Stripped Down CPSC Continues Struggling

In various recall notices, we have repeatedly said that now is not the time for recriminations about the recall process in the U.S. Apparently House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), where CA most definitely does not stand for consumer affairs, is calling for CPSC head Nancy Nord (pictured) to resign.

The entire recall system is broken, but it's not broken because of anything Nancy Nord did or didn't do. It's broken because years of budget cuts cut the agency to shreds. It's broken because the CPSC doesn't have control over things the USDA and FDA control. It's broken because consumerism was stripped out of the federal government when the Office of Consumer Affairs was shuttered almost a decade ago. While OCA didn't recall items, they were one more official voice that could summon resources for consumers.

So the OCA is killed off, the CPSC's budget is torn to shreds over years and suddenly Representative Pelosi wants Nancy Nord to resign? Why? Apparently the issue stems from Nord's comments to not overwhelm the agency's infrastructure with money and resources now, but to let them create a cogent plan to increase resources and responsibility.

The political grandstanding has no place in this debate. One does not right a decade of wrongs by writing a check. You don't double an agency's budget in a dysfunctional federal government bureaucracy and then scream for scalps when caution, prudence and good planning is suggested.
Here is an idea for consumers reading this today. Call someone who represents you in Congress and urge them to support the CPSC, but to give them time to create a strong moving-forward plan. If you happen to be a big donor to political campaigns, reminding the office of that certainly wouldn't hurt.

You can call Representative Pelosi's office too. Faced with multiple defeats and the inability to muster enough votes to override a lame duck President when she has control of the House, the Speaker is now going after soft targets.

She ought to be ashamed of her behavior. The CPSC does need help and does need reform. Getting rid of people who actually know what is going on is not the way to do that.

Labels: CPSC, Nord, Pelosi

posted by George Bounacos at 8:32 AM | 0 comments
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  Weeks Later, Graco and Simplicity Offer Crib Repair Kit

We wrote over one month ago about three children who died while in their cribs and the manufacturer's impending recall. We also offered then as we do now to help any parent for free if they experience difficulties in having the manufacturer assist them with the crib recall.

Simplicity is now offering a free "repair kit" for Simplicity and Graco branded cribs. Consumers must register with the company to get the kit. The site is at simplicityforchildren.com. Parents can also call the company toll-free at 888-593-9274.

Although the launch of our recall site is days away, this issue bears repeating for all consumers. If you forwarded our last blog about this problem to parents, please make sure they have the updated information too.

Labels: crib, Graco, safety, Simplicity

posted by George Bounacos at 2:31 PM | 0 comments
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  Countrywide Goes Proactive

We're still not backing down from pushing a healthy dose of the blame for the mortgage crisis on consumers who overextended themselves. When a recent piece on Capital One aired, an middle-aged couple explained how the credit card giant kept offering them cards even though they were overextended and couldn't pay their existing cards.

Let's be clear, and let's be smart consumers.

Stop digging when you're in a hole. The slanted piece somehow blamed CapOne instead of irresponsible consumers who kept applying for credit cards they couldn't afford to pay. The same issue is rampant in the subprime mortgage crisis that is damaging the American economy. Banks and financial institutions sell mortgage and other financial products. If you can't afford them, you shouldn't be applying, much less accepting, them.

That said, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), the nation's largest mortgage lender, has announced that it will proactively rewrite more than 80,000 mortgages. The amount is an unfathomable number with a lot of zeroes. This is after Countrywide was forced to grasp at an $11 billion line of credit offered by Bank of America and after thousands of people lost their jobs.

Consumer advocates have been excessively critical of the mortgage lending industry for making loans to consumers who may not have been unable to pay them back. We think that forces too much responsibility at the business world. If a consumer has diabetes, one shouldn't sue the baker for making lovely cakes and pies available. Likewise, if a consumer has a driver's license that restricts night driving, don't go after the auto manufacturer for putting headlights on the car.

Consumers knew or should have known the risks involved with a variable mortgage. Many seemed positively snobbish about the low, low, low rates they were receiving. The smart consumers we knew all either planned to sell before the first adjustment period and needed a place to park the proceeds of their previous sale or locked into a fixed rate.

