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FTC Should Strengthen, Not Weaken, "Cooling Off" Rule

12/26/2012

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The Federal Trade Commission is proposing to weaken the "Cooling Off Rule" that helps protect consumers from abuse by sellers who sell you goods away from their regular place of business (door-to-door, or the traveling shows that rent hotel rooms, etc.).

For whatever strange reason, the FTC is proposing to allow more sales to escape the rule by raising the threshold dollar value from $25 to $130. 

This is dumb.  Instead of weakening the rule, the FTC should strengthen consumer protection by making it clear that internet sales are covered by the rule.  Here's the comment I submitted at the FTC comment site.

          Rather than diminish the protections afforded by the cooling off rule, the FTC should instead make clear that all internet sales are presumptively governed by the rule, and require that sellers adhere to the rule for goods and services purchased over the internet except
 
           (1) When the "goods" consist of software that is downloaded immediately upon conclusion of the purchase transaction; or

          (2) when the buyer is informed, with a clear and conspicuous disclosure, that the cooling off period is limited to the lesser of three days or the period before seller delivers the goods to the delivery carrier for delivery to the consumer;

          AND, if the seller does not transfer the goods to the carrier within the promised period, then the buyer may refuse the goods at delivery and receive a full refund of the total price paid, including delivery charges.


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Got student loans?

12/20/2012

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A student loan expert writes:

The Dept. of Ed has released a new form for borrowers who wish to select Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), or the new Pay-As-You-Earn plan (available starting tomorrow).  This form replaces the repayment section form AND the alternative documentation of income form (ADOI). 

Borrowers should use this form; however, the Department of Education will continue to accept the old forms until April 2013.
 
Here is the Department’s announcement: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1222.html.
 
With luck, having only one form to complete will be easier for borrowers. 
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Don't get scammed by a slick phishing attack

12/19/2012

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Take special notice of how this works:  you get a very official looking email from "Service@paypal.com" --

And that address (Service@paypal.com) is all that appears in the email reader. 




It's only when you right-click on it to make it reveal the full address is the bogus actual address (peypal.com) revealed ... and some folks would miss the shift anyway (peypal vs. paypal).  "Phishing" is where the scammer doesn't steal your information directly -- rather, the scammer "fishes" for information in such a way as to lure you into GIVING it to him/her.  Don't fall for it!

Remember, simple online safety rule #1:

Observe the same safety precautions online as you do on the telephone.
Just as you would never give out personal information to someone who called you (RIGHT??), you should never give account information about yourself or your digital world to anyone who initiated the contact with you, particularly through an email.


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Charities to Avoid

12/14/2012

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I'm skeptical of any bright-line rule that says that a nonprofit is no good because it spends too great a percentage of its revenue on administrative overhead.  In fact, what I tend to see is the exact opposite:  nonprofits that starve their administrative side in an effort to please the raters, which only sets them up for terrible problems of the gravest sort, including embezzlement, failure to find or retain good people, employment and wage claims, etc.  The bottom line is that nonprofits are small businesses, and running small businesses is not easy, especially newer and smaller ones.  So bright-line cutoffs are usually to be taken with a big grain of salt.

Ok, that said, here are some outfits that require a charitable interpretation of the word "charity" just to be considered as one.  In other words, these aren't close -- these are the stinkers that cause good nonprofits such problems, because when the public gets a whiff of these stinkers, all nonprofits get a bad name.  The best thing to do with this list is check it before you write your end-of-year gift checks -- and make sure you avoid these outfits.  I'll just give the top three -- download the full list of 20 below.

Organization    
                                                Average Annual                                  Percent Spent
                                                                                    Expenditures                                     Charitable Cause

Law Enforcement Education Program             $2,299,994                                     2.7%
Troy, MI

Shiloh International Ministries                              $846,340                                                     3.2%
La Verne, CA

American Medical
Research Organization                                         $783,217                                                     4.2%
Sarasota, FL

(I'm pleased to note that there are no Oregon nonprofits among this "Worst 20" list, although sad to see several in Everett, Washington.)


attorney_generals_20_worst_charities_2012.pdf
File Size: 100 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Bookmark this one

12/12/2012

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consumer.ftc.gov — the new URL for consumer resources from the FTC, the nation’s consumer protection agency.
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Got warranty questions?

12/11/2012

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If so, give me a call -- I had to learn quite a bit about those claims since agreeing to rewrite the chapter on Warranties in the 2013 edition of "Consumer Law in Oregon" attorney practice manual, a comprehensive, two-volume set dealing with all aspects of consumer protection law in Oregon.   Official issue date is tomorrow 12-12-12!

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Scammers targeting elders' social  security payments

12/6/2012

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Good warnings here at the excellent "Time Goes By" blog.

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The absolutely horrible, no good, outrageously overpriced, predatory, just-this-side-of-illegally-deceptive, slimy insurance offer!

12/4/2012

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     The last time I called one of these things a scam I got a call from a $500 an hour law firm in Virginia who insisted that I remove the post because, no matter how absolutely horrible, no good, outrageously overpriced, predatory, just-this-side-of-illegally-deceptive and slimy their product was, they felt I disparaged them by calling it a scam. 
     So, lesson learned.  This may not be a scam -- the company below may indeed pay claims purchased under this absolutely horrible, no good, outrageously overpriced, predatory, just-this-side-of-illegally-deceptive, slimy insurance offer. 
     But you'd be a fool to find out, because you'd have to buy one to find out, and that would mean that you'd not only pay an absurd amount for a tiny benefit, but you'd also find yourself getting a blizzard of mail from similar outfits, because these outfits all trade "sucker lists" as they refer to them, and once you take the bait on one, they all cast their lines in your direction and try to reel you in.

      Don't fall prey to these kinds of things.  If you're concerned about funeral expenses, contact the Funeral Consumer Alliance of Oregon, an affiliate of the national Funeral Consumers Alliance and learn more about how to minimize the costs for disposing of your remains, and how to avoid getting taken.

     And remember the basic rule: never do business with anyone who tries this kind of deceptive marketing (the attempt to make their commercial pitch appear to be an official letter).  The simplest and best thing to do: just recycle it without even opening it. 


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Were you foreclosed on at any time in 2008 through 2011?  Claim your share of the National Mortgage Settlement by 18 January 2013

12/4/2012

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CLICK HERE:  There is money for people who were foreclosed on from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011 but you must file your claim by 18 January 2013. 

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John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

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