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WSJ: Gift card? No, Give me cash; WP-Comment on gift card rules
By Ed Mierzwinski - 11/19/2009 Neal Templin, who writes for the Cheapskate column over at the Wall Street Journal, recommends today "Gift Cards Are Useful; Give Me Cash:" [Click "READ MORE" for LINKS"] The story points out what we always say: gift cards may have unfair fees and decline in value, you may lose them (even in a drawer so they aren't fully emptied), and you cannot use them everywhere. He asks "So why have gift cards grown in popularity when we already have something better sitting in our wallets? The answer is a combination of consumer psychology and opportunistic retailers and card issuers. Consumers see giving cash as crass, and retailers have taken advantage of that to push gift cards." Meanwhile over at the Washington Post, syndicated financial columnist Michelle Singletary asks in here Color of Money column: "Can the Fed end my hatred of gift cards?" She explains proposed new gift card rules from the Federal Reserve [LINK to rules] that could end many (but not all) unfair fees and unfair practices. You can comment. Meanwhile, let's go back to cash. It's a better deal and the bank's don't collect any fees.
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Release: Open up the Fed
By Ed Mierzwinski - 11/18/2009 As part of its deliberations on a systemic risk regulation package called the Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 (H.R. 3996) (LINK), tomorrow the House Financial Services Committee will consider proposals to open up the Fed, or provide transparency in Federal Reserve Board decision-making. In a statement today (click "read more" for links) U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Reform Advocate Nicole Tichon urged support for the Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Alan Grayson (D-FL) amendment to reveal the names, terms and dollar amounts associated with banks assisted by the Fed no later than six months after an audit. (excerpt): “The extraordinary AIG bailout was a huge benefit to Wall Street banks with no strings attached. Those secrets, since revealed by the Special Inspector General, had nothing to do with monetary policy and everything to do with the political power of the big banks. If the Fed can't defend its decisions in the light of day, they probably weren’t very good decisions in the first place."The release included a link to a letter (LINK) to the committee from U.S. PIRG and other members of Americans for Financial Reform in support of the amendment.
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Rockefeller releases staff report on Internet scams
By Ed Mierzwinski - 11/17/2009 At his excellent hearing today (click "READ MORE" for links) on Internet scams, Senator Jay Rockefeller released a major staff report (link to report and related files are at the bottom of this page (LINK) explaining how supposedly reputable companies "partner" with so-called travel and discount "clubs" that bill you for products you didn't want and didn't think you'd ordered. But because the company you actually did business with wanted a "bounty," it shared your credit card or bank account number with the company selling a virtually worthless product that it could never otherwise sell, even if it had an "amazing TV offer." I tried to live blog the powerful hearing, but it wasn't working. My planned live blog is below the jump. At the hearing, Senator Rockefeller mentioned the amazing fact that just yesterday or the day before, several of the "club" companies had written to him to inform him of changes to their practices. he said this: what the "club" companies did is not enough. We agree. He also said that and several airlines and others that receive the bounties for sharing consumer credit card numbers had also written to say: "we won't do this anymore." Good to see, but as consumer-victim and retired veteran Ray France (LINK) told the committee: it needs to take action to hold good businesses that allow their sites to be used by bad businesses accountable. We agree. Attempted live blog after the jump:
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Internet "special offer" ripoffs subject of hearing today
By Ed Mierzwinski - 11/17/2009 Did you know that if you buy something from a company on the web, it may claim the right to share your credit card or bank account number with a "partner" site that could then bill you for merely clicking a "trial offer" popup -- even though you didn't give any money, or write a check or share your credit or debit card number with the second "partner" firm? Yes, Virginia, that first site may enroll you in a "club" that has no benefits worth writing home for, and that club may charge your card for stuff you don't want and don't need, and that club will then even claim you somehow forfeited your right to cancel. Today, former Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Prentiss Cox,  who brought important cases against club firms like Memberworks (now re-born as Vertrue) and now a clinical professor of consumer law at the University of Minnesota Law School, will explain these rip-offs at an important hearing of Chairman Jay Rockefeller's (D-WV) Senate Commerce Committee. The hearing on what Prentiss calls "pre-acquired account telemarketing" and other Internet scams is called Aggressive Sales Tactics on the Internet and Their Impact on American Consumers.  Previous blog has more details (click "read more" for links).
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Good article on bad copyright treaty
By Ed Mierzwinski - 11/15/2009 For some time, we have backed the efforts of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) (click "read more" for LINKS) and others to open up the secret negotiations for the so-called Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (ACTA). Surprisingly, the Obama administration has followed in the footsteps of the Bush administration and negotiated behind closed doors. Unfortunately, powerful special interests, from the book, movie and music publishing industries to Big PhRMA, have been behind those doors with the governments. That's not surprising, they seek to use the "anti-counterfeiting" goal as cover for rolling back a variety of consumer fair use rights and restricting competition in the marketplace. The few public interest groups allowed in the door have had to sign onerous non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that meet no definition of transparency in government. Washington Post Personal Tech columnist Rob Pegoraro has an excellent piece today "Copyright overreach goes on world tour" (LINK) explaining the fight. You can go to the KEI website and sign an ACTA transparency petition to President Obama either individually or for your organization.
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Ed Mierzwinski
U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director
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