We're reminded of one of the smartest people we know who once asked us, "Should I apply for a 30 year or 15 year fixed mortgage?" Our answer remains the same: why lock in a higher rate when, with discipline, you can create even less than a 15 year mortgage provided you don't have a pre-payment penalty for some reason.

This is all opinion from consumer advocates, not financial advice from any sort of planners or consultants. You should talk with a professional before becoming involved in a mortgage. And if you can't afford one, look in the government listings of your telephone book for a local or state agency who can help you.

But don't sign for a mortgage you may not be able to afford in the future and then chastise the company for offering you the opportunity. Perhaps the biggest part of being a smart consumer is knowing when to say "no". And if you don't have the knowledge, find a professional who does.

Meanwhile, hats off to Countrywide for being a smart consumer-friendly company. Yes, they are taking a licking from those who want to blame the fast food restaurant for serving hot coffee. We prefer consumers take more responsibility and let us help them fight the battles against the companies who do them wrong.

If you think you were hurt in this recent financial crisis, think of the consumers who no longer have a job because Countrywide laid them off. And think of the small investors who owned CFC as part of their retirement funds, and saw the healthy stock's value get halved.

And put down the doughnut unless you're planning to work out later.

Labels: Countrywide, credit, financial, mortgage

posted by George Bounacos at 7:19 AM | 0 comments
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  Chasing Your Domain Name

If you have bought a domain name to use on the web for business or personal reasons, you have undoubtedly seen what looks like a bill for renewal.

We are not singling out any one company yet, although there are three on our radar now. This "bill" is actually a renewal notice, and like the telephone "slamming" of the 1980s (when shady phone salespeople would switch your service to another carrier after deregulation), this is simply a scam. We try to look at things from a businessperson's point of view to be fair, but there is no good reason for this kind of program.

The envelope looks official, and is addressed to the person listed as the domain's administrative contact. Sometimes, there is a flag on the envelope to evoke officialdom. There is always a very professional, very business-like font and notice. If you don't read every line carefully, you might just think the letter is your registrar's notice.

Guess what? We have used four different registrars, including two of the nation's biggest, in the last four years. Not a single one ever sent us mail. They sent email -- that's how they communicate, being Internet companies and all.

Here is what will happen if you renew your domain registration through the mail with one of these companies:

1. You will lose your original registrar and switch to this new company.
2. You will be offered services you don't need like "domain submission".
   
3. You will overpay. You will overpay a lot.

This last point is especially troubling. In an offer we received at Consumer Help Web this week, we were offered the opportunity to renew one of our domain names for $35, and we didn't even have to send money now. That's lovely, except that our domain registrar already bills our credit card automatically, all our domains automatically renew and the wholesale cost of a "dot com" renewal is just over $6. We pay $6.99. Prices up to $9.99 are fine. After that, someone is making too much money for what is essentially a commodity.

So if you get a solicitation in the mail for a domain you bought to show of your family's photo album or write a blog, ignore the mail and contact the company you used to register your domain. Chances are good that you have already signed up for automatic renewal. Then take out your financial calendar or budget (you do have one, right?) and enter the domain renewal as an item 30 days before it is due to expire.

Sometimes the mail brings bad things. Domain renewal offers are one of them.

Labels: domain renewal, scam

posted by George Bounacos at 7:52 AM | 0 comments
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  Political Do Not Call Registry Launched


Tens of millions of Americans signed up for the original do not call registry. One of the exemptions they may not have known or cared about at the time was regarding political calls. Still another is that registration is good for only five years meaning most people need to sign up again next year.

A new registry to supplement the FTC's list is now operational, and organizers hope that politicians running for hundreds of offices nationally in 2008 begin making use of the non-profit's service. "I started the registry to improve the quality of life for the average American during the election season,” said Shaun Dakin, the registry's founder and CEO.

Dakin cites multiple studies to explain why this kind of registry is necessary. Perhaps the most telling number is that 64 percent of voters received a call (sometimes known as a "robo-call") during the final weeks of the 2006 election according to a Pew Internet market research study. One can only imagine the call frequency increasing during a presidential race.

