The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against H&R Block, alleging that the tax preparation company unfairly deletes consumers’ tax data and requires them to contact customer service when they downgrade to more affordable online products, and that it has deceptively markets its products as “free” when they were not free for many consumers. The […]
After a service outage last week, AT&T said that it would automatically apply a $5 credit to the accounts of the thousands of impacted consumers. As reported by CNBC, here, consumer advocates suggest that customers ask for reimbursement fro cellphone or internet providers in the event of future blackouts.
Plaintiffs filed class actions against Costa, a sunglasses manufacturer, for charging them over $100 to repair sunglasses that had been covered by lifetime warranties. The cases were consolidated, and an amended complaint requested both monetary damages and injunctive relief. The parties reached a settlement, agreeing on payments in the form of product vouchers and injunctive […]
Last fall, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint alleging that Amazon Marketplace unfairly highlights its own products on its website to encourage consumers to select the Amazon brand over competitors’ products. The Regulatory Review reports today on a study that questions that conclusion. The study’s authors explain how evaluating the fairness of product placement […]
The supermarket industry has been subject to substantial consolidation over the past few decades, with many regional chains being bought up by one of a handful of large conglomerates. In October 2022, Kroger– which owns chains around the country including Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Mariano’s, and Ralph’s– announced plans to buy Albertson’s–whose chains include […]
In the twenty-three years since the New Jersey Appellate Division issued its seminal decision in Dendrite International v. Doe, appellate courts in most adjoining and nearby states — Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland — have adopted at least most of the major features of the Dendrite standard. But New York has been the outlier — no […]
The California Attorney General brought claims against for-profit online college Ashford University and its parent company for violating the state’s unfair competition and false advertising laws by making false and misleading statements to prospective students. The trial court agreed with the AG, and imposed over $22 miillion in civil penalties. Yesterday, an intermediate appellate court […]
Paulette Barclift sued Keystone Credit Services after Keystone shared certain personal information with a mailing vendor that it hired to mail her a collection notice. Barclift never authorized Keystone to share that information with third parties, and thus sued for violating the FDCPA’s provisions on unauthorized communications. The district court held that Barclift had not […]
Many companies have started to put automated chatbots on their website to answer customer service questions. Air Canada is one of them. Its chatbot told a customer that he could retroactively seek a bereavement discount for a flight he needed to purchase. When the customer submitted the paperwork he was told by the bot to […]
In recent years, home sellers around the country have filed lawsuits against regional multiple listing services and affiliated realtors, generally alleging that by requiring sellers to agree to a single, set offer of compensation to any broker who found a buyer for their home in order to have their listing included (the “Buyer-Broker Commission Rule”), […]