For the second time this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has flexed its muscles when it comes to reining in unscrupulous indirect auto loan financiers. Just days after taking action against Fifth Third Bank for auto-lending discrimination, the Bureau ordered a Los Angeles-based finance company and its auto title lending subsidiary to pay $48.3 million in fines and relief to affected borrowers stemming from a laundry list of allegedly illegal debt collection practices. [More]
Government Policy
How Drug Companies Use “Product Hopping” To Fight Off Affordable Generic Drugs
By 10.1.15 — Updated: 2.7.17
You’re probably used to the idea of your doctor prescribing you a brand-name drug and your pharmacist automatically substituting a lower-cost generic equivalent that saves you, the drugstore, and your insurer money. But there’s a practice in the industry known as “product hopping” that brand-name drug makers can use to repeatedly delay generic versions from reaching consumers. [More]
Bride & Groom’s “TNT” Wedding Favors Spark Evacuation At Denver Airport
By 10.1.15
No matter how clever it is to put you and your intended’s initials on glass jars filled with fancy bath salts and topped with wax seals and fuses — “T” and “T” becomes “TNT, get it? — it’s not a great idea if you’re headed to the airport. See, the Transportation Security Administration can’t let something labeled as an explosive through without thoroughly checking things out, which, in this case, turned into an evacuation of the Denver International Airport. [More]
Ford Issues Six Recalls Covering 380,000 Vehicles Over Crash, Fire Risks
By 10.1.15
Ford significantly increased the number of vehicles it’s recalled in 2015 on Wednesday when the car manufacturer announced six new recalls covering nearly 380,000 automobiles — some of which have already been called back, but may continue to have issues. [More]
Federal Perkins Student Loan Program Set To Expire At Midnight
By 9.30.15
After 57 years of assisting nearly 20 million low-income students to finance their dreams of obtaining a higher education, the Federal Perkins Loan program could soon be grinding to a halt. [More]
Thirteen Manufacturers Recall 1.3 Million Bikes Over Quick-Release Lever Crash Hazard
By 9.30.15
Thirteen companies are recalling nearly 1.3 million bicycles equipped with front disc brakes and quick-release levers that can cause the front tire to lock up or completely separate from the bike, posing an increased risk of injury to riders. [More]
Feds Recommend Overhaul Of Student Loan Servicing
By 9.29.15
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a public probe into potentially anti-consumer practices of the student loan servicing industry. More than 30,000 people responded, leading the Bureau, along with the Departments of Education and Treasury, to release a framework they hope will curb these questionable practices, promote borrower success, and minimize defaults. [More]
Regulators Accuse Fiat Chrysler Of “Widely Under-Reported” Deaths Related To Vehicle Accidents
By 9.29.15
After being fined $105 million by federal regulators for their leisurely pace in fixing more than 11 million vehicles connected to 23 safety recalls, Fiat Chrysler’s recall woes haven’t magically disappeared. Instead, it appears they may be intensifying, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today accused the carmaker of widely under-reporting the number of deaths in accidents involving its vehicles. [More]
Volkswagen To Announce Emissions Fix Plans In “Next Few Days”
By 9.29.15
Since the Environmental Protection Agency revealed earlier this month that Volkswagen had rigged its so-called “clean diesel” vehicles to cheat on emissions tests, owners of the approximately 11 million cars affected by this trickery have been waiting to find out when they might hear something other than apologies from the German carmaker. [More]
Regulators Investigating BMW’s Slow Recall Pace After Vehicles Failed Side Crash Tests
By 9.29.15
Just two months after federal regulators fined Fiat Chrysler a record $105 million as a result of a lengthy investigation into the carmaker’s leisurely pace in fixing more than 11 million vehicles connected to 23 safety recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is poised to take another manufacturer to task: BMW. [More]
Regulators Send Letters To Seven Additional Automakers Related To Shrapnel-Shooting Takata Airbags
By 9.28.15
While federal regulators reduced the number of vehicles equipped with potentially deadly Takata airbags, more could be added to the list that already includes 19.2 million after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent letters last week to seven additional automakers warning that their cars include the shrapnel-shooting safety devices. [More]
Regulators Take Action Against Fifth Third Bank For Auto-Lending Discrimination, Illegal Credit Card Practices
By 9.28.15
Federal regulators dished out a double dose of enforcement today by taking action against Fifth Third Bank for allegedly charging higher interest rates to minority borrowers for car loans and deceptively marketing credit card add-on products to bank customers. [More]
Regulators Sue Weight-Loss Marketer Who Used Fines, Lawsuits To Stop Negative Consumer Reviews
By 9.28.15
Federal regulators on Monday continued their crackdown on deceptive, ineffective weight-loss products, this time by filing a lawsuit against a company that threatened to enforce a so-called “gag clause” by imposing fines and filing lawsuits to stop customers from posting negative reviews and testimonials for the products online. [More]
Audi Confirms 2.1 Million Vehicles Affected By Volkswagen Emissions Scandal
By 9.28.15
For more than a week, Volkswagen has been the center of an emissions scandal in which it admitted that nearly 11 million diesel engine vehicles worldwide come equipped with software that tricked emissions tests. While an order of violation from the Environmental Protection Agency included several Audi sedans, VW had yet to announce just how many of those vehicles were affected worldwide. Now we know: 2.1 million. [More]
My VW Was Recalled For Emissions Issues In April, Does That Mean It’s Fixed?
By 9.25.15
When Consumerist reader Jan bought her 2014 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen with a “clean diesel” engine, the thought she was going to get great gas mileage and maybe help the environment. Sure, there was an emissions-related recall earlier this year, but she had that fixed at the dealership. Except, as she’s learning in the wake of the latest VW recall, her car is still in need of fixing.
[More]
Sanderson Farms Recalls 554,090 Pounds Of Chicken That May Be Contaminated With Metal Fragments
By 9.25.15
Sanderson Farms is recalling more than 554,090 pounds of chicken products because they may have been contaminated with metal shavings, due to a malfunction with an ice-making machine somewhere along the line. [More]
EPA Overhauling Emissions Tests To Catch “Defeat Device” Cheaters
By 9.25.15
A week after ordering Volkswagen to recall 500,000 vehicles that contain “defeat devices” designed to cheat emissions tests, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would overhaul its compliance processes to ensure vehicles meet standards not only in controlled environments but in real-world driving conditions. [More]
Hyundai Recalls 470,000 Sonatas Because Engines Shouldn’t Contain Debris
By 9.25.15
A properly running engine is a vital part of driving a car, for that reason, Hyundai has initiated a recall of nearly 470,000 sedans that could contain debris in their motors. [More]
