attorney general

Illinois Sues Payday Lender For Forcing Employees To Sign Non-Compete Agreements

Illinois Sues Payday Lender For Forcing Employees To Sign Non-Compete Agreements

The state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against payday lender Check Into Cash, but not for its short-term lending practices. Instead, the company is accused of exploiting its low-wage employees by forcing them to sign non-compete agreements that restrict their ability to find jobs elsewhere. [More]

Betsy DeVos Delays Student Loan ‘Borrower Defense’ Rule Until At Least 2019

Betsy DeVos Delays Student Loan ‘Borrower Defense’ Rule Until At Least 2019

Despite the pleas — and legal actions — of lawmakers, consumer advocates, and students, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos quietly announced Friday that the Department of Education will further delay, by nearly two years, rules intended to prevent students at unscrupulous schools from being left with nothing but debt if their college collapses. [More]

States Accuse Betsy DeVos Of Failing To Protect Students From Sketchy For-Profit Schools

States Accuse Betsy DeVos Of Failing To Protect Students From Sketchy For-Profit Schools

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made no effort to hide her support for the for-profit education industry, going so far as to hit “reset” on rules intended to protect students from schools that provide minimal education at a maximum cost. Now, a coalition of 18 state attorneys general are suing DeVos and the Dept. of Education, alleging they failed to hold these schools accountable. [More]

MeneerDijk

States Ask Betsy DeVos To Not Drop Protections For Student Loan Borrowers

Earlier this month, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos declared that the Department of Education would no longer work with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to root out bad players in the student loan servicing arena. While the CFPB fired back, accusing DeVos of misunderstanding just what the Bureau does, a coalition of state attorneys general are now joining the choir, claiming the decision to end the agencies’ agreements undermine protections for student borrowers.  [More]

frankieleon

Hotel, Gas Stations Accused Of Price-Gouging Hurricane Harvey Victims

By definition, price gouging is the act of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. It’s also just a shady thing to do, especially when it involves people already reeling from a natural disaster. To that end, Texas is suing three businesses for allegedly price gouging consumers before and after Hurricane Harvey. [More]

Best Buy Claims $43 Cases Of Water Were Mistake, Not Post-Hurricane Price-Gouging

Best Buy Claims $43 Cases Of Water Were Mistake, Not Post-Hurricane Price-Gouging

Most of us can walk into any big box or warehouse store and buy a case of bottled water for less than $10. But one Best Buy store in hurricane-devastated Texas was caught charging between $30 to $43 just for cases of water, leading to claims of price-gouging. Amid the blowback for its egregiously overpriced water, Best Buy is apologizing and claims it was all a mistake. [More]

HerArtSheLoves

$183M Settlement Means 41,000 Former Corinthian Students Will Get Private Loan Forgiven

Nearly 41,000 former students of now-defunct for-profit educator Corinthian Colleges will soon receive refunds for the private student loans they received to attend college, after a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies reached a $183.3 million settlement with Aequitas Capital Management, the issuer of these loans.  [More]

Joachim Rayos

With DeVos Unwilling To Defend Rules, States Try To Protect Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made it clear that she has no intention to defend regulations put in place to protect students at failed for-profit colleges. But a number of states are now attempting to step in to do the job the Department of Education won’t. [More]

alexkerhead

AGs: Ringless Robocalls Are Still Robocalls, Shouldn’t Be Allowed

The Republican National Committee and the lobbyists at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce might think that “ringless” robocalls — automated, prerecorded phone calls that go straight to voicemail — are just fine, but the top legal advisors in several states believe the opposite. Now they’re urging the Federal Communications Commission to oppose a petition that would allow telemarketers to use them.  [More]

Freaktography

21 Attorneys General Call Out Education Secretary DeVos For Removing Student Loan Protections

In response to the decision by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to roll back protections for student loan borrowers, a coalition of state attorneys general are accusing DeVos of failing America’s students. [More]

Not Too Late To Get Federal Loan Forgiveness, States Remind Corinthian Students

Not Too Late To Get Federal Loan Forgiveness, States Remind Corinthian Students

Earlier this week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded relatively new federal guidelines intended to make the student loan repayment process more accurate and transparent. With the possibility that other federal student loan protections could face the same fate, the Attorneys General from dozens of states are reminding former students of defunct for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges to apply for federal student loan discharges. [More]

(Mike Mozart)

Santander Bank To Pay $26M Over Subprime Auto Loan Practices

One of the nation’s largest providers of automobile financing, Santander Bank, has agreed to pay $26 million to end a two-state investigation into the financial institution’s alleged violation of state consumer protection laws related to its auto loan underwriting practices.  [More]

terrypresley

Domino’s Must Pay $480,000 In Restitution To Underpaid Employees

Last May, the Attorney General in New York State filed suit against Domino’s franchisees for underpaying their workers, and the state also included Domino’s corporate in the suit. This was controversial, since the corporate office insisted that paying restaurant employees was franchisees’ business. Now the case has been settled for $480,000, to be paid by three franchisees who own the ten restaurants that were part of the suit. [More]

(I Am Rob)

New Mexico Sues 15 Carmakers, Takata For Concealing Deadly Airbag Defects; Seeks $10K/Day

Just when you thought Takata’s massive shrapnel-shooting airbag debacle was beginning to wind down after the company settled federal criminal charges for $1 billion, New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the company and 15 car companies for allegedly covering up the deadly defect. [More]

New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon

New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon

It might be only people who enjoy renting an entire apartment to vacation in New York City who remember the legal fight between the state of New York and Airbnb over a new state law. Last month, the governor signed a bill limiting rentals in New York City and imposes stiffer penalties on people who rent out entire apartments. While it’s a state law, the lawsuit has been dismissed, and it’s the city that will enforce the law. [More]

Where Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Comes Down On Consumer Issues

Where Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Comes Down On Consumer Issues

The election may feel like it happened just yesterday, but it’s now ten days behind us, and the building transition to the administration turnover in January is well underway. As part of that, today we learned President-Elect Donald Trump’s top choice for a key role that affects consumers and consumer rights nationwide: he will nominate Sen. Jefferson Sessions of Alabama as Attorney General. [More]

FanDuel, DraftKings To Pay $12M To Resolve False Advertising Allegations In New York

FanDuel, DraftKings To Pay $12M To Resolve False Advertising Allegations In New York

Daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel each agreed to pay $6 million to resolve New York’s claims that the companies engaged in false advertising.  [More]

Oregon Department Of Justice Announces Investigation Of Coolest

Oregon Department Of Justice Announces Investigation Of Coolest

Back in 2014, the Coolest was a Kickstarter hit that drew even more backers as it appeared on national TV. It crushed records as well as crushing ice in its built-in blender. Yet over two years later, all of the original backers still don’t have their coolers, even as the Coolest is available in brick-and-mortar retail stores and on Amazon. Now the Oregon Department of Justice is investigating the company behind the Coolest, which is based in Portland. [More]