March 2020 • Issue Nine, Volume Ten • www.consumer-action.org
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What people are saying
"My excitement after attending this [Consumer Action FinTech training] session was hard for me to contain! The one ingredient my team had been missing was knowing the financial impact we were making with our families--a question we continuously ask. For the first time, I was able to understand their Financial Health Scores; we [also] got to examine the individual's [financial health] profiles and learn how, as a coach or counselor, we can motivate the consumer using this ability to quantify the measurement of their financial health."
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Did you know?
Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen personal information, including your Social Security number, to file a tax return to claim your refund. You may not be aware that you've been a victim of identity theft until the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notifies you of a possible issue with your return. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, however, which is why the IRS's Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft offers precautionary advice to help you stay safe by protecting your data and identity now. The guide also helps you identify possible tax-related identity theft as it's occurring, and advises you on the immediate steps you should take to protect your information in the event of data breaches, computer hacks and the like.
Out and About: Rigging the market to inflate the cost of prescriptions
Consumer Action participated in an Association for Accessible Medicines briefing in Washington, D.C., which emphasized the importance of access to affordable generic medications, and explained exactly how market rigging is making drugs (and health care) much more costly for taxpayers and patients. Read more...
Coalition Efforts: Regulating robocalls, rents and facial recognition
Consumer Action often joins its allies in letters, comments and complaints calling for change, standing up for consumer rights, supporting or opposing proposed laws and objecting to corporate misbehavior, among other activities. We collect these in the Coalition Efforts section of our website. Each month in the INSIDER we highlight some recent activities. Read more...
Hotline Chronicles: Handyman app cancellation fees frustrate customer
A woman tried to cancel an app-based handyman service visit, but found that her cancellation didn't register on the company's mobile app. Then, she says, she was hit with an unjustified cancellation fee. Read more...
CFPB Watch: Collaborating to take on student lending complaints
In this regular feature, we detail recent actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This month, we update readers on an overdue agreement between the U.S Department of Education and the Bureau to "play nice" and collaborate on addressing consumers' student loan complaints. We also highlight lawmakers' responses to the Bureau's Semi-Annual Report to Congress and its policy proposals, which appear to put the interests of companies over consumers. Read more...
Class Action Database: ASUS owes for laptop overheating, battery issues
Consumer Action maintains a database of class actions so that interested consumers can learn more, join a pending action or make a claim. Class action lawsuits are an important element of consumer protection and can force changes to anti-consumer business practices and make bad actors return ill-gotten gains to consumers. Read more...
About Consumer Action
Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.
By providing consumer education materials in multiple languages, a free national hotline, a comprehensive website (www.consumer-action.org) and annual surveys of financial and consumer services, Consumer Action helps consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and make financially savvy choices. Nearly 7,000 community and grassroots organizations benefit annually from its extensive outreach programs, training materials and support.
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