Lessons from pandemic life: we all need the option of paper notice

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Jim Haigh leads education and development efforts at Keep Me Posted North America, an advocacy organization focused on the mission of consumer choice in essential communications.

It was only last year that a whopping 86 percent of U.S. consumers expressed the desire of having a choice for how they receive important information from the companies they do business with. For critical correspondence such as bills and statements, the overwhelming majority want the option of paper or electronic delivery, and the ability to control their preferences.

But as consumers trapped in the digital divide have pleaded for communications choices and relief from punishing paper fees, more and more companies have prioritized digital-first approaches to conducting business including how they send legal notice of account, tacking on new charges along the way. It might have been easy for some demographics and geographic regions to overlook this important issue, having taken for granted the luxury, convenience and complacency of a digital world where everything always just works amazing in a click. 

But the calamities we are all seeing and experiencing—as new realities unfold have changed all of that. With government and company websites crashing, servers overloading, networks slowing, transactions halted, records quarantined, Americans—and the world—are waking up daily to a new appreciation of the need to have paper options. Failsafe analog backups, like physical bank records or medical histories, become a necessity as untold millions try to apply for emergency aid and assistance, complete their tax filings or take care of their health. Or cast their vote and complete the Census.

The digital divide has always been here, but too often hiding in plain sight. As schools across the country attempted to roll out remote learning, the widespread lack of access to affordable connectivity spanned from rural to urban to everywhere in between. The same widespread gaps true of home computers, tablets, and devices able to run the latest applications or function across important websites. The nation watched as people stood unsafely in lines to get paper forms because digital options foreclosed. With stores closed or stay-at-home ordered to populations, suddenly even basic supplies overlooked like ink, toner, batteries for devices and broken devices waiting for repair, all combine to give everyone an unwelcome taste of the great digital divide we all share.

Now that so many of us are on the same page, it’s a perfect time to highlight the efforts of the Keep Me Posted North America campaign to restore and sustain consumers’ choice in how they receive important information—on paper or electronically—from their service providers. National Consumers League is an active member of the non-profit KMP coalition of consumer groups, charities and businesses, and champions their mission and efforts to ensure that every consumer in North America has the option of both paper and digital communications—free of charge—from the companies they routinely do business with.

KMP’s advocacy, resources, and tools are crucial for all consumers to have the facts and a strong, united voice. It is up to all of us to build grassroots support and influence service providers directly. Together, we are making a difference.

Please join with KMP in urging banks, utilities, telecommunications, and all recurring service providers to take action proactively to benefit customers now during the pandemic and beyond by adopting the Keep Me Posted Best Practices for communications choice in essential customer communications. Together we ask that they fully treat bills and statements as true notice of account. In so doing, they will transparently provide a range of paper and digital options, honor preferences, seek consent for changes, and pose no barriers for customers needing to switch back or forth from digital to paper notice—without any additional fees charged for either form of delivery. 

Let’s all help companies understand the bargain: for less than seventy cents per account per month, customers will have the unfettered access to all the account information they need, how they need it, in whatever form they need it at their moment in this crisis we all share in together. And furthermore, empowering consumers with that flexibility of seamless access and delivery of paper and electronic account information will probably pay dividends as a sound investment—in customer retention, and measurable savings in customer service down the road.

About Keep Me Posted North America

Keep Me Posted advocates for the right of every consumer in North America to choose, free of charge, how they receive important information—on paper or electronically—from their service providers. KMP is a coalition of consumer groups, charities, and businesses that are committed to protecting consumer access to paper-based communications at no extra charge. These consumers include older adults, the disabled, low-income households without computers, printers or broadband service, and people in rural areas where unreliable internet access is common.

For more information on how to support KMP or to become a member, visit our website at keepmepostedna.org, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

 

A few out-of-the-box consumer tips for staying safe from coronavirus

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

At the National Consumers League, we’re all about protecting consumers during this terrible coronavirus pandemic. Most of us understand that we need to social distance, work from home if possible, wear masks when going out—especially on trips to the grocery or drug store—and not gather in groups larger than 10.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with my doctor to hear what she is telling patients about testing kit availability for both the virus and antibodies test, and to hear what other advice she is giving. She told me some things I’d like to pass along:

