In response to our recent discussion of the TPP, alert reader Matthew Bruckner pointed out that NPR's Planet Money podcast covered the trade pact recently. Unfortunately, many of the aspects covered were the traditional tariff-related aspects of the deal rather than provisions like ISDS that make it so dangerous. And even as to ISDS, the reporters seem to […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Federal Trade Commission has approved final amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule, including a change that will help protect consumers from fraud by prohibiting four discrete types of payment methods favored by con artists and scammers. The rule changes will stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumer bank accounts by using certain kinds of […]
A bill that would limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 auto lending guidance passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday. Automotive News explains that "H.R. 1737 — the Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act — would revoke 2013 auto lending guidance from the CFPB. The guidance suggests lenders should either impose limits on […]
The Department of Justice has announced: As part of a nationwide sweep, the Department of Justice and its federal partners have pursued civil and criminal cases against more than 100 makers and marketers of dietary supplements. The actions discussed today resulted from a year-long effort, beginning in November 2014, to focus enforcement resources in an […]
Forbes reports: The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that litigation-finance contracts — non-recourse loans to consumers that are repayable only if they win their case — are indeed loans under that state’s consumer finance laws, making it harder for high-interest lawsuit lenders to operate in the state. The decision [yesterday] by Colorado’s highest court upholds […]
One of the examples from the aforementioned Times editorial is worth noting in its own right: Last Thursday, a $59 million settlement was filed in a class action against shady debt collection practices on behalf of tens of thousands of New Yorkers who had their wages garnished or their bank accounts frozen. Specifically, the suit attacked a […]
Discussing recent state and federal enforcement actions against debt collectors who engaged in various illegal practices including falsifying documents, the Times argues on today's editorial page for stronger state consumer protections, here. Along with the paper's three-part arbitration series and editorial on that topic ten days ago, today's editorial is a welcome sign of increasing journalistic […]
The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further the agencies’ ongoing cooperation on consumer protection matters. The memorandum is designed to formalize the existing cooperation between the agencies, outlining how the FTC and FCC will coordinate consumer protection efforts.
Last month, we told you how General Mills had to recall over a million boxes of Cheerios that were labeled gluten-free but in fact were not. Now the popular cereal has a new product with a new problem, according to the Post: although its special "Protein Cheerios" increases slightly the amount of protein, it also increases […]
The Washington Post's Wonkblog reports today on a new study. The study's authors found that a third of the clinical trial results that federal regulators reviewed to approve drugs made by large pharmaceutical companies in 2012 were never publicly reported. The full article is here.