We posted two weeks ago that the Federal Trade Commission had sent warning letters to more than 25 companies to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products could prevent or treat COVID-19 Last Thursday, the FTC sent 21 additional letters warning marketers throughout the United States to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products and […]
by Jeff Sovern Because of the virus, people are experiencing more losses than usual and are not able to mark their passing with the rituals that help in times of death: in-person funerals, wakes, shiva calls, and the like. Consequently, death is becoming even harder for survivors than in normal times. Members of Congress could […]
Pamela Foohey, Dalié Jiménez, & Christopher K. Odinet have written CARES Act Gimmicks, How Not to Give People Money During a Pandemic and What to Do Instead, online at the Illinois Law Review. Excerpt (footnotes omitted): As a short term solution, money equivalents should have begun with an immediate nationwide eviction and foreclosure moratorium, accompanied by a debt […]
by Jeff Sovern In an April 16 letter, ACA International, which describes itself as "The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals," complained that "Advocacy organizations have made several recent claims that, 'debt collectors are eager to garnish [stimulus] payments – threatening families’ access to food, shelter, and medicine, and endangering public health.'” I'm not sure […]
The National Consumer Law Center has published a list of recommendations for actions that states can take to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19 on consumers and their families. The document summarizes NCLC's more detailed recommendations on auto finance, credit reporting, criminal justice debt, debt collection, medical debt, mortgage relief, preventing garnishment of stimulus checks, […]
by Jeff Sovern How should Congress handle the problem of damage to the credit of consumers who default because of the coronavirus pandemic? Congress has already taken its first stab at the problem in Section 4021 of the CARES Act. That provision states that if lenders work out an "accommodation" with consumers under which the […]
According to the Visual Capitalist, it would take an hour, three minutes, and thirty seconds to read the Microsoft TOS. The web site compares the length of various TOS for popular web sites.
The Federal Trade commission has sent warning letters to more than 25 companies to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products could prevent or treat COVID-19. Fox Business reports here. The FTC's latest press release on the problem is here.
This week, the Treasury Department will begin to send out the $1,200 CARES Act payments that Congress approved in response to the coronavirus crisis. The money will be wired to eligible recipients who previously authorized the IRS to post their refunds through direct deposit. The American Prospect reports, though that "Congress did not exempt CARES […]
We received the following announcement from the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice: [T]he THIRD annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference (CLSC) will take place on March 4-5, 2021. And to keep things lively (and a bit more convenient for those on the East Coast), we will be holding next year's Conference at […]