News

2010

March

11

• 2010 Spring Issue: Travel Insurance Issue. Consumer Action devotes this issue of Consumer Action News to helping consumers avoid the "gotchas" when buying travel insurance. Learn the right questions to ask and the resources to use to compare travel insurance options that will provide you with financial protection when you travel.

• Insurers test health plans that stress patient choice. Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression, but requires hefty extra fees…

• Compromise would shield payday lenders, pawnbrokers. Payday lenders, pawnbrokers, car dealers and other companies that make loans but do not hold bank charters would be shielded from the scrutiny of a proposed federal consumer protection regulator under the terms of a…

• Employers to shift more health-care costs. Most big employers plan to shift a larger share of health-care costs to their workers next year, according to a survey to be released Thursday. Many say they may charge more to cover spouses, tighten…

10

• Consumer bill gives exemption on payday loans. Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who is playing a crucial role in bipartisan negotiations over financial regulation, pressed to remove a provision from draft legislation that would have empowered federal authorities to crack down…

09

• Pennsylvania helps jobless homeowners. The jobless may not be getting much help from President Obama's loan modification program, but those in Pennsylvania have another place to turn. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency offers the jobless and those suffering financial…

• Runaway Prius hits 90 mph before stopping. The driver of a Toyota Prius who called 911 on Monday to report his accelerator was stuck finally got the car stopped after about 20 minutes with the help of the California Highway Patrol, officers…

• Target puts coupons on customers' cellphones. Using your cellphone during checkout at Target could soon earn you discounts. Starting Wednesday, the giant retailer will allow customers to take advantage of special mobile-coupon offers on their handsets. The coupon is redeemed when…

• Toyota counters claim of electronic acceleration glitch. Embattled Japanese auto giant Toyota launched a broad counter-attack on Monday aimed at refuting research that suggests electronics may be at the heart of runaway acceleration problems that have led the automaker to recall more…

08

• Payday lenders giving advances on unemployment checks. The payday loan industry has found a new and lucrative source of business: the unemployed. Payday lenders, which typically provide workers with cash advances on their paychecks, are offering the same service to those covered…

• Working from home might be the new calling in sick. Jeremy Lesniak owns a small Web design firm in Randolph, Vt. He has 10 employees and hundreds of clients. Sick isn't an option. "I have two cell phones and a pager" he said. "I have…

• Program will pay homeowners to sell at a loss. In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. This…

• How would health care overhaul help young people?. Like most Americans, Dominic Ouellette, an uninsured 23-year-old waiter in Washington, likely would be required to have health coverage under the legislation being debated in Congress. Because he's younger than 30, though, he could buy…

• Prenuptial agreements: Unromantic, but important. Let's face it: The afterglow of that Valentine's Day proposal often begins to dim as discussions of wedding details get started. The happy couples face potential buzz killers that are financial (how to keep reception…

• More temp workers are becoming permanent. A growing number of businesses are converting temporary workers to permanent hires, heralding a warming job market. "It's definitely on the rise," says Rob Wilson, president of Employco Group, a Chicago-area staffing firm. Temporary jobs…

07

• Fed proposes rule to limit credit card fees. n the latest move to overhaul consumer banking practices, the Federal Reserve unveiled a preliminary rule last week to address pesky credit card fees such as late and over-limit charges. The rule — which will…

• Time to prepare your will. If you're rich, the best estate planning advice would be to die quickly. If you're not, the best advice is to either review or rewrite your estate planning documents to make sure your heirs aren't…

• The blog storm over recalls. In the past few days, we've seen product recalls for more than 1.5 million General Motors and Nissan automobiles for, respectively, faulty power steering and defective brakes. Closer to home, 1,000 "climate control" footrests, made…

• Reform bill likely to lose key investor protection. When financial reform legislation finally lands on the Senate floor, a provision that advocates call the single most important item for Main Street investors will probably have been banished from the ponderous bill. That provision…

06

• Developers' private transfer fees. How about this for a new and ingenious real estate money machine? Every time a house sells during the next 99 years, 1 percent of the price goes back to the original developer or is…