The best part about the new National Political Do Not Call Registry is its price: free. Voters simply visit the site to register a free political do not call request. Unlike the FTC, this registry cannot force candidates to honor a request, but as Dakin points out, "Political candidates understand numbers."

That they do. If a consumer takes the time to tell a political candidate they don't want to be called, yet they continue receiving calls, one would expect the candidate's vote to be at risk.

==============

Disclosure: Consumer Help Web co-founder George Bounacos assisted the registry as an advisory board member.

Labels: consumer, do not call, election, stop political calls, telephone

posted by George Bounacos at 5:10 PM | 0 comments
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  Federal Delays Keep Piling Up, But No OTC Cold Meds For Kids Is Official

We were outraged last week when the federal government said it would delay hearings on the safety of children using OTC cold medicine.

This is why the federal government either needs better, faster regulatory and investigative resources or some sense of urgency. The public knew that this was an issue days ago. The medical community apparently knew months, if not years, ago. Even the companies that made the over-the-counter meds specifically for kids yanked them off the shelves before the hearings.

If an organization the size of McNeil (makers of Tylenol, St. Joseph Aspirin, Mylanta and others) can mobilize to pull medicine from retail shelves all over the country, why does it take a much smaller organization one week to pull together hearings? Why weren't there hearings the next day? What about the weekend? We work weekends sometimes. Do you? Why doesn't the FDA?

And if they do, where is the sense of urgency? We are happy to recognize the makers of the OTC medicines for children for acting fast while still wondering what they knew about this issue going into the fall of 2007. The FDA alone is not culpable. The USDA botched their recall of the tainted pot pies just weeks ago when everyone from the manufacturer to the CDC to the retailers yanked the food from the shelves.

Federal government must act faster. This is why Federal Express is used rather than the USPS when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. This is why passport regulations are enacted and then lifted when family vacations and critical business trips were destroyed. No organization is perfect, but most private sector companies have some sort of disaster or crisis contingency plan. Our government is charged with many things and does well with some of them. Where they continue missing in the Year of the Recall is speed to take action.

Consumer safety continues to get short shrift, and that cannot continue.

Labels: children, FDA, recall, safety

posted by George Bounacos at 7:44 AM | 0 comments
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  IRS Private Tax Collectors To Stop Activities

We told you two years ago about the IRS retaining private debt collectors for income tax. The House of Representatives, led by rising Dem star Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, voted by a wide margin to end the program.

Van Hollen used strong words when speaking against the program, which was controversial from its inception and suffered from higher than anticipated start up costs. Republicans claimed the program had not been given enough time to work while Democrats said the initial results precluded the program from continuing.

When we spoke with consumers, most were less concerned about a private agency collecting money owed the government, but expressed uneasiness over tax records, even if only the amount due, being shared with a non-governmental agency. As one taxpayer told us, "What if the person is appealing the tax bill or fighting it? The IRS already makes enough mistakes. I wouldn't want them telling collection agencies I was a deadbeat."

Labels: collections, IRS, taxes, Van Hollen

posted by George Bounacos at 11:22 PM | 0 comments
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  Swanson Continues Consumer Crusade

We remain big fans of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

All AGs are supposed to understand consumerism and issues facing their constitutents. A few (New York Governor Elliot Spitzer comes to mind) ride the crusading wagon straight into a governorship or higher elected office. New York's Andrew Cuomo, who succeeded Spitzer, seems to be taking this route as well.

We're bipartisan -- Republican Rob McKenna is also doing great things in Washington (state) as is former California AG Bill Lockyer. Beyond political ambition, we're not quite sure why Lockyer moved from AG to State Treasurer, but unlike McKenna and Swanson, he often seemed to swing for the fences instead of consistently hitting singles and doubles.

Swanson, who has to be considered an up-and-comer for any Democratic post or consumer advocacy position. Her current role has proven to be a fertile jumping-off point. Hubert Humphrey's son occupied this spot, as did Walter Mondale.

Her latest victory is against Allianz Life Insurance. Swanson alleged that the company was selling financial products to seniors without first ensuring the product was suitable. More importantly, court papers filed by the AG's office in January alleged that some of the products may have been misrepresented.

