General Motors Co announced three new recalls affecting 1.5 million vehicles for airbag deployment and other issues. The announcement comes on the same day it was revealed that the company faces its first class action lawsuit tied to February’s massive recall of vehicles for ignition problems. The company will also take a $300 million charge against earnings to pay for repairs as part of an initiative to be more responsive to problems with its vehicles. [More]
Government Policy
Flea Collar Makers Agree To Eventually Phase Out Collars Containing Toxic Chemical
By 3.14.14
Facing a lawsuit for allowing manufacturers to produce flea collars containing a pesticide that is a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency, along with two major pet product companies, have agreed to phase out these controversial collars over the next few years. [More]
Another Payday Loan Biggie Being Probed By CFPB
By 3.14.14
Days after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revealed that is currently investigating the lead-generating practices of MoneyMutual — the company with the Montel Williams ads that puts borrowers in touch with payday lenders — comes news that the Bureau is taking a peek under the hood of World Acceptance Corp. (aka World Finance), one of the country’s largest high-interest installment lenders. [More]
Proposed Rules Take Second Stab At Holding For-Profit Colleges Accountable For Graduate’s Success
By 3.14.14
The Department of Education is making a second attempt to rein in those for-profit colleges that benefit from financial aid to students without providing them the education needed to find gainful employment after graduation. But some consumer advocates say the proposed regulations don’t do enough to help students. [More]
Full-Page Ads Thank Trader Joe’s For Giving Consumers The Choice To Eat Drugged-Up Meat
By 3.14.14
Freedom of choice is a pretty awesome thing. But for quite some time, consumers have had very little choice when it comes to buying beef, chicken, or pork that wasn’t fed a massive amount of medically unnecessary antibiotics. That’s one of the reasons why our cohorts at Consumers Union have been pushing supermarket chain Trader Joe’s to stop selling meat from these animals — so consumers could have an affordable, convenient way to get meat that wasn’t pumped full of penicillin. But according to a series of full-page newspaper ads, consumers apparently want hamburgers that are contributing to the spread of drug-resistant infections. [More]
Review Claims GM Defect May Be Tied To Up To 303 Deaths
By 3.14.14
While data provided by General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration links at least 12 deaths to an ignition switch defect in Chevy Cobalts, Pontiac G5s, Saturn Ions and other vehicles, an independent review claims that the actual number of fatalities tied to this defect could be as much as 25 times that number. [More]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Takes FDA Chief To Task On Weak Antibiotics Guidance
By 3.13.14
In December, the Food and Drug Administration showed just how little it actually cares about drugs in our food by — after more than 35 years of dragging its feet on the topic — politely asking drug companies to pretty please stop selling medically unnecessary antibiotics to farmers who put the drugs in animal feed solely to encourage muscle tissue growth. Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren had the chance to grill FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on the topic, and she didn’t pull her punches. [More]
FTC Shuts Down Debt Collecting Scheme That Pretended To Be From The Government
By 3.13.14
Debt collectors have been known to intimidate, deceive and even threaten to take your children away when trying to separate you from your hard-earned cash. Just remember, it’s illegal for the collectors to threaten to arrest you, and it’s definitely illegal for them to pretend to be from the government in order to make you pay up. However, it’s those same tactics that have a New York-based company in hot water. [More]
GM Knew Of Faulty Ignition Switches In 2001; NHTSA Says “Data Was Inconclusive”
By 3.13.14
The number of questions about General Motors’ recent recall of more than 1 million vehicles with potentially defective ignition switches continues to grow with the recent revelation that the automaker first learned of problems with the part more than a dozen years before issuing the recall that is now tied to at least a dozen deaths. [More]
Another 403,000 Graco Car Seats Added To Recall
By 3.13.14
Last month, Graco and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled 3.7 million of the company’s car seats for faulty buckles. Today comes news that an additional 403,000 seats have been added to the recall. [More]
Feds Investigating That MoneyMutual Company With The Montel Williams Ads
By 3.13.14
If you’ve caught any daytime or late-night TV in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed talk show host Montel Williams shilling for a service called MoneyMutual that connects needy borrowers with Payday lenders. Newly released documents show that the company’s lead-generation process is under investigation by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [More]
CPSC Wants Fitbit To Share Recall News With Customers
By 3.12.14
While Fitbit issued a voluntary recall of its itch-inducing fitness bands in February and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced a formal recall of 1 million of the devices, the company has been pretty quiet about sharing this information with its most dedicated customers. [More]
FTC Investigating Herbalife
By 3.12.14
For more than a year, some have accused nutritional supplement company Herbalife of operating a pyramid scheme and called for federal authorities to investigate the business. Today, the company confirmed that it is indeed under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, though it did not reveal exactly why. [More]
Home Security Company To Pay $3.4 Million Over Alleged Violation of “Do Not Call” Rules
By 3.12.14
When they say do not call, they mean do not call. One Massachusetts-based home security company didn’t follow those easy instructions and is now facing a hefty fine and slap on the wrist from federal regulators. [More]
Craigslist Scammer Buys Recalled Dehumidifiers From Afar, Flips Them For Manufacturer Refunds
By 3.12.14
Have you ever read about a scam that’s so clever that you just have to admire the scam itself? Not that you, personally, would ever scam anyone. That’s how we at Consumerist feel about the person out of state who contacted reader Mark and offered to buy his Frigidaire dehumidifier. Mark didn’t know that it was part of the Great Flaming Dehumidifier Recall of 2013, but the scammer did. [More]
GM Offers Owners Of Recalled Vehicles $500 Off Of New GM Purchase
By 3.12.14
Some owners of cars involved in the recent mass recall of GM vehicles with faulty ignition switches will no doubt remain loyal to the car company when it comes time to purchase their next vehicles. But others are no doubt considering looking elsewhere, especially as it becomes more apparent that GM took great lengths to avoid this recall for seven or eight years. In an effort to placate the former group and hold on to the latter, GM is offering $500 credit toward the purchase of a new GM vehicle. [More]
States’ Attempts To Reform Payday Lending Are Often Just Smoke & Mirrors
By 3.12.14
Payday lending has been getting a makeover of sorts recently. A number of banks, including Wells Fargo, have discontinued their payday-like direct deposit advance programs after federal regulators tightened their guidance over the high-cost products. Now, a number of state legislatures are discussing payday lending reform bills, which they say will make short-term loans safer for consumers. But are they truly helpful to those who need them? Not quite, say consumer advocates. [More]
Government Officially Recalls Fitbit’s Rash-Inducing Wristbands
By 3.12.14
Nearly two months after Consumerist first brought you the news of Fitbit owners complaining about itchy rashes resulting from the fitness band, and several weeks after the company undertook its own recall of the product, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 1 million of the devices in the U.S. after receiving nearly 10,000 complaints from consumers. [More]
