With Hurricane Harvey barreling toward the coast of Texas, the state’s residents have no doubt been busy preparing for any havoc the storm may wreak, including extreme flooding. But beyond the potential damage those rising waters could do to homes and property there’s another eventuality Texans should be ready to handle: Displaced alligators. [More]
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Taking Out A Reverse Mortgage To Delay Social Security Might Not Be The Best Idea
By 8.24.17
More than two years after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that reverse mortgage ads create a false impression of the financial product, the agency is once again warning older consumers about the dangers of using reverse mortgages. This time, the CFPB is warning against using reverse mortgages to provide income that would allow the individual to delay Social Security benefits, which can increase their future monthly benefits, but decrease their overall, long-term financial outlook. [More]
Amazon Debuts Tool Allowing Parents To Track Kids’ Activities
By 4.12.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Many parents monitor their child’s activity when using a computer, phone, or tablet, but the task of checking individual apps and browsing history can be daunting. Amazon thinks it has the answer, at least for kids using its FreeTime program, in a new Parent Dashboard. [More]
5 Things You Should Know About Google’s New ‘YouTube TV’ $35/Month Streaming Service
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
When Google confirmed YouTube TV — its answer to live-TV streaming platforms like DirecTV Now, Sling, and PlayStation Vue — details were still sketchy. Today, the internet giant officially launched the service, showing potential viewers exactly what they’ll get for their $35/month. [More]
IRS Will Begin Working With Private Debt Collectors This Month
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The Internal Revenue Service has released additional details about its new program that turns certain delinquent accounts over to private debt collectors, giving us some idea of when these collection calls will begin, and how many accounts will be affected.
[More]
4 Scams You Should Always Be Aware Of
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In honor of National Consumer Protection Week — don’t worry; we forgot to get you a gift too — we wanted to take a few moments to remind everyone of some of the most common scams so that they can do their best to avoid them. [More]
5 Things We Learned About Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Claims Against Kay Jewelers, Jared
By 2.28.17
A year after Sterling Jewelers’ Kay Jewelers found itself on the receiving end of thousands of complaints from customers alleging the company swapped out their diamonds for fake ones, hundreds of employees are alleging they were victims of sexual harassment and discrimination at Kay and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. [More]
How To Disable iCloud On Your iPhone, iPad, Or Other iDevice
By 11.17.16
iCloud can be a very convenient way to back up, sync, and archive a whole lot of digital data, and it’s easy to set up. But once you’ve got an account, you may someday want to disable it — say if, for example, you don’t particularly want Apple collecting all your call logs. Luckily, that’s easy to do in a few simple steps. [More]
Some Menu Items Aren’t All They Appear To Be
By 7.15.16
Farm-raised, locally sourced, truffle oil, Kobe beef. These are just some of the terms you might come across the next time you sit down for a nice meal at a local restaurant. While these descriptions and names may equate themselves to high-quality, pricy meals, they might not be. [More]
Consumer Group Sues DOT For Failure To Create Searchable Database Of Safety Defects
By 2.8.16
More than three years ago, Congress instructed the Department of Transportation to create a publicly accessible, and easily searchable, website featuring communications between regulators, automakers, dealers, and consumers about safety defects. One safety group says this hasn’t happened, and is suing DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx in an effort to make this database a reality. [More]
7 Things We Learned About Food Safety Oversight From A Foodborne Illness Expert
By 2.2.16
Foodborne illness outbreaks have dominated the news in recent months: E. coli and norovirus at Chipotle, listeria in prepackaged Dole salad mixes, and salmonella in cucumbers. These outbreaks have sickened — and in some cases killed — consumers, and one food safety expert says that inadequate safety oversight is at least partly to blame. [More]
Most Scams Use The Same Three Underlying Tactics To Steal Your Money
By 1.13.16
From fraudsters bilking the elderly by posing as their cash-strapped grandkids, to fake lawyers defrauding immigrants in need of legal help, we’ve covered a wide range of scams on Consumerist. But while there are countless variations on these crimes, they are all based on the same few ideas. [More]
Washington Pushes For Pesticide Transparency In Retail Marijuana
By 10.7.15
For decades, buying pot off the street sometimes meant you had to take the seller’s word about the quality and origin of their product. But with some states legalizing retail marijuana sales in the U.S., there’s an opportunity for consumer safeguards and increased transparency for pot purchasers. [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]
Who Invented Roadside Arm-Waving Air Dancers?
By 12.5.14
Where did the inflatable dancing man come from? You know what we mean: the tall fabric puppets that you attach to a fan and let loose to dance in the air, capturing the attention of people passing by. Where did the air dancer come from? They’ve been around for less than 18 years, and have an origin story involving three countries and the Olympic Games. [More]
5 Foods That Have More Sugar Than A Krispy Kreme Doughnut
By 9.16.13
Either you or someone you know has once upon a time, I’m willing to bet, said something along the lines of “I’m really trying to watch my sugar intake this week.” If that’s the route you want to go, more power to ya, healthy high fives and all of that. But you should know, there are more sugary things than a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, and they will not aid you in your sugar showdown, should you choose to consume them. [More]
Test Your Internet Knowledge With Consumerist’s History Of E-Commerce Quiz
By 9.10.13
We’ve mentioned it before and now Pizza Hut is proudly crowing over it again: The chain is laying claim to the honor of the first purchase ever made on the World Wide Web — a mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese pizza back in 1994 — which brings up a good point: How much do any of us really know about the history of e-commerce? Take Consumerist’s quiz to find out. [More]
