Consumer Law & Policy Blog

Online Sites Selling Used Cars Sidestep Consumer Protections

Fair Warning reports today on online website selling used cars by matching buyers with car owners. Claiming not to be car "dealers," the sites do not necessarily comply with consumer protection rules that apply to traditional used car dealers. Read "Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules."

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules - See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2015/03/used-car-startups-do-a-wheelie-around-consumer-protection-rules/#sthash.5GAFhcyW.dpuf

Essay on climate change by former Secretary of State George Shultz

Here.

Excellent Sheryl Harris Column on Arbitration

Here.  An excerpt:

 

In the Big Business narrative, arbitration is a far better place for consumers than a nasty-wasty court. Lack of choice is a better choice!

Well, this week, a big, fat government report blew that fiction away.

* * *

Companies, it turns out, weren't using mandatory arbitration clauses to protect us. They were protecting them. The CFPB found that companies overwhelmingly invoked the arbitration clause to head off class-action suits.

Senate bill would let students discharge loans in bankruptcy

"Since 2005, student borrowers have been unable to discharge their private student loans through the process of bankruptcy. But that could soon change after a group of [13] senators introduced a bill aimed at addressing the current student debt crisis by restoring the bankruptcy code to hold private student loans in the same regard as other private unsecured debts," the Consumerist explains.

The bill is here.

The summary prepared by the Senate sponsors is here.

FDA warns of drugs in weight-loss supplements

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The Food and Drug Administration is again warning consumers of dangerous weight loss supplements that contain pharmaceutical drugs, including the weight loss drug Meridia, which was pulled from the market in 2010 for safety reasons.

Four of the five weight loss supplements -- Black Mamba Hyperrush, Diablos ECA Fir Caps, Natural Max Slimming and Lean Body Extreme -- all contain sibutramine, the generic form of Meridia, and other drugs, including phenolphthalein, a laxative ingredient the FDA banned in the 1990's because it is potentially carcinogenic. The fifth, Botanical Slimming, contains fluoxetine, a  selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressant.

Consumers who bought three of the five weight loss pills (Diablos ECA, Natural Max Slimming and Lean Body Extreme) also got another surprise ingredient, according to the FDA: generic Viagra.

The full story is here.

FTC and CFPB memorandum of understanding

The Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have reauthorized their memorandum of understanding. The memorandum outlines the working relationship between the two agencies and is designed to coordinate efforts to protect consumers and avoid duplication of enforcement and regulatory efforts.

CFPB actions gave $19.4 million back to consumers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday released a report on legal violations it has uncovered. The CFPB "found deceptive student loan debt collection practices, unfair and deceptive overdraft practices, mortgage origination violations, fair lending violations, and mishandled disputes by consumer reporting agencies." According to the report, "CFPB supervisory resolutions resulted in remediation of $19.4 million to more than 92,000 consumers."

The press release is here. The report is here.

Don't transport oil in rail cars built for corn syrup

...is the lesson of this informative interview from NPR's Fresh Air, which explains why it's risky to transport oil long distances in rail cars designed in the 1960s for non-flammable products. Forty-seven people were killed when flaming oil from a 2013 derailment in Canada engulfed an entire restaurant. Terrifying.

You can listen to the story (or read the transcript) here.

CFPB roundtable on arbitration

As our readers know, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just issued its DoddFrank-mandated study on consumer arbitration. The CFPB has announced that on Thursday, April 2, 2015, it will conduct a "roundtable" on the topic. If you want to attend you must RSVP by sending an email to communityaffairs@cfpb.gov. The roundtable will take place at the agency's D.C. headquarters at 1275 1st Street, NE.

Optimizing label disclosures about food

Many posts on this blog have noted the difficulty in achieving consumer protection through disclosure (including disclosure through product labeling). If that interests you, you may want to read Science-Based Food Labels: Improving Regulations and Preventing Consumer Deception Through Limited Information Disclosure Requirements by Joshua Dhyani. (Note that, at page 33, Dhyani's piece prominently displays a quote from this blog's own Steve Gardner.)

Here is the abstract:

Our modern nutrition label is meant to allow consumers to make informed decisions about what they are eating. However, consumers increasingly make choices not necessarily based on the nutrition label, but on other messages and labels on food, such as “organic,” “GMO free,” and even claims as simple as “healthy.” In some cases these labels combine with false consumer expectations leading to consumer deception. The deception may be caused by a shift from regulating food products to regulating the food process or the result of the goals of the regulatory agency. The problems are exacerbated by recent progress in regulation focusing on areas that do not address pertinent problems, but instead respond to consumer demand without recognizing the underlying goals of regulation. Consumer demand, on its own is not enough to steer the direction of regulation. Unlike past regulation, recent regulations have taken an approach that undermines consumer protection, is not adequately responding to emerging information, and inappropriately allocates limited regulatory resources. By returning to scientifically sound regulation meant to protect and accurately inform consumers and not just respond to consumer demand, food regulation can be improved.