After less than a year, Allianz caved. A settlement offer has been accepted by the judge assigned to the case, and while a little complex for a blog post, essentially allows seniors who accepted these offers to be refunded without penalty and with interest.

This is not the first time Swanson has taken on a big company and won. We remain impressed and encourage Minnesota consumers to bookmark and regularly visit their AG's page.

Labels: allianz, attorney general, lori swanson, minnesota

posted by George Bounacos at 11:52 AM | 0 comments
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  AT&T Not Alone In Consumer Battles

Information Week is reporting that the California Supreme Court has agreed to let a class action suit against T-Mobile proceed.

At issue is the often-reviled early termination fee and phone lockdown that occurs when a subscriber cancels early. As we wrote last week when praising Verizon Wireless, locked phones (owned by the consumer) and early termination fees are the second biggest issue consumers contact us about after excessive roaming charges. Interestingly enough, T-Mobile often ranks as one of the better wireless companies in terms of number of complaints and resolutions. Verizon's actions last week render most of this issue moot, and T-Mobile now has a long way to go.

California, New York, Minnesota and Washington (state) often lead the way on consumer issue legislation and judicial decisions. Now that T-Mobile has appealed to the highest court in the state, this case is moving forward. How the decision is rendered will impact tens of millions of consumers.

Meanwhile, today is also Blog Action Day. If you have one of those old cell phones around the house, don't throw it away. Talk with your local women's center or police department. Many will help you recycle that phone for someone who needs but can't afford their own phone. The phone will typically be limited to dialing emergency numbers only.

You'll not only help our planet, but you could save a life. Be sure to read the other Blog Action Day folks who are sharing their thoughts, helps, tips, hints and exhortations about the environment.

Labels: environment, Information Week, T-Mobile, Verizon

posted by George Bounacos at 6:02 PM | 0 comments
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  Recall Recap: This Week's Major Recalls

Toshiba Recalls Portable DVD Power Supplies, Starbucks Pulls Kid Cups

First batteries, now power supplies. As we grow into a more wired society, those electronic components can be dangerous.

Toshiba (OTC:TOSBF) is recallingmore than 140,000 power supplies sold with its portable DVD player. The company says no consumers have injured but they have reports about two units overheating. his recall involves the AC adapter sold with the Toshiba portable DVD player Model SD-P1600. Toshiba and ADPV16 can be found on the side of the adapter. Toshiba, Model SD-P1600, and the serial number can be found on a rating label on the bottom of the cabinet for the DVD player. One guess to name the Asian country where these were made.

The electronics giant is telling consumers to contact them and stop using the unit. Call Toshiba Customer Solutions toll-free at (877) 290-6064 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday for more information.


More electronics recalls hit Home Depot (NYSE:HD). If you shopped there this summer for fluorescent light fixtures sold under the Lithonia name, you need to see if you have a bum product.

This recall involves the Lithonia Lighting Nickel End Wrap fluorescent ceiling light fixtures model number New 2 32 120 RE BN and date code N050807. Lithonia Lighting, the model number, and the date code can be found on the shipping box or on a label located inside the fixture, next to the fluorescent tube. To read the label on the fixture, consumers should turn the power off at the home's circuit breaker and remove the plastic cover of the light fixture. Light fixtures sold in a box marked with a round pink sticker are not included in this recall.

Home Depot is offering a full refund or exchange if you bring the unit back to them. If you don't know what you're doing and someone else installed this, please call an electrician!




Aren't these cups cute? We thought so too. . But coffee retailer Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has received 7 reports of the cup breaking and creating the potential to choke a small child. Starbucks also said they had received two such instances. Bring the cup back to the store, and Starbucks says they will provide a full refund and a free beverage (which may be more than the refund!). Need more info? Call Starbucks at (888) 288-4008 anytime.


Christmas Tree Shops is recalling nearly 10,000 candles that can cause a fire. A glitter decoration outside the candle is the culprit. The company says that consumers should stop using the candles and return them to the store for a refund. For more questions, call Christmas Tree Shops toll-free at (888) 287-3232 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Be careful with these candles. They were sold during the 2006 holiday season, and you may have packed them away for this year.

