State LifeSmarts champs declared in Washington – National Consumers League

/in /by

This just in from the Evergreen State: A winner has been declared in Washington! Cheney High School has taken the crown of Washington State LifeSmarts Champions and are headed to Miami.

Wency Offril, in the office of the state coordinator, reports that Rob McKenna, Washington State Attorney General, stopped by the state competition, held earlier this month to make welcome remarks to the students, teachers, and coaches before the day of matches started and was gracious enough to stay to take pictures with each team.

Chief of the Consumer Protection Division had a great time serving as Question Master. Offril thanked coordinator Will Rance and his team of WSECU volunteers for putting on a fun day for all involved.

Follow the excitement of this and other Lifestate state competitions and the media coverage we’re seeing on our site.

Improving quality of food labels a priority for 2010 – National Consumers League

/in /by

The final post in a four-part series, in which we present the food issues we anticipate will affect American consumers the most in 2010.

By Courtney Brein, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

Over the past several years, health claims on food labels have gained significant traction as an advertising tool, and products bearing such statements now litter the marketplace, boosted by a greater national attention to the obesity epidemic and relative inaction on the Food and Drug Administration’s part in reining in these advertising hooks. In the fall of 2008, the National Consumers League sent a letter to the FDA Commissioner (at the time – he’s since been replaced by Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg) Andrew von Eschenbach, drawing attention to General Mills’ use of drug-like claims about the cholesterol-lowering benefits of consuming Cheerios® – an action which prompted the agency to issue a warning letter to General Mills the following spring. Additionally, to deter the use of exaggerated claims by General Mills – and others – in the future, in September of 2009 NCL sued General Mills for claiming that eating Cheerios® would reduce total and “bad” cholesterol, a suit that currently awaits trial in the District of Columbia’s local court. Consumers should look to see the suit settled, and – ideally – a precedent set, sometime this year.

Later in fall 2009, shortly after NCL filed its lawsuit, the issue of front-of-package labeling gained widespread attention when a number of actors called for an FDA investigation of the “SmartChoices” program, leading the agency to announce its plan to better regulate such claims and the extensive group of participating manufacturers to suspend the program – at least for the time being. In its letter to the food industry, the FDA announced that it will develop a set of science-based standards to guide manufacturers in making front-of-package claims, in addition to determining whether particular labeling claims currently used on packaging are misleading, and the Smart Choices program announced it would voluntarily postpone operations. While the agency will not initially use regulatory tools to mandate new labeling standards, it has not ruled out such measures, should the industry not align its claims with the new guidelines. The FDA has also announced that it will continue to conduct consumer research to inform its work.

The FDA has not made its timeline for this work public; however, the Web site for First Lady Michelle Obama’s new “Let’s Move” initiative announced that the agency will complete guidance by the end of this year. Consumers should expect – and push for – industry action to follow. It is time to stem the tide of weak health claims that currently overwhelm consumers and detract from the usefulness of legitimate claims on truly nutritious products. Furthermore, the front of the package is not the only location where nutrition-related claims and statements can mislead consumers; while the nutrition facts panel provides critical information, it is not as user-friendly as it might be, and the current format enables food manufacturers to disguise some less appealing elements of products, such as moving added sugars down the list of ingredients by weight by listing various kinds of sweeteners separately, and claiming multiple servings for items conducive to single-serving consumption, such as 16 and 20 ounce beverages.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently published a suggested nutrition facts label makeover, which would rectify problems such as these and make the panel more useful to – and accurate for – consumers. An updated nutrition facts panel is long overdue, and deserving of the FDA’s attention in 2010. Regardless of whether the agency acts in the coming year, consumers should anticipate the issue garnering attention on the national stage, particularly with the publication of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Issuers to find loopholes in Credit CARD Act – National Consumers League

/in /by

The new Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act — also known as the Credit CARD Act — goes into effect today, eliminating many of the industry’s worst practices haunting consumers. One of the most useful provisions of the new law requires issuers to disclose to consumers how long it will take to pay off the debt if they only pay the minimum monthly payments.

