Reuters explains: The ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses more than $800,000 in damages from R.J. Reynolds and Altria Group Inc unit Philip Morris USA Inc awarded in 2013 to Earl Graham, whose wife Faye, a longtime smoker, died in 1993 of lung cancer. More broadly, the court said smokers who, […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday filed a lawsuit against the leaders of a robocall debt collection operation, their companies, and their service providers.The CFPB explained: The debt collectors, using various aliases, allegedly deployed automated calls to threaten, harass, and deceive consumers in attempts to collect debt the consumers did not owe to them, and […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced three settlements yesterday: • The FTC announced a settlement with Network Solutions LLC over charges that the company misled consumers who bought its web hosting services by promising a full refund if they canceled within 30 days. In reality, the company withheld substantial cancellation fees from most refunds. The FTC's […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today that it is launching a nationwide effort to advance financial education in schools. The Bureau is publishing “Advancing K-12 Financial Education: A Guide for Policymakers,” a resource guide which contains strategies for furthering the development and implementation of financial education in states. The CFPB press release is here.
The Washington Post concludes that industry claims that state laws requiring food labels to disclose a products contains genetically modified ingredients would cost families $500 more in groceries each year are wildly exaggerated. The article is here. As the article indicates, the costs claimed by industry are largely due to expected changes in consumer behavior. […]
"Given the many billions of dollars financial companies have paid in regulatory and legal settlements related to the mortgage crisis, how much money has actually found its way into the pockets of investors harmed by their actions? "Less than you may think." That's the start of a New York Times article entitled "Victims of Financial […]
From the New York Times this morning: An agreement announced Monday by the New York State attorney general and GNC, the nation’s largest specialty retailer of dietary supplements, should provide protection against fraudulent herbal products that don’t contain the ingredients listed on their labels or contain unlisted ingredients that are potentially dangerous. Under the deal, […]
From an EarthJustice press release issued this morning: Today, a broad coalition of health, firefighter, consumer and science groups filed a petition asking the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban four categories of consumer products—children’s products, furniture, mattresses and the casings around electronics—if they contain any flame retardant in the chemical class known as […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday announced that has initiated enforcement action against a nationwide debt collector National Corrective Group and its chief executive officer for using deceptive threats of criminal prosecution and jail time to intimidate consumers into paying debts for bounced checks. The company also misled consumers into believing that they must enroll in […]
Two editorials yesterday about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal to regulate payday lenders. (Our post about the proposal, with a link to it, is here.) A New York Times editorial gives strong support for the proposed rule: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took the most important step in its brief four-year history this week when […]