Automakers have recalled more vehicles for airbag issues in the last year than many of us can keep track of. Today, Volkswagen joined the long list, calling back some 420,000 sedans equipped with airbags that may not deploy. [More]
Government Policy
Verizon Stops Throttling Data For Unlimited Wireless Data Plans, Doesn’t Tell Anyone
By 8.14.15
For four years, Verizon has been throttling 3G data speeds for its few remaining “unlimited” data plan holders who dared try to take advantage of having access to supposedly unlimited data on their wireless devices. But earlier this summer, the nation’s largest wireless carrier quietly put an end to this supposed “network management,” but only because it has done such a good job of driving customers away from their unlimited plans. [More]
Britax Recalls 213,000 Car Seats Because They Might Not Secure The Child
By 8.14.15
Britax Child Safety Inc. initiated a recall this week of more than 213,000 car seats after finding buttons on the safety devices could fail, leaving a child essentially unsecured. [More]
Mail Carrier Wedges Package in Box, Doesn’t Have To Leave Vehicle
By 8.13.15
The weather in Alabama, where reader Alison lives, has been extremely warm lately. If she lived in an old cartoon, mercury would be bursting out of the top of the thermometers. With temperatures of about one hundred degrees every day, she doesn’t really blame her mail carrier for not wanting to get up. However, what takes more work: walking to the porch, or shoving a package in the mailbox so firmly that the customer can’t get it out? [More]
Truckloads Of Blue Bell Ice Cream Heading To Stores
By 8.12.15
Stay strong, Americans in southern states: it might be almost the end of summer, but your frozen dessert salvation may be soon at hand. The Blue Bell ice cream plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, which was never officially linked to any cases of listeriosis, began producing test batches in July and gained approval to distribute their products last week. [More]
FTC Expected To Clarify Its Power To Police Unfair Competition
By 8.12.15
From time to time, the Federal Trade Commission is known to take on companies it believes create an environment of unfair competition. Over the years, some have seen the agency’s actions to be a bit arbitrary and wide-ranging. But that could soon change as officials are expected to unveil a policy statement this week specifying how it pursues antitrust cases. [More]
Citizens Bank Must Pay $31.5M In Fines, Refunds For Failing To Credit Full Deposit Amounts
By 8.12.15
Several federal agencies teamed up like your favorite buddy-cop movie to bring down the bad guy today. In this particular case the bad guy was Citizens Bank, which must now pay a total of $20.5 million in penalties and $11 million in refunds to the owners of accounts it allegedly failed to credit for full amounts of deposited funds. [More]
Regulators File Suit Against Data Broker That Helped Payday Loan Scammer Bilk $7M From Consumers
By 8.12.15
From time to time, federal regulators shut down shady payday lending companies that debit consumers’ accounts or charge their credit cards without permission. But those nefarious operations have to get their information from somewhere, right? Well, today the Federal Trade Commission sent a message to all of those companies providing such personal information to scammy-mcscammersons by taking action against a data broker operation that illegal sold payday loan applicants’ financial information. [More]
Takata Plans To Launch Airbag Recall Notification Campaign
By 8.12.15
Three months after Japanese auto parts maker Takata bowed to regulatory pressure and recalled 33.8 million vehicles equipped with shrapnel-shooting airbags responsible for at least eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, the company is launching an awareness campaign to ensure owners of affected vehicles are aware of the massive recall. [More]
FDA: Lack Of Info In Kim Kardashian’s Endorsement Of Morning Sickness Pill Puts Consumers At Risk
By 8.11.15
While celebrities get special treatment most places they go, there is no VIP pass that allows them to endorse a prescription drug without disclosing its associated risks and limitations. So when mom-to-be Kim Kardashian used social media to sing the praises of a morning sickness pill, it raised a red flag for federal regulators. [More]
“Travel Club” Telemarketer Fined $2.96M For Robocalling Consumers
By 8.11.15
Whenever we tell readers that it’s important for them to file complaints when they receive illegal robocalls, some inevitably respond that they believe it’s pointless and nothing ever comes of their gripe. But today, the FCC announced a nearly $3 million fine against a robocalling telemarketer following complaints from consumers who took the time to speak up. [More]
Santander’s Auto Loan Business Under Federal Investigation
By 8.11.15
Each year, Santander writes or services billions of dollars worth of auto loans and leases in the U.S., making it one of the nation’s largest providers of automobile financing. Yesterday, the company revealed that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking into whether Santander violated federal fair-lending laws. [More]
Groups Say Proposed Student Loan Plan Doesn’t Provide Enough Assistance
By 8.10.15
The Dept. of Education recently proposed regulations intended to make the student loan repayment process less burdensome and drawn-out. Nearly two dozen consumer advocacy groups say that while these rules should help borrowers, more could be done to ensure that all students benefit. [More]
University Of Phoenix Faces Probe Into Military Recruiting Practices
By 8.10.15
A little more than a week after federal regulators set their sights on the University of Phoenix for possible deceptive and unfair business practices, the California Attorney General’s office is joining the investigation party by opening a probe into the for-profit college’s military recruitment practices. [More]
FDA Regulation Of E-Cigarettes Would Only Help Big Tobacco, Say Vaping Startups
By 8.10.15
If you go into a convenience store to buy cigarettes, you might have a wide variety of smokes to choose from, but most of those brands are made by three or four huge tobacco companies. But if you’re one of the growing number of consumers who choose vaping over traditional cigarettes, there are seemingly countless small companies willing to sell you liquid nicotine. Some of those startups say that pending FDA regulation of e-cigarettes could put them out of business, leaving only big tobacco. [More]
Parents: Remember To Check Your Kids’ Carry-On Bags Because Hatchets, Grenades Aren’t Allowed On Planes
By 8.7.15
Parents, we are not here to tell you how to be a parent. But might we suggest you oversee your child’s packing efforts before you head to the airport? You know, just in case said kid decides to include a dangerous weapon in their carry-on bag. [More]
The FCC Wants To Know How Mobile Data, Broadband Caps, And High Prices Shape Broadband Access
By 8.7.15
It’s the FCC’s job to determine if broadband internet service is reaching enough people, quickly enough and competitively enough. To make that determination, every year they issue a report looking at the current state of broadband and how it’s changed. But broadband isn’t about wires anymore; it’s about wireless data and how quickly that moves (or doesn’t), too. And so the commission is considering a big change to their standards for the next go-around — one that would take a hard look at your cell service, too. [More]
12 States Holding Sales Tax Holidays This Weekend
By 8.7.15
Were you thinking about doing some shopping this weekend, for back-to-school season or just in general? Find out whether your state is holding a tax holiday, where state sales taxes are waived on certain categories of items: usually clothes, but sometimes also personal electronics, appliances, and hunting supplies, including firearms. Tax holidays and their limits vary regionally and your county or municipality may not be participating; check the rules before you shop. However, make sure that you don’t confuse it for a shopping spree. [Consumer Reports] [More]
