MilConsumer Blog Feed

We’ve all heard the adage “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” It’s been attributed to everyone from Vince Lombardi to Secretary of State James Baker. As we’ve discussed in the first four installments of our Franchise Fundamentals series, proper preparation – including a thorough pre-commitment investigation into the franchise – may help reduce the risk of painful problems later. But what if a franchisee is concerned that a subsequent business breakdown could be due to a franchisor’s precarious promises?

The FTC is continuing its assessment of how the Funeral Rule is working for consumers and businesses. The next step: a September 7, 2023, workshop, Shopping for Funeral Services. Check out the just-announced agenda.

Even with four months to go, we predict the 2023 Phrase of the Year will be “artificial intelligence.” But like a discount utensil packaged in one of those pale blue gift boxes, some marketers are using the term to conceal that what they’re peddling is nothing more than old-school deception.

The INFORM Consumers Act took effect on June 27, 2023. The FTC has issued staff guidance for online marketplaces and now we have advice for online sellers whose businesses may be affected by the new law.

Let’s say someone walks into an old-fashioned record store looking for the Bright Eyes song “False Advertising.” Upon finding and buying the album, she’d have little reason to fear that store employees might sneak into her house later and take it back from her. She’d also have no cause to think that the album was counterfeit and not by the band at all. Now let’s say instead that the same song inspires an artist to create a mural depicting the FTC’s greatest false ad cases, and the mural gets displayed in a local gallery. The artist might be surprised if the gallery later shuts its doors and refuses to return the mural . . . or if some other company secretly reuses bits of it to make something else.

Just because consumers sign up for a membership or subscription doesn’t mean they sign up to get unwanted marketing email. A proposed $650,000 settlement with Experian Consumer Services just filed on the FTC’s behalf by the Department of Justice reminds businesses that they can’t “unsubscribe” from their legal obligations under the CAN-SPAM Act.

You’ve heard about scammers impersonating government agencies, global retailers, and even members of your family. The latest variation on the scheme targets business professionals, luring them in with what appear to be attractive “job offers” from well-known companies. You’ll be amazed at how far these bottom-feeding fraudsters will go to make those bogus “dream jobs” seem legit.

As a landlord – or property manager or other housing provider – you may run background checks on prospective tenants. These reports can include rental and eviction history, credit history, criminal records, and more. Background checks from consumer reporting agencies are consumer reports and under the law you have certain responsibilities when it comes to using them. For instance, you can get a consumer report only if you have a permissible purpose – and you may not use the consumer report for another reason.

In the past few months, the FTC has announced case after case involving consumers’ sensitive health data, alleging violations of both Section 5 of the FTC Act and the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule. The privacy of health information is top of mind for consumers – and so it’s top of mind for the FTC. Companies collecting or using health data, listen up. There are a number of key messages from BetterHelp, GoodRx, Premom, Vitagene, and other FTC matters that you need to hear.

We usually don’t recommend reading other people’s mail, but even if you weren’t one of the approximately 130 companies that received a recent joint letter from the FTC and HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), anyone in the health arena – hospitals, other HIPAA-covered entities, telehealth providers, health app developers, etc. – should take the letter to heart and consider a privacy and security check-up at their business.