The Federal Trade Commission announced today: [The FTC] and other law enforcement authorities around the country announced the first coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative targeting deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. This nationwide crackdown encompasses 30 new law enforcement actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities against collectors who use illegal tactics such as […]
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Today, Public Citizen client Jen Palmer told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology the story of her ordeal involving KlearGear.com's attempt to fine her family $3,500 and subsequent reporting of a phony debt to ruin the Palmers' credit based on a non-disparagement clause. You'll recall we succeeded in fixing the credit problems […]
San Jose Mercury News reports: The skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs — already a hot issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail — may be headed to California's statewide ballot next fall. Advocates of a proposed measure that would require state programs to pay no more for prescription drugs than prices negotiated by […]
It's complicated, but worth reading about in this piece by Michael Hiltzik.
It's been a good week for high-profile media attention to some of the most important issues facing consumers. First, as we've noted in several posts over the past few days, the NYT published a three-part deep dive on the abuses of forced arbitration. And this week's episode of CBS's "The Good Wife" featured a for-profit […]
The New York Times published today the third and final part of its on forced arbitration. This installment, entitled "In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law," focuses on religious organizations' use of mandatory arbitration clauses to submit to "religious arbitration." For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle […]
The New York Times headline "Metrojet Rules Out Technical Failure or Human Error for Crash in Sinai Peninsula" captures the gist of the article about the latest announcement from the Russian airline company whose plane crashed in Egypt over the weekend but doesn't flag the most important lesson for safety regulators. Notwithstanding the company's position, […]
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear this morning in Spokeo v. Robins, a case with important implications for a range of consumer protection statutes. The question before the Court, as framed by the company, is "Whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm, and who therefore could not […]
by Paul Alan Levy On the eve of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Senate version of the Issa-Swalwell bill, (the latter is endorsed by Public Citizen) that would ban non-disparagement clauses in consumer contracts, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has become the first federal court to recognize […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy week. In addition to the actions described in the two posts below, yesterday, the CFPB announced action against the two largest providers of background screening reports to employers for failing to verify the accuracy of reports sold to employers about job applicants. [T]he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]