In her column Sunday, the Washington Post’s Michelle Singletary – and past NCL Trumpeter Award recipient – has identified for readers the new loopholes in the law that card issuers will no doubt take advantage of in order to balance the pro-consumer changes going into effect with their own interests. Which is their bottom line, she writes. Not yours.

Beginning Monday, some of the more outrageous practices of credit card issuers will be outlawed. But just like a bully on a playground who doesn’t punch when the teacher is watching, lenders will find ways to continue pummeling consumers.

Read Singletary’s full article here and start thinking about how these changes will affect your personal finances.

NCL applauds I.M.P. and Ticketfly agreement to reduce service fees – National Consumers League

/in /by

February 19, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) today applauded the announcement by I.M.P. and Ticketfly that their agreement to offer primary ticketing services at the Merriweather Post Pavillion amphitheatre in Columbia, Maryland with result in up to 30 percent lower service fees on tickets.

NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer organization, has made the reduction in service fees a primary goal of its efforts to promote affordability and transparency for consumers in the live event marketplace. “At a time when consolidation in the industry leaves little hope for consumer benefit, it is encouraging to see independent venues and ticketing services working together to lower these service fees,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Consumers are rightfully fed up with outrageously expensive fees that are all too often tacked on to the face value of a ticket. We are happy to see that I.M.P. and Ticketfly agree with the vast majority of consumers who think that being charged extra to print out a ticket on their own printer with their own ink is inexcusable.”

NCL and I.M.P. chairman Seth Hurwitz recently worked together with other consumer, antitrust, and industry groups to oppose the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. Despite a huge outpouring of consumer opposition, the U.S. Department of Justice ultimately approved that merger with conditions.

“If the DOJ is not going to stand in the way of the new live event industry colossus, consumers will increasingly look to creative arrangements between independent actors like I.M.P. and Ticketfly to put a check on the seemingly unstoppable increase in ticket prices,” said Greenberg.

###

About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

School lunch programs making parents queasy – National Consumers League

/in /by

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

It should come as no surprise: food in the Washington, DC public school cafeterias is lousy and that kids dump the veggies into the trash – that is the latest dispatch from The Slow Cook himself Ed Bruske, a former Washington Post reporter who spent a week at his daughter’s DC elementary school cafeteria watching what got served up to the kiddies.

Bruske, who can usually be found in the pages of the Washington Post entertainingly describing attempts to make the perfect pot roast or risotto, got an eyeful at the school cafeteria. He details what goes into the meals we serve our kids and the ingredients sound both unappetizing and unhealthy: grey beef crumbles, pale-looking spaghetti sauce containing dextrose/and or high-fructose corn syrup, cheddar cheese that looks more like cottage cheese, scrambled eggs from a factory in Minnesota and shipped frozen to DC with an ingredient list that includes modified cornstarch, xanthan gum, liquid pepper extract, citric acid, lipolyzed butter (I have no idea what that is but it doesn’t sound good!), and medium chain triglycerides.

Bruske found that most meals were made from processed foods that had been precooked and frozen, all in an effort to keep the menus within the tight budgets allocated for school lunches. Meals are designed to require minimal time and skill, with freshness and flavor being the first to go. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee actually brought in a new food service, which was supposed to stress “fresh cooked” foods. Apparently that’s not working out as planned. Bruske also observed kids eating a breakfast of frosted cookies with soaring sugar content and chocolate and strawberry milk options that contain almost as much sugar per serving as a Coca-Cola. That’s a shame, because the children of Washington DC have one of the highest obesity rates in the country. DC might consider approaches other school systems have taken to get kids to eat healthier:

In a Lynnfield, MA, elementary school, officials have begun offering kids incentives—in the form of points that can be redeemed for things kids want including t-shirts, backpacks, skateboards, etc—when they choose healthier options. They offer an “imove menu” that includes chicken Caesar salad wraps, stir fry, pasta and broccoli salad, fresh fruit, carrot sticks, and yogurt. It also includes such kid favorites as chicken nuggets (albeit a low-fat, low-sodium version), lasagna, and pizza. The big difference is that pizza is never offered with a side of French fries; instead, its high-fat content is moderated with sides of green beans and yogurt. And the program’s been a success.

