PeoplePC To Issue Refunds
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo continues following on the heels of Governor Spitzer, who used crusading as an AG to successfully run for Albany.
New to Cuomo's resume is a victory over PeoplePC, an Earthlink (NASDAQ: ELNK) subsidiary that also partners with AARP. Cuomo accused the company of making false and deceptive statements that resulted in consumers being overbilled.
More than 50,000 New Yorkers may now be eligible for refunds and one wonders if other states will jump on the bandwagon. New York consumers have until May 8, 2008 to file a claim, which Cuomo's office says should be done directly with the company.
If you think you're eligible, the
claim form can be downloaded from the New York government's site. How do you know if you're eligible? Cuomo's office says, "New York customers who incurred charges by using telephone access numbers suggested by PeoplePC are encouraged to submit claims for refunds."
That's good enough for us. Give it a shot.
Labels: Cuomo, Earthlink, marketing, overcharge, PeoplePC
Student Loans Still An Issue, 3 Lenders Settle With New York
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has announced agreements with three more lenders resulting from his ongoing investigation of the student loan industry:
- National City Bank
- Regions Financial Corporation, and
- Wachovia Education Finance, Inc. (“Wachovia”), a division of Wachovia Bank.
All have agreed to abide by the state's "Code of Conduct" for education loan practices. The agreement with Wachovia, the nation’s sixth largest provider of student loans, means that Cuomo has now reached agreements with the top six largest student loans providers in the country.
Attorney General Cuomo said, “With each agreement, more students and families are protected from corruption, more lenders and schools are compelled to reform their practices, and more integrity is restored to the student loan industry.”
Cuomo’s Code of Conduct was the first piece of legislation in the country aimed at ending the widespread conflicts of interest the student loan industry. Proposed federal legislation regarding the student loan industry also incorporates Cuomo’s Code of Conduct; the Student Loan Sunshine Act that is currently being considered by the U.S. Senate would require schools to adopt a Code of Conduct. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed this legislation in a virtually unanimous vote of 414-3. Cuomo and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum have sent letters to President Bush and Senate leaders urging them to support this legislation.
To date, 26 schools have committed to Cuomo’s Code of Conduct, 10 of which have agreed to reimburse students over $3 million for the cost of revenue sharing agreements. With today’s agreements, Cuomo’s investigation has resulted in agreements with the nation’s six largest student loan providers - Citibank, Sallie Mae, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Wachovia - as well as with Education Finance Partners (EFP), CIT, National City Bank, and Regions Financial Corporation. Sallie Mae, Citibank, EFP, CIT, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Mercy College, and Career Education Corporation have also agreed to contribute $11.2 million to a national fund established by Cuomo that will educate high school students and their families about the financial aid process.
The Code of Conduct adopted by the lenders includes the following provisions:
1. Ban on Financial Ties. Lenders are prohibited from giving anything of value to any college in exchange for any advantage sought by the lender. This severs any inappropriate financial arrangements between lenders and schools and specifically prohibits "revenue sharing" arrangements.
2. Ban on Payments for Preferred Lender Status. Lenders may not pay or give colleges any financial benefits whatsoever to get on a college’s preferred lender list.
3. Gift and Trip Prohibition. Lenders are prohibited from giving college employees anything of more than nominal value. This includes a prohibition on trips for financial aid officers and other college officials paid for by lenders.
4. Advisory Board Rules. Lenders are prohibited from paying college employees anything of value for serving on the advisory boards of the lenders.
5. Call-Center and Staffing Prohibition. Lenders must ensure that employees of lenders never identify themselves to students as employees of colleges. No employee of a lender may ever work in or providing staffing assistance to a college financial aid office.
6. Disclosure of Range of Rates and Defaults. Lenders must disclose to any requesting school the range of rates they charge to students at the school, the number of borrowers at each rate at the school, and the lender’s historic default rate at the school. This will ensure that schools will have the information they need to select preferred lenders who are best for students and their families.
7. Loan Resale Disclosure. Lenders shall fully and prominently disclose to students and their parents any agreements they have to sell loans to any other lender.
Labels: Cuomo, student loans
New York Files Suit Against Dell
Following in the Attorney General crusading footsteps of now-governor Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed suit against Dell Computer yesterday.
The suit alleges that Dell and its financial subsidiary engage in "fraud, false advertising and deceptive business practices". To be fair to Cuomo's and his office, no press release was issued and few, if any, quotes are being released.
The suit, filed in a state court in Albany, not only seeks damages for consumers, but a $25,000 payment to New York for each incident and other costs.
Dell has been rocked hard lately and is also undergoing an unrelated SEC investigation.
Labels: Cuomo, Dell, New York, SEC, Spitzer