  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed requirements for developing COVID-19 tests and as a result, there are many kits to test for antibodies available for sale but very few—4 to date—have been approved by the FDA as high-quality and accurate. Consumers, don’t waste your money on phony or inaccurate tests.
  • Neither she nor any doctor she knows has access to the high-quality antibody tests. The good news is that there is plenty of capacity for testing people with COVID-19 symptoms. That was not always the case, so it’s a hopeful sign that there will be high-quality antibody tests available when the industry really ramps up.
  • For those who’ve had COVID-19 and recovered, the presence of antibodies alone is not sufficient. The best tests will show the level of antibody protection and whether those levels meet the threshold to protect us from contracting the disease.
  • Contact tracing is critical to curb this illness. My doc has traveled throughout the world and lived abroad for periods of time. She says without contact tracing we cannot hope to contain the disease. Former Peace Corp workers and health care providers who have worked around the world have this down to a science. Anyone who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 has to go into quarantine for 14 days. My doc says that USAID has been doing this for many years when there’s an outbreak and it’s critical to containing the disease.

Until the appropriate infrastructure to test and contact trace for COVID-19 is established, my doctor suggested the following:

  • She recommends taking extra Vitamin C, extra Vitamin D, and Zinc. As a result, I’m taking two multivitamins each day based on the level of those three she is recommending.
  • She recommends getting some sun for at least 30 minutes a day to boost your immune system. Hopefully, most consumers are in climates that provide access to sunshine and can get outside. We know that is hard for people in apartment buildings or who have disabilities or live alone and don’t have support.
  • Finally, don’t assume you’ve been exposed and have antibodies just because you haven’t gotten sick. Until we have a vaccine, along with robust testing and contact tracing in place, we must continue to social distance.

 

Nation’s pioneering consumer-worker organization demands massive COVID-19 testing production, universal testing

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April 23, 2020

Contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC –The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer and worker advocacy organization, is demanding that the federal government put its support behind massive COVID-19 test production and, as quickly as is feasible, put in place a testing protocol for every citizen so that America can get back to work.

“There are calls across the country to reopen businesses; we understand and share that frustration,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “However, as we are currently not allowing tests for people who are asymptomatic—and because 25 percent of people who carry the virus don’t show symptoms—doing so would be reckless. It’s a Catch-22. Until everyone is tested, we can’t send symptom-free people back into the world. So the government’s first order of business must include giving America’s labs and drug companies the goal and the means to produce rapid-response testing for every American within the next month.”

NCL has laid out the following recommendations:

Meet the need for testing in clinics and doctors’ offices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must oversee the process of improving techniques and reliable, accurate test production. Many labs are working on this, addressing the immediate need for care providers to have enough, high-quality tests.

“The Senate has voted to include $25 billion for the clinical labs that make the tests in the next COVID legislative package” said Greenberg. “That is welcome news because states cannot do this alone; they end up competing against each other for tests and other supplies.”

As Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) said this week, “Every governor in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests, not only from the federal government, but from every private lab in America and from across the world. It’s nowhere where it needs to be.” Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) noted that the President’s claims that the country has enough tests for the virus are “delusional.”

Clearly, quality is paramount. The serious stumbles at such premier institutions as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot continue. “The federal government must continue to support and expand the production of quality tests, and at capacity to meet the current needs of care providers,” said Greenberg.

Universal testing

As stated above, though, in order to get people back out to restart the economy, we cannot only test those who show serious symptoms and go to care providers to get tested. We must develop tests that can be self-administered, and in adequate numbers so that each person can test for COVID before leaving the home on any given day.

“Millions of workers have to take drug tests every day to keep their jobs; those tests are rapid-response. Consumers can buy rapid response tests for strep throat and pregnancy,” said Greenberg. “Those are approved FDA products that are tested for accuracy and safety. We must get to a rapid response COVID-19 home test as soon as possible.”

In order to determine who has COVID-19 and should be quarantined, every American must be able to test for the virus on a regular basis. Those who test positive, with or without symptoms, go into quarantine for 14 days, as do the people in that individual’s household. Those who test negative are cleared to go out in the world to get the trains running again. This would call for hundreds of millions of tests to enable on-going testing, as it is the only path forward at this time.

And the technology is not “pie-in-the-sky.” The FDA has already approved one home-test kit, though it requires lab analysis. And BARDA/HHS has funded another company to develop “a rapid antigen and antibody diagnostic to identify current or past SARS-CoV-2 infections in 60 seconds.” We are on the road.

