By now we all know that for many consumers taking out private student loans is the only option when it comes to financing their higher education. We also know that many of those same borrowers will ultimately end up defaulting on their debt. A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests that it’s not borrowers’ lack of willingness to repay that lands them further in debt, but a lack of resources provided by lenders that drives consumers to default. [More]
Government Policy
CFPB: Private Student Loan Companies Provide Few Options For Borrower, Driving Them To Default
By 10.16.14
FDA Going After Companies Offering Unapproved Ebola Medications
By 10.16.14
While the country is watching the news of every new Ebola case very closely, the federal government doesn’t want the worrying to get so out of hand that people start looking for medications to prevent or treat Ebola. Since there are currently none approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the government is already cracking down on a handful of companies promising to provide relief from Ebola. [More]
Dealership Registers Car To Wrong Person, Random Lady Gets 18 Tickets In the Mail
By 10.14.14
An 87-year-old woman in California was confused when she started to receive parking tickets and toll notices in the mail. She had 18 separate tickets, with a total of almost $1500 in fines. Was she racking up tickets and forgetting to pay? No, and she could prove it: she no longer drives at all. The tickets listed her as the owner of a white Acura, and she doesn’t own one. [More]
Say It Isn’t So: Williams-Sonoma’s Pumpkin Seed Pesto Recalled Because Botulism Isn’t Fall Flavored
By 10.14.14
In the fall months it seems like every other product contains some kind of pumpkin flavoring: Greek yogurt, coffee drinks, egg nog, and now botulism. Fine, botulism probably doesn’t have a flavor, but the Pumpkin Seed Pesto from Williams-Sonoma may contain the bacteria, which is why it’s being recalled.
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Aereo To FCC: No, Really, We’re A Cable Company Now. Treat Us Like One, Pretty Please?
By 10.13.14
Streaming broadcast TV service Aereo was unceremoniously shut down by the Supreme Court last spring, but although they suspended all operations it wasn’t entirely the end of their business. Either Aereo or the law would have to change in order to get them beaming TV around again. Since the relevant law is immovable in the current political climate, that leaves change on Aereo’s end. But the last two attempts Aereo’s made haven’t ended well for them. Is the third time the charm? [More]
Honda Recalls 43,000 Acura Vehicles Because Seat Belts Should Work
By 10.13.14
Seat belts are arguably one of the most important safety features in vehicles; when one doesn’t work properly there could be devastating results. That’s why Honda Motor Co. announced the recall of more than 43,000 Acura vehicles this week. [More]
Do You Know This Mysterious Man Who May Be A Lottery Winner?
By 10.10.14
The Hot Lotto is a Powerball game that’s available to lottery fans in fourteen states and the District of Columbia. Somebody won $14.3 million in Iowa in December 2010, but here’s the problem: nobody knows who. A mysterious company based in Belize tried to claim the ticket, but the original ticket purchaser has to claim the cash. He never has. [More]
Mitsubishi Recalls Small Cars, SUVs For Engine Stalling Issue
By 10.10.14
It seems like just hours ago that we wrote about a vehicle recall. Oh yeah, that’s because it was. This time around Mitsubishi is recalling nearly 166,000 small cars and SUVs for issues that could cause the vehicles to stall. [More]
Cable Lobbyists Pretending To Be Cool Digital Hipsters To Convince Youth That Net Neutrality Is Bad
By 10.9.14
The fight for net neutrality has players from all corners amped up and joining in. Millions of individuals, as well as consumer advocacy groups, internet businesses, internet business groups, cable and telecom businesses, and their trade groups, have all been pressing the FCC toward one decision or another. But now there are some new groups wading in to the morass. They look like millennial, digital-savvy, pro-internet hispters — but their message is straight out of Comcast and AT&T’s playbook. So what’s going on? [More]
Senators Tell The FDA To Hurry Up Already With Finalizing Those Months-Old E-Cigarette Regulations
By 10.9.14
When the Food and Drug Administration unveiled proposed regulations for electronic cigarettes back in April, it was an announcement five years in the making. Now several months later little has happened, and a group of senators fear that the failure to quickly finalize the rules has led to the perpetration of misleading health warnings created by tobacco companies themselves. [More]
FTC: WordSmart’s Claims To Improve Students’ Test Scores Aren’t Exactly Truthful
By 10.9.14
Every parent wants their child to have the best possible chance of getting into a good college. Sometimes that includes enlisting the help of educational programs to boost their college admittance scores. But millions of consumers who tried to find that assistance from WordSmart Corporation only saw a decrease in their bank accounts. [More]
AT&T To Pay $105 Million To Settle Wireless Bill-Cramming Charges
By 10.8.14
In a few minutes, the Federal Trade Commission, the FCC and attorneys general from 50 states and the District of Columbia will announce a $105 million deal with AT&T that settles allegations that the company has profited off the practice known as “bill-cramming,” third-party charges illegally placed on customers’ wireless bills without authorization. [More]
Amazon Fighting FTC On In-App Purchases By Kids
By 10.7.14
While its competitors in mobile apps Apple and Google have reached settlements with the Federal Trade Commission, Amazon has decided that it will not roll over. No, the tech company is going to fight the FTC’s lawsuit against it rather than settle, and filed a brief last week making the case that this is all the darn parents’ fault. Sort of. [More]
NHTSA Investigating Nearly One Million Ford Vehicles For Possible Power Steering Defect
By 10.7.14
The investigators over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have had their work cut out for them this year. And that workload doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as the regulator announced this week that it would be looking into power steering issues in nearly a million vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Co. [More]
General Motors Issues Bonus Recall Of 57,182 Vehicles
By 10.6.14
On Friday, General Motors recalled 524,000 vehicles due to defects that could cause crashes if they manifested themselves while you’re driving on the highway. The GM recall-announcing team pulled a weekend shift and announced an additional recall of more than 57,000 vehicles. Models included in this recall are the Pontiac G8, Chevrolet Caprice police cruisers, Cadillac CTS-Vs, and Chevrolet Sonics. [More]
There’s Some Weird Stuff In Your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy
By 10.3.14
Do you sit and read every word of every document that you sign? Probably not. Maybe you should, but it would take up valuable time that could be spent “liking” pictures of your friend’s new puppy on Facebook. Jacob Goldstein of NPR’s Planet Money decided to read all 23 pages of his new insurance policy, and he had some questions. Mostly about the likelihood of volcanic eruptions in Brooklyn. [More]
Marriott Fined $600K Because It’s Illegal To Block WiFi Hotspots
By 10.3.14
When a major hotel chain makes money by charging a fee for in-room Internet service, it might be tempted to do something that makes it difficult for visitors to use their own WiFi hotspots so that they have little choice but to pay up for the hotel’s Web access. Thing is, that’s against the law. [More]
GM Recalls Yet Another Half-Million Cars Over Increased Crash Risks
By 10.3.14
It’s the track on infinite repeat this year, it seems: General Motors has issued a recall of 524,000 vehicles for safety reasons. The two separate recall actions have nothing to do with ignition switches, at least, but both — on Cadillac and Saab SUVs and Chevy Spark cars — are hazards that increase the risk of a dangerous crash. [More]
