Paying your student loan is enough of an annoyance without the Dept. of Education making it more difficult. Unfortunately, the new site for the Federal Student Loan Servicing Center has people tearing their hair out in frustration. [More]
Government Policy
The New Consumer Bill Of Rights
By 10.13.11
The folks over at Fearless Revolution have made several iterative amendments to JFK’s 1964 Consumer Bill of Rights to update it for the modern age. [More]
Watch Now The Live Senate Hearing On Whether Forced Arbitration Is Fair
By 10.13.11
Here’s a live webcast of the judiciary committee’s hearing on mandatory binding arbitration going on right now. The title of the hearing is “Arbitration: Is it Fair When Forced?” Arbitration clauses appear in all sorts of consumer contracts and they mandate that in order to use the product or service, you have to agree to give up your right to sue if anything goes wrong. Originally designed for businesses to expedite disputes with other businesses, binding arbitration clauses are now also a popular way for companies to strip consumers of their basic legal rights. Since the hearing is chaired by Senator Al Franken, you know there’s bound to be some good zingers. Pop the popcorn and sit back! [More]
Woman Sues After Sex Toy Causes Pain, Bleeding
By 10.13.11
A Northern California woman is suing a sex toy manufacturer, saying she was hospitalized with pain and bleeding after using the device with her boyfriend. The woman wants damages from the company for personal injury, negligence, and breach of warranty. [More]
Credit Card Marketer Uses Clever Way To Circumvent New Regs
By 10.13.11
Looks like at least one credit card marketer has cooked up a clever way around regulations that forbid unsolicited credit cards from being issued and showing up in your mailbox. [More]
November Fifth Is Bank Transfer Day
By 10.13.11
Remember, remember, the fifth of November, because that’s when “Bank Transfer Day” is happening. By that date, all participants will have closed their big retail bank accounts and put their money in a local non-profit credit union or local or regional community bank. [More]
FBI Arrests Man Accused Of Hacking Celebrity Emails
By 10.13.11
A certain Scarlett Johansson photo you may have read about but certainly didn’t check out yourself is part of a federal investigation that resulted in the arrest of a 35-year-old Florida man who is accused of hacking into online accounts of various celebrities. [More]
SF Giants, MLB Sued Over "San Francisco" Logo
By 10.12.11
If you’ve ever visited San Francisco, you’ve likely seen — and perhaps purchased — a coat or sweatshirt emblazoned with the city name in a distinctive script font, much like the “San Francisco” on jackets and other gear worn by the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Well, now the team, along with Major League Baseball, finds itself in a legal battle with the apparel company that says it owns the trademark. [More]
Big Sony Bravia TV Fire Recall Is Only In Japan, But US Models May Be Affected
By 10.12.11
Headlines are blaring about the 1.6 million 40″ Sony Bravia TVs getting recalled for fire and smoke risk, but they’re overlooking a key fact. The recalled models were only sold in Japan. No recall has been issued in America. However, there are 400,000 models that were sold in the US that contain the same component that prompted the Japan recall. Here are the Sony Bravia TV model numbers you should check to see if you have. [More]
Builder Must Pay $625K In Fines For Allegedly Violating Clean Water Act
By 10.12.11
One of the country’s largest homebuilders stands accused of running afoul of Clean Water Act requirements at 278 sites in 14 states and must shell out a $625,000 fine. The government accuses the Ryland Group of leaking pollutants into stormwater and messing up procedures involving pollution prevention, inspections and permits. [More]
California Ups Testing For Contaminated Public Waterways
By 10.12.11
Responding to an increase of contaminated waterways in the state, California’s State Water Resources Board plans to test its 3 million acres of rivers, streams and lakes, which may have been polluted with nastiness including bacteria and pesticides. [More]
How To Say No To Arbitration With Your Cable Company
By 10.12.11
Here’s something neat. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision/Optimum actually let customers opt out of arbitration when they sign up. If you don’t want to give up your right to personally sue them in a court of law and be forced into a kangaroo court overseen by a judge whose fees are paid for by the company you’re suing, Cablevision will let you. The caveat is that you have to tell them within 30 days of signing your contract. Here’s the links and relevant contract language to opt-out: [More]
The Punishment For Selling An iPhone Prototype: $250
By 10.12.11
When a pre-release iPhone 4 prototype went missing at a beer garden last year and ended up being sold to Gizmodo, the stakes seemed high. Investigators seized an editor’s computers and charged two men with crimes connected to the alleged theft. But several months and an entire newer iPhone model release later, the drama turned out to be much ado about very little. Two men accused of selling the device were sentenced to a year of probation, 40 hours of community service and a not-so-whopping $250 restitution they must both pay to Apple. They pleaded no contest to charges of misdemeanor theft. [More]
Report: Air Force Officials Kept Quiet For 2 Weeks About Drone Virus
By 10.12.11
When news broke last week that some of the Air Force’s drone aircraft had been infected with a virus, Air Force network security experts reportedly found out about the breach when everyone else did. Officials at a Nevada Air Force base may have known about the problem for as long as two weeks and never reported the issue to security. [More]
Woman Sues "Drive" For Not Having Enough Driving
By 10.11.11
A woman has filed a lawsuit against the movie Drive because she felt the moving didn’t have enough driving in it relative to what was promised in the movie trailer. [More]
How Bank Of America Picked $5 As The Debit Card Monthly Fee
By 10.7.11
The new $5 monthly fee Bank of America is charging debit card holders wasn’t just picked because the spreadsheet guys really like Subway $5 footlongs. There’s actually a calculation behind it. Here’s the math. [More]
168,000 Volkswagens Recalled Because Fuel Isn't Supposed To Leak
By 10.7.11
The volks at Volkswagen have issued a recall on a total of 168,275 Golf, Jetta and Audi A3 vehicles over concerns the fuel line could crack and leak, potentially causing an engine fire. [More]
Drug Maker Adds Line To Pill's Surface To Delay Generic Versions
By 10.7.11
There are numerous ways for makers of pricey brand-name drugs to delay the release of generic copies and hold on to the market for even a few months longer. They could make slight changes to the doses or even go so far as to buy a company that supplies a needed ingredient. But one pharmaceutical company is taking a new approach to putting off the release of generic versions — etching an additional score into the pill’s surface. [More]
