It’s amazing that as we’re all suffering from inflation so little is said about corporate price gouging and the role it’s playing in price increases. Fortunately, there’s a watchdog group that keeps researching inflation. Here’s the latest from Accountable.US: The increase in basic prices having risen at the smallest rate since September 2021.
Junk fees – those hidden and bogus charges that have found their way into a wide variety of transactions – are on consumers’ minds. After receiving more than 12,000 comments about how these fees impact consumers and businesses, the FTC announced on Oct. 11, a proposed rule on deceptive fees. It’s now looking for further feedback.
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – the three national credit reporting agencies – are permanently extending a program that lets you check your credit report at the agencies once a week for no cost. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request free copies of your credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission advises. Other sites may charge you or be fraudulent.
When searching for a place to live and roommates, it’s important to get accurate information. And reviews from platforms that can help you in your search need to be honest and trustworthy. But according to the FTC and six states suing Roomster and its owners, the room and roommate finder platform posted reviews and other information that wasn’t accurate.
Does it matter that there are too many residential real estate agents? Yes, says a consumer group. More than 1.5 million residential agents, including brokers, compete for home sales usually totaling 5 to 6 million annually. The plethora of real estate agents comes with costs, according to a study by the Consumer Federation of America, that include:
American International Group is planning to curb homeowners insurance sales for owners at high risk of floods, storms, or wildfires in 200 zip codes across the United States, according to a report in the Wall St Journal. AIG is the third major insurer in recently to announce cuts to homeowners insurance.
It’s not surprising what last year’s top consumer complaint was. I’ve seen it many times as No. 1 on annual consumer complaint lists. It’s auto sales and repair. “Consumers rely on cars to get to work, school, doctors’ appointments and more,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America.
Things are busy, here in my corner of the USA. I’m behind in reporting on what’s happening for National Consumer Protection Week. A lot of my time has been taken up since the first of the year taking part in the Dean Ornish heart health program. It ends Wednesday. I’ll be reporting on its many benefits soon.
Most landlords and property managers use tenant background checks to decide whether to rent to someone. Two federal agencies want to hear about your experiences with background checks used to screen tenants. The CFPB and FTC have received thousands of complaints about the background checks.