Antibody testing

While it’s not clear how long antibodies create immunity, there is a belief that they at least do so for the short-term. So the next step would be to provide serology testing for people who test negative for COVID-19, using only tests approved by the FDA to ensure quality and accuracy. To date, the FDA has approved only four tests of the many available, but this is an important start.

Those who are determined to have a sufficient level of antibodies should be cleared to go back to work, while still wearing masks and gloves until science has confirmed decisively that antibodies create immunity. If the individuals don’t have antibodies, they would be advised to stay home, but could be cleared to go back to work so long as they test every day before heading out.

Contact tracing

Everyone who tests positive reaches out to everyone they’ve had contact with and those people test for COVID-19. Anyone then testing positive goes into quarantine, and the process repeats.

Use technology to self-surveil

Finally, we need a system for uploading test results each day to our phones – like the bar codes we use to board an airplane – or to carry evidence that we have taken the test, have antibodies to COVID-19, and can work or otherwise go out.  Enforcement would be a new challenge, given our commitment to civil liberties, but one that we can certainly work out.

Longer term: Vaccinate

In a year or more, when a vaccine arrives, 95 percent of Americans will need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity and widespread protection.

“Our nation has the know-how and manufacturing infrastructure to produce the millions of tests needed to determine whether someone has the virus,” said Greenberg. “But due to lack of leadership at the top, our testing capacity is still, several months after the outbreak, extremely limited. To date only 3.3 million people have been tested, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That’s about 1 percent of the population. That is simply not enough.”

NCL is demanding that the Federal government respond to the current national Coronavirus emergency as President Roosevelt responded to World War II, and challenge Americans to “harness the efficient machinery of America’s manufacturers” to fight the pandemic.

“We need that call to action now, to challenge America’s labs and drug companies with the goal of producing testing for every American within the next month. Federal health care agencies including CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and FDA should be their partners, and this should be a shared cost,” said Greenberg. “In the midst of the worst unemployment numbers ever seen in American history, and with millions of businesses having their existence threatened, we need federal leadership, expertise, and financial support to make this happen, and we need it now.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Safe takeout options under coronavirus

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By Nailah John, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

The way we get food now has totally changed due to the Covid-19 virus. Most us around the nation no longer go to our favorite bar or restaurant or stop at the local coffee shop for a bite to eat or to socialize and have a drink. The mandatory closure shutdown of restaurants with the exception of takeout or delivery is our only option of enjoying a meal not cooked at home. Beyond that, we may ask the questions: first is it safe? Second: is it ethical to potentially expose a delivery worker to what we are all trying to avoid the risk of Covid-19?

The answer to the first question is yes, with some caveats. Currently food is not associated with the transmission of Covid-19, according to the *CDC and the *Food and Drug Administration. However, Vox reports that there is growing evidence of fecal/oral transmission, which means you can ingest the virus shed in feces through inadequate handwashing or contaminated food and water. Therefore, handlers of food who carry the virus can spread the virus to food items. In theory, all restaurants have to follow *food safety rules, and there are extra measures that have been put in place due to Covid-19. However, we have seen Chipotle and other restaurants spread infections by poor food handling.

The second question is complicated, but here are some thoughts. Currently delivery workers are in the middle of a pandemic but still have to work to support their families and pay bills. Eater suggests that if customers forego take-out food, delivery workers and restaurants struggling to provide during the crisis could be put out of business.

We recommend ordering take-away food from your favorite restaurants and, even better, support them by buying gift cards for post-pandemic future meals when restaurants re-open.

Your first option is to is use the in-house restaurant delivery option, since third-party apps take commission fees, which reduce the profit for restaurants. Here are some apps that are taking the necessary measures in protecting their workers and helping out the restaurant industry.

