Consumerist
weird fees
Posts Tagged “
Fines
”
weird fees
fines
Wachovia To Pay $144 Million For Bilking "Gullible" Seniors
Wachovia will pay $144 million for helping telemarketers prey upon the elderly. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency spanked the morally bankrupt institution with one of the largest fines ever levied—but before seeing a penny of settlement money, seniors will need to fill out detailed claim forms and navigate a complex bureaucracy. More »
fines
Sears, Best Buy, Wal-Mart And Others Fined For Not Warning Consumers About Analog Obsolescence
The FCC handed out a whole basketful of fines to electronics retailers today: $1.1 million for Sears and Kmart; $992,000 for Wal-Mart; $712,000 for Circuit City; and amounts between $168,000-384,000 for Target, Best Buy, CompUSA, and Fry's Electronics. What made Christmas come so early? They were all failing to warn consumers that analog-only TVs and tuners will stop working on their own when the digital switchover comes next year. More »
justice
"Free iPod" Claims Cost Spammer $2.9 Million
The FTC slammed nuisance advertiser ValueClick with a record-breaking $2.9 million fine for littering the internet with deceptive ads for free iPods, PS3s, and plasma TVs. Instead of providing freebies, ValueClick tricked people into signing up for useless services and then failed to safeguard their personal information. More »
product safety
Senate Votes For Safer Products, Approves Consumer Product Safety Commission Overhaul
The Senate finally voted last week to send the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needed funds, staff, and powers. The overdue reform bill passed with bipartisan support on a 79-13 vote. More »
smoking
Violating A Hotel's No Smoking Policy Could Cost You $250
Hotels are starting to to hit smokers with hefty fines for violating their no smoking policies. Take Dan Cole. He didn't light up in his non-smoking Marriott room, honest. Those butts in his garbage can? Um, he smoked them somewhere else and threw them out in the room?
It costs Marriott over $1,000 to scrub the smoke-stink off a room, a charge they happily offset by smacking smokers like Dan with a $250 fine.
More »
your government
Nobody likes the compromise reached by Senators to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Industry thinks the revised plan goes too far, while consumer groups want more. For now, the compromise would allow the CPSC to operate without a quorum, inject needed cash into the Commission, and provide for several other nifty provisions.
More »
Senate CPSC Reform Compromise Leaves Everyone Bitter, Unsatisfied
Nobody likes the compromise reached by Senators to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Industry thinks the revised plan goes too far, while consumer groups want more. For now, the compromise would allow the CPSC to operate without a quorum, inject needed cash into the Commission, and provide for several other nifty provisions.
More »
health
Blue Cross Wants Your Doctor To Help Them Cancel Your Health Insurance
The LA Times says that doctors are objecting to a letter sent by Blue Cross of California requesting that the docs help "indentify members who have failed to disclose medical conditions on their application that may be considered pre-existing." More »
Former electric heater company Vornado will pay the government a civil penalty of $500,000 and deny any wrongdoing for failing to report incidents of heater fires from 1993 to 2004, says the CPSC. "In August 2004, CPSC and Vornado announced the recall of about one million portable electric heaters," then the company dissolved. [CPSC]
fines
Comcast Fined $12,000 For Having Crappy Customer Service
Comcast has been fined $12,000 for having crappy customer service by Montgomery County, Maryland.. More »
fines
FCC Probably Powerless To Fine ABC Over Diane Keaton's "Fucking Personality"
Diane Keaton, while appearing live on "Good Morning America," told Diane Sawyer that she's admired her looks, particularly her lips, saying "that if she had lips like that she wouldn't have had to work on her 'fucking personality' and would be married by now." Obviously, Diane Keaton is awesome, but FCC chairman Kevin Martin is notoriously fond of attempting to punish stations that allow free spirited celebrities to slip in a few "shits" and "fucks" into their live television appearances. More »
settlements
Home Shopping Network Agrees To Pay $800k Civil Penalty
HSN has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $875,000, according to a CPSC press release, settling allegations that HSN "failed to report in a timely manner, as required by federal law, serious injuries and hazards with the Welbilt Electronic Pressure Cookers." The CPSC alleged that from 2001 to 2004, HSN received "at least 25 reports" from consumers that the cooking appliance was potentially unsafe. (In 2005 the cookers were recalled.) More »
travel
American Airlines Avoids Fines For Chronically Late Flights
The Associated Press is taking the Transportation Department to task over data that seems to contradict its own findings. American Airlines operated two flights that have been late over 70% of the time for 3 consecutive quarters, making AA eligible for a total of $50,000 in fines, says the AP, but the DOT has failed to act. More »
your government
Homeowners Fined $347,000 For Trimming Trees Without A Permit
The Glendale Fire Department sent Ann and Mike Collard a notice informing them that the branches on some of their trees were too close to their home. The notice ordered the couple to maintain 5 feet of "vertical clearance between roof surfaces and overhanging portions of trees." More »
weights and measures
Walmart Fined $89,705 For Overcharging Wisconsin Customers
Walmart received an $89,705 fine after the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection found 280 weights and measures violations at nine Walmart stores. The gargantuan retailer failed to subtract the weight of packaging materials, or "tare weight," when pricing bulk items like coffee, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.Judy Cardin, section chief for weights and measures with the state, said that in the case of bulk coffee, the weight of the packaging materials was included when the price of the product was determined. The state had tested one-pound bags of Cameron brand coffee beans, which were found to be 3/100ths of a pound over the actual bagged content.More »
California slapped a $95,571 fine on the grocery chain Mi Pueblo after the Department of Weights and Measures accused the chain of selling meat, poultry and fish by the piece, rather than by weight. [The Mercury News]
shady
FCC Proposes $4,000 Fine On Comcast For Broadcasting "Fake News"
The FCC, always a source of amusement for this website, has decided to crack down on Comcast for broadcasting VNRs or "Video News Releases." VNRs are produced by PR firms for use as filler by lazy TV news producers. It's a great deal for TV: They get free content and don't have to deal with the pressure of doing their jobs properly, and the company gets product placement. Consumers are the only losers. More »
tax tip
