A California couple was trapped in the seventh level of bureaucratic hell. They aren’t just dealing with the IRS: they’re apparently dealing with a part of the IRS whose talent for losing paperwork rivals only Bank of America. They’ve sent in their 2010 tax return four times, and the IRS keeps losing it. [More]
Government Policy
FDA Approves First Pre-Surgical Breast Cancer Drug
By 9.30.13
While many of the hundreds of thousands of people who are diagnosed each year with breast cancer go through radiation or chemotherapy before surgery, until now drugs aimed at treating breast cancer were not FDA-approved for use in the pre-surgery stage. [More]
FCC Tells Comcast To Put Bloomberg With The Rest Of The News Stations
By 9.27.13
There’s a practice known as “neighborhooding” in cable programming, in which cable/satellite providers tend to group similarly themed channels together. That’s why MTV and Vh1 were often right next to each other (because, believe it or not, they used to both air music videos!) and why the dedicated networks for the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA are usually within a few slots of each other (and usually within free-throw distance of ESPN). But sometimes a channel gets left out in the cold, apart from its similarly programmed stations. [More]
Dear Debt Collectors: Using This Envelope Will Only Get You In Trouble With The FTC
By 9.25.13
Remember that rundown of debt-collection practices that violate federal law? Here’s one to add to the list: When sending debt collection notices to consumers, don’t use an envelope that depicts a man being turned upside-down and having his pockets emptied. [More]
40 Attorneys General Agree: E-Cigarettes Need To Be Regulated Like Tobacco
By 9.24.13 — Updated: 12.5.13
The use of electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly, not just among tobacco users seeking a smoke-free alternative, but also among those who’ve never smoked but still want to experience the effects of nicotine. Concerned about this relatively unregulated (at least compared to tobacco) market, the attorneys general of 37 states — plus AGs for Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — have written to the FDA asking for more regulatory controls on the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes. [More]
September Recall Roundup: The Training Wheels Are Off
By 9.24.13
In this month’s Recall Roundup, board books attack children, toy spiders grow in human stomachs, and motorcycle training wheels fall off mid-ride. [More]
No, You Did Not Just Win $2 Million: FTC Sues To Stop Scammy Sweepstakes Letters
By 9.23.13
“OH MY GOD, MOM! YOU WON $2 MILLION!” I may or may not have screamed at my mother at some point in my youth, while brandishing an envelope with that very same claim emblazoned across it. But my mother didn’t join in celebration, because she like, everyone else who gets those letters, didn’t win a dime. The Federal Trade Commission has now sued to stop what it calls a massive sweepstakes scam responsible for bilking more than $11 million from people in the U.S. and around the world. [More]
Passenger Sues US Airways For Allegedly Misplacing Her Husband’s Ashes
By 9.20.13
It’s been two years since the ashes of a Philadelphia-area woman’s late husband went missing during a US Airways flight to England, and she says the airline has been ignoring her ever since. We first told you about her story back in January, but that didn’t turn up the ashes or an explanation. Now she’s filed a lawsuit in the hopes of getting the airline’s attention. [More]
Verizon Doesn’t Know The Difference Between “Can’t” And “Won’t”
By 9.19.13
I can jump off my third-floor balcony, but I won’t because it would just make an absolute mess. The fact that I won’t do it doesn’t negate my ability to do it. This is a distinction that apparently eludes the folks at Verizon Wireless. [More]
Chase To Pay $389 Million Over Illegal Charges For Credit-Monitoring Services
By 9.19.13
It’s not been a banner week for JPMorgan Chase, which has agreed to pay out nearly a billion dollars to close investigations related to the 2012 “London Whale” trading fiasco, and now is told it must pay out $309 million in refunds and $80 million in penalties over illegal credit card charges for ID and fraud-protection services customers never ordered. [More]
The Many Ways Of Hiding An Ad As A “Sponsored Post”
By 9.19.13
Advertisers have always sought seamless integration of their brands into consumer-targeted content, driven by the notion that the audience is less irritated by a commercial if it doesn’t scream “I’m a commercial.” But at what point does that line get so fuzzy that it’s hard to tell the difference between the two? [More]
Judge Jails TV Pitchman Kevin Trudeau So He’ll Cooperate In Fraudulent Infomercial Case
By 9.19.13 — Updated: 9.20.13
How do you make a slippery late-night TV pitchman sit still and behave? If you’re a federal judge fed up with Kevin Trudeau’s shenanigans you put him in jail. Trudeau has reportedly flouted court orders to pay millions in fines stemming from fraudulent infomercials, and now the judge says he’s been spending money on stuff like cigars and fancy meat when he shouldn’t be. [More]
New CFPB Tool Provides County-By-County Snapshot Of Home Mortgages
By 9.18.13
We hear all the time about how national home sales are up, down, flat, bouncing like a rubber ball, or twirling like a ballerina, but we rarely get information that goes down to the local while also allowing you to instantly make comparisons to nationwide and regional trends. A new interactive tool from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aims to put that ability at your fingertips. [More]
SEC: U.S. Corporations Have To Reveal How Execs’ Paychecks Compare To Rest Of Workers
By 9.18.13
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants big corporations and get out their calculators to do a little math: A new proposal unveiled today says U.S. companies will have to disclose how exactly chief executive officers’ paychecks compare to those of their regular workers. That’s something the fatcats had complained would be too difficult to do, but it appears the SEC ain’t buying it. [More]
The TSA Frowns Upon Customers Bringing Stun Guns On Planes, Even If They’re Pink
By 9.18.13
There’s a handy tool on the Transportation Safety Administration’s web site, where you can fill in the following blank with whatever you’d like to take with you on a plane: “When I fly, can I bring my _____?” The TSA will tell you whether or not it’s fine to have your best friend Mark with you or even a pair of short scissors. But a stun gun? Nope, not even if it’s pink. [More]
Commerce Dept. Asks FCC To Require Wireless Companies To Unlock Cellphones
By 9.18.13
A year ago, the Librarian of Congress decided that consumers no longer own their cellphones, and that they can not legally unlock that phone to take to another, compatible wireless carrier, without the permission of their current service provider. Because this is idiotic, everyone from consumer advocates to the FCC to members of Congress to the White House has called for this rule change to be reversed. Now another important governmental group has piped in, calling for a rule change that could undo some of the damage done. [More]
What Does It Actually Mean For A Product To Be “Green” Or “Environmentally Friendly”?
By 9.17.13
When you see a product with the image of a smiling planet wrapped in green, leafy foliage and touting its “eco-friendly” quality, what do you think? Probably something like, “Oh, that’s probably good for the environment or can be recycled or something?” You aren’t alone in your confusion/generalization — even though the Federal Trade Commission updated its Green Guides for environmental advertising, plenty of people are still hazy on the whole idea. [More]
Feds To Investigate The Fuzzy Line Between Advertising & Editorial Content
By 9.16.13
Call them “advertorials,” “sponsored stories,” “brand journalism,” or — the latest nonsense term — “native advertising,” but it’s all the same: An ad that looks an awful lot like — and is often not distinguishable from — a website’s editorial content. Since consumers have long stopped even noticing banners, click away from pages with auto-play video ads, and increasingly use mobile devices to go online, advertisers have turned to these ad-wolves in editorial sheep’s clothing. [More]