  • UberEats is working to provide drivers with disinfectant. With limited supplies they are working with suppliers to source as much as possible. Any delivery worker who is diagnosed with Covid-19 or is individually asked to self-isolate by a public health authority will receive financial assistance for up to 14 days. UberEats customers have the option to choose how they would like their orders delivered, including selecting “leave at door” during checkout. UberEats has also waived the delivery fee for more than 100,000 independent restaurants across the USA and Canada.
  • *Postmates launched the Postmates Fleet Relief Fund to help fleet workers cover medical expenses related to Covid-19, regardless of diagnosis. Active members of the fleet who receive a positive diagnosis for Covid-19 or who are required to self-quarantine based on infection may be eligible to access additional funds to offset up to two weeks of lost income while they recover. Postmates has also introduced non-contact deliveries, which allows distancing between customers and delivery workers. Postmates will also waive commission fees for businesses in the San Francisco Bay area.
  • DoorDash (also owns Caviar) is providing financial assistance to eligible delivery workers and Caviar couriers who are diagnosed with Covid-19 or quarantined. DoorDash is consulting with public health officials and working with restaurants to enhance their food preparation protocols. The default delivery method has been changed to the non-contact option to minimize contact between the delivery workers and customers. All new and existing DoorDash partner restaurants will receive commission relief and marketing support.
  • *Grubhub is offering a one-time pay adjustment to help with medical expenses and loss of income if a driver tests positive with Covid-19. Grubhub will also support drivers who have been ordered by a public health authority or licensed medical personnel to self-isolate due to a risk of spreading Covid-19, and if a driver’s account has been individually restricted as a result of information provided to Grubhub by a public health authority regarding the risk of spreading Covid-19. Grubhub has also introduced contact-free delivery, which allows customers to request having their delivery left at the front door to avoid less contact.
  • On March 9, Instacart introduced a new sick pay policy that all part-time employees including in-store shoppers now have access to sick pay, an accrued benefit that can be used as paid time off for absences from work due to illness or injury. This pay accrual will be backdated from the start of the year for all in-store shoppers. Instacart is also offering 14 days of pay for any part-time employee and full-service shoppers who are diagnosed with Covid-19 or are under mandatory isolation or quarantine directed by local, state, or public health authority. This assist will be available for 30 days. Instacart has also introduced “Leave at my Door Delivery” to all customers across North America.

It is important that we minimize contact with others since daily things are changing in relation to Covid-19. However, delivery services are really stepping up to keep customers safe and, for that, we should all be grateful. Remember to support your local restaurants by requesting non-contact delivery!

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings

NCL urges Administration to take action to combat COVID-themed fraud, patient harms online

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April 10, 2020

Contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC – April 10, 2020 – The National Consumers League (NCL), in partnership with 42 patient and provider advocacy, public health, industry, and research groups, has issued joint letters to Vice President Mike Pence, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other state and federal leaders calling for swift action to protect consumers against COVID-19 misinformation, scams, and fraud online.

“NCL commends the White House Coronavirus Task Force and other officials for their dedication in responding to the coronavirus crisis,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The COVID-19 pandemic makes your work against healthcare and financial fraud more important now than ever. However to further flatten the curve and save lives, we urge the Administration to quickly implement increased evidence-based actions and to help protect consumers from predatory attempts to take advantage of our new economy.”

Since the start of the pandemic, criminals launched thousands of COVID-specific global scams and phishing attacks, using the coronavirus crisis to profit at patients’ expense. “Criminals have exploited the fear and confusion caused by the coronavirus for their own personal profits. More must be done to mitigate the health and financial harms experienced by consumers nationwide,” said Greenberg. In the past few weeks alone, more than 100,000 website domain names have been registered containing terms like “covid,” and “corona,” most of which have been found to be outright dangerous. The Federal Trade Commission indicated receipt of nearly 14,000 coronavirus-related complaints totaling fraudulent losses nearly $10 million.

NCL has long called for increased regulation and enforcement against illegal online acts that result in public health and economic harm. The joint letter encourages the Administration to move swiftly to enact and enforce existing no-cost solutions to better protect consumers. Additionally, it calls on the Administration to  ground their efforts in science, address systemic internet policy problems and prepare for an ongoing wave of COVID-19 related scams during the economic downturn.

Co-signers of the letters include Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, BIO, Coalition for a Safe and Transparent Internet, Consumer Brands Association, Kroll, Lilly, LegitScript, and USP. The full letter can be read here.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Kudos to merchants fighting price gouging

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

There I was, searching for hand sanitizer to help keep reducing my risk of infection. I had scoured my local stores for hand sanitizer, to no avail. At last, desperate, I found a tiny bottle of sanitizer on the shelf at my local gas station. A bottle that usually retails for around a dollar was marked up to $3.99. What choice did I have? I paid the money and walked out of the store.

Like moths to the flame, profiteers cannot resist the allure of easy money. In this time of national emergency, it should perhaps come as little surprise that those who wish to make a quick buck off the desperation of consumers are finding few obstacles in their way.

In past natural and man-made disasters, whether in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the 2008-09 financial crisis, there were always crooks who sought to deprive those in need of their last penny. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis seems to be little different in this respect.

