#consumer protection

#consumer protection

Reselling tickets for more than face value will be made illegal in the United Kingdom, The Guardian and BBC report. Set to be announced this week, the plans will make good on the Labour Party's 2024 election pledge to crack down on touting, amid the debate over rising concert ticket fees. Platforms reselling face-value tickets will be allowed to add service fees, but these will be subject to new limits, according to The Guardian.

The cases involve contracts bundling handsets with services. The contention is that customers who continued using the service after the minimum term ended were charged the same monthly fee, and not a SIM-only fee for continued use of the network. Plaintiff Justin Gutmann - understood to be a former executive at Citizens Advice - said he was seeking damages of more than £3 billion ($4 billion) as the "class representative" on behalf of millions of subscribers he claims were overcharged.

Eight companies are under formal investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over concerns about online pricing tactics, marking the regulator's first major enforcement action under its strengthened consumer protection powers. The firms - StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold's Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical - are being examined as part of a wide-ranging review into how businesses display and structure online prices.

"It's all about the privacy of the data. And it's a very common practice that the businesses use your personal data. In many cases, without your knowledge, to be able to set prices or target you for advertising material," Ersin Uzun, executive director of Rochester Institute of Technology's Global Cybersecurity Institute, said.

According to the complaint, Zillow pressures agents in its Premier Agent and Flex lead programs to steer buyers to Zillow Home Loans for their purchase mortgage pre-approval. Allegedly, agents who sent more clients to Zillow's mortgage arm for their pre-approvals received extra or higher-quality leads in exchange. If agents in the Flex program fail to send a sufficient number of leads to ZHL for pre-approval, they risk being removed from the program.

Earlier this year, during the college basketball event known as March Madness, the biggest sports gambling apps were lighting up Eden Iscil's phone with notifications. From sunrise to late evening, they kept inviting him to wager on games, players, and teams. But the apps didn't know that Iscil wasn't actually interested in placing bets or winning money. In fact, Iscil isn't a "sports person" and had never gambled on sports before downloading the FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM apps.

In the biggest case ever brought before the HCRA's discipline committee, Briarwood Development Group was accused of violating the province's code of ethics for home builders by coercing 142 buyers into paying more for pre-construction homes, for which they had already paid deposits and signed agreements, ultimately extracting more than $18 million. The counts against Briarwood were all dismissed or withdrawn last month, after the HCRA failed to prove its case and bring forward substantial evidence.

A pensioner who ploughed 40,000 into a fraudulent wine investment scheme has warned others not to fall for similar scams after three men were jailed. Terry Fleming, 81, from Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, said he invested the money over two years believing he would make a profit, but eventually had to sell the bottles at a considerable loss. Three men who stole at least 6m from 41 victims in the scheme were given prison terms to at St Albans Crown Court on Friday.

As weather disasters become more and more frequent, the home insurance system feels broken for Americans across the country. Now, the advocacy nonprofit Consumer Reports is trying to implement a " homeowners insurance bill of rights " to codify baseline protections across all 50 states. According to a survey from the group, homeowners have seen their insurance rates climb-like Sierra in North Carolina, whose insurance spiked 43% last year, with her provider citing the "increased regional weather risks" as well as Hurricane Helene's impact specifically.

It takes viewers through the "American story" of Campbell's life: from a childhood in foster care and public housing to Princeton University and ultimately to the halls of power. "My own story is proof of what's possible, but yet we can do so much more. We can truly make this Commonwealth a place where everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, can dream big and actually have those dreams realized," she says in the ad.

There are a lot of weird scam tools out there. Soaring power bills have made the "power saver" scam devices popular, but the other day I came across another odd one called a "USB Phone Battery Repair Multipurpose Battery Restorer Efficient Repair" dongle. Also: Want to cut your electric bill? Skip these scam 'power-saving' devices, and buy this instead It claims to do a lot, but rest assured, all it does is take your money.

* Law school applications up 33 percent. Or " nearly half" as some lawyers would say. [ Reuters] * Supreme Court's voting rights argument reveals justices more than willing to roll back the law to 1950s. [ Bloomberg Law News] * Michigan State Title IX investigators may have collaborated with university lawyers. [ State News] * The lawyer-to-blacksmith pipeline is alive and well. [ CBS News] * Trump DOJ wastes tons of taxpayer money on frivolous cases, but the costs to the accused matter almost as much winning. [ NPR]

"A steak is made of meat full stop. Using these names only for real meat keeps labels honest, protects farmers, and preserves Europe's culinary traditions," said lead negotiator and EPP member of parliament Celine Imart ahead of Wednesday's vote. "Calling it 'meat' is misleading for the consumer," she added.

We heard Californians loud and clear, Newsom said in a statement, and what's clear is that they don't want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program.

The United Kingdom's rapport with the European Union proceeds uninterrupted even after Brexit. European online services offer something distinct for European consumers: reliability, transparency, and innovation. Be it affordability, choice, or stronger data protection, British users continue to gain from what the European digital economy has built up over decades of EU co-operation and regulatory harmonization. Political frontiers may have shifted, but on the internet, economic exchange of goods, payments, and entertainment across the web between the EU and the UK proceeds with full vigour.

Britain's leading banks have warned the government against capping the resale prices of concert and event tickets, claiming the move would push ticket touts and fraudulent sellers onto unregulated social media platforms. In a submission to ministers, UK Finance, the trade body representing Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays and more than 300 other financial institutions, said proposed ticket price caps could backfire by driving "tout activity" away from regulated platforms such as Viagogo and towards sites like Facebook Marketplace, where fans are more exposed to scams.

Swindle involves panicked customers losing more money on top of what was stolen from them in the first place

Nick Pompa, founder of Lootlock - an app that prevents kids from running up unauthorized gaming bills on their parents' credit cards - is an avid gamer and software developer working in fintech. As a dad of two under two, he's looking forward to sharing his passion for gaming with his kids when they grow old enough to play. He started gaming at age 6, he told TechCrunch.

The recommendation is a response to a Fast Track SWIFT challenge from Verizon. Fast Track SWIFT is an expedited challenge process designed for single-issue advertising cases. The challenge said that the AT&T advertising claim, "Learn how everyone gets iPhone 16 Pro on us," was false because not "everybody" can get a free phone. The challenge said the ad suggested that every customer on every AT&T plan can receive a new phone.

* Judge considering sanctioning DOJ lawyers over repeated statements compromising fairness of Mangione trial. [ NY Times] * Roberta Kaplan representing Disney shareholders seeking discovery to determine if Kimmel suspension demonstrates a breach of fiduciary duties. [ Semafor] * Group challenging SEC gag rule, which prevents parties who voluntarily settle enforcement cases from turning around and telling the market they did nothing wrong, seeks en banc review from the Ninth Circuit. But, you know, you don't have to settle. [ Law.com]