The Pine-Richland School District outside of Pittsburgh has switched to whole-grain rolls and pizza crusts and eliminated traditional French fries (today’s version is oven-baked, and even those aren’t allowed every day). The district offers a wide variety of seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, including raw vegetables served as side dishes, and the high school occasionally serves brown rice instead of white. All lunch meats are turkey.

This list of innovative approaches to getting good healthy food into school cafeterias is too long for me to list. Another very good resource is “TwoAngryMoms.org” a group formed by parents unhappy about unhealthy offerings in school cafeterias. They have a terrific toolkit for changing how your child’s school approaches the meals served in their cafeterias and lots of good resources on their Web site. Another insightful read is a blog, Fed up with School Lunch, following the experiences of an Illinois school teacher who has vowed to eat what the cafeteria is serving every day in 2010.

Discovering at a young age what it means to eat fresh, healthy, and delicious food is a gift that all children deserve. We are indebted to Bruske for telling us—in graphic detail—how much better we can and should be doing for the children of Washington, DC. Michelle Rhee, you have your work cut out for you!

Scammers preying on weak economy in top frauds of 2009 – National Consumers League

/in , /by

The recession is helping at least some people prosper despite tough economic times – scammers preying on consumers who are looking for ways to earn money. NCL’s Fraud Center has just released its annual Top Ten Scams report, and the news for consumers is that scammers are going after those of us hit hard by the economy in 2009.The report, which is compiled from consumer complaints submitted to NCL’s Fraud Center, looks at trends in Internet and telemarketing fraud in 2009. What the report finds is startling.

“Consumers are looking for ways to supplement their income or learn new skills,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Unfortunately, fraudsters know this all too well and they target vulnerable consumers with business opportunity or scholarship-related scams.”

Top Ten Scams of 2009

  1. Fake Checks 42.01%
  2. Internet: General Merchandise 24.87%
  3. Prizes/Sweepstakes/Free Gifts 9.57%
  4. Phishing/Spoofing 7.17%
  5. Nigerian Money Offers (not prizes) 2.88%
  6. Business Opportunities 2.02%, Franchises/Distributorships 2.02%
  7. Advance Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers 1.82%
  8. Internet: Auctions 1.17%
  9. Friendship & Sweetheart Swindles 1.00%
  10. Scholarships/Educational grants 0.95%

Fake check scams—in which fraudsters lure in their victims with phony mystery shopper jobs or sweepstakes “winnings,” asking their victims to cash realistic-looking checks and wire a portion of the proceeds back to the scammer before the check bounces—continued to be the most frequently-reported scam to NCL’s Fraud Center, making up 42 percent of all complaints. Internet merchandise scams, fake sweepstakes, phishing, and Nigerian money offers remaining unchanged as second through fourth most-reported scams, respectively. Business opportunity scams and scholarships and educational grant scams, which were not top ten in 2008, became the sixth and tenth most-reported scam in 2009, respectively.

This year, NCL’s Fraud Center saw a spike in complaints related to bogus business opportunities and scholarship grants. Clearly, scammers know how the economic environment is affecting consumers, and they are profiting from it.

How the scams work

In a typical business opportunity scam, the victim is promised unrealistic or “guaranteed” profits in return for a significant up-front investment in a business – such as magazine stands, vending machines, or Internet kiosks. Though the profits almost never materialize, the victim still loses their initial fee and the scammer disappears. In a scholarship or educational grant scam, the victim pays a fee to the scammer in return for promises of a “guaranteed” scholarship award or generous financial aid package, which never come to fruition.

With many consumers making efforts to improve their education level or skills in order to make themselves more marketable in a tough economy, scammers are taking advantage. With state and local consumer protection budgets cut to the bone by the recession, it’s even more important for consumers to stay vigilant to avoid falling victims to these frauds.

