Tag Archives: Credit Cards

From Credit Cards To Mail-Order Steaks: 87 Companies That Are Taking Away Your Right To Sue

by Chris Morran, Consumerist

Businessmanhave an ace under his sleeve while meet his client or partner

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 ›

Making Algorithms Accountable

by Julia Angwin, ProPublica

algorithm chart

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 ›

Group Behind Golden Nugget Casinos, Rainforest Cafe, And More Releases List Of Locations Hit By Data Breach

by Mary Beth Quirk, Consumerist

Computer screen data

Late last year, Landry’s Inc., a restaurant conglomerate with over 500 locations, confirmed that it had been hit by a credit card data breach. At the time, the group didn’t confirm how many locations were affected. … The company manages dozens of chains like Morton’s Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s, and the Rainforest Cafe, as well as several hotels, resorts, and casinos, including the Golden Nugget chain. Read More ›

Cyberthieves Have A New Target: Children

by Priya Anand, Wall Street Journal

[The Identity Theft Resource Center] says it received 298 calls related to child identity theft in 2015, or about 5.4% of the cases it heard. Because child-identity theft tends to be detected long after the fact, such numbers may vastly underestimate the scope of the problem. Credit-reporting companies add that thefts of minors’ identities are hard to uncover because children can have legitimate credit records if parents add them to a credit card as an authorized user. Meanwhile, data breaches exposing children’s personal information online are becoming more common. … Parents can protect their children a number of ways. Read More ›

Wendy’s Probes Reports Of Credit Card Breach

by Brian Krebs, KrebsOnSecurity

Wendy’s, the nationwide chain of fast-food restaurants, says it is investigating claims of a possible credit card breach at some locations. The acknowledgment comes in response to questions from KrebsOnSecurity about banking industry sources who discovered a pattern of fraud on cards that were all recently used at various Wendy’s locations.
Bob Bertini, spokesperson for the Dublin, Ohio-based restauranteur, said the company began receiving reports earlier this month from its payment industry contacts about a potential breach and that Wendy’s has hired a security firm to investigate the claims. Read More ›

Supreme Court Rejects Class-Action Suit Against DirecTV

by Robert Barnes, Washington Post

“These decisions have predictably resulted in the deprivation of consumers’ rights to seek redress for losses, and turning the coin, they have insulated powerful economic interests from liability for violations of consumer protection laws,” wrote [dissenting Justice Ruth Bader] Ginsburg. … “It has become routine, in a large part due to this court’s decisions, for powerful economic enterprises to write into their form contracts with consumers and employees no class-action arbitration clauses … further degrading the rights of consumers and further insulating already powerful economic entities.” Read More ›

Beware The Fine Print: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking The Deck Of Justice

by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Robert Gebeloff, The New York Times

The move to block class actions was engineered by a Wall Street-led coalition of credit card companies and retailers, according to interviews with coalition members and court records. Strategizing from law offices on Park Avenue and in Washington, members of the group came up with a plan to insulate themselves from the costly lawsuits. Their work culminated in two Supreme Court rulings, in 2011 and 2013, that enshrined the use of class-action bans in contracts. The decisions … upended decades of jurisprudence. Read More ›

CFPB May Let You Sue Your Bank Instead Of Going To Arbitration

“Consumers should not be asked to sign away their legal rights when they open a bank account or credit card,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. “Companies are using the arbitration clause as a free pass to sidestep the courts … ” In a first step toward potential new rules, the CFPB is publishing an outline of proposals under consideration in preparation for forming a small business review panel to gather feedback from industry stakeholders. … [New rules would apply to] credit cards, checking and deposit accounts, prepaid cards, money transfer services and several types of loans. Read More ›

CFPB To Consider Rules That Would Revoke Banks’ “License To Steal”

by Chris Morran, Consumerist

Earlier this year, the Bureau released its first report on arbitration in the financial products sector. It found that while the clauses are incredibly prevalent — 92% of prepaid debit cards and 88% of cellphone contracts use them — most consumers are completely unaware if they are affected. According to the CFPB, of those Americans constrained by arbitration agreements, fewer than 7% understood that this meant they had given up their right to file a lawsuit. “Consumers should not be asked to sign away their legal rights when they open a bank account or credit card,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in statement. Read More ›

Citibank Must Pay $700M Over Illegal Marketing, Collection Practices

by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist

Citibank sign in window

In all, the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] estimates seven million consumer accounts were affected by Citibank’s deceptive marketing, billing, and administration of debt protection and credit monitoring add-on products. … In addition to consumer relief, Citibank must pay a $35 million penalty to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty Fund, as well as end its unfair billing practices and cease engaging in the deceptive marketing of add-on products. … The CFPB contends Citibank and its subsidiaries relied on illegal billing practices, ultimately affecting nearly 2.2 million customer accounts … Read More ›

70 Million Americans Report Stolen Data

by Donna Tapellini, Consumer Reports

While some of those incidents may have resulted from stolen credit cards or other crimes, many stemmed from data breaches. And, as a slew of widely reported breaches last year showed, not only online shoppers are at risk. According to Consumer Reports’s survey, 79% of those notified of a data breach were told by a brick-and-mortar store or a financial institution. Just eighteen percent said the problem originated with an online retailer. Read More ›

AB 886 (Chau) Protects Uber Passenger Privacy

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Bill 886 (Chau, D-Monterey Park) will protect the sensitive personal information and credit card records of passengers using transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber. Read More ›

Credit Card Issuers Shouldn’t Bully Customers Into Arbitration Clauses

by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times

[The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] study found that as many as 80 million U.S. credit card customers are subject to arbitration clauses. The study showed that arbitration is much better for businesses than for consumers. Only 20% of cases resolved in consumers’ favor from 2010 to 2011 resulted in relief being paid, according to the study, while 93% of cases resolved in favor of companies led to payments. More strikingly, the study found that when consumers prevailed in arbitration, they were awarded an average of 57 cents for every dollar claimed. But when companies prevailed, they received 98 cents on the dollar. Read More ›

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