Category Archives: Latest In Consumer News
New Rules Aim To Protect Widowed Homeowners From Foreclosure
by Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times
The rules, which expand and clarify existing guidance from the agency, were long awaited by consumer groups that are pushing similar regulations in a pending California Senate bill. Read More ›
From Credit Cards To Mail-Order Steaks: 87 Companies That Are Taking Away Your Right To Sue
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that even though most Americans have at least one financial product — checking accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts — that use forced arbitration clauses to strip the account-holder of their right to sue, very few of us know about these restrictions or understand what they mean. Read More ›
Prosecutors In PG&E Case Abruptly Reduce Potential Fines
by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
Abruptly and without explanation, federal prosecutors slashed potential criminal penalties for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. from $562 million to $6 million Tuesday while a jury was considering whether the company violated safety laws both before and after the lethal 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno. Read More ›
PG&E Customers Face Triple Whammy In Gas And Electric Bills
by George Avalos, East Bay Times
Before Monday’s hike, total monthly bills for residential customers averaged $145.36. Once all the approved and proposed increases are in effect, monthly power bills could jump to $158.21. Read More ›
Judge Shreds Uber; Says Company Can’t Prove Riders Are Giving Up Right To Sue
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
With regard to the Uber app, [U.S. District Court Judge Ned] Rakoff notes that there is no requirement for the new user to even check off a box that they read the terms of service; one could easily finalize their registration without reading, or even knowing about, these terms — let alone the restrictive arbitration clause. Read More ›
Glow Pregnancy App Exposed Women to Privacy Threats, Consumer Reports Finds
by Jerry Beilinson, Consumer Reports
It would be easy for stalkers, online bullies, or identity thieves to use the information they gathered to harm Glow’s users. “We were troubled by the nature and depth of the security problems we discovered,” says Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports’ director of electronics testing. Read More ›
Making Algorithms Accountable
by Julia Angwin, ProPublica
Companies use them to sort through stacks of résumés from job seekers. Credit agencies use them to determine our credit scores. And the criminal justice system is increasingly using algorithms to predict a defendant’s future criminality. Read More ›
Yelp Is Now Marking Businesses That Sue Reviewers
by Rosalie Chan, Time
The alert will appear on a company’s Yelp page and reads: “This business may be trying to abuse the legal system in an effort to stifle free speech, including issuing questionable legal threats against reviewers. As a reminder, reviewers who share their experiences have a First Amendment right to express their opinions on Yelp.” Read More ›
New Rules Would Require Debt Collectors to Prove You Actually Owe Money
by Chris Morran, The Consumerist
Consumer advocates have long pushed for reform in the debt collection market, and today’s announcement is met with applause, but also with the acknowledgement that this is just a beginning for an industry that has been rife with anti-consumer practices for decades. Read More ›
New Law Will Require Temporary License Plates in California
by Associated Press, Los Angeles Times
Consumer and civil rights advocates worry the measure will significantly increase the number of people who receive fines for paperwork violations, because it would be easier for police to spot expired temporary plates. Read More ›
Advocates Say Verizon-Yahoo Deal Shows Need For Privacy Rules
by David McCabe, The Hill
The acquisition — a sign of Verizon’s growing interest in the advertising business — comes as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moves toward a final vote on the hotly contested proposed rules, which would require internet providers to get permission before using their customers data for most advertising purposes. Read More ›
PG&E Slammed At Trial As Feds Rest Their Case
by Libby Rainey, San Francisco Chronicle
The prosecution’s final witness testified under cross-examination Thursday that PG&E breached the investigation of the September 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes by “pre-interviewing” witnesses in at least two instances. Read More ›
The Secret Documents That Detail How Patients’ Privacy Is Breached
by Charles Ornstein, ProPublica
The top five categories of complaints in 2014, according to the Office for Civil Rights website, were impermissible uses and disclosures, safeguards, administrative safeguards, access and technical safeguards. Read More ›