Labels: children, Christmas Tree Shops, Home Depot, recall, safety, Starbucks, Toshiba

posted by George Bounacos at 9:53 AM | 0 comments
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  No Cold Meds For Baby As Regulators Miss Again

In a year where federal regulatory agencies have come under sharp criticism for their delays in protecting American consumers, the business community decided to solve its own issues this week.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has scheduled hearings for next week regarding the safety of children under two using over the counter medicines that treat cold symptoms. The manufacturers of popular brands such as Dimetapp, Tylenol and Robitussin have all voluntarily begun pulling their infant formulations from grocery and drugstore shelves.

Even if the science proves that their formulations were wrong to begin with, we continue to question the effectiveness of nearly every federal agency charged with protecting consumers, especially the USDA and FDA. Attacking the CPSC is a more popular sport these days, but they appear to us to show a bias to action. Meanwhile, the FTC continues doing very well in shutting down the most egregious business operators, and the FCIC does a fine job educating consumers.

If consumer safety does not warrant a cabinet-level position, then what does? These are the clothes we wear, the appliances we use, the food we eat and the medicine that heals us. Shouldn't there be some level of oversight at a macro level that helps consumers? Having already done away with the federal Consumer Affairs office, we're left with a bowl of alphabet soup that doesn't work very well.

We would have saved news of an action like this for our weekly recall feature debuting this week, but can't because too much of this medication is not on store shelves, but on medicine cabinet shelves throughout the country. Help your children. Get rid of it now, and ask your pediatrician how to care for your small child.

Last month it was lead in toys -- an understandable if inexcusable issue. Then it was cribs that kill children and playpens that could hurt them. Now the medicine we give them to ease their colds (infant formulations of the medicine tens of millions of Americans ingest each year) are under fire.

And no one is watching out for the children. Let's reinvent government the other way for a change and put some consumer advocates in charge of the helter-skelter, hit and miss efforts of the individual agencies.

Labels: children, government, medical, safety

posted by George Bounacos at 8:17 AM | 0 comments
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  Verizon Looks After Wireless Customer Concerns

A tip of the blog hat to Dory Devlin at Yahoo! Tech for her recent post on Verizon allowing customers to change the makeup of their service plan without triggering a renewal.

As Dory points out, the wireless giant realized that when a service becomes a commodity, good customer service processes can be a differentiator. Next to roaming charges that unexpectedly hit customer invoices, the biggest wireless complaint Consumer Help Web receives is a service plan change creating a contract extension.

Good catch on Yahoo!'s part and brilliant move from Verizon. Seeing companies profit when doing right by the customer is awesome!

Labels: Devlin, Verizon, Yahoo

posted by George Bounacos at 11:31 AM | 0 comments
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  Could The Vioxx Lawsuits Dry Up?

The New Jersey Supreme Court denied a motion that would have created a class action against Merck last month. Pundits and armchair lawyers who enjoy Boston Legal questioned Merck's strategy for the four plus years the Vioxx issue has been in the courts.

Now the company has won its first case in Florida, and on October 5, another case in New Jersey. Those wins may have pundits singing a different tune. Rolling up the issue into class action and paying a penalty to be distributed may have been conventional wisdom, but Merck fought for reputation, much like Dan Rather is fighting now against CBS, and appears to be winning a consensus.

We won't argue whether Vioxx is a bad medicine with unintended side effects. What we will say is that Merck has won and lost a lot, and interestingly enough, won much more than it has lost. Of the 16 trials concluded as of today, Merck has successfully defended itself eleven times. That is not a function of a powerful corporation beating up a local lawyer because this is not a John Grisham novel. Good firms have taken on Merck and lost.

But what does all this mean for consumers? The issues has certainly brought to light the impact of a steady regimen of NSAIDs (painkillers) over time. That may have changed medical recommendations for years to come. More importantly, Merck's decision may have actually helped consumers in the long run. By refusing to cave and settle, Merck started the dialogue on tort reform.

That helps consumers from rising prices everywhere because of frivolous lawsuits that get rolled into a class action and scare a company into settling. Basic finance theory holds that the profit margin won't typically take a long-term hit so prices rise over time. That ends up costing all consumers.

