We live in a world where consumers not only expect instant gratification from the online products and services they pay for, but also instant justice when they believe they’ve been wronged. That’s why a growing number of websites now take a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach to complaints — removing content, and locking down accounts before they investigate. While many sites try to balance this preemptive practice by allowing affected users to appeal, that can’t be said about one prominent site that connects users with professional caregivers. [More]
refunds
PayPal Must Pay $25M In Refunds, Penalties For Illegally Signing Customers Up For Online Credit Product
By 5.19.15
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges that online payment platform PayPal signed up customers for PayPal credit accounts without authorization, forced customers to use this credit line instead of their preferred payment methods, and failed to address disputes. As a result, PayPal will pay a total of $25 million in refunds and penalties. [More]
Class Action Suit Filed In California Over Wells Fargo’s Alleged Customer Account Abuses
By 5.14.15
A lawsuit filed earlier this month by the city of Los Angeles accuses Wells Fargo of pushing employees to engage in fraudulent conduct with regard to consumer accounts in order to meet the bank’s sales quotas. Now, one of those customers has filed his own lawsuit against the San Francisco-based bank alleging the same misconduct deceived and defrauded consumers across the country. [More]
Los Angeles Sues Wells Fargo Over Unfair Customer Account Conduct
By 5.5.15 — Updated: 9.30.16
The City of Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit against the largest bank based in the state, accusing Wells Fargo of a plethora of unfair practices including encouraging employees to open unauthorized consumer accounts and then charging those accounts phony fees. [More]
CFPB Fines Regions Bank $7.5M For Collecting Illegal Overdraft Fees
By 4.28.15
Each year consumers spend nearly $32 million in exorbitant overdraft fees to their banks and credit unions without fully understanding the way in which these fees work or how much they spend on each overdraft. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reminded banks that using consumers’ lack of knowledge to collect more fees isn’t acceptable by imposing a $7.5 million fine against Regions Bank for unlawful overdraft practices. [More]
CFPB, Navajo Nation Team Up To Put An End To Tax Scheme Targeting Low-Income Consumers
By 4.14.15
For many low-income consumers, tax time provides an opportunity to catch up on bills and get back on track financially. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous companies out there that aim to make money of these same consumers by pointing them in the direction of high-cost tax-refund-anticipation loans. That appears to be the case for the owner of New Mexico-based H&R Block franchises and a tax-time loan company operating an alleged illegal tax-refund scheme. [More]
FTC Temporarily Halts Deceptive Practices Of Mortgage Relief Operation
By 4.10.15
The Federal Trade Commission continued its crackdown of deceptive mortgage relief companies this week as a federal court granted the agency’s request to temporarily halt a Los Angeles-based company that charged consumers excessive upfront fees for services they never performed. [More]
Burger King Fires Employee Caught On Camera Cursing At Customer Over A Refund
By 4.9.15
While dealing with customer complaints is never a fun experience for anyone in the service industry, lashing out isn’t going to help things, especially now that anyone with a smartphone can be a filmmaker. A Burger King franchisee in Louisiana says its fired a worker who was caught on tape cursing at a customer who’d asked for a refund. [More]
American Airlines Refused To Refund Ticket After Fourth-Grader’s Death
By 3.11.15
Following the death of their young daughter, an Illinois family couldn’t bear the thought of following through with a long-planned spring break trip, so they asked American Airlines to refund the ticket purchased in their daughter’s name. While airlines have varying policies regarding refunds and deaths, the family says they were shocked when the airline refused the refund. [More]
Southwest Says Man Didn’t Show Up For Flight, Cancels Ticket While He’s On The Plane
By 3.9.15
When a passenger doesn’t show up for the first leg of their flight, airlines typically cancel the trip at the cost of the traveler. That seems to have been the case for a Michigan man, who says that when Southwest Airlines canceled his ticket for being a no-show, he was on the very flight the airline accused him of missing [More]
Missouri AG Shuts Down Eight Online Payday Lenders Operating From South Dakota Reservation
By 3.6.15
More than 6,300 Missouri residents will receive refunds or have their debts voided after the state’s attorney general reached an agreement with an online payday lender based on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota. [More]
Man Celebrating 101st Birthday At Restaurant That Gives Discounts Based On Age Gets $0.07 Refund On Meal
By 3.4.15
There are many perks of growing old — seeing your kids have kids, wearing shirts that say “World’s Best Grandma,” calling rowdy youngsters “whippersnappers” and more — and getting discounts on things is definitely not the least of those. But one centenarian learned that he’d reached a point where you can actually get a free mail and get paid just for your age. [More]
Lawmakers In House, Senate Investigating Fraudulent Returns Filed With TurboTax
By 2.17.15
Joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service on the case of bogus tax returns filed used Intuit’s TurboTax software will now be lawmakers from both the House and Senate, who have started probing the recent flurry of fraudulent activity. [More]
CFPB Orders Subprime Credit Card Company To Repay Consumers $2.7 Million After Charging Illegal Fees
By 2.4.15
In the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s second action against unscrupulous credit card companies this week, it has ordered a subprime credit card issuer to refund $2.7 million to customers for illegally charging costly fees. [More]
T-Mobile, AT&T Customers Can Now Request Their $170M In Refunds From Cramming Settlements
By 12.30.14
Earlier this year, AT&T and T-Mobile both reached major settlements with federal regulators over the illegal practice of cramming: third-party charges snuck onto wireless customers’ bills without their authorization. Combined, the two settlements will put about $170 million back in consumers’ pockets. But in order to get money back, consumers first have to ask for it. [More]
Kmart Layaway Customers: Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Refunds
By 12.18.14
If you’re one of the many upset people we’ve heard from after Kmart canceled many layaway orders and at first, told some customers refunds might not arrive in time to buy replacement Christmas presents, keep your eyes peeled for that money to be coming back to you soon, if it hasn’t already. [More]
Court Orders Safeway To Refund Overcharges For Online Orders
By 12.15.14
Despite facing two previous lawsuits related to overcharging customers at its bricks-and-mortar stores, it doesn’t appear that Safeway understands the concept that you can’t say something is one price and then make a customer pay more – even online. And last week, a California federal judge ruled Safeway must refund customers the amount of money they were overcharged when the company broke its own terms and conditions by marking up prices of items ordered online. [More]
Operators Of “Free Access To Credit Scores” Scam To Return $22M To Victims
By 11.19.14
Consumers looking for a good deal might be tempted to take unknown companies up on their offer of providing credit scores for free. But those promises can often be too good to be true. Just ask consumers bilked out of millions of dollars after falling for once such “deal”. [More]
