Freecreditreport.com is getting class action sued, baby. Their ubiquitous singing ads make it sound like you’ll go their website and get a free credit report, but they don’t tell you that’s only after you sign up for a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service. “FreeCreditReport.com tells people they will get something for free, and you do, but you have to pay for something else, and there’s not sufficient notice,” said John Balestriere, lead attorney. I agree, so I made up my own parody Freecreditreport song: [More]
Government Policy
Here's The Repair Process For Toyota Accelerator Pedals
By 2.3.10
The Providence Journal of Rhode Island filmed a service director at a Toyota dealership fixing an accelerator pedal. If you own one of the recalled models, Consumer Reports’ Cars blog recommends that you learn the warning signs of pedal trouble and get to a dealership as soon as possible if you notice any of them. [More]
Great, Now People Are Complaining About Toyota's Brakes
By 2.3.10
Toyota is having a hell of a time lately. According to CNNMoney, “more than 100 complaints alleging poor brake performance have been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the 2010 Prius.” In addition, there have been 14 complaints in Japan. Ouch, if it’s not one pedal it’s another, eh? [More]
Burger King Employees Accused Of Racially Motivated Hate-Spitting
By 2.3.10
A black man is suing Burger King in a federal discrimination lawsuit because he says white Pennsylvania Burger King employees spat in his burger, the AP reports in a story on the Huffington Post. [More]
Get $1000 In Ameriquest Mortgage Settlement
By 2.2.10
If your home mortgage was serviced by the defunct Ameriquest or its affiliates, you could stand to receive payouts starting at $1,000. Just enter your loan number on the settlement website and it will tell you if you’re eligible. The $325 million settlement came after a multi-state investigation which found shady lending practices that failing to disclose that loans had adjustable rates, failing to disclose the terms of the loan, refinancing homeowners into inappropriate loans, inflating home appraisals, and charging excessive fees. [ameriquestmdlsettlement.com] [More]
How The IRS Picks Its Audit Targets
By 2.2.10
The IRS doesn’t just draw potential audit victims out of a hat. There is actually a method to its cruel madness, as outlined in this 2006 IRS.gov post spotted by Jim Wang of Bargaineering. [More]
Help! My W-2 Is Late And I Want Justice!
By 2.1.10
Tax Cat here. Reader Jason wants to know what to do when your lazy former employer doesn’t send your W-2 on time. [More]
Epic Toyota Cluster#$@% Continues: Repair Kits Shipping To Dealers
By 2.1.10
2.3 million Toyotas will need to be repaired and the kits to do so are being shipped to dealers this week, says Bloomberg. The repair should take about 30 minutes and Toyota says they are “confident” the problem isn’t electronic. [More]
South Butt Rebuts North Face
By 2.1.10
“South Butt,” sued by North Face for trademark infringement, has filed a delightfully nyah-nyah answer to the apparel maker’s legal claims. While North Face asserts that South Butt is sewing confusion and mistake among consumers, and deceiving them, the parody company, intent on a 1st Amendment defense, insists that that “the consuming public is well aware of the difference between a face and a butt.” The rest of the fun filing, inside… [More]
USPS Delivery Confirmation Says My Packages Were Delivered — They Weren't
By 2.1.10
An anonymous reader says anonymous’s mail isn’t getting to Anonymous. Even though USPS’s delivery confirmation service clearly says Anonymous received the package. [More]
Check Out The Department Of Transportation's New Site For Airline Passengers
By 1.29.10
If you’ve got a complaint about an airline, or you want to find out more about whether your complaint is valid, oh boy is there a treat in store for you! Earlier this month, the DOT launched a redesigned consumer aviation website at airconsumer.dot.gov. The goal of the site is “to make it as easy as possible for consumers to find the information they need to make their air travel experience as smooth and hassle-free as possible.” [More]
Zipcar Pulls Recalled Toyotas From Service
By 1.29.10
Zipcar is concerned about the runaway stuck pedal Toyotas of doom, and so they have pulled all the recalled models from their fleet until Toyota gets their #@$% together.
Behold Zipcar’s press release: [More]
Bank Sues Victim To Avoid Replacing $200k In Stolen Funds
By 1.28.10
What constitutes adequate security for a bank? PlainsCapital Bank in Lubbock, Texas says what it currently has is enough, and if after all that some crooks still manage to steal your money, it’s not the bank’s fault. The bank has preemptively sued a business customer, Hillary Machinery, to absolve itself from any liability on what it couldn’t get back from the more than $800,000 that was stolen by foreign hackers last November. [More]
Is The State Of The Union Good For Consumers?
By 1.28.10
The Obama Administration has been promoting its financial reform proposals almost since the inauguration, and most of the administration’s plans, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, have wide support among consumer advocates.So, how are consumers doing, and what did the President say last night that might be good news? [More]
Snoozing TSA Worker Put On Desk Duty
By 1.28.10
The zzz-catching TSA guard we posted a picture of on Monday has been put on desk duty pending the results of an internal investigation, after someone forwarded the picture to the TSA. “We recognize that our officers have very demanding jobs that require constant vigilance and hours on their feet,” TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis told the NY Daily News. “But nonetheless, it was completely inappropriate for her to rest in a public area while on her break as opposed to a nearby break room.” [More]
This Contact Lens Solution Bottle Is A Little Misleading
By 1.28.10
Noah found a bottle of contact lens solution that proclaimed on its package that it’s small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules. This would be great if the bottle were small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules. [More]
Dating Site eHarmony Settles Same-Sex Class Action For $2 Million
By 1.27.10
In 2008, eHarmony responded to complaints that it wasn’t serving gay and lesbian customers by setting up a second website, Compatible Partners, and keeping those customers separate from the official site. Some users sued the company, saying anyone with bisexual interests were being forced to pay twice for the same service. Now eHarmony has settled the class action and will allow members of either site to participate on the other one without having to pay a second time. [More]
Toyota Stops Selling 8 Popular Car Models
By 1.27.10
A week after issuing a recall on over 2 million vehicles due to faulty acceleration pedals, Toyota has announced it will stop selling 8 popular models in the U.S., as well as shut down 6 U.S. factories, while it deals with the problem. The faulty pedals were made by a U.S. manufacturer but have also been installed in cars sold in Europe, although Toyota hasn’t said what it plans to do outside the U.S. for now. Update: SafetyResearch.net says Toyota was required by law to stop selling the models after it announced the recall last week, so it’s actually kind of strange that it waited five days. [More]
