#consumer-protection

#consumer-protection

California has enacted new legislation that aims to limit companies from charging consumers "exorbitant" fees to cancel fixed-term contracts.

In parallel, the Commission is running a public consultation on its consumer policy strategy for 2025-30, including with respect to digital fairness and consumer law enforcement, which is open until August 31, 2025. These developments are part of a broader European shift toward tougher digital consumer protection, echoed by the UK's newly adopted Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act, which introduces similar rules around pricing, subscriptions, and enforcement powers for the UK Competition and Markets Authority.

"Commenters state that itemizing such fees requires providers to produce multiple labels for identical services," the FCC plan says, with a footnote to comments from industry groups such as USTelecom and NCTA. "We believe, consistent with commenters in the Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding, that itemizing can lead to a proliferation of labels and of labels so lengthy that the fees overwhelm other important elements of the label."

"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]

A leading consumer group is proposing a policyholder rights initiative that would require insurers to offer coverage to California homeowners who fireproof their homes - or lose the right to sell home or auto insurance in the state for five years. The Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights was filed with state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office last week by Consumer Watchdog, the Los Angeles advocacy group whose founder Harvey Rosenfield authored Proposition 103, the 1988 initiative that governs California insurance law.

"Awareness campaigns are important, but they only go so far," said Jessica Fraser of Timmins, Ont., who lost $10,000 in a TD bank scam in June. TD Bank, which is listed as a "champion" on the coalition's campaign website, refused her request for a refund. "They're supposed to be the gatekeepers of my money and I trusted them to safeguard me," she said. "Instead, I'm left carrying the burden."

Publishers Clearing House, known for its surprise home visits and oversized prize checks, has filed for bankruptcy, ending decades of "forever" payouts to past winners. The sweepstakes company, which operated for nearly 60 years, sold its assets to mobile gaming firm ARB Interactive for $7.1 million. Under the agreement, however, the buyer will not honor lifetime payments owed to winners before July 15.

"Australia's ANZ, one of the country's \"big four\" banks, has agreed to pay a record fine of $240 million Australian dollars ($159.5 million) over \"widespread misconduct\", the financial regulator said Monday. The fine is the largest ever announced by the regulator against a single entity, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said. ANZ was fined for \"acting unconscionably\" while managing a $14-billion bond deal with the Australian government."

The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. 's Google misled advertisers that place ads on their websites, according to people familiar with the matter.

"Starting October 14, we're adding an Exact Amount offer to the Fortnite V-Bucks purchasing page that lets you 'top up' your V-Bucks balance to the exact amount needed for the item you're trying to buy," the company announced on Thursday. "Let's say you want an item that costs 500 V-Bucks but you only have 400 V-Bucks in your account. You'll be able to buy just the 100 V-Bucks needed."

Consumers should be aware AOLs are being offered as substitutes for title insurance but they do not, and legally cannot, offer the same protection as title insurance, the letter states. The gap in coverage may leave consumers without protection that they believe they purchased. White states that as long as the AOL does not offer consumers coverage that meets the definition of insurance as outline in the Code of Virginia, it is not subject to his Bureau's regulation.

This new law is a major victory for mortgage borrowers that will protect them from the barrage of unwanted calls, texts and emails they too often received immediately after applying for a mortgage, Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), said in a statement. It will create a more efficient, responsible, and respectful home buying process when it goes into effect on March 5, 2026.

"Overdraft and non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees are 'one of the most common exploitative mechanisms big banks use to target the poor,' Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) wrote to 25 banks on August 28, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and Bank of America. 'When consumers' finances are already stretched thin, exorbitant overdraft fees can cause other payments to bounce - leading to even more fees in a vicious circle that can 'turn setbacks into crises,'"

Junk fees are "hidden, surprise, or unnecessary costs that increase the total price of a product beyond the advertised price" that businesses often don't disclose until the end of the transaction," according to the state Attorney General's Office. "Similarly, some businesses have engaged in practices related to trial offers, subscriptions, and automatic and recurring charges to conceal the total cost and nature of a product or service, while making it difficult for consumers to cancel or opt-out of such features."

The expert wonders what would happen if a customer suffers the death of a relative and receives an email with available funeral services. The airline might know that customer wants to go to a funeral and decide to charge them more. This is one of the new frontiers of potential abuse that we have to be on guard against, she warned.

California energy regulators Friday put the brakes on plans requiring oil companies to pay a penalty if their profits climb too high, a temporary win for the fossil fuel industry two years after the governor declared the state had "finally beat big oil." The postponement by the California Energy Commission until 2030 comes after two oil refineries accounting for roughly 18% of the state's refining capacity announced their plans to close in the coming months.

On Friday, a proposed class action was filed in Washington federal court against Amazon over a "bait and switch" in which the company allegedly misleads consumers into believing they've purchased content when they're only getting a license to watch, which can be revoked at any time....Lisa Reingold, who filed the lawsuit, says she bought Bella and the Bulldogs - Volume 4 on Amazon in May for $20.79 but soon lost access to the title.

The change requires landlords to clearly disclose the total price of a product prior to collecting personal information from potential tenants. Additionally, landlords must state the nature, purpose and total cost of a transaction upfront and explain whether charges are optional or waivable. The new regulations also dictate specifics about cost disclosures, including size and location of written disclosures and volume, speed and cadence of audible disclosures.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) issued a compliance notice to the chef on July 28, They highlighted three posts where Skehan promoted goods or events marketed by Wind Shore Goods - which sells such products as olive oil and crockery, as well a running events. Officials said the posts contravened rules aimed at making it explicit when posts are paid promotions, including clear and appropriate disclosure labels

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were sued this week by passengers claiming they paid extra to sit in "window" seats, but were instead assigned to sit next to a windowless wall. According to the proposed class action lawsuits filed Tuesday in San Francisco federal court and Brooklyn, New York federal court, the two airlines breached their contracts by misleading customers, charging them for window seats but placing them in the gaps between the windows without effectively disclosing the seat placement to the passengers.