Posts Tagged With ‘ fraud ’

With climate change creating more storms and natural disasters, insurance companies are facing unprecedented claims. They’re reacting with raising prices and refusing to offer coverage in some areas of high storm activities. Policyholders are entitled to receive their claims payments under the terms of their insurance policies, and insurers shouldn’t delay or mistreat consumers. Many victims of Hurricane Idalia will be underinsured and uninsured for flood damage. There will be big fights over whether the damage was caused by wind, covered in a home policy, versus flooding, excluded in... Continue Reading

Google has reached a tentative settlement with the attorneys general from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on one of three major antitrust lawsuits against the company for its anticompetitive conduct in the Google Play Store. In July 2021, 37 attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that the company used its monopoly power in the Android app market to inflate prices for paid apps and in-app purchases. “No company is too big to play by the rules, including Google,” the attorneys general who led the lawsuit, from the states of New York, California, North... Continue Reading

Time is running out if you want to get in on a big Facebook settlement. If you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, you may be eligible for a cash payment from a class action settlement of $725 million. Today, Aug. 25, is the deadline to file a claim. Go to https://facebookuserprivacysettlement.com/. It’s easy to fill out the form. You don’t need to give any personal information. And, watch out for scammers who may ask for money to fill out a claim form for the settlement. How much you get depends on how many people file claims. Facebook had... Continue Reading

If someone tells you that you need to pay to sign up for government student loan debt relief program, run away as fast as you can. Scammers want to hook you and fill their pockets with your money, while their “advice” may make your student loan problems worse. The Federal Trade Commission offers the following tips for how to spot scam companies that charge illegal upfront fees for so-called help with your student loans: The first thing is to be informed. Be aware you don’t have to pay for help managing your student loans. If someone tries to charge you up front, before they’ve done anything,... Continue Reading

USASF Servicing is being charged with illegal practices that harmed consumers with auto loans including disabling borrowers’ vehicles, improperly repossessing vehicles, double-billing borrowers for insurance premiums, and failing to return millions of dollars in refunds, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday . With its lawsuit, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to return money to consumers, impose civil penalties, and stop any future violations. “The CFPB is suing USASF for a range of misconduct, including illegally activating devices that prevented borrowers from starting... Continue Reading

American companies are using unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices as they sells many consumer financial products, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a new report on what it found as it reviews business practices at financial institutions. For example, auto lenders have originated loan balances above the real value of the car being purchased and engaged in illegal collection practices while servicing these loans. The report covers findings from CFPB examinations completed from July 2022 to March 2023. “Today’s report furthers our efforts to highlight conduct that violates... Continue Reading

To help consumers, the Biden administration is cracking down on junk fees, price-fixing and price gouging on food, and mergers. President Joe Biden announced the actions Wednesday the day before the fifth meeting of White House Competition Council, which he appointed in 2021. The council is made up of 10 cabinet members and the heads of seven independent agencies. “It’s about basic fairness,” Biden said when he addressed cabinet members and other council members. “Folks are tired of being played for suckers.” The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will be publishing... Continue Reading

Another big bank is being exposed for corporate fraud. Bank of America will pay more than $100 million to customers for double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient account funds, withholding reward bonuses promised to credit card customers, and misusing personal information to open accounts without customers’ knowledge, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also found that the bank’s double-dipping on fees was illegal. Bank of America will pay a total of $90 million in penalties to the CFPB and $60 million... Continue Reading

Another large financial institution has been caught gouging customers. Raymond James Financial Services agreed to settle allegations Tuesday with six state securities regulators for charging unreasonable commissions on trades that harmed investors. The broker-dealer will pay at least $8.2 million in refunds to clients, and $4.2 million in penalties and costs. A task force of state regulators from Alabama, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, and Washington investigated Raymond James’s compensation practices, and found that it charged excessive commissions on more than 270,000 low-principal... Continue Reading

Winning the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes seems like a dream that you wish could happen to you when you see the TV ad. However, Publishers Clearing House has been deceiving people for decades. It used language and designs on its website and in its email marketing that tricked consumers, including many older adults, into believing they had to buy things on the PCH website to enter a sweepstakes, the Federal Trade Commission said in a lawsuit. PCH also implied that buying something would improve their chances of winning a prize. Customers who did buy something on PCH.com were in for surprises,... Continue Reading