The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Ultra-Low NOx water heaters being recalled by A.O. Smith due to fire hazard

A.O. Smith is recalling about 616,000 Ultra-Low NOx water heaters.

The water heater’s gas burner screen develops tears. The water heater’s burner can then create excess radiant heat, posing a fire hazard if the water heater is installed directly on a wood or other combustible flooring.

A.O. Smith has received six reports of fires occurring from a water heater installed directly on a combustible surface.  No injuries have been reported.

This recall includes 30-, 40-, and 50-gallon natural or propane gas-fired Ultra-Low NOx emission gas water heaters. They’re designed to comply with regulations in certain air quality districts in California, and were sold primarily in California. They were sold under the American, A. O. Smith, Kenmore, Reliance, State, U.S. Craftsmaster, and Whirlpool brand names and were manufactured from April 8, 2011 through August 1, 2016.

Watch out for this widely used credit card trick

The holidays are approaching, and the average shopper is expected to spend about $1,007. For many consumers, holidays spending is going to be added to their credit card debt.

One trick sellers continue to use is deferred interest.

Deferred interest is when a retailer advertises a low introductory annual percentage rate or APR – often 0 percent – and gives a consumer the chance to pay for their purchases without interest. However, there’s a catch. If consumers can’t pay off the item by the end of the specified term, they’ll get hit with interest charges as if the regular APR had been in place from the start.

How to file claims for damage from Hurricane Michael

Hurricane Michael damage is expected to be $5 billion from wind damage and $3 billion from flood damage.

Only about one in three families who have flood damage from Hurricane Michael have federal flood insurance. Most homes have homeowners policies covering wind damage, but insurers have been steadily increasing hurricane wind coverage deductibles and imposing other homeowners insurance policy limitations, according to the Consumer Federation of America.

Because so many consumers experienced severe claims problems after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, the federation urges homeowners dealing with losses caused by Hurricane Michael to be vigilant with their insurance companies, including the insurers settling National Flood Insurance claims, to ensure that they receive a full and fair settlement.

Trump administration stalled in its efforts to eliminate protections for student loan borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education will miss a November deadline to repeal the Obama-era revisions that help student loan borrowers for the 2019 school year. The rule erases the federal student debt of borrowers defrauded by colleges.

Adopted in the 1990s, the rule cancels federal loans for students whose colleges used deceptive or illegal tactics to encourage them to get loans to attend.

The Obama administration revisions streamlined the claims process and shifted more of the cost to schools for discharging loans. The changes were scheduled to take effect in July, but the department postponed them for a year and said it would appointment a new rulemaking committee to rewrite the entire regulation. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wanted more time for the committee work on its revisions.

Operators of debt relief companies agree to settle FTC charges

Five operators of a student loan debt relief scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they bilked millions from consumers by falsely claiming to enroll consumers in loan forgiveness programs, costing up to $1,000 in illegal upfront fees.

The settlements are with the following individual defendants and their companies:

• Benjamin Naderi, Alliance Document Preparation
• Shawn Gabbaie, SBB Holdings
• Avinidav Rubeni, United Legal Center
• Ramiar Reuveni, Grads Doc Prep
• Farzan Azinkhan
• Michael Ratliff

The commission obtained default judgments against two more corporate defendants, Elite Doc Prep and Elite Consulting Service.

Robocaller to pay $82 million for illegally-spoofed health insurance marketing calls

The Federal Communications Commission fined telemarketer Philip Roesel and his companies Wednesday more than $82 million for illegal caller ID spoofing. Roesel made more than 21 million robocalls to market health insurance. Federal law prohibits callers from falsifying caller ID information to disguise their identity to d

The FCC proposed this fine in the summer of 2017. In response, Roesel said that the commission failed to prove its charges. The commission determined that the evidence didn’t support his claims and is imposing the original fine, one of the largest imposed by the agency.

