After recalling 6.2 million vehicles for a Takata airbag defect that can spew pieces of shrapnel at passengers and drivers, Honda now plans to launch a multi-million dollar campaign urging consumers to take those recalled vehicles to a dealer for much-needed repairs. [More]
Government Policy
CFPB Returned $19.4M To 92,000 Consumers In The Last Half Of 2014
By 3.11.15
Each year the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau supervisory examiners hold hundreds of companies accountable for violations of fair lending and debt collection rules. During the last half of 2014, those actions resulted in the return of $19.4 million to more than 92,000 consumers, according to a new report from the agency. [More]
Toyota Recalls 112,000 Top-Selling Vehicles For Loss Of Power Drive, Steering
By 3.11.15
When driving a vehicle down a busy highway, one of the last things you want to happen is for the car to lose power steering. But that’s exactly what can happen in nearly 112,500 Toyota vehicles being recalled this week. [More]
FDA Warns That Chantix May Decrease Users’ Alcohol Tolerance
By 3.11.15
Smokers using the prescription drug Chantix (varenicline) to help them through the quitting process may want to sip their beers slowly, as this week the FDA approved new warnings that the drug can change the way users react to alcohol. [More]
Man Arrested After TSA Finds 200 Credit Cards Hidden In Duffel Bag
By 3.11.15
The Transportation Security Administration keeps a long list of items travelers aren’t permitted to fly with including guns, knives, daggers, and box cutters. While the agency doesn’t explicitly tell consumers they can’t bring along stolen merchandise, like say 200 credit cards, if agents find the pilfered items you’ll likely be arrested. Just ask a New York man who suffered that very fate earlier this week. [More]
Government Accuses DirecTV Of Deceptive Advertising
By 3.11.15
While DirecTV may make people laugh (or cringe) with its multiple Rob Lowe ads, the thing that matters to many people when choosing between cable and satellite is price. But a new Federal Trade Commission complaint filed against the nation’s second-largest pay-TV service alleges that DirecTV is tricking consumers into believing they’re getting a better deal than they end up with. [More]
Maker of Infant’s & Children’s Tylenol, Motrin To Pay $25M For Selling Meds With Metal Particles
By 3.10.15
Nearly five years after McNeil Consumer Healthcare – a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson – began recalling over-the-counter Infant’s and Children’s Tylenol and Children’s Motrin, the company has acknowledged that it knowingly sold the cold medication that contained metal particles and agreed to pay $25 million to resolve the case. [More]
Wikimedia, Amnesty International, Others Sue NSA Over Mass Surveillance
By 3.10.15
The foundation behind Wikipedia, along with several other high-profile non-profit organizations, has sued the National Security Agency challenging its “suspicionless seizure and searching of internet traffic” in the U.S., claiming that this mass data collection goes beyond what the law allows the NSA to collect and that it violates protections afforded by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. [More]
In Wake Of Arbitration Report, Consumer Advocates Ask CFPB To Revoke Banks’ “License To Steal”
By 3.10.15
This morning, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final report on forced arbitration, showing how banks and credit card companies use contractual clauses to short-circuit class-action lawsuits from their customers. Now that the Bureau has done its research, consumer advocates are calling on regulators to use their authority to end the practice. [More]
Student Aid Bill Of Rights Aims To Overhaul Federal Student Loan Repayment, Servicing Process
By 3.10.15
The way in which borrowers pay back their federal student loans – from checking the balance to filing complaints against servicers – is set to change with the signing of a presidential memorandum Tuesday. [More]
Banks & Credit Card Companies Saving Millions By Taking Away Your Right To Sue
By 3.10.15
Tens of millions of American consumers have clauses in their credit card, checking account, student loan, and wireless phone contracts that take away their rights to sue those companies in a court of law, and more than 93% of these people have no idea they’ve had this right taken away from them. The companies involved are presumably quite happy about this lack of awareness, as it results in millions of dollars in savings that aren’t being passed on to you. [More]
The Hot Potato Principle: Why This Grandma’s Bank Stuck Her With Counterfeit Cash
By 3.9.15
Counterfeit currency operates on the “hot potato” principle. Like the children’s game, the last person caught with the object loses. Once you accept counterfeit cash–even if it’s from a financial institution–it’s yours. This made for a very disappointing birthday gift for a 14-year-old from his grandmother. [More]
The HBO Now Announcement Shows Why Net Neutrality Is So Important
By 3.9.15
This afternoon, HBO announced the details of its HBO Now streaming service that will finally allow consumers without cable TV to access the premium pay-TV network without having to be burdened with a cable bill for channels they don’t watch. But the fact that HBO has opted to go with Apple as its launch partner and not Comcast or any of the major pay-TV carriers is a reminder of just how important net neutrality is. [More]
Credit Bureaus Agree To Revamp Practices For Handling Errors, Unpaid Medical Bills
By 3.9.15
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – the three largest companies to collect and disseminate credit information for millions of Americans – must undergo an overhaul of credit reporting practices as part of an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s Office. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Recalls 703,000 Minivans & SUVs For Ignition Switch Issues
By 3.9.15
The first major ignition switch recall of 2015 belongs to Fiat Chrysler. The automaker has expanded a previous safety recall to include more than 702,000 minivans and SUVs because – like the previous General Motors recalls – the ignition key can inadvertently move to the off position, disabling safety features of the vehicles. [More]
March Recall Roundup – Plummeting Chandeliers And Ceiling Fans
By 3.9.15
In this month’s Recall Roundup for non-edible items, fans and chandeliers might plummet from the ceiling, handlebars on kids’ bikes and amphibious vehicles for grown-ups fall apart, and cocktail glasses shatter for no reason. Also, there are 40,000 portable heaters out there that could spray hot oil on their owners at any time. [More]
TSA Finds Stowaway Chihuahua In Passenger’s Suitcase
By 3.6.15
We’re big fans of the Transportation Safety Administration’s hashtag-happy Instagram account, since we enjoy gawking at weaponry that people have tried to sneak on planes, from ammo-filled Bibles to throwing stars. Yet the TSA protected one traveler from a horrifying discovery at the end of her trip: her dog had stowed away in her suitcase, and she didn’t even know it. [More]
Father Of Teen Poisoned By Caffeine Powder Files Lawsuit Blaming His Death On Supplement Makers, Amazon
By 3.6.15
The father of an Ohio teen who died in 2014 after ingesting a powdered caffeine marketed as a dietary supplement has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com and the product’s distributors, claiming that they failed to provide proper warnings about the dangers of using the substance. [More]
