40% of Indiana’s mortgage brokers have lost their licenses because they did not comply with a new law aimed at “raising the standards” of the mortgage lending industry. The law requires mortgage brokerages to “name a principal broker with at least three years experience who has passed a state exam and will oversee his company’s business affairs,” says BusinessWeek. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
laws
By 7.11.08
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In Mass. a new law has gone into effect requiring all children under 8 years old or shorter than 4′ 9″ use a booster seat when riding in a car. Picturing our parents trying to make us do this when we were 7 is hilarious. [Boston Herald]
Best Buy Apologizes For Charging You Too Much Tax On Your DTV Converter Box
By 7.7.08
The way coupons are taxed is different in every state— and believe us — it gets really complicated. The general rule, in most (but not all) states is that consumers are taxed on the full amount of the transaction — including any reimbursement that the store gets.
Spherion Corp. Steals $426,000 From Widow
By 7.6.08
Thomas Amschwand knew he was dying and did everything in his power to make sure his wife would be able to collect his $426,000 life insurance policy. Yet when the 30-year-old succumbed to heart cancer, his employer, Spherion, a temporary staffing company, told his widow Melissa that she would receive nothing.
Are Fireworks Legal In My State?
By 7.2.08
It’s about that time again — when patriotic Americans from every walk of life celebrate the violent birth of this great nation by blowing shit up. We love it. That’s why we’d like to help make sure you’re aware of your state’s (potentially uncool) laws regarding fireworks. We’ve posted the CPSC’s summary of state regulations inside. Enjoy.
Ohio Senate Passes Strict Lending Legislation, Prepares To Punch Payday Lenders In The Face
By 5.14.08
House Bill 545 would slash the current interest rates charged by payday lenders to 28 percent, down from 391 percent, prohibit loans terms of less than 31 days, and limit borrowers to four loans per year. It would ban Internet payday lending, and it also attempts to encourage lenders to get into the small-loan business.
By 5.9.08
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BoingBoing notes that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the notorious PRO-IP bill that ” puts local law enforcement in a position to demand the forfeiture in criminal proceedings of stuff used to violate copyright. Which means that instead of the RIAA simply trying to collect fines, they can also incite local authorities to collect all the computers and related gear that was used to pirate.” [ BoingBoing ] (Thanks, John!)
9 Foods You're Not Allowed To Buy
By 5.2.08
Fortune magazine has compiled a list of 9 “forbidden’ foods that have been banned (for some reason or another) in the US. Trans fats in NYC, foie gras in Chicago… Here’s the list:
Ohio Passes Legislation That Will Punch Payday Lending Industry In The Face
By 5.1.08
Ohio’s House of Representatives passed the…
Ohio Proposes Punching Payday Lending Industry In The Face
By 4.30.08
The Columbus Dispatch says that Ohio lawmakers…
New Dairy Law In Ohio Designed To Strangle "rBGH-free" Labeling
By 4.22.08
Monsanto failed to get the FDA to ban “rBGH-free” labeling nationally, and it’s had mixed success at the state level. Now the company and its gang of ethics-free dairy farmers (those are the ones who use rBGH to increase profits, but want that truth kept out of the marketplace because it’s unpopular with consumers) have scored a significant win in Ohio this week. Yesterday the state passed a law that forces extra, rBGH-friendly fine print on every milk label that promotes itself as “rBGH-free.” The goal of the ruling: to require expensive label redesigns on competitors, and to crowd the label with unnecessary fine print in order to dilute the marketing power of the “rBGH-free” label.
Making Price Drops Conditional On Extended Warranty Purchase Could Be Illegal
By 3.20.08
A few days ago we wrote about haggling at retail stores and how some sales people will cut you a deal if you get the extended warranty, since they earn commission off selling those. Well, reader Stephen writes:
In Michigan at least, it is illegal for a rep to base a price reduction on the purchase of an extended warranty. A few years ago, I was buying a returned Tivo from Best Buy, and the SA tried to tell me he’d give me a better price if I bought the plan. I stopped him right there, told him I knew that this was illegal and that he knew it too. Suddenly the lower prices was no longer conditional on the purchase of the extended service plan.
Something to remember next time you’re wrangling over that HDTV. Michigan’s statute, inside…
Monsanto Is Trying To Ban Hormone Labeling At The State Level
By 3.5.08
Monsanto continues its attempts to hide the basic facts of food production from consumers, this time in Kansas. The Kansas Dairy Association, along with a suspicious “grassroots” dairy group that has the same public relations firm as Monsanto, has helped introduce a bill to the state Senate that would ban “growth hormone-free” milk labels. The bill’s supporters argue that growth hormone can’t be found in lab tests, and if a lab can’t verify it, consumers don’t need to be told about it.
CSO Maps State-By-State Data Breach Disclosure Laws
By 2.22.08
CSO has produced an interactive U.S. map that shows what’s required of companies that suffer a data breach in the 38 states that care enough about consumer rights to have passed disclosure laws. Most are modeled after California’s strict SB1386 anti-ID theft law, but now you can tell at a glance what your state is doing about the issue—and in most cases you can click on the icon in the pop-up info box to see a copy of the actual law.
Drunk Passenger Gets Jail Time, Has To Reimburse American Airlines $7,757
By 2.18.08
The first sign that Russell Petrie was too drunk to fly was probably when he boarded the plane and yelled “let’s party and have some drinks!”
New Hampshire Gives Payday Lenders The Boot
By 2.16.08
New Hampshire will become the latest state to keep payday lenders from gouging their patrons. A measure passed by the legislature will cap interest rates on payday loans at 36%, a drastic change for an industry used to bludgeoning underbanked consumers with interest rates exceeding 500%. Payday borrowers spend an average of $793 trying to repay a $325 loan. Let’s see how the economic leeches spin this as a loss for consumers.
16 Years After The Law Was Passed, The National Auto Database Still Doesn't Exist
By 2.7.08
The Consumer Law & Policy blog says that three consumer advocacy groups, Public Citizen, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) and Consumer Action, have filed a lawsuit in order to force the Department of Justice to enforce a law passed in 1992 that requires a national database of auto information gathered from insurance companies. The database would allow consumers to “instantly check the validity of the car’s title and odometer reading and learn whether it had been stolen or severely damaged in the past.”
By 1.29.08
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As more states ban smoking indoors, the “smoking shelter” business is booming. [Chicago Tribune via Fark]
