When you get a toll-paying transponder like the E-ZPass, you assume that it just sort of sits there until you drive through a toll booth. That’s not true. Maybe, according to a recent presentation at DEFCON, you should put your E-ZPass away unless you’re actually paying a toll right now. [More]
Government Policy
Buyers Of Not-So-Magic Cold And Weight Loss Supplements To Receive Refunds From FTC
By 9.12.13
There is no magic pill for weight loss, not even if that pill contains a tapeworm. Yet companies keep introducing and marketing such pills, because we’re human and like to eat ice cream sandwiches and wish that such a thing existed. People who bought one not-so-magic supplement are getting refund checks this week from the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
FTC Looking Into Recent Change To Facebook Privacy Policy
By 9.12.13
Back in 2011, Facebook settled charges with the Federal Trade Commission that the website deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information private, only to repeatedly allow that information to be shared and made public. The settlement requires that Facebook get explicit permission from users before sharing such information, but the FTC wants to know if the website’s latest privacy update violates that agreement. [More]
Proposed Law Aims To Curb TV Blackouts, Let You Choose To Pay For Broadcast Channels
By 9.9.13
In the wake of the month-long blackout that affected 3 million CBS viewers in several major cities and Showtime subscribers nationwide, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California has drafted legislation that would give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to prevent blackouts, and give consumers the right to decide whether or not they want to pay for watching broadcast networks on cable. [More]
Companies That Furnish Info For Credit Reports Are Obligated To Investigate Disputes
By 9.9.13
More than 1-in-4 credit reports contain some sort of error, according to a recent Federal Trade Commission report, but one can’t lay all the blame at the feet of the three major credit bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, Equifax — as the companies that supply this information are not always fulfilling their legal obligation to investigate disputes by consumers. [More]
Baby Jogger Recalls 30,000 Stroller To Car Seat Adaptors
By 9.6.13
It’s very convenient to take your child’s car seat and mount it directly on a stroller…unless the adaptor that lets you do so is faulty. There have been 47 reports that adaptors for Baby Jogger strollers have failed: specifically, the part that connects the bars that support the car seat to the stroller frame comes loose, and the car seat hits the floor. [More]
New Rules Could Hold Career Education Programs Accountable For Graduates’ Success
By 9.6.13
While college tuitions and student loan debt has skyrocketed, a number of institutions — especially for-profit schools — have been criticized for failing to provide sufficient education and guidance to students who are then stuck without jobs and without the ability to pay back student loans. Starting Monday morning, the Dept. of Education will begin hearing feedback on a recently drafted regulation that would hold schools accountable for the performance of their students in the real world. [More]
FDA Tests Confirm Presence Of Arsenic In Rice Products
By 9.6.13 — Updated: 4.1.16
Almost exactly one year after our cohorts at Consumer Reports found arsenic in a wide range of rice products — from instant rice to baby food to rice milk to cereal — the Food and Drug Administration has released the results of its own research on the topic, effectively confirming CR’s findings and suggestion that consumers vary the types of grains they eat. [More]
FTC: Webcam Company’s Lax Security Led To Invasions Of Privacy
By 9.5.13 — Updated: 9.6.13
It’s all fun and Internet-connected games until someone gets spied on, says the Federal Trade Commission in a recent action it’s taking to protect consumers from seemingly innocent digital devices. The Internet of Things makes it so we can be online all the time, with our appliances, vehicles and many other objects we interact with on a daily basis. But the FTC is warning customers about webcams from TRENDnet that might not be so secure. [More]
Chobani Declares ‘Voluntary Recall’ Of Exploding Moldy Yogurts
By 9.5.13 — Updated: 9.7.13
Chobani’s recall of mold-contaminated yogurts has been promoted to a voluntary recall. “Over 95% of the units in question have already been identified and removed from retailer shelves,” claims the company. [More]
Chobani: Exploding Yogurts Caused By Mold At Idaho Plant
By 9.4.13 — Updated: 9.7.13
The “quality issue” that has led Greek yogurt maker Chobani to pull products from stores has an explanation: mold. Customers who ate the affected yogurt aren’t thrilled to hear this news, since the company continues to call the funny-tasting yogurt plague a “quality issue” rather than a food safety problem. Customers who claim that they or their children got sick from Chobani products are not pleased. [More]
What’s Worse Than A Payday Loan? A Payday Loan Scammer
By 9.4.13
Short-term, high-interest payday loans are illegal in several states, but that doesn’t stop consumers from trying to get their hands on quick cash. So when they see a website offering to hook them up with a payday lender and get them up to $1,000 in about an hour, it may seem like a good deal. That is, until that loan never shows up and the borrower has even less money in her bank account. [More]
Toyota Recalls 235,000 Vehicles In U.S.
By 9.4.13
In two separate actions announced this morning, Toyota has recalled a total of 235,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone (369,000 worldwide) for possible problems with heat damage in two hybrids and a possible defect in engine bolts in multiple Lexus vehicles. [More]
So What Was The Point Of The Whole Time Warner Cable, CBS Blackout?
By 9.3.13
When Time Warner Cable pulled CBS from subscribers in L.A., NYC, Dallas, and others on Aug. 2, everyone knew it was inevitable the cable company would cave and make a deal with the broadcaster resulting in it paying higher fees — and subscribers paying higher rates. So was there any point to the month-long staring contest? [More]
Uh-Oh, These Chicken Broth Cans Contain Spaghetti-Os
By 9.3.13 — Updated: 10.1.13
Do you have any 14.5-ounce cans of Swanson chicken broth around the house? You might have a strange but tasty surprise in store once you open up the can. Thanks to a mixup at the factory, 80 cases of cans labeled “Swanson broth” are actually Spaghetti-Os with meatballs. Campbell’s has warned customers not to eat the surprise pasta, which makes us sad. [More]
It’s Against The Law For Car Dealers To Not Give Consumers All Relevant Info About Deals
By 9.3.13
Take a look at the ad to the left promising $12,000 off MSRP for a 2013 Ford F-150. That’s a heck of an offer for a truck that starts at around $24,000. But what you don’t see — and what you don’t find out until you try to buy the vehicle — is that the discount only applies to the $47,000 F-150 Lariat version, so instead of getting a 50% discount on a reasonably priced new truck, you learn that it’s around a 25% savings on a high-end vehicle. [More]
Build-A-Bear Recalls Sulley Stuffed Monster Because Plastic Eyes Are Not A Tasty Treat
By 8.30.13
In the pixar movies Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University, the character of Sulley is supposed to be terrifying to children. In real life, the stuffed toy version of Sulley from Build-A-Bear apparently poses enough of a choking hazard to children that it’s been recalled in the U.S. and Canada. [More]
