FairWarning has an article today about the Consumer Product Safety Commission: For decades, the federal agency largely was seen as a doormat with few resources and a toothless enforcement record. But over the past few years, under its chairman, Elliot Kaye, the CPSC has dramatically increased the penalties imposed on wayward companies, including multi-million dollar […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The New York Times reports: Big banks are fighting tens of billions of dollars of potential legal costs linked to at least a dozen pending lawsuits arising from the financial crisis. Now they want the Supreme Court to weigh in, arguing that regulators took too long to file their claims. A handful of banks, including […]
The Washington Post reports: Education Secretary John B. King Jr. on Monday rejected an appeal from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, one of the largest national accreditation agencies, to remain the gatekeeper between colleges and billions of dollars in federal financial aid. King is siding with his staff and an independent advisory board that […]
The Federal Trade Commission has issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2016. Consumers can use the National Do Not Call Registry to choose not to receive telemarketing calls. Now in its eighth year of publication, the Data Book contains a wealth of information about the Registry for FY 2016 […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has entered into consent orders with three reverse mortgage companies for deceptive advertisements, including claiming that consumers could not lose their homes. The CFPB is ordering American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Solutions, and Aegean Financial to cease deceptive advertising practices, implement systems to ensure they are complying with all laws, […]
The Consumerist has this disturbing story: According to a coalition of consumer-interest organizations, the makers of two “smart” kids toys — the My Friend Cayla doll and the i-Que Intelligent Robot — are allegedly violating laws in the U.S. and overseas by collecting this sort of voice data without obtaining consent. In a complaint [PDF] […]
The New York Times reports that Wells Fargo "has sought to kill lawsuits that its customers have filed over the creation of as many as two million sham accounts by moving the cases into private arbitration." The full article is here.
Here are recent announcements involving the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice. November 21, 2016 – Salesman Sentenced in Scheme to Defraud Consumers Through Debt Relief Firms November 14, 2016 – Four California Residents Sentenced in Scheme to Defraud Consumers Through Debt Relief Firms November 7, 2016 – Medical Device Maker Biocompatibles Pleads […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced this week: The Federal Trade Commission has closed the book on a data broker operation that the agency alleges got personal information from people who thought they were applying for payday loans online, and sold it to a scam that tapped consumers’ bank accounts and credit cards without their consent. […]
This month's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaint snapshot highlights consumer complaints about financial services such as debt settlement, check cashing, money orders, and credit repair. The report shows that consumer complaints about these types of financial services generally revolve around issues of fraud or problems with reliable customer service. The report also highlights trends […]