MilConsumer Blog Feed

Whooping it up can be fun, but hooping it up – requiring consumers to jump through hoops to exercise their rights under the Fair Credit Report Act – is illegal. That’s one message businesses can take from the FTC’s $3.5 million settlement with TeleCheck. Houston-based TeleCheck Services offers retailers an on-the-spot recommendation about whether to accept a shopper’s check. Its affiliate, TRS Recovery Services – also named in the FTC’s lawsuit –...

Update (3/27/14): Apple will notify people about how to get refunds by April 15. The settlement requires Apple to provide full refunds for in-app charges made by kids without parental permission. It’s a simple concept really: Companies shouldn’t charge people for stuff without their express consent. That’s the law – and it’s always been the law. So when a company chooses to implement a billing process that, in effect, opens a tab for kids and...

If you regularly use FTC.gov to find cases, speeches, reports or such, then you’ve probably noticed a few changes. We know -- change is hard. But with added features like drop-down menus and filters, finding what you need on the new FTC.gov should be easier than ever. The new website uses a content management system that allows documents and webpages to be grouped together by the use of “tags” or keywords. Most content on FTC.gov has been tagged...

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Glitch Happens. In the case of Accretive Health, Inc., it was a laptop taken from the passenger compartment of an employee’s car. What transformed this oops into a full-fledged uh-oh was that the laptop contained files with 20 million pieces of data about 23,000 patients, including sensitive health information. And according to the FTC’s lawsuit, the employee in question didn’t need all that to do his...

No one is sliding across the living room floor in shades lip synching to Bob Seger, but violating the FTC’s Risk-Based Pricing Rule is risky business nonetheless. That’s the message of the FTC’s $1.9 million settlement with telecom company Time Warner Cable, Inc., the first case brought under the Risk-Based Pricing Rule. Part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Risk-Based Pricing Rule has been in place for almost three years. If a company...

Each year, the Premerger Notification Office answers thousands of letters, phone calls, and emails regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino rules, giving informal advice on the potential reportability of transactions and help in completing the HSR Notification and Report Form. Recently, the PNO considered a transaction involving a U.S. company acquiring a foreign issuer with both U.S. and foreign assets. These assets included both U.S. and foreign patents...

Green Foot Global said its EnviroTabs fuel additive was “the world’s 1st multi-vitamin for your engine.” A lawsuit filed by the FTC suggests that one primary nutrient in the environmental “multi-vitamin” was Vitamin D — for Deception. Advertised online in English and Spanish, EnviroTabs sold for about $25. The product was promoted as a quadruple threat for gear heads and tree huggers alike. “Do Your Part to Protect the Planet,” the ads said. Pop...

A recent FTC law enforcement crackdown focused on allegedly deceptive biodegradability claims for plastics. Four of the cases settled and a fifth is heading to trial. Another action targeted green claims made by a company the FTC had sued before. Of course, the orders in the cases apply just to those companies, but if you’re intent on keeping your green claims clean, there’s a lot you can glean from the announcement. 1. Guidance is only a click...