facilities;
- Fund a full slate of 5 Commissioners;
- Increase civil penalties from $8,000 per violation to $250,000;
- Increase the maximum penalty for a series of violations from $1.8 million to a staggering $100 million;
Both CPSC Commissioners are expected to testify, along with a slate of interest groups like U.S. PIRG, Consumer Federation of America, Safe Kids Worldwide, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the oddly named Global Supply Chain Policy Retail Industry Leaders Association.Keep hitting refresh as we watch Congress go Scrooge McDuck and dive into the unlimited tower of gold.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)2:34: Hey, Commerce Committee. Your official webcast link has gone Strom on us. Please fix!
2:39: Ok, it's not video, but we have an audio link that will suffice for the moment. Grrr, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is underwhelming us with their technology. C-SPAN3 had promised to cover the hearing, but something about Iraq is apparently more important than toys.
More »
2:09 PM on Thu Oct 4 2007
By Carey Alexander
2,137 views, 3 commentsLatest by Rupan: @timmus: Consumer Product Safety Commission more »
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news from the swamp
Introducing The Most Impressive Cell Phone Bill Of The 110th Congress
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) recently announced plans to introduce our wet dream of a cellphone bill. The bill realizes our wildest legislative fantasies: a world where cellphone companies stop inventing official-sounding fees and levying harsh ETFs, and instead allow their customers to take unlocked phones to the company with the best reception according to precise coverage maps provided free of charge. More »
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