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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog

May 11, 2008: Warning on Internet club account signup scams

Over at The Consumerist blog, check out the important warning Watch For Baloney "Reservation Rewards" Charges On Your Credit Card. Companies, including federally-insured banks whose regulators should have them concerned with "reputation risk," form partnerships with often-sued marketers including Trilegiant (see 2006 settlement between 16 state Attorneys General and Chase Bank and Trilegiant. Chase has recently been accused of continuing these practices anyway). Another firm in the biz is the ever-morphing Memberworks (is it now Vertrue?). The companies and their partners exploit gaping loopholes in the porous 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act which "allow" them to share confidential information garnered from account relationships with the telemarketers. The club purveyors then claim the right to bill you based on either a "one-click" look at their pages or, in the offline version of the scam, after you cash a teeny $2.37 or so check that arrives with your bill. In either case, you've "signed up" for an often useless but expensive $10-$15 month club membership. Insist that your credit card company remove these charges.

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)


May 10, 2008: Woman raped by military contractors can go to court/Contractor off-shore tax havens investigated

A federal judge has ruled (AP story) that Jamie Leigh Jones, who was allegedly drugged and gang-raped by fellow Halliburton/KBR contractors at Camp Hope in Baghdad, "can take her claims to trial" rather than, as Halliburton lawyers claimed her employment contract required, going through often-biased third-party arbitration. Our previous blog on Jones' plight. Our previous blog on arbitration reform.

In an unrelated AP story today Defense contractor creates a Caribbean tax haven on how government contractors including KBR use off-shore tax havens to avoid paying income and even payroll taxes, U.S. PIRG staff attorney John Krieger notes the practice is both unpatriotic and unfair to employees:

Krieger ... said companies with overseas outposts have lower overall expenses and therefore an unfair advantage when competing for work against American businesses that don't. "It's purely disgraceful for them to pretend to be foreign companies to avoid their very basic responsibilities like Medicare and Social Security," Krieger says. "The whole spirit of open competition has been completely lost."
Our web pages on federal contractor abuses.

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)


Moving scams/furniture as hostage

Years ago, the federal government foolishly deregulated interstate moving companies, leaving consumers whose goods are held hostage for punitive additional fees, or delayed weeks or even broken in transit with little recourse. With the arrival of mover advertising on the Internet, as the story Keeping 'Furniture Ransom' Off Your Moving Bill by Kristina Shevory in the New York Times notes, things have only gotten worse. The story does note a few sites where you can get information, at least, including the federal government site protectyourmove.gov and the bad mover warning and consumer advice site movingscam.com. The story notes that Florida and Maryland are among states with strong intrastate moving protections.

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)


House defeats preemption play by banks

On Thursday, during consideration of mortgage meltdown response legislation, the House overwhelmingly passed on a 256-160 vote (Pro-consumer vote is AYE) the bi-partisan Miller-(D-NC)-LaTourette-(R-OH) amendment. This previous blog has details. Over at the Credit Slips blog, Professors Elizabeth Warren and Adam Levitin discuss the vote. Professor Warren (after noting that even the national bank regulator known as the OCC has previously ceded foreclosure law to the states) makes the following points:

Continue reading "House defeats preemption play by banks"

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)


May 07, 2008: A Better Deal conference on young adult mobility happening

ABDheaderfordemossite.gifThe Student PIRGs are partners with Demos in their important conference -- A Better Deal: Reclaiming Economic Security For A New Generation -- this Thursday and Friday in Washington DC.

It's getting harder for young adults to get ahead in America. Compared to previous generations, today's 20-somethings earn less, carry more debt and pay more for everything from health care to housing. With young people voting in record numbers, it's time to put this generation's economic crisis on the national agenda and build a movement for a better deal.
Keynotes are SEIU's Andy Stern and Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation. Luke Swarthout and Chris Lindstrom are panelists from the Student PIRGs. The conference is free. Get more information here.

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)


Nine Inch Nails releases record album free online and available for remix

2468651204_5f96b354d9_m.jpgThe successful band Nine Inch Nails has released its newest album The Slip for free online. Two other things are very interesting.

  • The band is making it available in a variety of download formats, not just streaming, not just mp3. They are even making it available through the fast peer-to-peer file sharing network BitTorrent. The mere mention of the word BitTorrent sends the suits down at RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) into apoplectic fits. So this is certainly the band's decision, not a record company's.
  • The record is also being released under a Creative Commons share-and-share alike license, even allowing derivative works and remixes.

    From the website download page: the slip is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license,

    we encourage you to
    remix it, share it with your friends,
    post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc.

