The controversial and problematic current suggestion for net neutrality — a two-tiered, “fast lane” approach to the rule — was approved in the FCC in May on a 3-2, strict party-line vote. Since then, however, the proposal has gotten seemingly more unpopular by the day. Congress hates it. The internet hates it. Nearly all of the record-smashing 3.7 million comments to the FCC hate it. But the newest, and most meaningful, opposition might have just popped up from an unexpected source: two of the three FCC commissioners who voted for it. [More]
Government Policy
U.S. Bank Ordered To Refund Customers $48M For Deceptive Add-Ons
By 9.25.14
Promising consumers a service and then never delivering on that promise is not a good way to do business. When those services are meant to protect consumers’ bank accounts, then you’re likely going to be in trouble with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Such was the case today when the CFPB ordered U.S. Bank to pay more than $57 million in refunds and penalties for allegedly deceptive banking practices. [More]
September Recall Roundup – Toppling Televisions And Lead-Painted Sunglasses
By 9.25.14
In the Recall Roundup for September, smoke alarms fail to go off, kids’ sunglasses are decorated with Disney characters rendered in lead paint, and a cooking thermometer adds a little something extra that you didn’t want to your food. [More]
650,000 Student Loan Borrowers Who Began Repayment In 2011 Have Defaulted On Federal Loans
By 9.24.14
Maybe more consumer are realizing the long-lasting negative effects that can come from not repaying their student loans. Or maybe not. we don’t really know why, but we do know that the number of borrowers defaulting on some federal student loans is decreasing. [More]
Feds Warn Advertisers Against Trying To Hide The Truth
By 9.23.14
Most of us accept the fact that advertisers have to massage the truth to put their products in the best possible light. You’re likely to sell more widgets saying “The fastest widget on the market!” and doing your best to hide the disclosure that you really mean it’s the fastest widget you can buy at one particular market in rural Alberta. But some advertisers have apparently been getting too fine with their fine print and have been put on notice by federal regulators to just stop it already. [More]
Court Shuts Down Bitcoin Mining Business For Failing To Deliver Paid-For Computers
By 9.23.14
A federal court has temporarily shut down a Missouri-based business that sold computers specifically designed for aiding users in the generation, or “mining,” of the virtual currency Bitcoin, saying the company took — and spent — customers’ money but waited more than a year to make good on orders for one device and has failed to deliver on another. [More]
FTC May Block Planned Sysco And U.S. Foods Merger
By 9.23.14
Last December, we shared the news that commercial food suppliers U.S. Foods and Sysco were planning a merger, which would put about a quarter of the country’s entire foodservice-supply business in the hands of one company. The merger hasn’t yet gone through, and the Federal Trade Commission is considering a federal antitrust lawsuit to stop it. [More]
You Won’t Get Through Airport Security With 58 Bricks Of Pot, 2 Guns And 350 Rounds Of Ammo, FYI
By 9.22.14
Don’t let the headline mislead you: It’s pretty much guaranteed you won’t get through airport security with 57 bricks of pot and any amount of guns and ammo. But the point here is that someone actually tried to hide all those very prohibited objects in luggage. Transportation Security Administration agents put the kibosh on that over the weekend at John F. Kennedy International Airport in NYC. [More]
Chrysler Recalls 230,000 Dodge And Jeep SUVs Because Vehicles Aren’t Supposed To Just Shut Off
By 9.22.14
The purpose of a motor vehicle is to transport you from one place to another. Apparently, that doesn’t always happen with some Chrysler-produced SUVs, so the car manufacturer issued a recall of some 230,000 Jeeps and Durangos. [More]
Former Peanut Butter Moguls Found Guilty Of Knowingly Shipping Contaminated Food
By 9.19.14
Remember the massive outbreak of salmonella in peanut butter? No, not the one earlier this year, or the one in 2012, or the one in 2007. We mean the one in 2008, where peanut butter shipped from the Peanut Corporation of America was linked to more than 700 illnesses and nine known deaths. Five years after the company’s cartoonish terribleness was revealed, three executives were put on trial for knowingly distributing contaminated food to the American public. [More]
Judge Hits Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme With $40.7 Million Penalty
By 9.19.14
If someone convinces you to invest with him by promising returns of 7% weekly, and that he’s never lost money and there’s no risk, you should be incredibly concerned about giving him your money, regardless of whether it’s a dollar or a Bitcoin. But the operator of a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme in Texas was able to rake in millions based on completely empty promises — and now has to pay it all back. [More]
ITT Educational Services Under Increased Scrutiny From SEC, Department Of Education
By 9.19.14
Could ITT Educational Services be the next large for-profit company facing collapse? Things might not be that dire for the parent company of ITT Technical Institute, but the institution recently revealed it’s under increased government examination that could result in the loss of federal funds. [More]
Court Shuts Down $11 Million High School Diploma Mill
By 9.19.14
Not everyone graduates from high school, but for nearly a decade, a company in Florida has been offering what it claims are “official” diplomas from “accredited” schools to consumers who took an online test (and paid betweeen $200 to $300). Except federal authorities say these diplomas are as bogus as they sound, and this company has allegedly scammed consumers for at least $11.1 million. [More]
Meijer Agrees To Pay $2M Fine For Continued Distribution Of 12 Recalled Products
By 9.19.14
By now we should all know that once a product has been formally recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is illegal for a retailer to sell that item – or to distribute that item to other stores. Yet, there have been several cases in which that rule isn’t followed, leading to stiff fines for the stores. The latest case involves national retailer Meijer paying $2 million in penalties for the continued distribution of 12 recalled products. [More]
FTC: No, You Probably Can’t Lose 20 Pounds By Using An Ab Glider For Three Minutes A Day
By 9.18.14
No matter how old a Federal Trade Commission consent order is, if you break it you’re bound to pay a pretty stiff penalty. Just ask the folks over at ICON Health & Fitness Inc. who agreed to pay millions of dollars in penalties for continuing to make deceptive weight loss claims in fitness equipment advertisements. [More]
Toyota Recalls 20,000 Vehicles Due To Possible Fuel Leaks
By 9.18.14
Well, it’s been about four hours since we posted an automotive recall, so apparently it’s time again. Today, Toyota announced that it is recalling 20,000 cars with 2GR-FE engines, which include the 2014 Toyota Avalon, Camry, Highlander and Sienna, and the 2015 Lexus RX. The cars may leak fuel, which in turn poses a risk of fire. [More]
Can’t Make It Up: GM Recalls Vans For Explosion Risk, Fiat Recalls Cars For Leg Airbag Irregularities
By 9.18.14
The only time I want to see a car blow up is in an action movie where it’s filled with bad guys. I don’t want to see a van driving down the highway burst into flames because of a natural gas leak. That’s probably why General Motors issued yet another recall Thursday, just a few hours after Fiat Chrysler announced the recall of several thousand cars because of an issue with leg airbags. [More]
