Millions of financially struggling consumers who work with qualified nonprofit counseling agencies now have access to free credit scores and credit reports with the expansion of the FICO Score Open Access program. [More]
Government Policy
FICO Expands Program To Give Millions Of Consumers Free Access To Credit Scores & Reports
By 4.21.15
59,203 Pounds Of Trader Joe’s And Al Fresco Chicken Sausage May Be Seasoned With Plastic Shards
By 4.21.15
A good chicken sausage is a nice mix of meat, seasonings, and the occasional vegetable in a casing. What is not supposed to be part of that blend of ingredients are shards of plastic, which are harmful to your teeth and don’t taste very good. Sausage sold under the Trader Joe’s house brand and the Al Fresco brand been recalled because it may have that problem. [More]
Blue Bell Creameries Recalls All Products After More Ice Cream Samples Test Positive For Listeria
By 4.21.15
It has not been a great couple of weeks for Blue Bell Creameries, and it’s just gotten worse: A month after the company issued a recall of certain ice cream treats believed to be linked to an outbreak of listeriosis — a recall that kept expanding — the company is now pulling all products off the shelves after two more ice cream samples tested positive for listeria. [More]
Military Allotment Processor Must Refund Servicemembers $3.1M For Charging Hidden Fees
By 4.20.15
A company aimed at preserving the financial well-being of deployed servicemembers by processing payments to creditors on the consumers’ behalf instead contributed to customers’ financial distress by charging millions of dollars in hidden fees, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges in a new complaint. [More]
Nissan Expands Recall Of Vehicles With Takata Airbags, Includes Some Sentra Models
By 4.17.15
After several months without additional recalls of vehicles with potentially defective Takata-produced airbags, Nissan has opened the gates again, adding some 45,000 sedans to the list of cars equipped with airbags found to spew pieces of shrapnel at passengers and drivers upon deployment. [More]
Netflix Changes Tune About Seeking Data Cap Exemptions For Service
By 4.16.15
In recent years, Netflix has been a vocal proponent of net neutrality and an outspoken critic of ISP business models that would allow certain deep-pocketed companies to gain a competitive edge over smaller players in the streaming video market. Thus the company was heavily criticized in March when it made deals with Australian ISPs that would exempt Netflix from users’ monthly data caps. This morning, the company announced that it regrets this decision and will no longer seek exemptions going forward. [More]
Volkswagen Recalls 20,000 Chrysler-Built Minivans With Ignition Switch Issue
By 4.16.15
Nearly a month after Fiat Chrysler recalled 702,000 minivans and SUVs because of an ignition switch issue that can lead to disabled safety features, Volkswagen announced it would recall more than 20,000 Routan minivans that were produced by Chrysler at the same facility. [More]
How Do You Get Your Tax Refund Back When Someone Steals It?
By 4.15.15
If you have only one job and take the standard deduction, filing your taxes can be pretty simple. It’s so simple, in fact, that fraudsters are happy to do it for you, stealing your refund in the process. What happens to taxpayers who get stuck in this situation? Tax fraud is complicated, and sometimes they end up waiting for a very long time to get their money back. [More]
Beech-Nut Nutrition Recalls Baby Food That May Contain Pieces Of Glass
By 4.15.15
That last thing a parent wants to imagine is inadvertently feeding their child a small piece of glass. Unfortunately, that issue was all too real for one baby food manufacturer recalling nearly 2,000 pounds of baby food. [More]
Corinthian Colleges Fined $30M Over Falsified Job Placement Rates At Heald College
By 4.15.15
The Department of Education continued its crackdown on deceptive for-profit college practices Tuesday by levying a $30 million fine against embattled Corinthian Colleges Inc. – operator of Everest University, Heald College and WyoTech – over the use of misstated and inaccurate job placement rates to recruit students. [More]
Neiman Marcus Accused Of Continuing To Sell “Faux Fur” Products Containing Real Fur
By 4.14.15
Two years ago, Neiman Marcus and two other retailers settled a Federal Trade Commission complaint that they had sold “faux fur” products on their websites that contained actual animal fur. As part of that agreement, the upscale department store was permanently enjoined from “falsely or deceptively advertising any fur product by misrepresenting or failing to disclose that the fur in any fur product is faux or fake.” However, a new petition filed with the FTC alleges the Neiman Marcus has continued to sell products that appear to violate this agreement. [More]
Tobacco Companies Sue FDA Over Cigarette Packaging Guidelines
By 4.14.15
For more than 5 years, the FDA has had authority to regulate tobacco products, and last month, the agency issued guidance to the tobacco industry about when cigarette makers must seek FDA approval on changes to packaging. The country’s largest tobacco businesses now believe the FDA is overstepping its authority and violates their rights to free expression. [More]
FDA To Health Food Companies: The Word ‘Healthy’ Has An Actual Meaning
By 4.14.15
Kind bars are quite tasty, but are they healthy? Sure, they’re made from ostensibly healthy ingredients like nuts and dried fruit, but some bars also have ingredients like chocolate and peanut butter. The Food and Drug Administration sent the company a warning letter about their use of the word “healthy” to describe their snacks on the label. [More]
The Long-Awaited Net Neutrality Lawsuits Are Finally Here
By 4.14.15
As it was foretold, so it has come to pass: with the Open Internet Rule finally entering the Federal Register yesterday, lawsuit season is now officially open. And as promised, threatened, and endlessly discussed, the trade groups representing all of the big broadband providers have vaulted into action right on cue, asking the courts to stop this piece of consumer protection before it can happen. [More]
Two TSA Screeners Fired For Allegedly Working Out System To Grope Attractive Male Passengers
By 4.14.15
When travelers are going through any airport security checkpoint, there’s an expectation that yes, the experience might be annoying, but that at least Transportation Security Administration screeners are going to behave professionally. A new report out of Denver says that expectation was not upheld by two screeners accused of working out how to tweak the system so that one worker could grope the genitals of attractive male travelers. [More]
CFPB, Navajo Nation Team Up To Put An End To Tax Scheme Targeting Low-Income Consumers
By 4.14.15
For many low-income consumers, tax time provides an opportunity to catch up on bills and get back on track financially. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous companies out there that aim to make money of these same consumers by pointing them in the direction of high-cost tax-refund-anticipation loans. That appears to be the case for the owner of New Mexico-based H&R Block franchises and a tax-time loan company operating an alleged illegal tax-refund scheme. [More]
NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Subaru Impreza Airbag System
By 4.14.15
Airbags are meant protect a driver or passenger in the event of a collision, but the only way for those safety devices to actually cushion a person from the impact of a crash is if the device activates. Apparently that hasn’t been happening in some Subaru sedans, leading the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to initiate a probe into the problem. [More]
14 House Members Sign On To Resolution To Block Net Neutrality
By 4.14.15
While the telecom and broadband industries move to fight net neutrality in court, lawmakers — at least one of whom has received substantial financial backing by neutrality opponents — are moving forward with their plans to strike down the FCC’s new regulations. Yesterday, more than a dozen members of Congress all signed on to a new resolution that would block the new neutrality rules from taking effect. [More]
