Tag Archives: nigeria

The FTC says that the person behind a deceptive robocalling operation that allegedly used prerecorded messages to “fraudulently pitch extended auto warranties to U.S. consumers” will have to pay $655,000 as well as “turn over the proceeds from the sale of his second home in Florida and two luxury cars, a Porsche 911 and a Lexus sedan.” This is the second settlement with a car warranty robocaller, says the FTC. The case against 4 of 6 defendants still ongoing. From the FTC: The settlement order against Voice Touch and Dunne permanently bars them from both telemarketing and assisting anyone else…
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Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers have certain rights when it comes to funerals. Consumers have the right to purchase only the products or services they need, to use the services of a funeral home while declining embalming, to see written price lists before they begin to make decisions, and the right to purchase a casket or urn elsewhere. An undercover FTC investigation, however, discovered that in 30% of the funeral homes they visited, at least one part of the Funeral Rule of 1984 was violated. What happens to offenders? According to Consumer Reports Money: To avoid an FTC…
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Forget those guys who held up a Taco Bell just to score some apple empanadas. That’s small-time compared to the Tacoma-area woman, now facing at least 12 counts of ID theft, who says she did it all “to buy groceries.” The 27-year-old woman was pulled over by police, who searched her car and discovered a printer/scanner, laminating machine, a metal case holding several licenses with her photo but with different names and an accordion folder containing other peoples’ checks along with hotel receipts in multiple names and credit card numbers. There was also a “Wonder Woman binder” (which we take…
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Reuters is reporting that NBC and Comcast have secured financing for their proposed merger. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. From Reuters: The financing includes a three-year credit agreement providing a $3 billion term loan facility and a $750 million revolving facility for NBC Universal. There is also a bridge loan agreement to provide a $6.1 billion facility with a syndicate of lenders. Comcast will own a 51% stake in NBC Universal if the…
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Brad is a customer of Fifth Third Bank. He’s annoyed at the bank’s marketing practices. He tells Consumerist that when he transferred a large amount of money from his account with a credit union, Fifth Third decided that he clearly had too much money, and they wanted to help him open a savings account to remedy that situation. Well, that’s not what they said, but close enough. I would like to know if this is a common practice as this is quite annoying that Fifth Third is doing this. I am in the midst of a kitchen remodel and transferd…
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Apple’s full-color iPad tablet thingy is set to launch in the coming weeks and it’s predicted that the device will eat away at the huge e-book market share enjoyed by Amazon’s Kindle e-readers. Among the knocks against Kindles by some has been that their E Ink display — while much easier on the eyes than a traditional backlit screen — does not display color images, text or video. But that may change in the next year. At an electronics trade show in China this week, Prime View International, the Taiwan-based company that produces the Kindle for Amazon, was showing off…
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It’s logical that as airlines charge customers fees to check their luggage, passengers will carry on as much of their belongings as they possibly can. The logical consequence of that? Passengers and crew getting bonked on the head by bottles of liquor and carry-on toilets. The Association of Flight Attendants union surveyed their membership, with some unsurprising results. 35% of flight attendants report that they personally have been struck by falling items from overhead bins in the past year, and 81% report pain or injuries from helping passengers with their carry-on items. ABC News interviewed some AFA representatives about the…
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Evenflo Top-of-Stair™ Plus Wood Gates are supposed to stop your baby from plummeting down the stairs. Unfortunately, they do not do this, so they have been recalled. The CPSC says: Evenflo has received 142 reports of slats breaking and/or detaching from the gate. Three children gained access to stairs. One of those children fell through the gate and down five steps; another fell down one step. Injuries included four children who sustained bumps and bruises to the head and seven children who sustained minor injuries including scratches, scrapes and bruises. Recall Info: Evenflo models 10502 and 10512 Top-of-Stair Plus Wood…
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Hope you weren’t planning on buying popcorn at the movies this weekend, because you might not have any cash left after you pay for your higher-priced tickets. A report in Barron’s states that, because year-to-date box office receipts are up 10% from the same time frame last year, theaters are jacking up their prices, especially on 3D films. Their survey of 10 random theaters (and confirmed by an informal one I did on Fandango by punching in some zip codes from around the country) showed an average 4.1% increase in ticket prices for 2D movies this weekend. Here in New…
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Gizmodo, citing internal Apple documentation, says that the company is allowing customers to buy iPhones without an AT&T contract. From Giz: Customers are not required to have an AT&T contract. Customers can only purchase one iPhone per day. Is that easy. Then it’s up to you to unlock it. The price is $499 for the iPhone 3G 8GB, $599 for the iPhone 3GS 16GB, and $699 for the 32GB top model. You into this? Buy iPhones Without Contract Now: Official Apple Document Leaked [Gizmodo]…
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