Category Archives: CFC in the News
You’ve been jacked!: On why Sacramento smartphone thefts are big money for thieves and telecoms
by Raheem F. Hosseini, Sacramento News & Review
Stealing a mobile device is the “easiest, quickest way to get your hands on several hundred bucks,” said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. Legislative fixes are meeting resistance from a powerful telecommunications industry that rakes in more than $38 billion selling smartphone-theft insurance and replacement mobile devices. Companies like AT&T and Sprint rake in “several billion dollars a year in phone-theft insurance,” said Holober. “This is an industry that pretty much owns the Legislature.” Read More ›
Burned: How the chemical industry is endangering lives with toxic flame retardants
by Gary Cohn, Capital and Main
SB 1019 has national implications for consumers, manufacturers and retailers, and is fiercely opposed by the American Home Furnishings Alliance, the North American Home Furnishings Association and the Polyurethane Foam Association. Beyond these and other industry groups, it is being fought by the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the California Chamber of Commerce. Read More ›
Bill would restore online privacy
by Richard Holober, Los Angeles Daily News guest commentary
CFC Executive Director Richard Holober: “Next week California lawmakers decide whether to protect your privacy when you purchase downloads. Senate Bill 383 would restore privacy rules that a sharply divided state Supreme Court eliminated in a 2013 case involving Apple’s iTunes. Consumer groups support the bill. Tech companies are working furiously to defeat it.” Read More ›
California lawmakers taking steps to protect consumer data
by Fenit Nirappil, Associated Press
Bills introduced this session seek to guard the information generated when Californians swipe credit cards at stores, drive vehicles and attend schools. The most notable initiatives have been gutted and defeated in the face of fierce opposition from powerful business groups. Read More ›
We Saved Consumers $125 Million On Insurance So Far In 2014
by Richard Holober, Executive Director, Consumer Federation of California
10/1/2014 Update: 2014 consumer savings rose to $148.3 million by year’s end. To recap: 1 million AIG policyholders saved $7.7 million on homeowners insurance. Infinity Insurance policyholders saved $15.5 million on auto insurance. 1.2 million Farmers policyholders saved $34 million on homeowners insurance (details below). 1.6 million … Read More ›
TV/Radio: CFC’s Richard Holober discusses email receipts waiving consumer privacy
Richard Holober, CFC Executive Director, explains how email receipts compromise consumer privacy on CBS Channel 5, KGO 810 Radio, KTVU Channel 2, and NBC Bay Area Channel 11. Read More ›
Holiday shopping tip: Agreeing to email receipts waives your privacy rights
To circumvent this consumer privacy law, customers are being asked if they want to provide their email address to have a digital receipt sent to them. Retailers would like you to say “yes” to paperless receipts because your email address is worth money to them. Read More ›
Smarter cell phone privacy protections
by Editor, San Francisco Chronicle
It’s outrageous that the privacy protections that apply to your landline records do not extend to your cell phone activity. Considering the capabilities of a modern smartphone to track the most intimate details of your life – from your calls and texts to your very movements – a wireless device should have greater consumer privacy safeguards. Read More ›
Report: Prop 103, $100 billion win for auto insurance consumers
25 Years, $100 billion saved on auto insurance for California consumers! That’s the legacy of Prop 103 in California according to a new report released by the Consumer Federation of America. Read More ›
Toxic flame retardants under fire in California
by Deborah Sullivan Brennan, San Diego Union Tribune
“This starts with making sure we are protecting people against risks of fire,” said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. “There’s increasing evidence that this can be accomplished through different methods that do not require use of these flame retardants.” Read More ›
Toxic chemical flame retardants in building insulation: Historic bill may reduce harmful exposures
by Stephanie Hendricks, Californians for Toxic Free Fire Safety
“This is an important victory for consumers,” said Richard Holober, Executive Director, CFC. “For nearly four decades, chemical manufacturers have reaped billions in profits at consumers’ expense. We are pleased that Gov. Brown has taken the important step forward so that toxic flame retardant chemicals are not required in building insulation, especially when they add no fire safety benefits.” Read More ›
Auditor gives high marks to PUC consumer support program disliked by utilities and corporations
by Ken Broder, AllGov.com
When consumers square off with big corporations and utilities before California’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC), it helps to have help. And they get some from the state, which funds the Intervenor Compensation Program to pay certain individuals and groups to participate in proceedings. Big corporations and utilities … Read More ›
State Auditor vindicates CPUC Intervenor Compensation Program
The California State Auditor released a favorable report – surely to the dismay of AT&T, Verizon and PG&E – that reviewed intervenor compensation awarded to advocacy groups participating. The program provides consumers an effective voice before state regulators when utilities seek unwarranted rate hikes or rules that harm ratepayers. Read More ›