The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

AT&T to pay $60 million to settle FTC charges it ‘throttled’ customers with ‘unlimited’ data plans

Photo: Luismt94

AT&T will pay $60 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over allegations that the wireless provider misled millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds.

In a lawsuit filed in 2014, the FTC alleged that AT&T failed to tell its unlimited data plan customers that, if they reach a certain amount of data use in a billing cycle, AT&T would reduce – or “throttle” – their data speeds. As a result, many mobile phone applications, such as web browsing and video streaming, became difficult or nearly impossible to use.

“AT&T promised unlimited data – without qualification – and failed to deliver on that promise,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “While it seems obvious, it bears repeating that Internet providers must tell people about any restrictions on the speed or amount of data promised.”

Coastline ceramic mugs are being recalled by Hit Promotional Products due to burn and laceration hazards

Hit Promotional Products is recalling about 34,000 coastline ceramic mugs.

The mugs can crack or break when used with or exposed to hot liquids, posing burn and laceration hazards.

Hit Promotional Products has received 10 reports of the mugs cracking or breaking when hot liquids were poured into them. No injuries have been reported.

Don't be pressured into buying or switching to a Medicare Advantage plan during open enrollment

It’s that time of year again. Advertisements for Medicare Advantage plans are flooding my mailbox and email. I’m even getting phone calls about the plans. And, every time I turn on the TV, there’s another ad about Medicare advantage, with infomercials to be tolerated, too.

From Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, people on Medicare can:

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan or vice versa.
• Join, drop, or switch a Part D prescription drug plan if they are on Original Medicare.
• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan if they are already on one.

Johnson & Johnson to pay $117 million for deceptive marketing relating to vaginal mesh

Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc. have agreed to pay nearly $117 million for the deceptive marketing of transvaginal surgical mesh devices that have endangered the health of women.

An investigation by 42 attorneys general found the companies violated state consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the safety and effectiveness of the mesh and failing to disclose the risks of their use.

“Health and safety must come before profits,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “While Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary were putting income before the health of people in need of care, women were put in danger.”

At AutoNation, 1 in 9 used cars have unrepaired safety recalls, consumer groups say

AutoNation, America’s largest auto retailer, is selling used vehicles with unrepaired safety recalls including explosive Takata airbags, faulty GM ignition switches, and defects with no fix available. “Unsafe Used Cars for Sale,” a report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Foundation, found that one in nine cars for sale at AutoNation dealerships across the country have unrepaired defects that make them dangerous to drivers, passengers, and others on the roadways.

“By selling recalled cars with safety defects, AutoNation puts customers in danger before they even reach home,” said Adam Garber, consumer watchdog for the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “The only way that AutoNation can ensure a ‘worry-free’ purchase is to repair every recalled vehicle before selling it.”

The survey found numerous unsafe cars among more than 2,400 vehicles analyzed at 28 dealerships in 12 states. The recalled vehicles had defects that could cause vehicles to stall in traffic, seat belts to fail, Takata air bags to propel metal fragments at passengers, cars to catch on fire, or steering to malfunction.

What to look for in Columbus Day-Indigenous Peoples Day sales

Before Black Friday, Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day sales are occurring, and some of them are worth shopping.

However, the last couple of years, DealNews, a comparison shopping website, has seen a downturn in Columbus Day-Indigenous Peoples Day sales. In 2018, it listed only 22 Columbus-Indigenous-branded sales between October 1 and October 13. However, within that same time frame, DealNews listed 161 sales total. Aside from the Columbus-Indigenous branding, it saw many clearance, friends and family, fall, and harvest events, and even a "Rediscover America" sale.

These alternate names could be due to the controversy surrounding Columbus Day, according to DealNews. However, it's also possible that many retailers don't want to add another sale to their lineup so close to Black Friday.

DealNews offers these tips for Columbus Day-Indigenous Peoples Day sales:

Federal agency charges multi-level marketer with operating a pyramid scheme and imposes a $150 million fine

Multi-level marketer AdvoCare International and its former chief executive officer agreed to pay $150 million and be banned from the multi-level marketing business to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that the company operated an illegal pyramid scheme. The FTC alleged that AdvoCare tricked consumers into believing they could earn huge income as “distributors” of its health and wellness products. 

Two top promoters also settled charges that they promoted the illegal pyramid scheme and misled consumers about their income potential, agreeing to a multi-level marketing ban and a judgment of $4 million that will be suspended when they surrender assets.

The FTC lawsuit filed in federal court also charges two other top AdvoCare promoters, Danny and Diane McDaniel, with unlawfully promoting a pyramid scheme, making deceptive earnings claims, and providing others with ways to do the same.

CFPB, state file lawsuit against companies offering high-interest credit offers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court against Katharine Snyder, Performance Arbitrage Company Inc., and Life Funding Options Inc. The companies, owned and operated by Snyder, brokered contracts offering high-interest credit to veterans, many of whom are disabled, and to other consumers.

The CFPB alleges that the companies and their owner violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition against deceptive practices.

The CFPB and South Carolina allege that Snyder and her companies misrepresented to consumers that the contracts the companies broker are valid and enforceable when the contracts are void under federal and state law; misrepresented to consumers that the product is a sale of payments and not a high-interest credit offer; and failed to inform consumers of the products’ interest rates.

Are baby boomers responsible?

As we enter into fall before winter’s blasts, baby boomers are looking at personal and company responsibility. With climate change, corporate wrongdoing, and social media privacy mistakes, baby boomer bloggers are writing about responsibility.

Articles include:

• Whether we’re headed in the same direction as the dust bowl of the Great Depression, except on a larger scale, due to climate change.
• The charges by a federal agency that Match.com used fake love interest ads to trick consumers into buying subscriptions and made it difficult for them to cancel.
• Whether Facebook has become too controlling in determining what we see on the site.
• Sources for learning, including online courses.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #616. Click here to get the links to the article. And be sure to chime in with your thoughts. Baby boomer bloggers enjoy discussions with readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

What you need to know about loot boxes in computer games

Do you play computer games or does someone in your family play them?

More than 164 million adults in the United States play computer games and three-quarters of all Americans have at least one gamer in their household, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Loot boxes are the containers gamers come across in many games filled with a mix of virtual items players might want: clothes or gear to customize their avatar, or weapons or skills that could give them an advantage over other players in the game. Some of the items are valuable in the game, but many aren’t. And players won’t know what they’re getting until they open the box.