Category Archives: Uncategorized
Your prescription history is their business
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
A secretive, for-profit service called ScriptCheck keeps track of all your prescriptions, even those you pay for with cash. Life insurers pay for the data. Read More ›
Tax season will start late this year due to government shutdown
by Mary Beth Quirk, Consumerist
Those 16 days the government spent shut down will have far-reaching consequences into the future. Basically the Internal Revenue Service just can’t get those two weeks back, and as such it’ll be delaying the start of the 2014 tax filing season by one to two weeks. Read More ›
Student loan borrowers face payment processing pitfalls
by Herb Weisbaum, Today.com
The companies hired by lenders to collect payment for private loans don’t always act in the borrowers’ best interest. Sometimes, these loan servicers do things that increase the total cost of higher education. The most common complaints dealt with problems encountered by borrowers trying to pay off their loans early or who wanted to pay them off in a certain order. Read More ›
Broken window? Think twice about a claim on home insurance
by Herb Weisbaum, Today.com
File a single claim on your homeowner’s policy – even a relatively small one – and you could get dinged with a rate hike. A new study finds that the financial consequences of making a legitimate claim varies from state to state. Read More ›
Kaiser faults California’s exchange for lack of quality ratings
by Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente and two other insurers say California’s insurance exchange is withholding crucial information from consumers by not posting quality ratings alongside health plan rates. Read More ›
Keeping Seniors Safe, additional elderly protection bills signed into law
CFC and Legal Assistance to the Elderly, Inc., co-sponsored AB 849, authorizing assistance programs serving victims of elder and dependent adult abuse to help them apply to the Safe at Home address confidentiality program. Read More ›
Building insulation flammability standard in hands of State Fire Marshal
Once implemented, AB 127 will make building insulation safer and less toxic, without reducing fire safety for building occupants. We are pleased that Governor Brown has signed this important bill and welcome the State Fire Marshal’s updated building insulation flammability standards. Read More ›
Dozens of furniture makers settle over chemicals
by Stephanie Lee, San Francisco Chronicle
More than 30 furniture companies, including Ikea, J.C. Penney and Kmart, have agreed to settle for a total of $2.3 million in civil penalties after a Berkeley watchdog group alleged they sold furniture with high amounts of flame retardants in violation of California’s Proposition 65. Read More ›
Facebook loosens privacy policy on teens’ posts
by Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times
Social network Facebook lifts restrictions on kids 13 to 17 that kept them from sharing information with people they do not know. Critics say the move puts teens at risk. Read More ›
Kids’ personal data needs protection from tech firms
by John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog
The educational technology software industry is an estimated $8 billion market. The concern is that instead of using kids’ data only for educational purposes, their privacy will be invaded and the data will be used to market products to kids and their families.
Read More ›
Shoppers getting ripped off by tiny, high-tech cash register skimmers
by Herb Weisbaum, Today.com
Crooks who steal credit and debit card numbers have found a devious new way to snag this information. They’re using a small and relatively cheap piece of off-the-shelf technology to compromise computerized store cash registers. Read More ›
Airlines new ‘slimline’ seats squeeze more passengers into coach
by Joshua Freed, 10News.com
Some passengers seem to mind the tighter squeeze more than others. The new seats generally have thinner padding. And new layouts on some planes have made the aisles slightly narrower, meaning the dreaded beverage cart bump to the shoulder happens more often. Read More ›
California governor vetoes state email privacy bill
by Kate Tummarello, The Hill
Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a state online privacy bill that would have protected residents’ electronic communications accounts from warrantless access by law enforcement agencies. Read More ›