• op-ed

    Pro-Consumer Regulation Needs Real Teeth So You Can Sue The Jerks

    If the recent economic meltdown has a bright spot, it is the possibility that smart regulation may return. There will always be those who will cheat if they can, putting both consumers and the market at risk. It cannot function properly without regulation to prevent cheating and ensure consumers are getting a fair deal. But without a private right of action and attorney fees, consumer protection regulations are nearly worthless. A "private right of action" means...

    Sam Glover is a consumer rights lawyer, enemy of shady debt collectors, previous Consumerist contributor, and writes the Caveat Emptor blog. This is the first of his new column for Consumerist, appearing the first Monday of every month. More »

    12:00 PM on Mon Nov 3 2008
    By Sam Glover
    2,612 views, 41 comments

    Most discussed JustThatGuy3: I agree on the attorney's fees portion, but it needs to go both ways. If you sue a company, and more »

  • your money

    Use Your Bank Accounts Every Three Years Or They Will Go To The State

    Each year banks give states $4.7 billion belonging to people who failed to "initiate a transaction or communicate with the financial institution" in the past three years. The money isn't lost forever, but getting it back can be a bureaucratic hassle full of forms and headaches. More »

    2:00 PM on Sun Aug 24 2008
    By Carey
    8,713 views, 43 comments

    Latest by Orv: @Subliminal0182: If only withdrawls count, how does this work for IRAs, where you can't legally make withdrawls? more »

  • Airlines Have Bumped 343,000 Passengers This Year

    Over a quarter-million passengers were bumped from flights in the past eight months, a number that is set to grow as airlines try to boost anemic profits by slashing fleets. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to compensate bumped passengers with cash or vouchers, but savvy passengers can leverage their situation to negotiate heftier payments... More »

    7:30 PM on Sat Aug 23 2008
    By Carey
    16,785 views, 42 comments

    Latest by Fly Girl: @cccdude: No way, Jose. The people who get involuntarily bumped are the ones who bought their tickets last and the more »

  • bpa

    FDA Declares Bisphenol A Safe

    Bisphenol A, or BPA, is the chemical used in various plastic bottles and can linings that Canada recently banned, consumers in Arkansas, California, and Ohio have filed lawsuits over, and Playtex and Nalgene have stopped using. The fear is that it's toxic—studies on animals in Canada have shown that it's damaging, and some tests in the U.S. suggest it's harmful to humans as well. Critics of the anti-BPA movement point out that the human studies rely on super high dosages that never occur in real life, and that making safety decisions based on the general public's fears isn't exactly scientific.

    Now—right before California decides whether to ban BPA in children's products—the FDA has revisited its earlier studies and reaffirmed that "the trace amounts of bisphenol A that leach out of food containers are not a threat to infants or adults." More »

    6:34 PM on Fri Aug 15 2008
    By Chris Walters
    6,897 views, 68 comments

    Most discussed Justifan: thats too bad, so nothings going to force walmart to sell non bisphenol-a water bottles:( and they were a good source more »

  • And Then The Terrorists Win

    FCC Commissioner: Regulating Poor Comcast Compels Us To Regulate All Speech On The Internet. Huh?

    FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell (R-Obviously) recently warned conservative bloggers that the Commission's decision to repudiate Comcast for crippling Bit Torrent could lead the government to start "dictating content policy" by requiring blogs to give equal time to opposing views. Ha! Of course, this can be avoided if we vote for the *ahem* "right" candidate in November. More »

    9:00 PM on Thu Aug 14 2008
    By Carey
    8,174 views, 89 comments

    Latest by Rectilinear Propagation: @CyberSkull: That's because you're not crazy. more »

  • Vouchers

    Delta: Sorry Your Lung Collapsed, But You Should Have Used Your Voucher Sooner

    Trevor's lung collapsed last year, flummoxing his plans to travel with Delta from New York to Toronto. Delta issued a voucher and promised Trevor that it could be redeemed anytime within one year. What they didn't tell him, at any point, was that they started counting not from the date of his planned travel, or from the date he requested the refund, but from the date they issued the original ticket. More »

    8:45 PM on Sat Jul 12 2008
    By Carey
    34,884 views, 88 comments

    Latest by JustThatGuy3: @scerwup: The ticket was clearly non-refundable - in fact, the vast, vast majority of tickets are non-refundable. Fully-refundable tickets are much more »

  • Unauthorized overdraft

    Would You Like To "Opt-In" To Your Bank's Overdraft Fees? Tell The Federal Reserve!

    The Federal Reserve has proposed some new regulations that would, among other things, require banks to let you opt-out of the "overdraft protection" services that often result in consumers being charged large fees for buying one too many (or 6 too many) packs of gum with their debit cards. The Center for Responsible Lending thinks the programs should be "opt-in". Either way, without the overdraft program, your debit or atm transaction would be denied for non-sufficient funds and you would not be charged a overdraft fee. More »

    10:30 AM on Thu Jun 26 2008
    By Meg Marco
    6,966 views, 93 comments

    Latest by HiramNewt: Tell the Fed Reserve to ban shady bank overdraft practices ($17.5 billion/yr) >>> http://twurl.nl/js6e [ConsumerAction.com] more »

  • news from the swamp

    Senate Committee Votes To Rollback FCC's Media Consolidation Plan

    Poor Kevin Martin. The Senate is well on its way towards killing his proposal to let newspapers get all freaky and consolidate with television and radio stations. Martin shouldn't be too surprised: this is exactly what happened the last time a FCC Chairman tried to ram media consolidation down our throats. More »

    9:20 AM on Sat Apr 26 2008
    By Carey
    1,263 views, 6 comments

    Latest by bobblack555: Aww - Bush vetoing a bill that protects the public in order to bolster big businesses? That's a surprise. What an asshole. more »

  • airlines

    Pilots Complain That Cash-Strapped Airlines Are Skimping On Fuel

    What's the surest way to save money on rising fuel prices? Don't use it! MSNBC has gathered pilot complaints from a database NASA maintains for the FAA, and they show that airlines are challenging pilots' refueling decisions, urging them to carry only the minimum fuel required by FAA regulations in order to reduce the weight of the plane and improve mileage. Pilots, however, have the final say on the matter and some of them are upset that cost-cutting is a factor at all in such a crucial decision. One pilot wrote in his complaint, "It's almost like a contest to see how far we can spread this company thin, and when an accident happens, we'll start reintroducing the safety elements we once had."
    More »

    8:12 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
    By Chris Walters
    9,287 views, 34 comments

    Latest by Mr. Gunn: Kopiok: So they're not actually sneakily skipping the line by falsely claiming to be low on fuel? more »

  • tools

    FDIC Call Center: Former Employee Says It's A Great Place For Bank & Credit Union Info

    A former FDIC employee writes that the FDIC's call center (877-275-3342) is "a tremendously helpful place to get basic referral information if you're having trouble with your bank, lender, or finance company." They can't help you with complaints, but they can route you to the correct agency, provide credit union contact info, and give you the names and numbers of state agencies where your bank is located. More »

    11:41 AM on Thu Mar 13 2008
    By Chris Walters
    1,482 views, 4 comments

    Latest by ANON4444: @STrRedWolf there is no such list. that's like saying Progressive Insurance has a list that details when and where their policy more »