The Federal Pell Grant Program provides billions of dollars in financial aid to college students in need of assistance, but these grants — and other aid — could disappear or be made worthless if proposals by Congress and the Trump administration are enacted. [More]
bills
Lawsuit Claims CenturyLink Continuously Offers Bogus Price Quotes
By 7.13.17
From extra, unexpected fees, Broadcast TV charges, or a completely different base price for your service of choice, it’s not uncommon to open your cable or internet bill to find the amount higher than you anticipated. One state is taking on these surprise bills by suing CenturyLink, accusing the cable and phone provider of frequently billing customers at higher rates than sales agents quoted. [More]
Half Of America Is Not Prepared For A $100 Emergency
By 5.17.17
If you opened your mailbox today and found that you owed the city $100 and you had to pay it right away, would you be able to? A new report claims that nearly half of us are not prepared to absorb this cost, and more than 1-in-4 Americans is up a creek if they have to unexpectedly pay as little as $10. [More]
City Of Flint Charged Resident $1,090 In Back Payments For Contaminated Water
By 5.5.17
It’s jarring enough to receive a large bill when you don’t expect it, but to be asked to pay hundreds of dollars for a tainted product you don’t even want to use is even worse. After last year’s lead poisoning crisis in Flint, MI, state officials say that city’s water now meets governmental guidelines for lead. But although many residents still don’t trust the water, now that the state has ended a subsidy program that reduced their water bills, Flint is asking people to pay up. [More]
Citizens Bank Glitch Makes Direct Deposits Disappear, Leaves Bills Unpaid
By 3.17.17
Citizen Bank customers expecting to see their paychecks added to the balance of their accounts Friday morning were disappointed to find that wasn’t the case: A glitch in the bank’s system prevented paychecks and other direct deposits from being processed. [More]
Lawmakers Try Yet Again To Create Minimum Seat Size Requirement On Planes
By 3.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If at first you don’t succeed, just keep proposing legislation: A group of lawmakers Thursday introduced a pair of bills that would create a seat-size standard for commercial airlines, as well as a minimum distance between rows of seats. [More]
Restaurants Adding Surcharge To Customers’ Bills Amid Rising Labor Costs
By 3.9.17
Restaurants are taking a cue from the cable industry: Rather than raise menu prices to cover the higher cost of paying wages, some eateries are tacking on “labor surcharges.” [More]
Verizon Wireless Decides Not To Make Florida Woman Pay For $8,535 In Data Overages
By 9.16.16
The Florida woman who was shocked to receive a $9,100 bill from Verizon Wireless for data she says she couldn’t possibly have used is off the hook, as the company has decided not to make her pay up. [More]
Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Limit Law Enforcement’s Rights To Hack Stuff
By 5.19.16
A group of Senators has announced today that they are introducing a new bill into the Senate designed to prevent mass hacking of Americans’ digital devices. But the lawmakers aren’t targeting shadowy collectives or foreign nationals with their proposed legislation; they’re seeking to limit the scope of actual Federal agencies’ powers. [More]
The 3 Big Things We’ve Learned About Your Cable Bill
By 5.17.16
Over the last few months, we’ve reviewed cable and internet service bills for seven of the nation’s largest providers in an attempt to make sense of all those fees and charges. So what did we learn from these bills covering cable, satellite, and fiber customers from Connecticut to California? [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your Dish Network Bill
By 4.28.16
When you sign up for telecommunications services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% again on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones do you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One business at a time, we’re using real customers’ bills to break it down. We’ve covered Comcast, TWC, DirecTV, Charter, FiOS, and Uverse in our bill guide series so far. Now, it’s Dish’s turn. [More]
Want To Help Us With A Guide? Send Us Your Dish Bill!
By 4.18.16
Hello! Do you like our series that has been breaking down real-life cable and satellite bills to help explain what all those dozens of little charges are? Us, too! We’d like to add DISH NETWORK to the list (which so far includes Comcast, DirecTV, Charter, TWC, Uverse, and FiOS) but to make that happen we need some help. Namely, bills from real-life Dish subscribers! If you’re willing to share yours with us, please e-mail a copy to tips@consumerist.com. As always, we won’t publish any identifying information, but the more we have the more right we can make the story. Thanks, and here is a picture of a cat. [More]
FCC-Limiting, Net-Neutrality-Scuttling Bill Passes House
By 4.15.16
The House of Representatives passed a bill this morning that seeks to limit the FCC’s net neutrality authority and could limit the commission’s ability to investigate consumer complaints about unreasonable charges from and behavior by their ISPs. [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your AT&T U-verse Bill
By 4.14.16
When you sign up for telecom services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — from your cable company, you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% or more on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones should you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One cable company at a time, we’ve been using real customers’ bills to break it down. In previous installations we’ve gone through Comcast, DirecTV, Charter, TWC, and FiOS; now, it’s AT&T’s turn. [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your Verizon FiOS Bill
By 3.22.16
When you sign up for telecom services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — from your cable company, you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% or more on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones should you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One cable company at a time, we’ve been using real customers’ bills to break it down. In previous installations we’ve gone through Comcast, DirecTV, Charter, and TWC; now, it’s Verizon’s turn. [More]
Are Employee Student Loan Contributions The Next 401(K)?
By 3.18.16
Any help graduates can get when it comes to repaying their mountains of student loan debt is often welcome: from cities offering debt forgiveness to keep young adults in their areas to programs in which states will pay for portions of their education. Now, more employers are jumping on the assistance train by providing student loan payment contributions as part of their compensation plans. [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your Charter Cable Bill
By 3.8.16 — Updated: 2.8.17
When you sign up for telecom services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — from your cable company, you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% or more on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones do you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One cable company at a time, we’re using real customers’ bills to break it down. We’ve already looked at Comcast, TWC, and DirecTV, so now it’s Charter’s turn. [More]
Want To Help Us With A Guide? Send Us Your Charter Bill!
By 3.3.16
Hi there! Do you like our series on understanding your cable bills — featuring Comcast, TWC, and DirecTV — so far? We’re looking for help continuing it. If you are a Charter customer with a triple-play package, would you please consider sending us a copy of your bill to tips@consumerist.com to help with the next story? As always, we won’t publish any identifying information, but we need eyes on a few more bills to make sure we get this one right. [More]