    Jeff Leeds of the New York Times had a story yesterday:

    In a post on the band's Web site, www.nin.com, the band’s leader, Trent Reznor, said, "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years -- this one's on me."[...] Mr. Reznor’s new offer could serve as another test of how the easy availability of free music online affects subsequent CD sales and other money-making opportunities.
    I've downloaded the mp3.

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)


    May 06, 2008: Senate leaves airline passenger rights on the runway

    Today a cloture motion to limit debate on the FAA reauthorization was defeated 49-42 (60 YEA votes needed; pro-consumer vote YEA). So, the bill's strong airline passenger safety and rights provisions were left on the runway over bickering over other matters. The bill has been pulled for further negotiations.

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)


    Banks making misleading claims about critical amendment

    We have joined leading consumer community and civil rights groups in a coalition letter supporting a critical Brad Miller (D-NC) Steve LaTourette (R-OH) amendment to HR 5830, American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, on the House floor. From our letter:

    With two million families holding subprime loans projected to lose their homes due to foreclosures initiated over the next two years, and 40 million of their neighbors projected to lose collectively $200 billion in home equity, it is important that the federal government and the States use the means at their disposal to implement prompt, effective measures to mitigate the impacts of the crisis on homeowners, their communities, and the economy generally.

    Continue reading "Banks making misleading claims about critical amendment"

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)


    USA Today on credit cards rules: For and against

    Today's USA Today has a point-counterpoint on the proposed new credit card regulations. USA Today says: Our view on consumer protection: Feds take overdue first step to curb credit card abuses but urges caution, as the Fed often fails to follow through.

    Not surprisingly, Ed Yingling of the American Bankers Association says: "Don't turn back the clock on the credit card market and reverse the advances that have led to lower costs and greater choices for cardholders."

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)


    Toy industry phalanx hits Connecticut

    Following a procedural delay initiated by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), the House will formally announce CPSC reform bill conferees today. House and Senate conference staff have already started work.

    Meanwhile, Carter Keithley of the Toy Industry of America took some time to patronize provincial Connecticut legislators in a Hartford Courant op-edit last week that if the state enacted tougher toxic toy laws under consideration that toy companies would "deny" toys from Connecticut children. From Lawmakers Overreacting On Toy Safety:

    These bills would not only prove unnecessary, but would almost inevitably create unattainable compliance requirements without improving toy safety in the state. The most likely results would be to reduce the availability of a variety of toys in Connecticut, forcing parents to look elsewhere, or simply deny children their desired toys and reduce the viability of Connecticut toy manufacturers and retailers.
    In response, Shannon Jacovino, mother of a two-year-old, writes:
    I encourage the legislature to keep on overreacting if it means I can rest assured my child is not being exposed to lead and other dangerous toxins in her toys.[...] Gov. M. Jodi Rell and legislators need to ignore paid spokesmen for the toy industry and listen to Connecticut parents. Mr. Keithley's comments are evidence that the toy industry will continue to downplay the risk to children and keep parents in the dark in the absence of this important legislation.
    Great letter, Shannon.

    When I was director of Connecticut PIRG and successfully lobbying passage of the nation's first new car lemon law in 1982, the lobbyists from Detroit showed up and argued: "If Connecticut passes this law, we'll stop selling cars here." I've been to Connecticut since 1982, and you can still buy new cars, and the cars are safer and better. Let's stop making threats, Mr. Keithley, and start making safer and better toys. And by the way, Connecticut legislators didn't like being patronized in 1982 and probably don't like it today. While sources tell me that the toy industry and the merchants have hired "every lobbyist in the building" to try and kill these important bills before the session ends Wednesday night, Shannon is right, and the forces of right may still prevail.

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)


    FTC investigates mobile marketing, PIRG and CDD will update FTC petition

    Our colleague Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy is on a panel today at the FTC's Town Hall-- Beyond Voice: Mapping the Mobile Marketplace. As noted in today's Media Post (subs. req'd):

    Two leading advocacy groups intend to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about mobile marketing, Jeff Chester, founder and executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, will announce today. "We're filing a complaint to force the FTC to take a proactive stance," Chester said. Mobile ad companies "incorporate the same problematic business practices that we witnessed with PC-based broadband marketing, including behavioral targeting and profiling techniques--except that this time they know your location," he said.
    The filing will update our previous petition, discussed here.

    Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)


  • Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Program Director
    Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director



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    Recent Entries
    Warning on Internet club account signup scams
    Woman raped by military contractors can go to court/Contractor off-shore tax havens investigated
    Moving scams/furniture as hostage
    House defeats preemption play by banks
    A Better Deal conference on young adult mobility happening
    Nine Inch Nails releases record album free online and available for remix
    Senate leaves airline passenger rights on the runway
    Banks making misleading claims about critical amendment
    USA Today on credit cards rules: For and against
    Toy industry phalanx hits Connecticut

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