Nearly two years after Home Depot said 56 million consumers’ credit and debit cards, as well as email addresses, were compromised in a massive data breach, the home improvement retailer has reached a $19.5 million deal to settle a class-action lawsuit and compensate those customers. [More]
settlement
With Landlord Settlement, Target’s Failed Canada Experiment Nearing End
By 3.8.16
More than a year after Target announced plans to shutter its 133 stores in Canada, the retailer is finally ready to put the failed business venture behind it. The company recently reached a $30 million compensation deal with the landlords of these former Target stores. [More]
Uber To Pay $28.5M To Settle Allegations It Misled Customers On Safety Practices
By 2.12.16
Ride-hailing service Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to more than 25 million customers, and rename its so-called “safe ride fee” in order to settle a class-action lawsuit that the company misled consumers about its “industry leading” safety procedures. [More]
MoneyGram To Pay $13M, Revamp Policies To Protect Against Wire Transfer Fraud
By 2.11.16
While advances in technology now allow us to zap money from our bank accounts to our friends and family members with the touch of a button, some people continue to rely on money transfer services. But as we’ve reported several times in the past, these companies are often the service of choice for scammers looking to get their hands on your hard-earned money. One such outfit, MoneyGram, today agreed to revamp its policies and provide $13 million in restitution to consumers who were harmed by fraudsters using the service. [More]
Two Payday Lenders Agree To Pay $4.4M In Fines, Release Borrowers From $68M In Loans, Fees
By 1.5.16
Federal regulators continued an ongoing crackdown on deceptive payday loan players by reaching a multimillion-dollar agreement with two lenders to settle accusations they illegally charged consumers with undisclosed and inflated fees. [More]
Law Firm Must Pay $3.1M For Operating Automated Debt-Collection Lawsuit “Factory”
By 12.28.15
A Georgia-based law firm behind hundreds of thousands of debt-collection lawsuits, and its principal partners, have agreed to pay a total of $3.1 million in penalties to settle federal accusations that they were operating a lawsuit mill in violation of the law. [More]
Verizon, Sprint Customers Have Until Dec. 31 To Claim A Piece Of The $158M Cramming Settlement Pie
By 12.28.15
The holidays can be a tiring, stressful time, full of never-ending checklists. While you might have checked off plenty of your to-do items, if you’re a Verizon or Sprint customer, you’ll want to make sure you add “check to see if I’m eligible for a bill-cramming refund,” to the top of your list. [More]
Southwest Airlines To Pay $2.8M To Settle FAA Lawsuit Over Improper Repairs
By 12.22.15
More than a year after the U.S. government sued Southwest Airlines over allegedly improper repairs to more than a dozen aircraft, the airline has agreed to settle the allegations to the tune of $2.8 million. [More]
Regulators Accuse Oracle Of Deceiving Customers About Security Of Java Updates
By 12.21.15
The owners of more than 850 million personal computers using Oracle’s Java Platform Standard Edition were misled about the security of their devices after software updates left the PCs susceptible to hack attacks according to federal regulators. [More]
Identity Theft Company LifeLock Once Again Failed To Actually Keep Identities Protected, Must Pay $100M
By 12.17.15
Five months after federal and state regulators accused identity theft protection company LifeLock of violating a 2010 settlement in which it paid $11 million for allegedly using false claims regarding effectiveness of its services, the company has been ordered to pay $100 million in penalties and refunds for once again misleading consumers. [More]
Mortgage Relief Scammers Ordered To Pay $5.4M
By 12.15.15
Eight months after federal regulators took action to stop a mortgage relief company from making hollow promises to homeowners facing foreclosure, the ringleaders behind the operation have agreed to pay more than $5.4 million in penalties and never work in the mortgage relief or telemarketing business again. [More]
Target Agrees To Pay Banks $39.4M For Expenses Resulting From 2013 Data Breach
By 12.2.15
Target continues to put the disastrous 2013 holiday-season data breach behind it, agreeing today to pay $39.4 million to banks claiming they lost money during the hack. [More]
Company Must Pay $1.35M For Claiming Copper-Infused Sleeves Relieve Chronic Pain
By 12.1.15
Slapping on a knee brace or wrapping your ankle might provide a bit of comfort for aches and pains related to physical activity, but who wants to do all that work when slipping on copper-infused compression clothing can take all your pain away? That seems like a simple, easy way to rid yourself of severe and chronic pain and inflammation, you know, if it were actually backed by science. But it apparently wasn’t, and now athletic apparel company Tommie Copper must pay for that little oversight – to the tune of $1.35 million. [More]
UPDATE: For-Profit Education Company EDMC Agrees To Pay $95.5M To Settle Fraud, Recruitment Violations
By 11.16.15
UPDATE: Education Management Corporation, the operator of for-profit college chains such as Brown Mackie College, Argosy University and the Art Institutes, will pay $95.5 million to settle claims it violated state and federal False Claims Act (FCA) provisions regarding its recruiting practices. [More]
JCPenney To Refund Customers $50M In False Advertising Settlement
By 11.11.15
JCPenney is putting a class-action lawsuit accusing the retailer of violating consumer protection laws by using deceptive discount practices behind it. [More]
Wells Fargo To Pay $81.6M To Homeowners In Bankruptcy For Failure To Provide Payment Notices
By 11.5.15
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million in relief to homeowners after the bank repeatedly failed to provide them with proper legal notices during bankruptcy proceedings.
[More]
Takata Must Pay $70M Fine For Failing To Report Deadly Exploding Airbag Defect, Repairs To Be Made By 2019
By 11.3.15
UPDATE: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday ordered Japanese parts maker Takata to pay $70 million – and an additional $130 million if it fails to abide by the agreement – marking the agency’s largest civil penalty in history. The regulator also announced it would use its authority to accelerate recall repairs to millions of vehicles equipped with shrapnel-shooting airbags for the first time. [More]
Six Companies To Pay $30M Over Deceptive Prepaid Calling Card Ads
By 10.21.15
With mobile phones and carrier long distance plans, the average consumer might not have much need for a calling card. But that doesn’t mean companies offering such products are exempt from scrutiny from federal regulators. As such, the Federal Communications Commission today announced a $30 million settlement with six companies over deceptive marking of prepaid calling cards. [More]
