Real estate listings site Zillow — home of the controversial “Zestimate” — is in the regulatory hot seat over an advertising program for mortgage lenders that may violate federal anti-kickback law. [More]
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Some Airbnb ‘Mega Hosts’ Are Renting Out More Than 1,000 Properties At Once
By 6.9.17
The portrait that Airbnb paints of its hosts is homeowners who either want to occasionally rent out unused rooms, or people who just happen to have amazing weekend homes that they want to share with random strangers. That may be true for many Airbnb hosts, but there’s also a growing concern about so-called “mega hosts” who are effectively running hotel operations, renting out dozens, hundreds, sometimes more than 1,000, properties at any given time. [More]
![An example of the new statistics users can find for health facilities on Yelp. [via Yelp]](../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/6a00d83452b44469e201b7c7b9a08c970b-800wi.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Yelp Adds Hospital Wait Times, Nursing Home Fine Info To Reviews
By 8.5.15
When a trip to the emergency room is in order, you’re usually in a hurry, because, after all, it’s an emergency. Sitting around waiting to be seen by a doctor can be an agonizing experience for those in need of quick help. While Yelp can’t hurry along those doctors, it can apparently tell you just how long you might expect to be camped out in the hospital E.R. [More]
Charter Publishes Unlisted Numbers In The Phone Book
By 9.14.08
Tim enjoyed his unlisted phone number for over thirty years until Charter published it in the local phone book. Now he has two options: ditch his long-time number, or lose his cherished anonymity. Inside, Charter’s apology letter.
What Can You Do If PayPal Holds Your Funds For 21 Days? Gamble With It In Their Money Market Fund
By 2.28.08
EBay’s highly criticized fee changes—lower listing prices but a 67% increase in seller fees—kicked in last week, and next month eBay’s payment service PayPal will start holding certain deposits for up to 21 days if PayPal considers the transaction “high risk.” PayPal earns interest on any money it holds—and it’s perfectly legal because PayPal is a deposit broker and not a bank. If you do find your money stuck in “high risk” detention, there’s only one way you can attempt to earn money from the delay, and that’s by sticking it in PayPal’s Money Market Fund.
Class Action Suit Drives Scammers Into Bankruptcy
By 9.9.07
Missouri florists have bankrupted a New Jersey telemarketer accused in a class action suit of tampering with phone book listings to siphon callers away from local businesses. The telemarketer, TTP, purchased phone book listings under the same names as local florists, but did not provide an address; the listings appeared side-by-side, but when local callers dialed the number without an address, they were directed to an out-of-state call center that tacked on a handling fee and submitted the order to a different area florist.
“The primary objective of both lawsuits is to get TTP out of Missouri,” said Gregory Leyh of Gladstone, the attorney for both class-action lawsuits. “TTP cheats by pretending to be a local florist so it can fool consumers and steal the legitimate business of Missouri florists. At least for now, TTP is no longer in the floral business in Missouri.”
