Since Betsy DeVos took over as Secretary, the Department of Education has been — to put it mildly — generous to the student loan industry. Through DeVos, the Trump administration has stopped cooperating with federal financial regulators to rein in unscrupulous loan servicers, and announced its plan to put all federal student loan accounts into the hands of a single company. But several states are letting it be known that they will not go easy on student lenders and servicers, even if they ask nicely. [More]
attorneys general
GM, States Reach $120M Settlement Over Claims It Kept Ignition Switch Defect Under Wraps
By 10.19.17
Three years after General Motors recalled millions of cars that contained a ignition switch defect that was ultimately linked to more than 120 deaths, the carmaker is finally closing another chapter of the saga. The company will pay $120 million to resolve allegations that it failed to disclose the safety defect in a timely manner. [More]
Best Buy Claims $43 Cases Of Water Were Mistake, Not Post-Hurricane Price-Gouging
By 8.30.17
Most of us can walk into any big box or warehouse store and buy a case of bottled water for less than $10. But one Best Buy store in hurricane-devastated Texas was caught charging between $30 to $43 just for cases of water, leading to claims of price-gouging. Amid the blowback for its egregiously overpriced water, Best Buy is apologizing and claims it was all a mistake. [More]
If Coolest Doesn’t Fulfill Pledges, Backers Get $20 Each And No Frozen Margaritas
By 6.29.17
Earlier this week, the company behind the hottest semi-failed Kickstarter campaign of 2014, the Coolest, announced that it has settled with the attorney general in its home state of Oregon. Now the details of that settlement are out, and we’ve learned that the worst-case scenario is that backers will each receive $20 if the company fails to deliver. [More]
Coolest Has To Ship 20,000 Rewards To Kickstarter Backers By 2020
By 6.27.17
The Coolest was the hottest Kickstarter campaign of 2014, but a substantial number of people who paid at least $165 plus shipping for the party device still don’t have their coolers. Now a case filed against the company by Oregon’s Department of Justice has been resolved, and the company has three more years to ship out remaining backer rewards. [More]
AGs Blast Financial CHOICE Act, Urge Congress To Reject Proposed Bill
By 6.7.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
With legislation to roll back consumer protections and gut the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act expected to be discussed by the House as early as this week, several states are urging lawmakers to reject the legislation. [More]
States To Education Secretary DeVos: Stop Delaying Loan Forgiveness For Students Deceived By Corinthian Colleges
By 6.5.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
Two months after the Attorneys General from dozens of states sent letters to former students of defunct for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges reminding them to apply for federal student loan discharges, a number of those same state officials are calling on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop delaying loan forgiveness. [More]
Uber Settles Charges Of Sending Unwanted Texts With No Opt-Out
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you’re interested in signing up as an Uber driver, a friend or driver can have the site text you a mutually beneficial referral code. Some consumers in Washington state reported receiving referral text messages from the ride-hailing app that they didn’t ask for, though, with no way to opt out, and now the company and the state have settled those charges. [More]
18 Attorneys General Ask Education Secretary DeVos To Not Go Soft On For-Profit Colleges
By 2.22.17 — Updated: 2.23.17
A number of high-profile for-profit educators shut down or scaled back operations in recent years, among accusations of overcharging and under-educating students, and new rules intended to hold schools accountable. However, these companies’ fortunes began to turn after the election of Donald Trump and his naming of pro-industry Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. That’s why a group of 18 state attorneys general is calling on the administration to not ease up on these controversial schools. [More]
Amazon Contractor Agrees To Pay Drivers $100K In Phantom Lunch Breaks
By 10.28.16
What if your employer deducted lunch breaks from your time sheet, but you weren’t allowed to actually take any time for lunch? That’s what New York’s attorney general says happened to employees of Cornucopia Logistics, a contractor that handles deliveries for Amazon and for its grocery delivery service in New York City. The company has settled with the state, and will pay affected workers and former workers $100,000 in back wages for the practice. [More]
States Say Volkswagen Won’t Turn Over Documents In Emissions Investigation
By 1.8.16
A group of state attorneys general called out Volkswagen on Friday for allegedly withholding documents related to its use of “defeat devices” to skirt emissions standards in 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. [More]
10 States Investigating Movie Theater Chains Over Antitrust Violations
By 12.17.15
You know how it’s almost impossible to ever see one of those big blockbuster films showing at the little movie theater down the street? That issue is largely the result of exclusive agreements between large theater chains and film studios that effectively prevent independent rivals from showing certain films. While these deals might be great for the bigger companies, they aren’t so awesome for consumers. And so, 10 state attorneys general are looking into whether or not the contracts used by Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment, and Cinemark constitute antitrust violations. [More]
Nine Attorneys General Join “Corinthian 15,” Urge DOE To Provide Student Loan Debt Relief For Wronged Borrowers
By 4.10.15
A group of former and current Corinthian College Inc. students refusing to pay their federal student loans in protest of the government’s support of the crumbling for-profit college chain now have the backing of several top political officeholders afternine attorneys general from across the U.S. sent a letter to the Department of Education asking it to forgive the students’ loan debts. [More]
Here’s Why You Should Always Read The Details Of Free Trials
By 12.11.14
When you sign up for a free trial of a service, but don’t have to hand over your payment information on the spot, do you assume that the free trial will simply go away? That’s what many people who signed up for a trial of Amazon Prime seemed to do, and the Iowa Attorney General has arrived at a settlement with Amazon over auto-enrollment in Prime. [More]
14 Attorneys General Back Bill To Create For-Profit College Watchdog
By 10.7.14
More than six months after a bill that would improve coordination and oversight of the for-profit college industry was introduced in the Senate and House, a number of state attorneys general have signed on in support. [More]
28 Attorneys General Urge Major Retailers To Discontinue Tobacco Sales
By 3.17.14
Is it a conflict of interest when stores that sell products to improve your health also make billions every year selling cigarettes? More than two dozen Attorneys General think so, and are lighting a fire under the nation’s largest drugstore and supermarket chains to get them to quit. [More]
Vonage Reaches $3 Million Settlement With 32 States
By 11.17.09
If you had trouble canceling your Vonage account in recent years and ended up getting charged for services you didn’t want, you might be eligible for a refund under an agreement Vonage just made with the attorneys general of 32 states.
AGs: Ringless Robocalls Are Still Robocalls, Shouldn’t Be Allowed
The Republican National Committee and the lobbyists at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce might think that “ringless” robocalls — automated, prerecorded phone calls that go straight to voicemail — are just fine, but the top legal advisors in several states believe the opposite. Now they’re urging the Federal Communications Commission to oppose a petition that would allow telemarketers to use them. [More]