Price gouging is perhaps the most immediate threat. Most of us are aware of being asked to pay $5.00 for a bottled water in an airport or amusement park. In a time of crisis, however, the consequences of hiking prices outrageously is more than just a matter of a parched throat. For consumers in desperate need, it can come down to a choice between avoiding infection or paying the rent.

At a time when health care workers and first responders are putting their lives on the line to care for coronavirus patients, it is outrageous to see stories of unscrupulous sellers marking up the price on masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant and, yes, even toilet paper.

Price gouging in times of crisis is illegal in most states. For example, Maryland’s anti-gouging statute prohibits raising the price of many consumer goods and services that increase the seller’s profit by more than 10 percent while the COVID-19 emergency declared by Governor Larry Hogan is in effect. California has a similar statute, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Price gouging is also illegal where I live, in the District of Columbia.

While state laws are important, enforcement alone won’t solve this problem. Reputable businesses must also play their part to keep price gouging off their shelves. This is one reason I was especially encouraged to see that that the biggest seller of consumer items on the planet, Amazon.com, stepped out so decisively against price gouging.

Last month, the company issued a policy that clearly states: “Amazon has zero tolerance for price gouging and longstanding policies to prevent this harmful practice.” In practice, this means the company is working overtime to remove price gougers from its marketplace, forwarding reports of price gouging to law enforcement, and making it clear to their sellers that price gouging is not allowed.

Amazon has removed more than half a million products and suspended more than 3,900 seller accounts in the United States.

The overwhelming majority of sellers on sites like Amazon, eBay, and other online marketplaces are honest. But these e-commerce marketplaces are where millions of consumers are going to find much-needed products. Particularly for consumers who are at high risk, these online services can be a lifeline, enabling them to stay home, avoid going out into public, and decreasing their chances of contracting the virus.

We should be very happy that there are state laws prohibiting price gouging and very grateful that Amazon has taken such a strong stance in protecting consumers by monitoring and prohibiting its sellers from gouging consumers and others during this terrible pandemic.

Watchdog org predicting ‘tsunami’ of coronavirus-related scams to come

/in Consumer Protection, Featured Home - Consumer Protection, Featured Home - Fraud Prevention, Fraud Prevention, Personal finance, Scams/by

April 1, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) is warning consumers about an expected rise in attempts at fraud as the economy continues to tank and criminals pivot their pitches to take advantage of fearful consumers.

“When news captures the public’s attention – think major hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and economic slowdowns – scammers come out of the woodwork to take advantage of legitimate fears and concerns,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “With coronavirus dominating the news globally, there is an unprecedented opportunity for criminals to use the public’s fears about the virus and the resulting economic downturn to defraud consumers.”

NCL is working to educate consumers about two of the most pernicious types scams that are increasing due to coronavirus: robocalls and stimulus check scams.

Coronavirus-related robocalls

Robocalls are, at the very least, a major annoyance for most consumers. However, as the coronavirus has upended daily life, robocall operators have quickly shifted to blasting out spam phone calls offering all manner of coronavirus-related products and services. YouMail, a cloud-based telecommunications provider that tracks robocall volumes, estimates that at least one million robocalls per day are inundating Americans’ cell phones. Fraudulent robocallers are offering air duct sanitation services, work-from-home opportunities, cut-rate health insurance, and immune-system boosting nutritional supplements. Other robocalls have reportedly offered free insulin kits to diabetics, along with free coronavirus testing kits.

“At best, consumers who respond to these calls are setting themselves up to lose money for a non-existent product or service,” said John Breyault, director of NCL’s Fraud.org campaign. “At worst, delaying needed emergency treatments on the belief that a fake coronavirus treatment will save your life could be deadly to you and those you come into contact with.”

NCL’s advice to consumers is simple:

  1. If you receive a call from a number you don’t recognize, the safest course of action is simply to ignore the call.
  2. If you answer a call and suspect it’s a robocall, simply hang up. Don’t press any of the numbers the message tells you to.
  3. Never give any personal information, such as financial account number, Social Security number, full name, or mailing address to someone who contacts you via an unsolicited phone call or text message.
  4. Do not click on any links sent to you via text message from someone you don’t know. They could lead you to malware or phishing websites.
  5. If you’re being inundated by robocalls, your cellular provider may offer services that will increase the likelihood that the calls will be blocked.

