http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/calpirg-transition-to-digital-tv-may-be-rough-on-some Calpirg: Transition to Digital TV May Be Rough on Some SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Transitioning from analog to digital TV is confusing for some, but the people you would think are supposed to know how it works are giving out bad information, according to an undercover investigation by the California Public Interest Research Group. Calpirg conducted a secret shopper investigation at 132 electronics stores in 10 states including California, and found that almost half of the sales staff did not provide accurate information on the date the transition would take place. The survey also found 60% of sales staff provided inaccurate information about converter boxes, 100% of sales staff provided inaccurate information about a government coupon program, and 30% of sales staff had no clue when the transition to digital television would take place. “To consumers, it does not matter whether sales clerks were intentionally misleading our secret shoppers to sell more expensive items, or if they were simply misinformed” said Emily Rusch with CALPIRG. “The result is the same: consumers will pay too much for unneeded equipment or services.” A year from now, all television stations will begin broadcasting exclusively in digital signals, which means if you have an older analog TV and you receive over-the-air television, your TV will go dark, unless you retrofit it with a digital converter box. It is important to know that next year’s change does not require anyone to purchase a new television set. People with older sets still receiving analog signals via antenna need only purchase a basic converter box that costs approximately $40. And, the government is offering up to two $40 coupons per home to offset the cost of the most basic converters. http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/calpirg-transition-to-digital-tv-may-be-rough-on-some Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:32:12 -0600 http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/states-sue-over-eased-epa-disclosure-rule California and 11 other states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/states-sue-over-eased-epa-disclosure-rule Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:30:58 -0600 http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/bank-of-america-hiking-atm-fees-to-3 Many consumers will now be charged a $3 fee for the privilege of using a machine in the country's largest network of ATMs. For http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/bank-of-america-hiking-atm-fees-to-3 Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:35:19 -0500 http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/critics-see-little-relief-for-subprime-borrowers SACRAMENTO - Homeowner advocates seeking to prevent another foreclosure http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/critics-see-little-relief-for-subprime-borrowers Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:47:20 -0500 http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/proposed-unfair-credit-card-rules-better-than-expected Fed to Pursue Aggressive Checks on Credit Cards By Nancy Trejos Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 2, 2008; A01 The Federal Reserve <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Federal+Reserve?tid=informline> and two other banking regulators are set to unveil today one of the most aggressive efforts in decades to crack down on the credit card industry, prohibiting practices such as arbitrarily raising interest rates on outstanding balances. The proposed regulations, which could be finalized by year's end, would label as "unfair or deceptive" practices that consumers have long complained about. That includes charging interest on debt that has been repaid and assessing late fees when consumers are not given a reasonable amount of time to make a payment. When different interest rates apply to different balances on one card, companies would be prohibited from applying a payment first to the balance with the lowest rate. "It's stronger than what has been issued in the past," said William Ruberry, a spokesman for the Office of Thrift Supervision <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Office+of+Thrift+Supervision?tid=informline> , which has joined the Fed and the National Credit Union Administration in backing the proposals. "What they proposed is a significant set of rules governing credit card practices and overdraft protection." In the past, the agencies have regulated the industry by forcing card issuers to better disclose terms and conditions to customers. Last summer, the Fed proposed requiring card companies to improve their disclosures, a plan still being considered. But this new proposal, a summary of which was released by the OTS and the NCUA yesterday, would send a clearer pro-consumer message, credit card watchdogs and government officials said. It would also show that the Fed, which was criticized for reacting too late to the subprime mortgage crisis, is loath to let card issuers force consumers deeper into debt through inexplicable fees and interest rate increases. Several members of Congress have blasted the Fed for not effectively using its power to regulate card issuers. A number of influential leaders, including Sen. Christopher J. Dodd <http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000388/> (D-Conn.), chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, have proposed their own bills to ban unfair practices. "Disclosure has been the tool of choice for regulators. Now they are saying that unfair practices are out of control and they need to ban those practices," said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director for U.S. PIRG, a consumer advocacy group. "This is surprising coming from banking regulators." Both the OTS, which regulates all federal and some state thrift institutions, and the NCUA, which oversees credit unions, announced yesterday that they had approved the proposal, the full details of which were