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CONSUMER BLOGROLL Consumer Protection Media, Democracy, Law & Culture |
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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog October 31, 2009:
If you've ever paid a $35 debit overdraft fee for a $4 latte and would have preferred that your bank reject the transaction, it's time to call Congress. If you didn't know that without your permission your bank signed you up for fee-laden "courtesy" overdraft instead of asking you whether you wanted the much better deal of an overdraft line of credit, it's time to call Congress. Put down the coffee and pick up the phone. Call 202-224-3121, that's the switchboard, and ask your Representative to support Rep. Carolyn Maloney's HR 3904, The Overdraft Protection Act of 2009. Then, call back and ask your two Senators to support the Senate version, S. 1799, the FAIR Overdraft bill from Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). Ask your friends to do the same. Here's why. Despite an overwhelming slam-dunk policy victory by outnumbered consumer witnesses at yesterday's House hearing on reform of overdraft "protection" schemes that could earn banks and some credit unions up to $38 billion this year, passage of Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-NY) tough reform legislation is not guaranteed. Big banks, small banks (and those credit unions that have lost their way and no longer place their members first), backed by their well-heeled cadres of in-house, association and outside hired-gun lobbyists and consultants, have mounted a last-ditch assault to defeat the widely-supported HR 3904, The Overdraft Protection Act of 2009. While the Associated Press reported that the phalanx of bank and other pro-fee witnesses all claimed that "customers want the protection," the LA Times reported: Continue reading "Banks oppose reform of unfair bounced overdraft fees, your calls needed" Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 06:34 AM | Comments (0) Small toymakers continue to complain about the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, passed into law after millions of lead-laden and other hazardous toys from Mattel and others but made in China washed onto our shores in waves in 2007 and 2008. The innumerable dangerous toy recalls galvanized decades of previously unsuccessful efforts to restore the tiny, embattled CPSC's ability to protect the public from the 15,000 separate hazards it regulates (including toys). Yet, as our colleague Nancy Cowles of Kids In Danger told Leslie Wayne of the New York Times for the story Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toymakers, powerful multi-national toy companies are using the ma-and-pa firms as cover in their efforts to weaken the law: “These groups are not above using the small crafters to reopen the legislation and get the changes they want.” Ms. Cowles also said parents needed to be assured that their children’s toys were safe, regardless of who made or sold them. “From a product safety standpoint, it doesn’t make a difference whether the toy comes from a local store or a national chain,” said Ms. Cowles. “A child doesn’t know the difference and parents have the right to expect a safe product.”Expect PIRG's annual Trouble In Toyland report sometime around Thanksgiving. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 05:27 AM | Comments (0) |
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October 2009
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