You should really check your credit reports at least once a year. If you don’t believe us, you should check out the results of the Federal Trade Commission’s latest study, which shows just how rife with errors the reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion can be. [More]
Government Policy
February Recall Roundup: The Heated Parka’s Revenge
By 2.8.13
In this month’s Recall Roundup, pots and pans collapse on themselves, kids need to keep away from some vitamins, and battery-operated electric parkas turn on their owners and give them too much of a good thing. [More]
Oregon Man Claims IRS Agent Pressured Him Into Sex Or Face Tax Penalty
By 2.8.13
In a lawsuit filed against the federal government and an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, an Oregon man claims the agent used threats and harassment to pressure him into having sex against his will. [More]
Send Us Your Questions For The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman
By 2.7.13
In addition to the masses of consumers currently paying down their student loans, there are millions of Americans who are either about to pick a financial aid package for college or are just being hit with their first post-college loan payments. So we figured it was a good time to take some questions on the subject. [More]
Man Quits His Job, Won’t Pay Taxes After Receiving W-2 Number 666
By 2.7.13
If there’s any number that freaks people out in Western culture, it’s 666, the supposed “number of the Beast” in the Bible’s book of Revelations. A Tennessee man who says that he’s been a born-again Christian for a decade was pretty spooked when he received the 666th W-2 earnings statement that his employer had printed. Now he’s quit his job and refuses to pay his taxes until he gets new, Beast-free paperwork. [More]
5 Examples Why Just About Everyone Hates Debt Collectors
By 2.6.13
People go into debt. The businesses that own that debt want their money. This is why the world needs debt collectors. But what the world doesn’t need are debt collectors who harass, lie, and threaten to take debtors’ children and pets away. [More]
Book Returned To New York Public Library Almost 55 Years Overdue
By 2.6.13
It may disappoint fans of the TV program “Seinfeld,” but the New York Public Library doesn’t really have its own detectives who track down biblio-scofflaws with severely overdue books. If it did, it would have long ago tracked down the patron who checked out a copy of Fire of Francis Xavier in 1958 and didn’t return it until this week. [More]
Should Used Car Sellers Have To Repair Recalled Cars Before Selling Them?
By 2.5.13 — Updated: 6.24.14
According to a 2011 survey, there were 2.7 million used vehicles available for purchase that had at least one un-repaired safety recall. Now, California lawmakers want to require used-car sellers to make those repairs before the vehicles can be sold. [More]
Here’s What To Do If You Can’t Afford To Pay Your Taxes
By 2.5.13
While many Americans look forward to tax season and the promise of a rewarding tax return, there are plenty of those who dread it, as they’ll have to fork over cash to settle up with the Internal Revenue Service. But for those who find they can’t afford to pay what they owe — whether in back taxes or due to other circumstances — the Federal Trade Commission is warning tax payers to avoid companies offering tax relief help. [More]
USDA Workers Will Eat What The Department Preaches With New Fryer-Less Cafeteria
By 2.4.13
Do you want fries with that? If you work for the United States Department of Agriculture, even if you do want a side of fries to go with your meal, you’re not gonna get it. The department’s cafeteria launched a new, healthier look today, which includes a menu devoid of deep-fried items. After deciding last year to go healthy, the USDA nixed deep fat fryers in both its cafeterias and will offer more healthful options for its employees. [More]
24 Kinds Of Triaminic And Theraflu Recalled Because Childproof Caps Aren’t Childproof
By 2.1.13
Poor Novartis: things just keep going wrong at their plants. Last year, they had multiple recalls, including many of their over-the-counter drugs and a line of birth control pills. Now, the company has recalled liquid Triaminic and TheraFlu products because the products’ caps aren’t childproof. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has heard about twelve kids who have opened the bottle themselves, four of whom had a taste. One needed medical attention. [More]
FTC Says It’s Got 744 Ideas On How To Stop Robocalls & Turning Off The Phone Isn’t One
By 1.31.13
Spurred on not only by the reward of finally ending those dagnabbed robocalls, but also a $50,000 prize, consumers submitted 744 ideas to the Federal Trade Commission in its FTC Robocall Challenge. Considering how widespread our collective annoyance is with the phone nuisances, we sure do hope one of these succeeds. [More]
Woman Sues California Pizza Kitchen For $5 Million, Shocked That Frozen Pizzas Could Be Unhealthy
By 1.31.13
Sure, you could assume that because it’s illegal for restaurants in your state to use trans fats in the foods they serve, a frozen meal branded with the name of a restaurant chain wouldn’t have trans fats in it. You would be wrong, but you’re certainly free to make that assumption. That’s what a California woman who bought some California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas thought, though. Now she’s suing Nestle, the company that makes CPK frozen meals, for $5 million in a class action suit, intending to save us all from the hidden poisons that are actually disclosed on the back of the box. [More]
Kids’ Dressers Recalled Following Deaths Of 3 Toddlers
By 1.30.13 — Updated: 2.1.13
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced recalls for two separate kids’ dressers following the deaths of three toddlers possibly resulting from the furniture falling on the children. [More]
8 Things We Learned From FTC Report On Debt-Buyers
By 1.30.13
In spite of the many rules imposed on the debt collection industry, it still generates, by far, the largest number of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission each year. That’s why the agency recently completed a lengthy investigation into debt-buyers and why they do such a bad job. [More]
Raleigh Government: Flushable Wipes Aren’t Flushable And Clog Sewers, So Cut It Out
By 1.30.13
Sewer lines in Raleigh, N.C. keep getting clogged. What’s to blame? Aging infrastructure? Rapid population growth? Massive sale on prunes at a local grocery chain? Well, not really: officials say that the latest clog, and a few previous ones, are allegedly due to huge wads of non-flushable paper in the pipes. They point specifically at non-flushable “flushable” wipes marketed for cleaning home surfaces and people. [More]
Toyota Announces Recall Of 750K Corollas & 270K Lexus IS Vehicles
By 1.30.13
Toyota doubled on its recall announcements today, issuing two separate recalls totaling more than 1 million vehicles in the U.S. [More]
Regulators Looking To Rein In Debt Collectors Who Use Facebook To Contact Consumers
By 1.24.13
Even though there’s a lengthy “no-no” list of things debt collectors can’t do, it makes no mention of how collections agencies can use social media. But that may be about to change as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gains oversight control over the largest members of the collections industry. [More]
