Consumer Advocate Focuses His Energies On Revamping Prop. 13
by Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times
[Longtime activist Lenny Goldberg] wants a “full-on, air-it-all-out discussion in the Legislature” about changing Proposition 13. “If you have a serious discussion of the issue, the whole thing breaks down and people say this is an absurd system,” he said. His fellow travelers — labor groups and grassroots organizations in Los Angeles and the Bay Area — have a more concrete mission: to put Proposition 13 changes on the ballot in 2016 or 2018. Goldberg, who is involved in those efforts, is hesitant to promise a date but said the groundwork — research, organizing, polling — is being laid. Read More ›
PUC Leader Critical Of San Bruno Officials, Email Shows
by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
In what critics described as a growing scandal, federal and state law enforcement agencies have launched investigations into the allegedly improper memos and the relationship between [PG&E] and regulators. The U.S. attorney in San Francisco has filed criminal charges against the utility related to the San Bruno explosion. … The messages, the company said, could reflect improper communications with state regulators. Read More ›
BMW Expands Takata Air Bag Recall
by David Shepardson, The Detroit News
Automakers have now recalled in total more than 61 million vehicles in 2014, more than doubling the previous record of 30.8 million vehicles called back in 2004. Leading all automakers is General Motors Co., which has recalled more than 30 million vehicles this year, including more than 26 million in the United States. … In total, 10 automakers have now recalled more than 14.6 million vehicles with Takata air bags since 2013.Takata has repeatedly argued there is no scientific basis to expand the recall nationally.
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California Puzzles Over Safety Of Driverless Cars
by Justin Pritchard, The Associated Press
The department is asking industry, consumer groups and other interested parties to gather in January for a public workshop on safety standards. … Even before Google pushed the 2012 law that officially legalized driverless technology, the Silicon Valley giant had dispatched its cars hundreds of thousands of miles. Google says its Toyota Priuses and Lexus SUVs, souped up with radar, cameras and laser sensors, have an excellent safety record. They have been involved in just a “few” accidents, though not at fault in any of them, spokeswoman Courtney Hohne said. Read More ›
Staples Confirms 1.16 Million Cards Breached In 115 Stores
by Laura Northrup, Consumerist
Staples says that about 115 of its stores were hit in this breach, out of a total of 1,400 stores in the chain. (If you’re wondering whether your local store appears on the list, you can download a PDF here.) … Staples says that its investigation shows that customer payment information that may have been stolen includes cardholder names, card numbers, expiration dates, and card verification codes. Read More ›
Chrysler Yields To Urging On Takata Airbag Recall
by Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times
BMW America is the sole remaining automaker to limit the recall to high-humidity areas. … [The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] continues to press Takata to concede that nationwide recalls are necessary. The agency’s deputy administrator, David J. Friedman, said recently that the agency was preparing to initiate a formal process, including potential litigation, to compel Takata to order the recall. But the Japanese supplier has resisted, saying that regulators do not have the authority to compel such an action. Read More ›
Debt Collectors Hound Millions Of Retired Americans
by Herb Weisbaum, NBCNews.com
The CFPB report noted that some of the seniors who complained about debt collectors expressed concern that “the distress of being harassed by a debt collector aggravates existing medical conditions and thereby endangers their health.” … The CFPB advisory has sample letters that can be used to find out information about the claims being made, dispute the debt and request that a debt collector stops collection communications. If you are having a problem with a debt collector, you can file a complaint with the CFPB. Read More ›
Ford Expands Drivers Air Bag Recall Nationwide
by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
Last month, NHTSA demanded that Takata and the five automakers recall driver’s inflators across the nation. Takata and Chrysler have refused and could face legal action. BMW says it’s still evaluating the demand. … In documents filed with NHTSA, Takata refused to do a national recall, saying it’s not supported by testing data. The company also said NHTSA didn’t have the authority to order a parts supplier to do a recall, and that only automakers can conduct them. Read More ›
SDPD Sued Over Cellular Tracking Tech
by Lyndsay Winkley, UT San Diego
“This isn’t just a technology that focuses on the subject of the investigation,” [First Amendment Coalition Attorney Kelly Aviles] said, “it [sweeps up] information from all of our cellphones.” … David Loy, the legal director for ACLU of San Diego and the Imperial Counties, used even stronger language to describe the technology. “It’s essentially a form of mass surveillance and that’s extremely troubling, and the public has the right to know if that is how, in fact, the San Diego Police Department is employing this technology,” Loy said. Read More ›
CFPB Lawsuit: Sprint Made Millions Off Consumers Acting As A “Breeding Ground” For Bill-Cramming
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
The CFPB reports that most affected Sprint customers were initially targeted by the third-party products online. “Consumers clicked on ads that brought them to websites asking them to enter their cellphone numbers,” officials with the CFPB say in a news release. “Some merchants tricked consumers into providing their cellphone numbers to receive ‘free’ digital content and then charged for it. Many others simply placed fabricated charges on bills without delivering any goods or communicating with consumers.” Read More ›
CFC Releases Its 2014 Scorecard For State Legislators
Assembly Democrats scored an average of 92 percent, with Senate Democrats averaging nearly 91 percent. Assembly Republicans took the side of consumers 32 percent of the time and Senate Republicans scored slightly better, siding with consumers an average of nearly 33 percent of the time. Thirty-two of the 55 Assembly Democrats, and 14 of the 27 Senate Democrats, earned a perfect score of 100 percent on the CFC scorecard. No Republican in either house exceeded a 67 percent pro-consumer score.
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CFPB: College Credit Card Agreements On Decline; Debit, Prepaid Card Agreements Increase
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
Now, instead of signing onto agreements for the more regulated credit cards, [banking institutions and colleges] are focusing on debit and prepaid cards, which generally have fewer consumer protections. In fact, a report from the Government Accountability Office earlier this year found there were at least 852 schools that had agreements with companies to market debit or prepaid cards to students in 2013. Read More ›
Jury Sides With Apple In iPod Antitrust Case
by Julia Love, San Jose Mercury News
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Patrick Coughlin said his team wanted jurors to evaluate only the new security codes that limited downloads to the iTunes store, effectively blocking competing programs like RealNetworks’ Harmony. But instead, jurors considered whether those features, taken together with other new offerings in iTunes 7.0 such as games and movies, improved the user experience, making the plaintiffs’ case a tougher sell, Coughlin said. He vowed to appeal the case. Read More ›