Category Archives: CFC in the News
A new California law could make your next car rental more expensive
February 24, 2022|By William P. David| THE NEW YORK TIMES “It’s just another way to get additional money without having it show up in the rack rate or the base rate on the car,” Robert Herrell, the executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, told me. “We … Read More ›
Wells Fargo Resolves Investigations with $575 Million Settlement
by KQED Forum, KQED
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $575 million to resolve multiple investigations into misconduct at the bank, including inquiries stemming from the 2016 revelation that bank employees were opening accounts for customers without their knowledge. Read More ›
Legislation introduced to address Wells Fargo scandal
“Wells Fargo’s customers were ripped off twice,” said Richard Holober, Executive Director of Consumer Federation of California. “First, the bank created two million fraudulent accounts. Then when consumers tried to sue, the bank forced them into company-dominated arbitration hearings. SB 33 will guarantee that the victims of a bank’s identity theft will get their day in court.” Read More ›
Talks begin over bill inspired by Wells Fargo scandal
by Dominic Fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle
Legislative deliberations continued Tuesday over a bill that seeks to prevent financial institutions accused of defrauding their customers from pulling legal disputes out of the state court system and into private arbitration. Read More ›
California bill seeks to help fraud victims of banks
[Senate Bill 33] would help victims of fraud committed by their financial institution after thousands of Americans fell victim to a Wells Fargo scandal. Read More ›
Pesky automatic subscription renewals might soon be easier to cancel
by Dennis Romero, LA Weekly
You subscribe to a magazine or join a gym for a special rate and months later realize you’re paying a lot more for renewals. And those fees keep hitting your bank account while you try to figure out how to make it stop. Read More ›
California: Weighing a Response on Internet Privacy
by Mike McPhate, New York Times
President Trump this month signed a resolution to undo internet privacy rules that would have kept companies like AT&T and Comcast from selling users’ browsing histories and other personal data. Almost immediately, a number of states moved to pass new rules that would in effect replicate those nullified by Congress. But California, a pioneer of privacy protections, has so far been silent. Read More ›
Pink Tax Repeal Act Aims To Make Pricing Fair To Women
by Carla Fried, Consumer Reports
Last Friday, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) aimed to put an end to pricing products according to gender. She introduced the Pink Tax Repeal Act—a bill that would prohibit companies from charging different prices for similar products or services simply based on the gender of the customer. …
“As a rule, the man’s version or a neutrally-branded product is going to be less costly than the womens or girls version,” says Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. “Consider buying products that aren’t specifically labeled for the use of women.” Read More ›
Bill Calling For Price Equity For Items Marketed To Females Fails
by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California … said his organization would try again next year. Women already earn less than men in wages for similar work, he said, “and then when they spend their hard-earned dollars, they’re charged more.” Read More ›
Bill To End Gender Disparity In Retail Pricing Is Withdrawn After Pushback From Industry Lobbyists
by Jazmine Ulloa, Los Angeles Times
“It loaded the decks so that it was unenforceable,” said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. “We are very angry that what we find is another example where corporate interests dominate the majority.” Read More ›
ConsumerWatch Weekend Roundup
Julie Watts’ featured guest on Saturday was Richard Holober of the Consumer Federation of California, whose organization is one of many consumer groups urging regulators to revise the standard for child car seat flammability. Read More ›
Consumer Advocates Back FCC Proposal For Broadband Privacy Rules
by Rick Weber, Inside Cybersecurity
Consumer advocates are backing the general intention of a Federal Communications Commission proposal that would impose privacy requirements on Internet service providers. Read More ›
Lawmakers Sweat Details Of Consumer Health Privacy
by Cheryl Miller, The Recorder (San Francisco)
“We are in total agreement with the intent of the bill and believe that it’s very, very important that this information be given strong privacy protections,” Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, told the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. But “we’ve had a lot of experience over the years with various privacy laws and how courts interpret those laws and … we want to be very precise about how a bill is written to make sure that it’s being interpreted by the industry and the courts as it was intended,” Holober said. Read More ›