Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took a big step toward reining in irresponsible, predatory lenders by taking its first enforcement action against a large payday loan operation accused of robo-signing court documents related to debt-collection lawsuits, illegally overcharging military servicemembers and their families, and trying to cover these actions up by destroying documents before the CFPB could investigate. [More]
Government Policy
Payday Lender To Pay $19 Million For Robo-Signed Collections & Overcharged Servicemembers
By 11.25.13
FDA Orders Halt To Marketing Of 23andMe DIY Genetic Test Kits
By 11.25.13
Alleging that the makers of the popular, Google-backed 23andMe at-home genetic testing kit are violating federal law by marketing the product for things like disease diagnosis without regulatory clearance, the FDA has ordered an immediate halt to sales of the kits. [More]
Goodness Gracious — Please Tell Us The FCC Isn’t Going To Allow Cellphone Calls On Planes
By 11.22.13
It hasn’t even been a month since the Federal Aviation Administration said it would finally let airline passengers use devices like tablets and phones from gate to gate, but now another federal agency is considering letting loose the hounds of Hades: The Federal Communications Commission is considering allowing travelers to make phone calls in midair. [More]
When 47 States Have Stricter Regulations On Barbers Than On Tax Preparers, Mistakes Are Going To Be Made
By 11.21.13
If you visit a legitimate barber, hairdresser, or cosmetologist in any state in the U.S., that person will have gone through some sort of state-mandated education, testing, and licensing procedure. Yet only three states have any substantive requirements for someone employed as a tax preparer. Not surprisingly, a new report finds that this lack of quality control results in a large amount of errors, fraud, and abuse. [More]
Customers In Gree Dehumidifier Recall Start Receiving Checks, Are Upset With Amounts
By 11.21.13
Earlier this week, we shared a note from a reader who sent away for a refund when her dehumidifier was part of a massive recall because dehumidifiers aren’t supposed to catch fire. She wondered why her refund check was taking so long to arrive, and got even more confusing information when she called the recall hotline. Could we help? We could try. [More]
FDA Scientists Find Amphetamine-Like Ingredient In 9 Diet Supplements… So Where’s The Warning?
By 11.19.13 — Updated: 2.8.17
Scientists from the Food and Drug Administration have found nine “all natural” dietary supplements that contain a “non-natural” amphetamine-like compound. But then why hasn’t the FDA itself issued any kind of warning to the public about using those products? [More]
Car Fires Prompt NHTSA To Open Official Probe Into Safety Of Tesla Model S
By 11.19.13
The smell of car batteries roasting in the flickering flames has reached the nose of he National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which aid it’s opened a formal probe into the safety of the Tesla Model S electric car after reports of two fires caused by cars hitting debris in the road. In other words, Elon Musk is probably not happy right now. [More]
New Airport “Exit Portals” Don’t Rain Down Money On Travelers Or Anything Fun
By 11.18.13
If you’re going to make me step into a clear tube that shuts behind me I darn well better be going to Narnia or get showered with hundred dollar bills. But hopping into a one-person contraption on the way out of the airport doesn’t look like much fun at all, especially in light of the already overly annoying security process. [More]
Hey, Gree Electric Appliances, Where’s My Recalled Dehumidifier Refund?
By 11.18.13
A few months ago, we reported that 2.2 million dehumidifiers sold under a variety of brands had been recalled after a few units sort of… started fires. Customers with affected units were to send back the unit’s name plate, dispose of it safely after cutting off the cord or otherwise rendering it unusable, then sit back and wait for their refund checks. And wait… and wait… and wait. [More]
“Onesie” Is A Trademarked Term, Even Though No One Cares
By 11.15.13
What do you call a garment for infants and toddlers that’s a body suit with snaps at the crotch for easy diaper-changing? A “onesie”? No, no, gentle consumer, that’s not the case. Gerber (the baby stuff company, not the knife company) holds the trademark for the word “onesie.” [More]
FDA Ruins Everyone’s Weekend With French Fry Health Notice
By 11.15.13
Like many of you, I plan on enjoying yummy french fries this weekend, because they taste good. But in doing so, I’ll have to ignore the downer of a reminder from the FDA about how fries and other fried foods may contain an animal carcinogen called acrylamide. [More]
CFPB Looking Into “Confusing Rules” Of Credit Card Rewards Programs
By 11.15.13
As we mentioned earlier this week, credit card rewards programs can be overly complicated and come with rules and limits that drain their value. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it is looking into these programs to determine if cardholders are being misled about the costs and benefits of these offers. [More]
Woman Doesn’t Join HOA, So It Seizes And Sells Her House
By 11.15.13
If I’ve learned anything from this site over the years, it’s that homeowners’ associations are evil and to be avoided. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, though: the home of your dreams or basic neighborhood amenities require it. And sometimes, as one Kentucky woman discovered, not joining the HOA means you can lose your house. [More]
FCC Chair Asks Wireless Industry To Make Cellphone Unlocking Easier For Consumers
By 11.14.13
A year ago, the Librarian of Congress — who has the authority to interpret the fine points of the much-derided Digital Millennium Copyright Act, inexplicably reversed his previous rulings regarding the rights of consumers to unlock wireless devices by making it illegal for people to unlock new phones and tablets without permission from their wireless provider. That change went into effect in January, and since then, everyone from consumers to lawmakers to the White House have declared it a huge mistake that needs to be rethought. Today, new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler urged the wireless industry to put voluntary standards in place that would at least make it easier for consumers to know when they can unlock their devices. [More]
Did This Mom Really Find Free-Range Maggots In An Organic Baby Food Pouch?
By 11.14.13
Jack likes to feed his small daughter little food pouches. They’re an easy, shelf-stable and portable way to get actual food substances into small children. His daughter loves them, but suddenly wouldn’t eat them. Ingredient change? Plain old little-kid fickleness? Maybe not. [More]
Louisiana Residents Who Milked SNAP Outage May Lose Food Benefits
By 11.14.13
Xerox and Walmart pointed fingers of blame at each other in the immediate aftermath of a public benefits card failure last month. Some shoppers saw that their cards showed no balance or limit and took the opportunity to strip store shelves. The administration of Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal knows where the blame really belongs, though: with the shoppers. [More]
FCC Android App Lets You Test Wireless Broadband Speeds
By 11.14.13
In an effort to include more wireless data in its periodic reports on the state of broadband in America, the Federal Communications Commission has released an Android app that lets consumers test the speed and quality of their wireless provider (and of course shares that data with the FCC). [More]
Google: Stop Using That Charger That Comes With Your New HP Chromebook 11
By 11.13.13
One of the selling points of the recently released HP Chromebook 11 was that the laptop could be charged using the same micro-USB chargers used for many non-Apple mobile devices. Alas, the chargers supplied with these new Chromebooks can get super-hot (something I can attest to first-hand) so Google and HP from temporarily pulled the computer for sale and told current HP Chromebook 11 owners to use any other UL-approved micro-USB charger to power up their laptops while the companies sort out a resolution with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. [via GigaOm and The Verge] [More]