Victims of corporate wrongdoing must be protected and compensated. But with precious few exceptions, the result of this compensation is typically a higher price or lower quality product passed to the entire consumer market, not a long-term company financial shortfall.

Labels: Merck, prices, Vioxx

posted by George Bounacos at 7:11 AM | 0 comments
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  American Express Tops Credit Card Satisfaction Survey

JD Power's first report on credit card satisfaction is out, and the market research company says American Express had the highest satisfaction ratings among U.S. consumers.

Ten different credit cards were studied across five factors. Power assigned different weights to ratings. The methodology resulted in "benefits and features" being deemed eight times more valuable than "resolution".

Discover Card came in a surprisingly strong second place, finishing only 7 points behind Amex on a 1,000 point scale.

Power also found that consumers who pay the full balance on their card each month valued rewards more while those who carry a balance naturally found lower interest rates and fees more valuable. The study also finds that rewards are key in credit card selection across the industry, and 80 percent of card holders receive some type of reward with their credit card usage.

While rewards programs are important to many credit card customers, some are also attracted to credit cards that offer lower interest rates and no annual fees. The study finds that customers of Discover, WaMu and Wells Fargo frequently cite “no annual fees” as the reason they selected their card. In addition, 84 percent of Wells Fargo card holders also use Wells Fargo as their primary bank.

“It’s important for credit card issuers to communicate to their customers all of the benefits their card has to offer,” said Taylor. “Customers who are aware of and use their card benefits are generally more satisfied with their issuer.”

Among the credit card networks, customer satisfaction with American Express and Discover is significantly higher than with MasterCard or Visa. However, 89 percent of Visa customers and 87 percent of MasterCard customers indicate that their card is accepted everywhere they want to use it, while only 17 percent of American Express and 19 percent of Discover customers say the same. MasterCard holders have slightly higher satisfaction than those with a Visa, which is primarily driven by higher satisfaction with membership benefits.

Labels: American Express, credit card, Discover Card, J.D. Power

posted by George Bounacos at 9:35 AM | 1 comments
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  Spanish Speakers Still Scam Target

The Federal Trade Commission reviewed 300 work-at-home opportunities this week that targeted Spanish speaking candidates. The government agency found that nearly two-thirds of those ads were "deceptive". One company had such egregious problems that the FTC sought an emergency restraining order, forbidding the company from operations.

“Ads promising big earnings by working from your home can look very attractive to many consumers,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But, we know that most of the promises never come true and the opportunities never pay off. The FTC is using every tool in its arsenal, including law enforcement, education, and media monitoring, to protect consumers from these types of scams.”

We applaud the FTC's actions because many smart consumers do find themselves wondering if these operations can be true. After all, if a company can afford to keep advertising, then it must be legitimate, goes the reasoning. That is just not true, says Consumer Help Web's George Bounacos.

"Too many operations can quickly slip through the cracks of an overburdened protection system," Bounacos said. "We saw that in the CPSC's struggle against budget cuts ending up in massive recalls. The same difficulties plague the FDA, USDA and other agencies whose job is to protect consumers. Remember the words your parents taught you: if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn't."

Bounacos said that Consumer Help Web has worked with consumer regulatory agencies once the consumer agrees to release their information. "We've shared data at the state and federal level because those agencies have too much to focus on. If our complaint letter service uncovers systemic issues, we will ask our consumer for permission to share their information and turn the data over to regulatory authorities."

Consumer Help Web has sent information about lottery schemes originating from Canada and the U.K. among other more sensitive issues.

"Every company makes mistakes," agreed Consumer Help Web President Joan Bounacos. "What makes a company great is how they resolve those mistakes. As for those who target people with deceptive advertising, we resolved as a private organization to help the public sector protection agencies whenever appropriate."

ENVELOPE STUFFING SCHEME

One of the FTC's latest victories is a law enforcement action against an alleged work-at-home scam. This enterprise advertised envelope stuffing jobs nationwide, including in Spanish-language newspapers. The advertising promised consumers a whopping $17.50 for each envelope they stuffed and guaranteed consumers a weekly paycheck of up to $1,400, or more.

