A little while back, we asked Consumerist readers to send in their student loan-related questions to Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman. Today, we’re bringing you his answers in three parts, each dealing with a different aspect of the topic. Since it’s about time for next year’s freshman class to decide on schools and financial aid packages, we’re starting with answers for prospective students. [More]
Government Policy
Toyota, Honda & Nissan Recall 3.4M Vehicles Because Air Bags Need To Work
By 4.11.13
The thing about car air bags is it’s quite necessary that they deploy at the right time. Which is why the Japanese maker of safety gear is at the center of a recall of more than three million vehicles, scattered across the Honda, Toyota and Nissan brands. Those companies all have cars that could have defective airbag inflators, causing airbags to possibly deploy abnormally in a crash. [More]
FDA Approves Morning Sickness Drug It Pulled Off The Market 30 Years Ago
By 4.9.13
You don’t have to have ever been pregnant to understand one of the yuckiest drawbacks experienced by women — morning sickness, that awful time when lunch won’t stay down and the toilet is a mom-to-be’s best friend. Thirty years ago the Food and Drug Administration put the kibosh on a treatment designed to alleviate morning sickness, the agency is putting it back on the table now. [More]
April Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Potato Chips With Salt And Vinegar And Metal Fragments
By 4.9.13
Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables. In this edition of the Food and Drug roundup, dangers lurk everywhere, from uneviscerated herring to “all-natural male enhancement supplements” that are pretty much just Viagra. Yes, again. [More]
Bosley Agrees To Stop Sharing Sensitive Business Info With Hair Club And Others
By 4.8.13
For some men, losing their hair is a very sensitive issue, and remedying it through means surgical and non-surgical can be quite expensive. So it doesn’t help when some of the biggest players in the hair-replacement business are sharing information that could result in consumers not getting a competitive price. [More]
Yet Another Baggage Handler Behaving Badly: Man Accused Of Lifting $84K In Stolen Items
By 4.8.13
Around these parts, it’s almost sad that we’re not surprised to hear when Transportation Security Administration agents get into hot water for having sticky fingers. A baggage handler at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport has some explaining to do to authorities, after prosecutors say he was caught on video boosting $84,000 worth in valuables from passengers’ bags. [More]
Ask Tax Dad: Old Clothes, An Audit Dispute, And IRA Rollovers
By 4.8.13 — Updated: 4.15.13
Usually, our staff Certified Tax Cat handles readers’ questions about taxes, but he’s also a cat, and cats occasionally just do whatever the hell they want. Filling in for him is Laura’s dad, a retired accountant and real live independent tax preparer. Exclusively on Consumerist this spring, Tax Dad answers your questions. [More]
Off-Duty Cop Tackles Woman Who Allegedly Attacked TSA Agent At Honolulu Airport
By 4.5.13
Plenty of us know that if we see something that just ain’t right, we should say something. But one off-duty cop on vacation in Hawaii took that “say something” and changed it into a “do something” after he saw a woman assaulting a Transportation Security Administration agent at Honolulu International Airport. [More]
United Says It’s Reviewed Its In-Flight Entertainment After Kicking Family Off Flight For Complaining
By 4.4.13
We told you yesterday about the parents who claim their complaints about the appropriateness of the movie shown on a United flight resulted in their plane being re-routed and them being questioned by authorities. Today, the airline gives a very brief statement of its side of the story. [More]
U.S. To Ramp Up Species Testing Of Food Imports Because Eating Horse Is Gross
By 4.3.13
For anyone who’s been terrified, grossed out or otherwise disturbed by the horsemeat scare over yonder in Europe, take heart: After assuring U.S. consumers that we’re not facing the same tainted food scenario, federal regulators are pledging to ramp up “species testing” on imported meats just to be absolutely sure Mr. Ed doesn’t land on the dinner table. [More]
Warning: Kids Might Eat Expanding Polymer Balls That Look Like Candy
By 4.3.13
Here’s the thing: if you make something that’s brightly colored and looks like candy, kids are going to eat it. Water Balz and other similar expanding, water-absorbing polymer toys seem pretty fun, and are also bright and shiny and look like candy. The problem comes when a pet or a child who is too young to understand gets hold of one of these delicious treats and eats it. [More]
Hyundai And Kia Recall 1.7 Million Vehicles Because Brake Lights Are Supposed To Work When You Brake
By 4.3.13
The entire point of brake lights on a car are to indicate to others that the driver has pressed the brake, so it’s a bit of a problem when that fails to happen, or when pressing the brake doesn’t disengage the vehicle’s cruise control like it should. And thus we have the reason why 1.7 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles are being recalled. [More]
Ask Tax Dad: Amending My Taxes, Social Security Disability, And Buried In Online Brokerage Paperwork
By 4.3.13 — Updated: 4.15.13
Usually, our staff Certified Tax Cat handles readers’ questions about taxes, but he found a particularly good sunbeam and called in for a personal day. Filling in for him is Laura’s dad, a retired accountant and real live independent tax preparer. Exclusively on Consumerist this spring, Tax Dad answers your questions. [More]
Ask Tax Dad: Overfunded 401(k), Living In My Rental Property, And More Tax Returns For Dead People
By 4.2.13 — Updated: 4.3.13
Usually, our staff Certified Tax Cat handles readers’ questions about taxes, but he’s currently at a Warby Parker showroom shopping for some even less fashionable glasses. Filling in for him is Laura’s dad, a retired accountant and real live independent tax preparer. Exclusively on Consumerist this spring, Tax Dad answers your questions. [More]
Supreme Court Denies Airline Industry Challenge To Price Advertising Rules
By 4.1.13
Ever since the Transportation Department told U.S. airlines they’d have to advertise the total cost of a ticket when touting their fares, the industry has been fighting back. Back in July a U.S. Appeals Court sided with consumers and ruled that airlines must stick to the new rules, and now the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the industry’s challenge once again, in refusing to hear the case. [More]
Publix Recalls Fruit And Grain Salad Because Listeria Is Neither Fruit Nor Grain
By 3.29.13
The folks at Publix Super Markets have recalled their ‘Publix Deli Tri Fruit and Grain Salad’ out of concern that it may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, which is not something you want to be eating. [More]
Intuit (TurboTax) Spends Millions To Keep Us From Filing Taxes Quickly And For Free
By 3.27.13
Here’s something to keep in mind as you wait in line at 11:30 PM on April 15th: filing your taxes could be so, so much easier. Bills have been put before Congress that would let taxpayers choose to have the Internal Revenue Service calculate their taxes due for them, and send them a bill or cut a refund check accordingly. Only there are companies lobbying to keep things exactly as they are. The biggest spenders aren’t accounting firms, or even Big Tax Cat. It’s Intuit, the maker of popular tax-filing program TurboTax. The company has spent more than $11 million lobbying to keep tax returns around forever. [More]
Lawsuit: NYC’s Metropolitan Museum Of Art Misleads Visitors Into Paying High ‘Suggested’ Admission Price
By 3.25.13
When you ask for a ticket at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, you get charged $25. Because that’s the admission price, right? Not so fast! As the fine print says, it’s actually a “suggested donation.” You have to pay something, but that “something” could be a penny that you found on the sidewalk. Upset at this, two museum-goers have filed a class action lawsuit accusing the museum of misleading the public. [More]
