The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching an initiative to improve the customer service experience at big banks. The bureau wants to hear from consumers and businesses about their experiences dealing with customer service at their bank or credit union – both the good and the bad. Read more →

Bank of America will pay $250 million for botching the disbursement of state unemployment benefits at pandemic's height. The bank froze people’s accounts with a faulty fraud detection program, and then gave them little recourse when there was no fraud, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday. Read more →

Refunds are still available to consumers who were tricked into wiring money to scammers through Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017. The deadline to file a claim has been extended. If you haven’t file a claim for a refund yet, you now have until Aug. 31 to file. Read more →

When a consumer product goes bad – whether it’s a motor vehicle, home appliance, or something else – and it’s under warranty, you may want to take it to where you purchased it for repair. Or, you may choose an independent repair shop or a do-it-yourself solution. Read more →

After raising prices five times in the past year, General Mills, a corporate giant that manufacturers and markets packaged foods, saw its fourth quarter profits jump 97 percent to $823 million. For its 2022 fiscal year, the company’s profits rose 16 percent to $2.7 billion. Read more →

On the 4th of July, Americans typically celebrate the anniversary of their independence with parades, fireworks displays, family gatherings, beach trips, and more. Celebrations during the past two years have been dampened due to the covid-19 pandemic. However, this year the country has few restrictions so celebrations are picking up. Read more →

In states that allow high-cost loans, excessive interest rates can trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. Caps on interest rates and loan fees are the main way states can protect consumers from predatory lending. Forty-five states cap interest rates and loan fees for some consumer installment loans, depending on the loan size. Read more →

Only a small number of funeral homes allow consumers to look at their price lists on their websites so they can compare prices. Just 191 of 1,046 funeral homes or 18 percent in a survey posted their prices online, according to a report by the Funeral Consumers Alliance and Consumer Federation of America. Read more →

July is one of the better months for sales. The 4th of July is a big shopping holiday so compare prices and see what bargains you can find. Also, be on the lookout the next few weeks because the back to school sales are coming up. Here are suggestions from DealNews.com on what to look for at the July sales: Read more →

Although the idea of Father’s Day was conceived in 1909 by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington, to honor her father, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm, it wasn’t until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Read more →