Roesel, doing business as Wilmington Insurance Quotes, or through his company, Best Insurance Contracts Inc., made millions of spoofed robocalls. He sold health insurance and wanted to get leads for more sales. By spoofing his caller ID information, Roesel made it difficult for consumers to make complaints and for law enforcement to track and stop the illegal calls.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Uber to pay a record $148 million settlement for not disclosing 2016 data breach

Uber settled charges Wednesday it concealed a 2016 data breach in violation of notification laws. The settlement, which was reached with 50 states and the District of Columbia, requires Uber to adopt data breach notification and data security practices and have its data security reviewed by an outside company. Uber also is required to pay a record $148 million penalty.

“New Yorkers deserve to know that their personal information will be protected – period,” said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. “This record settlement should send a clear message: we have zero tolerance for those who skirt the law and leave consumer and employee information vulnerable to exploitation.”

In November 2016, hackers based in the United States and Canada secretly informed security officials at Uber that they’d downloaded the personal information of 57 million riders and drivers, 25 million in the United States and 7.7 million drivers. The information stolen included names, email addresses, and mobile phone numbers; drivers’ license information on about 600,000 drivers nationwide was also stolen. After providing proof of the massive data breach, the hackers demanded “six figures” to delete the data and not disclose the breach. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to conceal the breach.

Nine student loan debt relief companies are being sued for scam

A lawsuit filed Thursday against nine student loan debt relief companies, their financing company, and two leaders in several of the companies alleges that the defendants illegally advertise, sell, and finance student debt relief services to thousands of consumers nationwide. 

It  alleges that defendants  claim to be affiliated with the federal government, make misrepresentations to induce consumers to enroll in their services, and charge consumers illegal upfront fees and/or high interest rates. The defendants usually charge a consumer more than $1,000 for their services, which are available for free through the federal government or the consumer’s student loan servicer.

“New Yorkers are already struggling under a mountain of student loan debt,” said Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood “These companies sought to line their own pockets by taking advantage of students who were simply trying to pay for their education.”

DeVos kills rule that holds for-profit schools accountable

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Education will rescind the Gainful Employment Rule, a federal regulation designed to protect students and taxpayers from predatory for-profit schools:

“With today’s announcement, the Department of Education is yet again putting the interests of predatory for-profit schools ahead of the interests of students and taxpayers,” said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood.   

The rule protected students and taxpayers by requiring for-profit schools to meet student outcome benchmarks in order to qualify for federal funds. 

“The Department’s plan to rescind the Gainful Employment Rule removes this important accountability standard, easing the way for unscrupulous for-profit schools to rake in billions of dollars in federal funding, while providing poor-quality programs that leave graduates with insurmountable debt,” Underwood said. "Rescinding the rule is a derogation of the Department’s duty to protect students from exploitation and taxpayers from the waste of federal funds.”

Eighteen attorneys general filed a lawsuit last year against the department challenging its unlawful delay of the Gainful Employment Rule.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Apple Pay scores the highest in Consumer Reports first analysis of peer-to-peer payment services

In its first analysis on peer-to-peer payment services, Consumer Reports rated Apple Pay excellent or very good in the key consumer protection measures of payment authentication and data privacy. In the review, Apple Pay was rated significantly higher than four other leading peer-to-peer services: Facebook Peer-to-Peer Payments in Messenger, Square’s Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle.

Peer-to-peer payment services allow the transfer of funds between two parties using their individual banking accounts or credit cards through an online or mobile app. Most apps’ terms of service prohibit commercial use, such as using them to get paid for selling goods or services. Most popular among millennials, peer-to-peer payments are used for things such splitting rent or food costs.

Consumer Reports announced its first, test-based ratings Monday on this new way to make payments. The ratings focus on how well the services authenticate payments to prevent fraud and error, secure users’ money, and protect their privacy. Other items evaluated included the quality of customer support, whether they insure deposits, and how clearly they disclose fees.