San Bruno mayor wants top official removed from blast probe
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey should be removed in light of San Bruno explosion-related emails that show state officials are “subject to undue influence” by PG&E and the CPUC “is corrupted.” Mayor Jim Ruane also called on Peevey to be removed as head of regulatory proceedings into whether PG&E should be fined more than $2 billion for safety violations related to the explosion. San Bruno officials filed a complaint against PG&E for “knowingly and intentionally attempting to illegally influence the outcome” of cases related to the 2010 disaster. Read More ›
Survey: Most smartphone owners support kill switch; industry lobbyists remain opposed
by Jonah Owen Lamb, The San Francisco Examiner
With Senate Bill 962 (Leno) set to go to the Assembly floor Aug. 7, a majority of the public – 99 percent – backs laws requiring shut-off technology in smartphones to combat thefts. “The companies that make 97 percent of smartphones sold in the U.S. have removed their opposition to the bill, yet [CTIA-The Wireless Association] remains opposed,” Max Szabo of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said. “It raises the question of whether these insurance giants are hiding behind this lobbying group in an attempt to protect the profits they’re reaping at the expense of public safety.” Read More ›
The CFPB has only just begun tackling financial services in its first four years
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
Four years ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created as a safeguard to ensure the financial industry followed the rules when selling products and services to consumers – and a lot has happened since that time. From returning billions of dollars to consumers who were wrong by financial services to holding for-profit colleges accountable for their deceptions, the work of the CFPB has touched many areas of the financial world and it continues to expand. While the CFPB has provided assistance to millions of consumers in its short time, there is undoubtedly more issues to be addressed. Read More ›
Legislature puts California acupuncture board on notice
by Daniel Rothberg, The Sacramento Bee
“When the Legislature looks at the history of this board and we look at your mandated basic duties, we feel that you all have unfortunately had some trouble in the areas of enforcement, consumer protection, et cetera,” Senate committee consultant Le Ondra Clark told the seven-member board at a June 13 meeting. “So though we would like to have control over everything and go on site visits … if you’re not meeting your basic duties, none of that matters.” Read More ›
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 ›
With Citigroup paying up, will feds’ attention now turn to BofA?
by E. Scott Reckard, Jim Puzzanghera, The Los Angeles Times
With Citigroup Inc. agreeing to pay $7 billion for issuing toxic mortgage securities, the Justice Department now turns to settling its case against what analysts call the biggest mortgage miscreant of all: Bank of America Corp. In the Citi deal, California will be among several states that will share in the settlement. Citi will pay California $102.7 million to offset losses at its public pension funds, primarily the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. California also is guaranteed at least $90 million in consumer relief, the most of any state. Read More ›
Electronic health records ripe for theft
by David Pittman, Politico
On the black market, a full identity profile contained in a single record can bring as much as $500. Nearly 1.84 million people have been victims of medical identity theft, according to a report released last year, including 313,000 victims in 2013 — a 19 percent jump from the previous year. Since the Department of Health and Human Services began tracking the numbers in 2009, more than 31.6 million individuals — roughly 1 in 10 people in the U.S. — have had their medical records exposed through some sort of hack. Read More ›
Debt settlement programs are misleading
by Charlene Crowell, Houston Forward Times
The Center for Responsible Lending finds that debt settlement is a risky strategy that can leave consumers more financially vulnerable and still laden with debt years after they enroll in such programs. Many creditors simply refuse to deal with debt settlement companies. Available data suggests that at least two-thirds of debts must be settled in order to achieve a net positive outcome from debt settlement. Even more debts must be settled for the consumer to achieve real savings if they end up being liable for taxes on the debt reduction. Read More ›
Honda expands recall by up to 1 million cars
by Chris Woodyard, USA Today
The single shrapnel-spewing deployment of an air bag in an old Accord has led Honda, Honda, one of eight automakers caught up in the recalls of Takata air bags, to expand its recall by 500,000 to 1 million vehicles. The expansion is limited to cars in California. The air bags can rupture with too much force when a crash occurs. When they do, they spew metal chunks that can injure a car’s occupants. Read More ›
Corinthian Colleges to sell off 85 campuses; close 12 others
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
For-profit education company Corinthian Colleges – operators of Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald College – which had been receiving around $1.4 billion a year in funding via federal student loans, is currently being sued or under investigation by numerous state and federal authorities for its recruitment and marketing practices. The U.S. Dept. of Education put a hold on its access to loan funds, effectively ringing the death knell for the company. Read More ›
SB 52 Strengthens Campaign Contribution And Advertising Transparency (2-year bill)
The provisions in SB 52 will help ensure that the public is more aware of what and who is influencing California’s elections. Read More ›
Uber, Lyft setback: Insurance chief backs proposal to hike coverage requirements
by Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Business Times
An insurance gap was highlighted last New Year’s Eve when a driver seeking passengers in San Francisco with the UberXd smartphone application open struck and killed a little girl. Uber argues it isn’t liable because the driver didn’t have a ride order at the time. The girl’s parents sued; their attorney said the driver’s insurance only allowed for maximum payouts of $15,000 per person and a maximum of $30,000, the California minimum. Read More ›
GM has officially recalled more vehicles in 2014 than it has sold in the last 7 years
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
On Monday, the company announced the recall of 7.6 million vehicles in the United States – most of them for the same inadvertent ignition key rotation that has been linked to at least three fatalities. So far in 2014, GM has recalled nearly 25 million vehicles in the United States through more than 50 recall campaigns. A quick look at GM’s sales records for the past ten years shows that the company has now officially recalled in the first six months of 2014 more cars that it has sold from 2007 to 2013. Read More ›