The last resort
When it comes to making hotel reservations, some consumers aren’t feeling very hospitable about drip pricing — the practice of advertising only part of the price and then revealing other charges later as the customer goes through the buying process. That’s why FTC staff sent out 22 warning letters to companies raising concerns about the practice.
The Big Picture
Are you and your clients taking in The Big Picture? That’s what the FTC is calling its December 6, 2012, workshop on comprehensive online data collection. The event will gather consumer groups, academics, industry representatives, privacy professionals, and others to look at the current state of comprehensive data collection, its risks and potential benefits, and where it could be going in the future.
Enforceable Codes of Conduct: Protecting Consumers Across Borders
Business has gone global, but how should consumers be protected when transactions cross borders? The FTC is hosting a forum on Thursday, November 29, 2012, to talk about the role of enforceable industry codes of conduct to protect consumers in cross-border commerce. What’s on the agenda? Systems where government entities, businesses, consumer groups, and others develop and administer voluntary procedures that govern areas outside of traditional government oversight.
Are your ad claims on the MAP?
Here’s a first for you: The FTC has released a series of ads created by its own staff and boy, are they bad. No, we’re not channeling our inner Sterling Cooper Mad Men. The goal is to help companies comply with their legal obligations by showing some of the questionable mortgage-related claims likely to cause law enforcement — and consumer — heartburn.
Down in the dumps(ter)
Every business generates paper destined for the circular file. But if documents contain sensitive information, don’t toss them out in a way that could invite unauthorized access. According to the FTC’s lawsuit against PLS Financial Services, PLS Group, and The Payday Loan Store of Illinois, loan applications, credit reports, and other confidential paperwork found their way into dumpsters near the defendants’ locations. The settlement applies just to the entities specified in the order. But