Older consumers falling prey

NCL’s Fraud Center has also noted a link between age and vulnerability to fraud. In 2009, consumers in the top age groups—56-65 and those over 65—made up a larger portion of fraud reports than in the previous year, increasing by about 2 percent versus 2008.

Advocates fear that older consumers may not be as quick to check out a company’s bogus claims on the Internet, where many scams have been exposed by previous victims or watchdogs. NCL urges relatives and caregivers to pay special attention to older family members who suddenly start exhibiting the signs of having fallen victim to a fraudster.

These signs include a sudden inability to pay monthly bills, unusually heavy volumes of junk mail or telemarketing calls, or a reluctance to discuss repeated large payments to “a friend.“ Consumers concerned that an elderly friend or relative is a fraud victim should contact their local consumer protection office or state attorney general.

Read the full report, which includes a breakdown of telemarketing and Internet fraud, locations and ages of victims, and further analysis here.

Health insurance reform: Should consumers foot the bill? – National Consumers League

/in /by

Update: at the press conference held by HHS Secretary Sebelius, a report, “Insurance Companies Prosper, Families Suffer: Our Broken Health Insurance System,” was released, calling for health care reform that would result in lower insurance premiums for consumers, as well as “placing additional oversight on health insurance companies to ensure that people get value for the premiums they pay.”

This just in: today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a press conference to illustrate the national problem of insurers significantly raising the insurance premiums, particularly of those buying coverage individually.

Last week, Well Point and Sebelius squared off after it was revealed that one of the company’s health plans in California, Anthem, intended to raise premiums by as much as 39 percent. While both sides cite different motives, it is clear that rate increases of this magnitude are unmanageable for many consumers. It also demonstrates the greater issue of sky rocketing health care costs.

The people of this country need reform. We hope that politics and profit can be put aside in the interest of the American people when President Obama convenes a bi-partisan health summit next week.

Smile! It’s National Children’s Dental Health Month – National Consumers League

/in /by

By Mimi Johnson, NCL Health Policy Associate

This February, we celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month. Each year, the American Dental Association spends February educating the public about the importance of good oral health and developing good habits early in life. You can help to spread the word by sending an “Oral Health for Kids” e-Card.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tooth decay affects children in the United States more than any other chronic infectious disease. More than half of all children have had some tooth decay, which when left untreated can cause pain so severe it hampers eating, speaking, playing, and learning. In fact, more than 51 million school hours are lost annually because of dental-related problems.

Tooth decay is largely preventable, making it all the more important that children have access to proper dental care and the resources to develop healthy dental habits. But for every child without medical insurance in the United States, there are 2.6 who lack dental insurance. Many are working to improve access to pediatric dental care, whether through legislation or on-the-ground donation of time and resources. NCL issued a letter last summer with several other organizations urging Congress to cover oral health within the large health reform bill.

You can get involved by putting your dental care skills to the test. Click here for more facts about children’s oral health. And visit this site if you need help finding a dentist.

Advocates looking for improved Child Nutrition Reauthorization in 2010 – National Consumers League

/in /by

Part three of a four-part series, in which we present the food issues we anticipate will affect American consumers the most in 2010.

By Courtney Brein, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

The Child Nutrition Act comes up for reauthorization every five years. The legislation, which covers all federal child nutrition programs (a group that includes the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Services Program, the After School Snack and Meal Program, and WIC) is permanently authorized, but the periodic reauthorization allows Congress to make changes where needed. The Act came up for reauthorization on September 30, 2009, but, in light of more pressing issues on the table, Congress voted to extend the current school food program, with only minor modifications (such as additional funding for summer meals, infrastructure, and automatic enrollment) for one year, postponing the process to 2010.

As a member of the National Alliance for Nutrition & Activity, the National Consumers League supports a series of reauthorization recommendations for improving the nutritional quality of food both served to and chosen by children. Priority lists put forth by the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) contain additional, important suggestions for improving the diets of the nation’s youngest generation, both now and in the future.

