TWITTER Week of October 31, 2022 (see last week)
Consumer World Original
American Home Shield is a company that sells extended warranties on major appliances and home systems. There are a ton of complaints about the company, but when you read reviews of their plans on sites that earn money if you buy through their links, the ratings/reviews are exremely high.
That is our Mouse Print* story this week.
We have long been a critic of Amazon's comparison of its current price to the so-called "list price" as a ploy to make you think you are saving more money than you really are by shopping there. Now an academic research paper adds a new wrinkle to the deception. Its authors say that when Amazon first adds a product's list price on the site, it often has just raised its sale price. So, the so-called "sale" actually represents a price hike. Here is their actual, very technical study.
This eye-opening investigative report exposes the sophisticated big business of scamming. It suggests there are big campuses of thousands of scammers working in large buildings often in Cambodia. Some of the workers may have been abducted or lured into scamming via a seemingly legitimate job offer. They go through intensive training sessions, and are taught to befriend their victims even for months, before going in for the kill.
A number of federal agencies are cracking down on junk fees that cost all of us money. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance to banks suggesting charging depositors a fee if a check they deposit bounces through no fault of their own is illegal. The CFBP also says there are instances where overdraft fees as much as $36 for bouncing a check are unfair. For its part, the Federal Trade Commission is exploring promulgating a regulation cracking down on junk fees in the industries that it covers. For example, they are exploring banning fees for services that cost companies nothing to provide, fees that consumers are forced to pay that cannot be avoided, and surprise fees that jack up the advertised price.
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