One ad stated:

$1400/week stuffing envelopes @ home!
Easy work, awesome income, FT/PT,
No experience necessary. $200 Cash Hiring Bonus!

However, according to the FTC, after consumers paid a $45 “registration deposit,” most consumers never heard from the company again. Other consumers were ultimately told by the defendants that the only way to earn the promised money was to replicate the fraudulent envelope-stuffing scheme by making the same false claims to other consumers, a so-called Ponzi scheme or multi-level marketing scheme.

The FTC’s complaint names Integrity Marketing Team, Inc., Byron C. Peterson, and Min Sung Kim, doing business as Home Business System, as defendants and charges that they misrepresent that consumers who participated in their envelope stuffing opportunity are likely to earn substantial income, and that they would pay consumers at least $17.50 for each envelope the consumers stuff.

Labels: FTC, Spanish language, work at home

posted by George Bounacos at 10:56 AM | 0 comments
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  Kiplinger's Misses On Basic Privacy Issues, Security Breach Shows Order Date and Account Status

We think the content in Kiplinger's various publications is first-rate. That is why there is a company subscription and at least one Consumer Help Web person with a personal subscription.

But imagine our recent horror to see that the publications that do so much to educate consumers misses on the most basic of privacy issues.

A subscription invoice grabbed our attention. Always looking to be cost and time-effective, we went to pay the bill online. That is when we found that Kiplinger's marketers had apparently beaten Kiplinger's lawyers in 2 out of 3 falls.

That can be the only explanation for a "customer service" series that first compels the consumer to divulge an email address so that can be matched against the physical address. Then the most basic of all issues -- account security -- goes away. We typed in our address and waited for some sort of prompt. Instead, simply providing an email address and the address of a current or past subscriber was enough to gain access to the account.

No top secret information rests there. You likely won't be the victim of identity theft as a result of this. But an unscrupulous financial planner or other person interested in people who read this magazine can mine the list for details without bothering to purchase a subscriber list. Even worse, this open account system even tells anyone the date a subscription was ordered and its payment status.

Here is how we got there:

1) We typed in the catch-all domain for the publishing company and selected "Customer Service":



2) Now we're presented with a publication list:



3) Selecting Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine gave us more options:



4) Intrigued by not finding an account challenge yet, we soldier on:



5) We next used the oldest trick in the book and entered the email test@test.com as "our" email address. (Note that we don't know who owns this address, but we know we don't). Doing this led us to an email search that came up empty. Now Kiplinger's allows us to associate an active account with that dummy email address and gives us access to the account.



6) Finally, we entered our name and address. Remember, we haven't been challenged for any personal information.. We were given immediate access to the account even after we had properly registered with a real email address.. We've left a little of each address line in this image to show how the system parrots the information back after confirming that a subscription exists:



7) We're immediately given access to the account with no passwords, no name challenges or security. We had not even paid for 8 weeks, although to be completely honest, we don't usually pay until the first issue is sent.



Our point in this is not to embarrass a good publisher. Instead, we shared this today so that as smart consumers you know to demand better data security everywhere. In a world where even good security systems get hacked, leaving basic information open, no matter how trivial, is inexcusable.

One final note: Kiplinger's owns all images of its site. They were retrieved on a personal computer in an individual's home. We did play with three executives' addresses available through public, unpaid Internet searches, including that of Knight Kiplinger, but ultimately changed no record except one belonging to us. And yes, we paid for our subscription.

Labels: data security, Kiplingers

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 11:39 AM | 1 comments
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  Cars To Have Additional Protection By 2013

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a directive stating that all passenger vehicles sold in the US by model year 2012 (typically in fall of the previous year) have new protection.

Head protection, sometimes called side curtain protection, is due to be phased in for 2010 model vehicles, just two years away. Full implantation throughout all new car models is due two years later.

Side protection is becoming more common in safety-conscious buyers, who until now have paid a premium for the protection in either higher vehicle prices or in a more expensive trim package that offers the additional protection.

Approximately half of 2008 model vehicles offer some sort of side protection. The federal agency said that hundreds of lives could be saved with full implementation.

Labels: autos, NHTSA, safety

posted by George Bounacos at 1:09 PM | 0 comments
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