Consumers both young and old benefit from improvements to the federal child nutrition programs. Students eating breakfast and lunch at school and over the summer; children and elderly adults eating meals and snacks in day care; and pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and young children participating in the WIC program all directly benefit from nutritional improvements, nutrition education, and increased access to food. As previously mentioned, NAHO and others report research findings that adequate, nutritious food plays a fundamental role in a child’s physical, cognitive, academic, emotional, and social development, and childhood hunger impedes individuals’ ability to compete in today’s workforce, while increasing their health costs. Passing meaningful Child Nutrition Reauthorization in 2010 will not only improve the quality of school foods, accessibility to healthier foods, and understanding of healthy choices, but will help to chip away at childhood hunger and improve the health and competitiveness of our nation’s citizens.

NCL’s Fraud Center: recession-linked scams on the rise in 2009 – National Consumers League

/in /by

February 16, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC — The recession is helping at least some people prosper despite tough economic times – scammers preying on consumers who are looking for ways to earn money. The National Consumers League’s (NCL) annual Top Ten Scams report, released today, found that while fake check schemes continued to be the most frequently-reported scams, frauds targeting consumers hard hit by the down economy soared in 2009. The report, which is compiled from consumer complaints submitted to NCL’s Fraud Center, examined trends in Internet and telemarketing fraud in 2009.

“Consumers are looking for ways to supplement their income or learn new skills,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Unfortunately, fraudsters know this all too well and they target vulnerable consumers with business opportunity or scholarship-related scams.”

Fake check scams—in which fraudsters lure in their victims with phony mystery shopper jobs or sweepstakes “winnings,” asking their victims to cash realistic-looking checks and wire a portion of the proceeds back to the scammer before the check bounces—continued to be the most frequently-reported scam to NCL’s Fraud Center, making up 42 percent of all complaints. Internet merchandise scams, fake sweepstakes, phishing, and Nigerian money offers remaining unchanged as second through fourth most-reported scams, respectively. Business opportunity scams and scholarships and educational grant scams, which were not top ten in 2008, became the sixth and tenth most-reported scam in 2009, respectively.

“This year, we saw a spike in complaints related to bogus business opportunities and scholarship grants,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the League. Clearly, scammers know how the economic environment is affecting consumers, and they are profiting from it.

In a typical business opportunity scam, the victim is promised unrealistic or “guaranteed” profits in return for a significant up-front investment in a business – such as magazine stands, vending machines, or Internet kiosks. Though the profits almost never materialize, the victim still loses their initial fee and the scammer disappears.  In a scholarship or educational grant scam, the victim pays a fee to the scammer in return for promises of a “guaranteed” scholarship award or generous financial aid package, which never come to fruition.

“It is especially heinous that scammers would seek to capitalize on the weak job market to make a buck off economically vulnerable consumers,” said Breyault. “Scammers offering bogus scholarships prey on people’s efforts to improve their education level or skills, efforts aimed at making themselves more marketable in a tough economy. With state and local consumer protection budgets cut to the bone by the recession, it’s even more important for consumers to stay vigilant to avoid falling victims to these frauds.”

A second notable trend in the NCL report was the link between age and vulnerability to fraud. In 2009, consumers in the top age groups—56-65 and those over 65—made up a larger portion of fraud reports than in the previous year, increasing by about 2 percent versus 2008.

“Older consumers may not be as quick to check out a company’s bogus claims on the Internet, where a lot of these scams are exposed,” said Breyault. “We urge relatives and caregivers to pay special attention to older family members who suddenly start exhibiting the signs of having fallen victim to a fraudster.” These signs include a sudden inability to pay monthly bills, unusually heavy volumes of junk mail or telemarketing calls, or a reluctance to discuss repeated large payments to “a friend.“ Consumers concerned that an elderly friend or relative is a fraud victim should contact their local consumer protection office or state attorney general.

For more information on NCL’s 2009 Top Ten Scams report, click here.

###

About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.