Hybrid car manufacturers charge thousands of dollars extra by promising improved gas mileage. They also promise to replace defective parts during the warranty period. But numerous published reports suggest that Honda is breaking its promises to consumers who buy its popular Civic Hybrid model. The problem is with the Civic Hybrid’s expensive high-tech battery (known… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Are Automatic Renewals Legal?
Many states have laws that restrict the ability of a service provider to automatically renew a consumer’s contract for services. For example, the law in New York provides that a contract for service will not lawfully renew unless the company providing the service gives written notice to the consumer, which notice must call to the attention… Continue Reading
Svelte 30 and Extenze: Unapproved Drugs Sold As Dietary Supplements Lead To FDA Recall
The Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") recently required the manufacturers of two purported "dietary supplements" to recall their products because they contained unapproved drug ingredients. The products, Svelte 30 (manufactured by Svelte 30 Nutritional Consultants) and Extenze (manufactured by Biotab Nutraceuticals, Inc.), were found to contain sibutramine. Although sibutramine is an FDA-approved drug used as… Continue Reading
Employers Must Pay For All Time Worked, Including Off The Clock
In these difficult economic times, workers feel lucky just to have a job. At the same time, many companies are facing intense pressures to cut costs — and employee salaries are a big component of their costs. Unfortunately, some employers take unfair advantage of their employees by making them work "off the clock" and then… Continue Reading
Are Life Insurance Companies Secretly Profiting?
Life insurance companies are secretly profiting from death benefits owed to the survivors of the deceased’s insureds. When someone purchases a life insurance policy, he expects that upon his death, the proceeds of the policy will be paid by the insurance company to his beneficiaries in a one-time, lump-sum check. But many insurance companies do not… Continue Reading
Credit Card Companies Charge Improper Foreign Transaction Fees On Internet Purchases
We have recently reported on a number of questionable practices in which credit card companies are engaging to maintain their profits in the wake of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. Among these practices is the foreign transaction fee, which credit cards may assess on almost any purchase relating to a… Continue Reading
Are Ticket Agencies Employing “Paperless Tickets” To Restrict Consumers’ Rights?
In recent years, concert and sporting event tickets have become increasingly expensive and difficult to obtain. Ticket retailers and even some artists and sports teams blame this phenomenon on the ever-expanding "secondary market" for tickets. The secondary market is largely created by ticket "brokers" buying large blocks of tickets and reselling them to consumers for… Continue Reading
Sharp Reneges On $500 Instant Savings Offfer On Its Quattron Televisions
Sharp Electronics Corporation has recently hyped its supposedly ground-breaking line of televisions that have so-called "Quattron" quad pixel technology, which Sharp touts as providing "never-before-seen-colors to the TV experience", In May 2010, Sharp’s marketing of the Quattron sets advertised a substantial instant savings on the purchase price of the TV sets, and then failed to… Continue Reading
Your Employer May Be Violating Your Legal Rights In Its Administration Of Your 401(k) Retirement Plan
In a posting on this blog, dated December 14, 2010, we reported regarding an alarming trend in which private sector companies offering employees self-funded 401(k) retirement plans breach their legal duties to their employees by, for example, mismanaging the plans, offering poor or too limited investment options, or failing to monitor or offer alternatives to investments… Continue Reading
Retailers In Massachusetts Unlawfully Collect Zip Codes From Consumers
One of the more deceptive activities in which retailers often engage is the collection of personal identification information from their customers (often called "data mining"). Fortunately, the more invasive forms of data mining are against the law in many states. In particular, laws in Massachusetts (Chapter 93 § 105) and California (Civ. Code, § 1747.08)… Continue Reading
Has Sirius/XM Radio Unlawfully Charged Some Of Its Customers Royalty Fees?
As the popularity of satellite radio continues to grow, it appears that many people who sign up for Sirius/XM satellite radio subscriptions may be improperly charged royalty fees associated with the broadcast music. The scenario most often occurs as follows: Sirius/XM often offers the purchaser of a new car three months of free service. Towards the end… Continue Reading
Complaint Filed Against Vanilla Visa And Vanilla MasterCard Gift Cards
Meiselman, Denlea, Packman, Carton & Eberz P.C., based in White Plains, New York, recently filed a Complaint in New York federal court against the issuers of the Vanilla Visa and Vanilla MasterCard Gift Cards. Defendants designed the Gift Cards to ensure that they are declined when small balances remain on the cards, which are not… Continue Reading