For some men, losing their hair is a very sensitive issue, and remedying it through means surgical and non-surgical can be quite expensive. So it doesn’t help when some of the biggest players in the hair-replacement business are sharing information that could result in consumers not getting a competitive price. [More]
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Neiman Marcus, Other Retailers, Settle Charges Of Selling Fake Fur That Contained Actual Fur
By 3.19.13
There are a lot of people out there who like the look and feel of fur, but have a problem with the idea of actually wearing it. That’s why there is faux fur. But what’s the point of going faux when some retailers don’t divulge that a fake fur product might indeed be the real deal? [More]
FTC Says Social Media Ads Have To Be Held To Same Rules As Traditional Ads
By 3.13.13
One of the important duties held by the Federal Trade Commission is making sure ads don’t mislead consumers. Yesterday the FTC set out clear rules for short-form ads on social media like Twitter and Facebook as well. Namely, they have to be held to the same basic requirement as other advertising — be upfront about what’s going on. [More]
Feds Shut Down Telemarketing Scam Aimed At Elderly
By 3.11.13
It’s bad enough to call up an elderly person and mislead him or her into paying a pile of cash for a medical alert service they don’t need or want. But what takes one Brooklyn-based telemarketing scheme to the next level was its alleged tendency to bill consumers thousands of dollars for something they never ordered. [More]
FTC Goes After Spammers Responsible For 180 Million “Free Gift Card” Text Messages
By 3.7.13
Through eight lawsuits filed in four different U.S. District Courts, the Federal Trade Commission has put the regulatory smackdown on 29 alleged text spammers believed to have blasted out more than 180 million unwanted text messages to consumers. [More]
ID Theft Not Just Fodder For Wacky Comedies, Also Tops FTC’s List Of Most Complained-About Issues Of 2012
By 2.26.13
The Federal Trade Commission has finally sorted through the more than 2 million complaints filed by consumers during 2012, and once again identity theft identity theft was by far the most griped-about issue of them all. [More]
Debt Collectors Keep Calling About Bogus Debt, Even After Being Threatened With Suit
By 2.19.13
From calling at all hours of the day and night to contacting you at work, we’ve told you before about the large number of banned practices for debt collectors. But one man says he’s the victim of a tenacious debt collector trying to collect a debt he doesn’t even owe. [More]
Study: Errors Found In As Many As 26% Of Consumers’ Credit Reports
By 2.11.13
You should really check your credit reports at least once a year. If you don’t believe us, you should check out the results of the Federal Trade Commission’s latest study, which shows just how rife with errors the reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion can be. [More]
5 Examples Why Just About Everyone Hates Debt Collectors
By 2.6.13
People go into debt. The businesses that own that debt want their money. This is why the world needs debt collectors. But what the world doesn’t need are debt collectors who harass, lie, and threaten to take debtors’ children and pets away. [More]
FTC Says It’s Got 744 Ideas On How To Stop Robocalls & Turning Off The Phone Isn’t One
By 1.31.13
Spurred on not only by the reward of finally ending those dagnabbed robocalls, but also a $50,000 prize, consumers submitted 744 ideas to the Federal Trade Commission in its FTC Robocall Challenge. Considering how widespread our collective annoyance is with the phone nuisances, we sure do hope one of these succeeds. [More]
8 Things We Learned From FTC Report On Debt-Buyers
By 1.30.13
In spite of the many rules imposed on the debt collection industry, it still generates, by far, the largest number of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission each year. That’s why the agency recently completed a lengthy investigation into debt-buyers and why they do such a bad job. [More]
Regulators Looking To Rein In Debt Collectors Who Use Facebook To Contact Consumers
By 1.24.13
Even though there’s a lengthy “no-no” list of things debt collectors can’t do, it makes no mention of how collections agencies can use social media. But that may be about to change as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gains oversight control over the largest members of the collections industry. [More]
23 Things Debt Collectors Are Not Allowed To Do
By 1.21.13 — Updated: 12.6.16
Though it sometimes seems like debt collectors will try anything, even impersonating Ed McMahon, to their money, the law actually puts some pretty strict limits on what these people and companies can and can’t do. [More]
Sellers Of Imitation “Exclusively Authorized” 9/11 Commemorative Coins To Pay $750,000
By 1.17.13
Back in 2010, with the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the horizon, Congress authorized the U.S. Mint to produce and sell a commemorative medal. But that didn’t stop one company from advertising imitation versions it called “exclusively authorized” 9/11 commemorative dollar coins. [More]
Google Settles With FTC, Agrees To Change Anticompetitive Business Practices
By 1.3.13
For more than a year, the Federal Trade Commission has been looking into various business practices of Google — covering everything from online advertising to search results to wireless patents — that allegedly stifled competition and innovation. Today, the agency and the Internet giant announced an agreement that has Google changing some of the ways it operates. [More]
Food Companies Have Figured Out How To Market To Kids: Smartphones, Duh
By 12.21.12
If you’re suddenly hearing things from your kids like, “Mommy, can I please have a [insert food item child has never, ever asked for before]?” just look at the piece of electronic gadgetry in your child’s hands. Food marketers have wised up to the fact that kids these days are getting smartphones younger and younger, and subsequently becoming glued to the devices early on. Ah, nothing like a captive audience to get your ad campaign across. [More]
FTC Closes Loophole That Let Website Plug-Ins Collect Personal Info About Kids Under 13
By 12.19.12
The Federal Trade Commission has announced updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule intended to bolster the privacy protections for Internet users under the age of 13 while giving parents greater control over what information websites and online services collect from these kids. [More]
FTC To Investigate What Info Data Brokers Are Collecting & Selling About Consumers
By 12.18.12
You may remember earlier this fall when Facebook’s new partnership with data broker Datalogix spurred privacy advocates to ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. Now it looks like Datalogix, along with eight other data brokers, will be going under the agency’s microscope. [More]
