#consumer-protection

#consumer-protection

The NCRC announced on Wednesday a tip line for anyone who believes fair lending laws have been violated, saying it has the expertise to investigate and the resources to take action when warranted. Individuals can submit confidential complaints regarding potential violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Housing Act, redlining, or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices. Advocacy organizations have a key role to play in filling the gaps this administration is creating, Van Tol said.

The AGs have given Meta, Google, OpenAI, and others a deadline of January 16th, 2026 to respond to demands for more safety measures for generative AI, saying innovation is not "an excuse for noncompliance with our laws, misinforming parents, and endangering our residents, particularly children."

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

Boston police said the skimmers can be hidden inside or placed over an ATM's card reader, allowing them to copy information from a card's magnetic stripe or chip. In some cases, thieves also set up tiny cameras to capture a PIN as it's typed into the ATM. At store checkout counters, criminals may use plastic overlays on keypads or card readers that secretly collect card data.

Outrage has erupted among Independent readers after the UK energy watchdog Ofgem approved a 28bn investment to upgrade gas and electricity networks, which is expected to push household bills up by 108. Many pushed back at the idea that consumers should bear the cost, stressing that energy companies are already highly profitable and that past underinvestment is a result of prioritising shareholder dividends over infrastructure.

Mayes said the app deceives customers about the quality of its low-cost products and collects what she described as a shocking amount of sensitive data without the consent of users, including GPS locations and a list of other apps on users' phones. According to the lawsuit, prosecutors are concerned about Temu being subject to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government, and that its code is designed to evade security reviews.

'selling air package holidays in the UK must hold an ATOL (Air Travel Organiser's Licence)'

We have a daily flight to Prague, during the draw, all the remaining seats on those flights on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday were all sold out. So before the draw was even concluded yesterday, we're completely full on our daily flight to Prague. What do we do? We added, within an hour of the draw yesterday, we had an extra 15 flights going out to Prague and returning from Prague on that week. Now the reality of those flights is the returns are empty

Reselling tickets for more than face value will be made illegal in the United Kingdom, The Guardian and BBC report. Set to be announced this week, the plans will make good on the Labour Party's 2024 election pledge to crack down on touting, amid the debate over rising concert ticket fees. Platforms reselling face-value tickets will be allowed to add service fees, but these will be subject to new limits, according to The Guardian.

The cases involve contracts bundling handsets with services. The contention is that customers who continued using the service after the minimum term ended were charged the same monthly fee, and not a SIM-only fee for continued use of the network. Plaintiff Justin Gutmann - understood to be a former executive at Citizens Advice - said he was seeking damages of more than £3 billion ($4 billion) as the "class representative" on behalf of millions of subscribers he claims were overcharged.

"It's all about the privacy of the data. And it's a very common practice that the businesses use your personal data. In many cases, without your knowledge, to be able to set prices or target you for advertising material," Ersin Uzun, executive director of Rochester Institute of Technology's Global Cybersecurity Institute, said.

According to the complaint, Zillow pressures agents in its Premier Agent and Flex lead programs to steer buyers to Zillow Home Loans for their purchase mortgage pre-approval. Allegedly, agents who sent more clients to Zillow's mortgage arm for their pre-approvals received extra or higher-quality leads in exchange. If agents in the Flex program fail to send a sufficient number of leads to ZHL for pre-approval, they risk being removed from the program.

Earlier this year, during the college basketball event known as March Madness, the biggest sports gambling apps were lighting up Eden Iscil's phone with notifications. From sunrise to late evening, they kept inviting him to wager on games, players, and teams. But the apps didn't know that Iscil wasn't actually interested in placing bets or winning money. In fact, Iscil isn't a "sports person" and had never gambled on sports before downloading the FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM apps.

In the biggest case ever brought before the HCRA's discipline committee, Briarwood Development Group was accused of violating the province's code of ethics for home builders by coercing 142 buyers into paying more for pre-construction homes, for which they had already paid deposits and signed agreements, ultimately extracting more than $18 million. The counts against Briarwood were all dismissed or withdrawn last month, after the HCRA failed to prove its case and bring forward substantial evidence.

As weather disasters become more and more frequent, the home insurance system feels broken for Americans across the country. Now, the advocacy nonprofit Consumer Reports is trying to implement a " homeowners insurance bill of rights " to codify baseline protections across all 50 states. According to a survey from the group, homeowners have seen their insurance rates climb-like Sierra in North Carolina, whose insurance spiked 43% last year, with her provider citing the "increased regional weather risks" as well as Hurricane Helene's impact specifically.

It takes viewers through the "American story" of Campbell's life: from a childhood in foster care and public housing to Princeton University and ultimately to the halls of power. "My own story is proof of what's possible, but yet we can do so much more. We can truly make this Commonwealth a place where everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, can dream big and actually have those dreams realized," she says in the ad.

There are a lot of weird scam tools out there. Soaring power bills have made the "power saver" scam devices popular, but the other day I came across another odd one called a "USB Phone Battery Repair Multipurpose Battery Restorer Efficient Repair" dongle. Also: Want to cut your electric bill? Skip these scam 'power-saving' devices, and buy this instead It claims to do a lot, but rest assured, all it does is take your money.