So your phone company calls you and says there’s a new plan that can save your on your phone bill, or maybe to let you know that you’re being overcharged for your current service. So you go ahead and switch to the more sensible plan, only to find out weeks later that you’ve actually been switched over to a new service provider you’ve never heard of — and to a plan that costs more than your old one. This was a reality for dozens of people who complained to the FCC about a Michigan-based company that now faces a potential $2.4 million fine. [More]
Government Policy
Most State Laws Can’t Protect Borrowers From Predatory Installment Loans, Open-End Lines Of Credit
By 7.30.15
As regulators continue to craft rules meant to crackdown on costly and harmful short-term payday lending, companies are offering alternative products like installment loans and open lines of credit to consumers. But, as it turns out, these cash infusions can be just as devastating to those in need, and few states offer sufficient protections for borrowers. [More]
Mortgage Servicer To Pay Back $1.5M To Screwed-Over Homeowners
By 7.30.15
Residential Credit Solutions is a mortgage servicer specializing in delinquent loans and “credit-sensitive” (read: high-risk for default) residential mortgages. But after allegedly screwing over homeowners by, among other things, not honoring loan modifications on mortgages transferred from other servicers, RCS is on the hook to pay $1.5 million in restitution and a $100,000 penalty to federal regulators. [More]
Regulators Deny Request For Investigation Into 5 Million Fiat Chrysler Vehicles
By 7.30.15
Following a probe into 23 safety recalls and 11 million cars – which resulted in a record-setting $105 million fine – it appears that Fiat Chrysler is getting a little bit of good news from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to not open an investigation into nearly five million other vehicles over power system failures. [More]
Regulators Investigating University Of Phoenix’s Business Practices
By 7.30.15
Apollo Education Group, owners of the country’s largest for-profit college – University of Phoenix – is the latest target for federal regulators set on reining in the for-profit education industry for engaging in allegedly deceptive marketing practices. [More]
July Recall Roundup: Of Course Kids Are Going To Chew On Their Strollers
By 7.30.15
In this month’s recall roundup, a stroller wasn’t designed to be chewed on, a fish tank heater might cook your fish instead of keeping them comfortable, and a lawn mower may fling grass clippings at the person operating the vehicle. It’s a dangerous world out there, apparently. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Loses Bid For New Trial In Wrongful Death Case Involving Jeep Fire
By 7.29.15
Fiat Chrysler’s woes related to millions of Jeeps that could catch fire after being rear-ended continued today as a judge rejected the company’s request for a new a trial in the wrongful death case of a four-year-old boy. [More]
Nearly 80% Of Americans Hold Some Form Of Debt, But It Isn’t Always Bad
By 7.29.15
When most people think of debt, they probably conjure up a vision of consumers struggling to make ends meet after making unwise financial decisions. But that actually isn’t the case for most Americans. In fact, like other things, debt in moderation is actually a good thing. [More]
Kroger Recalls Garlic Powder, Cinnamon, Pepper & Fake Bacon Over Salmonella Risk
By 7.28.15
If you’ve bought any Kroger-brand seasonings (and/or fake bacon bits) recently, listen up: The nation’s second-largest supermarket chain has issued a recall affecting four different products that may be tainted with salmonella. [More]
Western Union-Owned Mortgage Company Must Return $33.4M To Customers
By 7.28.15
A mortgage payment company owned by Western Union has agreed to return $33.4 million to consumers following allegations that it misled customers into thinking they could save thousands of dollars on their home loans. [More]
AT&T: $100M Fine For Throttling Unlimited Data Users Is “Unlawful,” “Coercive,” “Indefensible”
By 7.28.15
In June, the FCC proposed a potentially $100 million fine against AT&T for allegedly failing to disclose to its “unlimited” data plan subscribers the extent to which their data access could be throttled if they used too much of it in any given month. The company recently responded to the allegations, and let’s just say that AT&T isn’t exactly thrilled. [More]
Unsanitary Growing Conditions Lead To Partial Import Ban On Mexican Cilantro
By 7.27.15
Bad news for cilantro lovers: U.S. officials have implemented a partial ban on imports of the herb after health officials linked hundreds of illnesses to cilantro growing in feces- and toilet paper-covered fields in Mexico. [More]
Man Arrested After Making It Through Security, Boarding Plane Without Ticket
By 7.27.15
The Transportation Security Administration is investigating a disruption – that included a visit from the local bomb squad – at Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport Sunday night after authorities say a man boarded a flight without a ticket. [More]
Telemarketers Took Millions From Senior Citizens In Medicare Card Scam
By 7.27.15
There’s now one less unsavory, immoral, disrespectful group scamming senior citizens of their savings, as federal regulators took action against the operators of a scheme in which telemarketers pretended to be Medicare representatives in order to bilk millions of dollars from older consumers. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Receives Record $105 Million Fine For Failure To Address 23 Recalls
By 7.27.15
For the second time this year, federal regulators have handed down a record-setting fine to an automaker for failing to properly report and investigate possible defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration levied a $105 million fine against Fiat Chrysler, following months of investigations into the car maker’s leisurely pace in fixing more than 11 million vehicles connected to 23 safety recalls. [More]
It’s Official: FCC Gives Blessing To Marriage Of AT&T, DirecTV
By 7.24.15
After the announcement earlier this week that the FCC commissioners were reviewing and set to vote on deal that would grant regulatory approval to the merger of AT&T and DirecTV, the agency made it official this afternoon by giving its conditional blessing to this $49 billion marriage. [More]
SEC Investigating Beverage Giant Diageo Over Allegations It Artificially Boosted Sales Figures
By 7.24.15
When a company says it’s moving a whole lot of products, that could mean that its sales are booming. The thing is, just because a business might be shipping a lot of products, that doesn’t necessarily mean it actually sold as much as it’s sending to distributors. To that end, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating beverage giant Diageo — the company behind brands like Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker and more — for allegedly artificially boosting its sales by shipping excess inventory to distributors. [More]
Appeals Court Revives Texas Bank’s Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality Of CFPB
By 7.24.15
This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau celebrates its fourth anniversary of protecting consumers from harmful practices and shady characters in the financial sector. But instead of buying the regulatory arm a big ol’ birthday cake, a federal appeals court is gifting the Bureau with a revived lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. [More]
