Category Archives: Latest In Consumer News
Regulators’ E-Mails With PG&E Blasted As Culture Of ‘Lawlessness’
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
Stephen Weissman, a UC Berkeley energy law professor who previously worked as a lawyer at the [California Public Utilities Commission], said the current standards reflect a “cultural divide” with similar agencies in other states that ban such lobbying altogether. “California does not even discourage” the contacts, Weissman said. “To the contrary, it welcomes them.” Worse, he said, is that there is no penalty for utilities commissioners who violate the rules. There is not even a requirement that commissioners report such lobbying. “We feel this lack of direct accountability,” Weissman said, is a “major contributing factor to the apparent repeated violations.” Read More ›
Binding Arbitration Rules Get Consumer Protection Bureau Scrutiny
by Ann Carrns, New York Times
Customers who have disputes with banks or credit card companies often can be forced to go to arbitration before a private lawyer to try to resolve the problem, rather than before a judge in court. That’s because many financial accounts come with built-in contracts containing “pre-dispute” arbitration clauses — so-called because consumers agree to them when they sign up for the account, before they actually have a disagreement. Read More ›
Castro Valley: Two Charged With Felony Elder Abuse In Abandoned Care Home Case
by Katie Nelson and Karina Ioffee, Contra Costa Times
The charges come after the shocking Valley Springs case and other incidents around the state shined a light on the state Department of Social Services’ oversight of such facilities. … The Department of Social Services, which oversees the licensing of senior care facilities like Valley Springs Manor, admitted that they had a “complete breakdown” in communication and that the closure forced them to re-evaluate their closure process as well as update training for state employees who monitor facilities. Read More ›
Lawsuit Contests CPUC Lawyer Hiring
by Jeff McDonald, UT-San Diego
[Plaintiffs attorney:] “They are misusing public funds by hiring lawyers — very expensive lawyers — to hide public records that relate to the misuse of ratepayer funds.” … According to [CPUC President Michael] Picker, the commission is facing at least three separate criminal investigations — two by the California Attorney General’s office and one by the U.S. Department of Justice. … Investigators are looking into alleged favoritism by [ex-CPUC President Michael] Peevey and others after a deadly 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno and the 2012 failure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Read More ›
Government DNA Collection Under Microscope In California
by Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento Bee
Assemblymember Mike Gatto has a pair of bills that would allow parents to have their babies’ samples destroyed, and dictate when police officers can glean DNA. With the support of district attorneys, Assemblyman Jim Cooper has a bill allowing DNA collection from people convicted of certain misdemeanors. Read More ›
Lumber Liquidators Sued Over Formaldehyde Allegations
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
The suit alleges … the company “breached their warranties by manufacturing, selling and/or distributing flooring products with levels of formaldehyde that exceed the CARB standards, or by making affirmative representations regarding CARB compliance without knowledge of its truth.” Lumber Liquidators is also accused of the California Business and Professions Code’s prohibitions against “unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice,” false advertising. Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that misrepresenting the [California Air Resources Board] certification of the wood violates the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Read More ›
Legislators Pressure CPUC Officials Over PG&E E-Mails
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
Committee Chairman Sen. Ben Hueso, D-Logan Heights (San Diego County), told [Commission President Michael Picker] that some of the 65,000 e-mails between commission officials and PG&E that were recently released as part of a court case show that the regulatory process appears “extremely skewed” toward the utility. The e-mails have shown utilities commission officials working to name an administrative law judge whom PG&E preferred to a rate-setting case, and a PG&E executive trying to leverage the former commission president’s interest in a coal-gasification project into favorable treatment for the firm. Read More ›
Privacy Legislation Proposed To Balance New Technology
by Katie Orr, Capital Public Radio
Technology is becoming an increasing part of our lives. And Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Republican Senator Ted Gaines announced today they are putting forward a package of bills designed to protect the privacy of consumers. The bills address body cameras, drones and data collection, among other things. Read More ›
California Consumer Group Seeks Enforcement Action Against Geico
by Staff, The Insurance Journal
“Our extensive analysis of Geico’s online rate quote system found that it is programmed to target unmarried low or moderate-income drivers for inflated rates,” Richard Holober, executive director of the group stated. “Targeted motorists either pay for excessive coverages they are falsely told are the lowest available, or Geico drives them away with these costly quotes. Either way, Geico is breaking California’s insurance regulations and civil rights law.” Read More ›
FCC’s Net Neutrality Plan Alarms Critics, But It’s Nothing New
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
“For more than 20 years, wireless phone companies have not only survived but thrived under similar FCC rules for voice communication,” said Emily Rusch, executive director of the California Public Interest Research Group. “The FCC’s new proposal on broadband protects an open Internet for all consumers.” … “The phone and cable companies want to dictate terms to content providers,” said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, a San Francisco advocacy group. “They want to call all the shots.” Read More ›
ConsumerWatch: Geico Accused Of Discriminatory Insurance Quotes
When was the last time your car insurance company asked about your job or if you had a college degree? On the Consumer Watch, Julie Watts says some are questioning the legality of Geico’s practices.
Geico Accused Of Discriminating Against ‘Working Class’ Customers
by Kathleen Pender, San Francisco Chronicle
Under Proposition 103, insurance companies must offer good drivers a policy with minimum coverages of $15,000 for a single injury, $30,000 for injury to more than one person in an accident, and $5,000 for property damage, called a “15/30/5 policy.” When a “working-class” person applies online, Geico’s website shows the lowest limits are $100,000 for a single injury, $300,000 for injury to more than one person and $50,000 for property damage, the [Consumer Federation of California] said. Read More ›
Wave Of Fake Federal And State Tax Returns Filed, Experts Say
by Herb Weisbaum, NBC News
Lisa Letchworth, who lives in Washington State, doesn’t know how it happened, but crooks got into her TurboTax account. Last Tuesday, when she logged on to start her federal return, she got a nasty surprise. A message on the screen said her return had already been filed and the IRS was issuing a refund of $5,013 to someone else on a prepaid card. … If you use online tax preparation software, especially the kind that stores your completed tax returns, change your login information right away. That’s really the only thing you can do. Read More ›