Stimulus check scams

Last week, President Trump signed the biggest stimulus bill in U.S. history into law. Most American adults will receive a stimulus of $1,200 or more in the coming weeks thanks to the legislation. Crooks are already using these promised payments as a way to defraud consumers. Scams that have been reported involve crooks promising to expedite payment in exchange for a fee, impersonating a government official, and requesting sensitive personal information in order to process a check. Inaccurate social media posts have also circulated suggesting that consumers need to fill out the 2020 Census before they can receive a stimulus check.

“Stimulus checks will help millions of American households weather the coming economic downturn,” said Breyault. “Unfortunately, the phrase ‘free money from the government’ is magic to scammers’ ears. Consumers should be on the lookout for fraudsters who will try to use the coming stimulus checks to steal their money.”

Consumers can protect themselves from these scams by learning to spot these red flags:

  • The stimulus checks will be deposited automatically by direct deposit into consumers’ bank accounts for the vast majority of citizens who filed their taxes last year. Consumers without a bank account on record with the IRS will receive a paper check, but it may take several weeks longer to arrive than those who have bank accounts.
  • Anyone who emails, texts, messages, or calls you claiming to be able to expedite your stimulus check is a scammer.
  • Anyone who contacts you requesting sensitive information like PayPal account details, bank account information, or credit card numbers is trying to scam you.
  • Your answers to the Census, and whether you’ve completed it, have no impact on your eligibility for a stimulus check.

NCL asks consumers to share their stories by filing a complaint at Fraud.org via its secure online complaint form. Complaints are shared with NCL’s network of nearly 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Fighting for crucial consumer, worker protections and fair outcomes in coronavirus environment

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March 27, 2020: A message to our online community about how we are working hard to ensure crucial protections for consumers and workers in this time of uncertainty.

Sally Greenberg discussing CBD on Capitol Hill

Coronavirus update: Fighting for crucial protections, fair outcomes

A message to our online community

In this critical time, as our nation is gripped by the COVID-19 virus, we want you to know that we remain 100% committed to doing everything we can to help stop the spread of the virus and to fight for consumer and worker protections in this rapidly changing economy.

Although we are now doing so remotely in order to maintain our safety and the safety of our loved ones, NCL staff continues to work behind the scenes to ensure that the interests of consumers and workers are not forgotten in the rush to pass legislation and make executive branch decisions.

Below we’ve highlighted what’s happening and hope that you agree that our work – and your support – are more important than ever.

Pushing Congress to protect passengers in COVID-19 relief legislation

The pandemic has reduced passenger air traffic to a trickle, putting the airlines in deep economic distress. A strong, well-functioning, and safe airline industry is essential to our country. That said, NCL does not believe that giving a blank check to the industry is in consumers’ best interest. That’s why NCL led a coalition of consumer and air passenger advocates to call on Congress to include strong passenger protections in the COVID-19 relief bill. We will continue to advocate for reforms to the airline’s business practices, like excessive fees and shrinking seats, in the weeks and months to come.

Fighting COVID-19 scams

We are actively reaching out to consumers to educate them about how to spot coronavirus-related scams. We are already seeing reports of scammers using this moment of national emergency to sell bogus coronavirus “cures” and target seniors with phony investment scams. That’s why we issued a statement applauding Attorney General William Barr’s order to all U.S. Attorneys to ramp up efforts to shut down COVID-19 scams and are continuing to alert our readers about emerging trends.

We are also using our Consumers for Safe CBD platform (4safeCBD.org) to highlight false product claims made by unscrupulous CBD manufacturers who are using the crisis to promote their products .

Healthcare in the new environment

In response to a request for help from FDA, NCL is supporting the agency’s efforts to expose bogus coronavirus tests, treatments, and cures. In addition, we signed onto a letter as part of our adult vaccine coalition to ask for ZERO CO-PAYs for all Medicare Part D vaccines, which could include COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. With safety as a paramount concern, NCL is supporting the American Nurses Association’s *call to action to increase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for nurses.

Crucial worker protections

NCL persists in its fight for worker protections and joined a letter opposing the exclusion of immigrants from the omnibus relief package. We also signed onto an effort to ensure the Postal Service can remain fully functional during this crisis and beyond. The USPS is predicting that an economic recession could pose a “serious threat to the near-term viability of the Postal Service,” and has asked Congress to give USPS more than $7 billion each year for the next two years.

NCL joined allies at farmworker organizations in expressing concerns related to exposure of the largely uninsured, financially fragile farmworker community to COVID-19 and asking political leaders to be mindful of the unique concerns, considerations, and risks confronting farmworkers.