not be released until today. The Fed is expected to vote on it at its meeting today. Once all three agencies have approved the proposed rules, they will be published in the Federal Register. The public will then have 75 days to comment. The proposal also seeks to regulate overdraft protection, banning companies from assessing a fee unless the customer chooses not to opt out of that service. Sandra F. Braunstein, director of the Fed's division of consumer and community affairs, last month told a congressional panel investigating credit card practices that she expected both the latest proposal and the one governing disclosures to be finalized by the end of the year. The banking industry was quick to denounce the rules and vowed to fight them. "This is a very aggressive regulatory intervention in the marketplace that will lead to higher prices and less credit options for everyday consumers," said Ken Clayton, senior vice president of card policy at the Washington-based American Bankers Association <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/American+Bankers+Association?tid=informline> . "It basically says that we can't price for risk and we can't in a cost-effective way provide these low-cost options like balance transfer opportunities at zero percent interest because of the way they're mandating how these loans get paid back. We won't be able to make the loan." But other consumer advocates and lawmakers said the proposals don't go far enough. "Just as we didn't wait for the regulators to deal with subprime mortgage reform, we shouldn't wait for them to deal with the pressing issues on credit cards," said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney <http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/m000087/> (D-N.Y.), who has proposed her own Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights. "By the time they get around to finalizing these rules, they will be watered down and come too little too late to help struggling consumers." Travis Plunkett, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Consumer+Federation+of+America?tid=informline> , said it would be hard to properly assess the proposal until all the details were released. "The details matter," he said. "What we don't know is whether there will be exceptions or limits on what they say they're going to do. " He pointed out, for example, that the summary said interest rates could not increase on outstanding balances "unless certain exceptions apply," such as a case in which the promotional rate expires or if the cardholder is delinquent on that card. And, he said, it omitted many provisions that members of Congress have included in their bills, such as restricting credit card marketing to college students. "It's strong but limited," he said. http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/proposed-unfair-credit-card-rules-better-than-expected Fri, 02 May 2008 12:19:54 -0500 http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/plugged-in-stores-digital-tv-info-faulted Plugged In: Stores' digital TV info faulted By Mark Melnicoe - mmelnicoe@sacbee.com Last Updated 6:04 am PST Thursday, February 14, 2008 Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D1 Electronics retailers are misinforming consumers when it comes to next year's transition to digital television, a consumer group charged Wednesday. The California Public Interest Research Group says it helped conduct a series of "secret shopper" surveys around the country and concluded that salespeople are providing inaccurate or misleading information. The information provided in Sacramento generally was worse than the national average. In a Sacramento Wal-Mart store, a secret shopper reported being told that cheaper, analog TVs were not available, when in fact they were on the store's shelves. Click here to find out more! With the national shift just over a year away, CalPIRG and its sister organizations around the country checked on 132 electronics store locations in 10 states. In addition to Wal-Mart, the chains surveyed were Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and Target. Their key findings: • 81 percent of sales staff gave false information about converter boxes, which will allow older, analog sets to receive the new digital signals. Many tried to sell customers premium, multifunction boxes that aren't needed to receive digital signals. • 78 percent of sales staff provided incorrect information about the federal government's coupon program, which allows consumers to get two coupons worth $40 each toward the purchase of converter boxes. • 42 percent provided wrong information about when the transition takes place. "Even stores that we didn't survey should take time to train their employees, so they can accurately describe what consumers need so their TVs don't go blank in 2009," said Pedro Morillas, a CalPIRG legislative advocate in Sacramento. Suzy Pulido, services manager at the Best Buy store on Arden Way, didn't comment directly on the survey's findings but said her store began selling the converter boxes only in the past couple of weeks. "We're not giving out any information on the boxes," she said. "We'll have training sessions (for salespeople) once it gets closer to the official date." She noted the material that comes with the set-top boxes contains information about the $40 coupons. CalPIRG surveyed stores in California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia. The charges leveled by Cal-PIRG come two weeks after a report from Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, concluding that many U.S. consumers remain in the dark over the transition and key details about how it will affect them. That survey showed 36 percent of Americans knew nothing about the shift, which is set to occur on Feb. 17, 2009. And even among the 64 percent who knew about it, most had serious misconceptions over what they would need to do to receive the new high-definition programming. http://www.calpirg.org/in-the-news/more-issues/more-issues/plugged-in-stores-digital-tv-info-faulted Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:38:10 -0600