We at Consumerist really hate mandatory binding arbitration, the faux-legal sucker punch that companies deliver when they screw up and you try to sue, and so should you. We’ve talked about its evils a lot, but no one can describe this legal abomination as well as the victims themselves, so this week we’ll let them speak.
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Legislation To Protect Consumers From Crappy Credit Card Practices Moves Forward
By 4.23.09
The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights is back in the news, and with Congress considering the legislation, we offer a refresher on what’s in this bill and why it’s important.
Is Tax-Free Internet Shopping Soon To Be A Thing Of The Past?
By 4.20.09
America wants YOU!… to pay tax on that Body Snake you bought online last week.
New York Representative Goes After Time Warner's Metered Broadband
By 4.9.09
Rochester, NY is one of the expanded test areas for TWC’s new metered broadband program, (along with Austin & San Antonio, TX, and Greensboro, NC.) The people of Rochester are especially upset about the change, including their representative, Eric Massa, who had strong words for Time Warner.
Senators Introduce Bill To Ban Text Message Spam
By 4.7.09
Senators Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Bill Nelson, D-Florida, have introduced the m-SPAM Act, which would update the CAN-SPAM law to include text message spam. “The m-SPAM Act would explicitly bar marketers from sending text messages to any mobile number in the national Do-Not-Call registry maintained by the FTC,” reports InternetNews.
House Preparing To Legalize Payday Loans With 391% APRs
By 4.5.09
A House subcommittee wants to legalize payday loans with interest rates of up to 391%. Lobbyists from the payday industry bought Congress’ support by showering influential members, including Chairman Luiz Gutierrez, with campaign cash. The Congressman is now playing good cop, bad cop with the payday industry, which is pretending to oppose his generous gift of a bill.
After Decade-Long Delay, House Tells FDA To Regulate Tobacco
By 4.4.09
The House this week voted to empower the FDA to regulate tobacco, just in case people still smoke even after new taxes push the cost of cigarettes to over $9 per pack and the recession bankrupts everyone. Under the measure, which passed 298-112, the FDA would be able to set nicotine levels, control cigarette advertising, and require companies to provide a full list of cigarette ingredients. As usual, the killjoys in the Senate may force the House to smoke a light version of the cigarette bill…
TweetCongress Lets You Succinctly Shout At Your Congresspeople Online
By 3.27.09
Missouri Senator and prolific Twitterer Claire McCaskill called our attention to TweetCongress which lets you look up your representative and senators and talk to them.
End Pre-Emption, Support The Medical Device Safety Act
By 3.18.09
Two recent Supreme Court cases on federal pre-emption have made a mess of tort law, confusing and endangering consumers by holding that a patient who is injured by a dangerous drug can sue the manufacturer, but a patient injured by a dangerous medical device cannot. How this happened, and what to do about it, inside.
National Usury Limit Could Reduce Number Of People Paying Debt Until They Die
By 3.11.09
For about 30 years, there has been effectively no limit on the interest rates lenders can charge. This means some loans—especially payday loans, tax refund anticipation loans, overdraft protection loans, and car title loans—can have effective interest rates as high as 3,500%.
Watch President Obama's Address To Congress
By 2.25.09
President Obama is addressing Congress this evening in what is expected to be a somber pep-talk on getting the economy right. We’ve embedded the Hulu feed, watch it and add your comments, thoughts, and reactions to this post.
What The Stimulus Bill Has For Everyday Americans
By 2.15.09
In case you haven’t had a chance to read the 1000+ page stimulus bill that was passed on Friday, Ron Lieber at the New York Times has highlighted some of the provisions that will directly affect the average American.
The Arbitration Fairness Act Is In The House
By 2.13.09
The Arbitration Fairness Act, which will ban binding mandatory arbitration clauses from consumer, employment, and franchise contracts, was reintroduced in the House yesterday.
Survey: Politicians Pretty Much Suck At Paying Taxes
By 2.11.09
Following up on the multiple Obama nominees who’ve had tax troubles, Politico asked the 99 members of the Senate whether they’ve ever had mistakes on their tax returns or filed back taxes. Yes and yes.
By 2.10.09
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Senate approves $838 billion economic stimulus bill 61 to 37. C-Span says three Republicans broke ranks to vote for it: Senators Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter.
By 2.4.09
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With a vote of 264-158, the House agreed to delay the DTV transition to June 12. The Senate voted last week for the delay, and President Obama is expected to sign it. The delay will help the millions of consumers whose coupons expired before the converters were even available, as well as the two million on a waiting list for the coupons.
Congressman Wants Ticketmaster Investigated For 'TicketsNow' Website
By 2.4.09
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D) of New Jersey has asked the FTC and the Justice Department to investigate the relationship between Ticketmaster and its reseller website, TicketsNow, after consumers who tried to buy Bruce Springsteen tickets encountered technical problems that prevented purchase, and were then redirected to TicketsNow where prices were “hundreds of dollars above face value” (actually, more like “thousands of dollars,” based on our check just a few minutes ago).
Senate Sergeant at Arms Joins Facebook To Apologize To Inaugural Ticket Holders
By 2.1.09
The Senate’s Sergeant at Arms, Terry Gainer, joined Facebook to deliver a picture perfect apology to the survivors of the so-called Purple Tunnel of Doom, a group of several thousand people who were kept out of President Obama’s inauguration even though they had tickets. It takes a superior apology to address a colossal failure, and Gainer certainly delivered. The sincerity and completeness of the apology easily make it one of the best mea culpas we’ve ever seen.
