The publisher of a series of home improvement books has announced a recall of nine of them, because of errors in their instructions on installing or repairing electrical wiring. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says no injuries have been reported so far even though the books have been published since 1975, which I think proves that nobody has ever actually attempted a project from any home improvement book. [More]
Government Policy
Apartment Complex Says "Use This Cable Company Or Pay Us $40 Per Month"
By 1.8.10
The FCC has made it clear that apartment complexes can’t force residents to use a specific cable company, but Amy Davis at KPRC in Houston reports that there’s a sneaky way to get around this restriction. The residents of one Houston apartment complex don’t have to go with the building’s chosen provider, but if they opt out they’ll have to pay an extra $40 per month for trash and water. [More]
IRS Opens Can Of Whoopass On Paid Tax Preparers
By 1.4.10
Tax Cat here! Calling it a “game changing event for the tax system”, the IRS announced in a press conference call, that they invited me, a tax cat, to that they’re launching 6 sweeping regulatory reforms to clean up the paid tax prep industry. The IRS is not naming names but I’m growling at you, H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. Numero uno: [More]
Cash For Clunkers Customers Entitled To More Cash
By 1.3.10
Some customers who purchased cars during the 2009 CARS rebate program, popularly known as Cash for Clunkers, were entitled to a portion of the scrap value of their old cars, in addition to the government rebate of $3,500 or $4,500. What? And the dealerships didn’t tell them? Gasp! [More]
TSA Withdraws Blogger Subpoenas, Offers New Computer
By 1.1.10
The new year is starting off pretty well for bloggers Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling, who had been targeted by the Transportation Security Administration after they posted the TSA’s bizarre Christmas Day Security Directive. Elliott reports that the agency has withdrawn its subpoena against him, and that Frischling, whose laptop was confiscated, is getting a new computer courtesy of Uncle Sam. [More]
FCC Chair Spams Facebook Friends
By 12.31.09
His account apparently compromised by a spammer’s program, FCC chair Julius Genachowski sent out a message this morning to all his Facebook friends that said, “Adam got me started making money with this.” Adam Smith perhaps? We’ll never know, as the website Julius linked to is now unavailable. [More]
AT&T Asks FCC To Deep-Six Landlines
By 12.31.09
AT&T wants out of the landline business and has asked the FCC to consider authorizing an all-internet phone network, GigaOM reports: [More]
TSA Targets Bloggers Who Exposed Draconian Policies
By 12.31.09
The Transportation Security Administration has discovered a major new threat, and is targeting it with all methods at its disposal. No, not terrorists. The agency is going after two bloggers, Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, for exposing its whopper of a policy document, issued Christmas Day in the wake of that day’s failed terrorist attack.
Hey, Corvette Owners, Your Roofs May Fly Off
By 12.30.09
If you’re a Corvette owner who really, really likes to feel the wind in your hair as you drive, you may not want to partake in a recall that prevents roofs from flying off as you speed down the highway. [More]
Self-Described Toy Tester Will Go Through Your Stuff If You Pay Her
By 12.29.09
Every time there’s a warning or recall over lead-tainted toys–and it hasn’t happened much this past year, but check out our archives from a couple of years ago–lots of people get up in arms about not being able to trust the government or big business. Well, one woman has bought herself an X-ray flourescence (XRF) analyzer and now hires her services out to worried families, reports the Washington Post. For a fee, she’ll come to your house, point her gun at your kids’ toys, your heirlooms, the fishtank, whatever you ask her to test, and then tell you whether you should throw it out. [More]
New Jersey Wants To Stop Unsolicited Text Message Ads
By 12.29.09
New Jersey isn’t content with going after unsolicited junk mail checks and credit card offers–it appears to be aiming for Least Friendly Junk Marketing State in the Union. The latest target: marketers who send out unsolicited text messages. [More]
RC2 Agrees To Pay $1.25 Million Over Lead Toys
By 12.29.09
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just worked out another penalty settlement with a toy company over those lead-tainted toys that graced shelves from 2005 to 2007. Reuters says RC2 will pay a $1.25 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it “imported and sold Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys with paints and surface coatings that contained lead levels above legal limits.” About two years ago, RC2 settled a class-action lawsuit over the same toys. [More]
"Moldy Smelling" Tylenol Recalled
By 12.29.09
All TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN caps have been recalled after consumer complaints of “an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.” [More]
TSA Gets Some Damned Sense, Eases Flight Restrictions
By 12.28.09
Good news, people who are in the unfortunate position of having to do business with an airline in the near future: the TSA’s embarrassingly reactionary new “security rules” have been eased as of this afternoon. Now it is up to the captain whether they’re enforced on each flight, reports CBS News. [More]
Next Time You Fly, Prepare To Be Patted Down And Computerless
By 12.27.09
Are we not allowed to have electronics with us in the cabin when we fly now? Is it true that we can’t get up in the last hour of a flight, and everyone gets patted down now? Most importantly, what about the electronics? [More]
Was Fatal Car Accident Caused By Stuck Toyota Accelerator?
By 12.27.09
Police in Southlake, Tex. are investigating whether a fatal automobile accident could have been caused by the same mechanical issue that led to the recall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles and multiple fatal accidents in the U.S., including one involving a California Highway Patrol officer and his family. In the accident on Saturday morning, police say that the vehicle ran a stop sign, hit a tree and a fence, and drove into a pond. Two people were killed, and two were injured. [More]
Make Debt Collectors Give You Money By Suing Them
By 12.25.09
This may not work for everyone, but it worked for Jeff. He tells Consumerist that after he filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Sallie Mae representatives continued to call him, which is sort of illegal. So his bankruptcy attorney sued them. And won a $4,000 settlement. [More]