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings

Looking ahead

NCL remains actively engaged in working to properly ensure that relief packages address the interests of consumers and workers. We are very pleased that Congress will be providing cash assistance to our most vulnerable, and we continue to push for salary and benefit protections, particularly for those workers in the most seriously impacted industries.

In the coming days, stay tuned for news of our Trumpeter Awards Dinner, which we will host in October. We will be sending out a Save the Date and announcing our award recipients shortly.

Best wishes for staying safe and healthy, from all of us at NCL.

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League

NCL: #NeverMoreRelevant

National Consumers League statement on lack of airline passenger protections in COVID-19 relief bill

/in Consumer Protection, Featured Home - Consumer Protection, Safety, Transportation/by

March 26, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League, America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, today called the Senate’s failure to include consumer protections for airline passengers in the COVID-19 relief bill a missed opportunity to protect the flying public. The bill, which passed the Senate on a 96-0 vote and appears headed toward passage in the House of Representatives, does not contain the passenger protections, supported by consumer groups, that were in Speaker Pelosi’s proposed bill.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League:

“Airlines are canceling flights by the hundreds, leaving consumers who have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on planned vacations and other travel high and dry. We are seeing disturbing reports that those customers, whose flights were canceled through no fault of their own, are being given the run-around by the airlines when they try to get a refund. A one-year flight voucher is of no use to consumers who don’t know when the current COVID-19 outbreak will subside.

In spite of this, the Senate approved a COVID-19 relief that did not require even the most basic of passenger protections of the airlines. While we applaud Congress for putting checks into the hands of the most vulnerable consumers and protecting the livelihood of millions of airline workers, it should have done more to protect the passengers who are the lifeblood of the industry. It is likely that this will not be the last time that the airlines come to Congress asking for a taxpayer bailout due to the COVID-19 outbreak. NCL will continue to press our elected representatives to ensure that consumers’ needs are not left unaddressed in the next relief bill.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Special message from NCL’s Fraud.org about coronavirus scams – National Consumers League

/in Consumer Protection, Featured Home - Consumer Protection, Featured Home - Fraud Prevention, Fraud policy, Fraud Prevention, imported, Personal finance, Scams/by

Special COVID-19 warnings: Scammers are pouncing on the opportunities presented by fear and uncertainty in our new environment. Don’t be a victim!

Fraud.orgIt’s a stressful time for consumers across the United States, with businesses closed, schools shut down, and more than a hundred million citizens under shelter-in-place orders. Unfortunately, scammers see this emergency as an opportunity to defraud consumers of hard-earned money we will all desperately need in the weeks and months ahead.

We’ve seen disturbing reports of all kinds of scams linked to the coronavirus epidemic, from sham “cures” being hawked on fly-by-night websites to phishing schemes seeking consumers’ mouseclicks with scary messages about economic collapse, and “pump and dump” schemes to get consumers to invest in coronavirus-related stocks.

With the end of the national emergency nowhere in sight, the situation with coronavirus scams is likely to get much worse before it gets better. Here at Fraud.org, we have many years of experience witnessing how scammers prey on citizens in times of disaster and distress, and we foresee challenging months ahead for consumers. But we are on your side, and we’ll be doing our best to bring you information you can use to spot and avoid these scams, as well as resources you can use to help protect your friends and family. For right now, here are some basic tips you can use to reduce your risk of becoming a victim:

  • Trust the experts. If a message you’re seeing is at odds with information being put out by trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control, Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, or your local health officials, there’s a high likelihood it’s a scam.
  • Check out this message from the FDA about *Fraudulent Coronavirus Tests, Vaccines and Treatments.
  • You are likely to see messages urging you to act quickly, whether to buy a coronavirus “treatment” or send money for a can’t-miss investment. Remember that fraudsters try to get you to act before you think. Take your time.
  • In a time of social distancing, scammers will likely try to prey on consumers’ isolation to ensnare them in schemes like romance scams, lottery scams, or other scams where the criminals earn their targets’ trust over time.
  • Remember that scammers follow the headlines just like the rest of us. In particular, we expect scams promising COVID-19 stimulus checks to get more prevalent as the government’s coronavirus relief efforts ramp up.
  • The Federal Trade Commission has a wealth of information about coronavirus-related scams. Visit ftc.gov/coronavirus for up-to-date information.