NCL to teens: avoid these five worst summer jobs – National Consumers League

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May 29, 2009

One teen American worker dies from a workplace injury every ten days; advocacy group warns parents and teens to be smart this summer and protect themselves from workplace hazards

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

WASHINGTON, DC – With summer just around the corner, and many teens competing with out-of-work adults for summer employment, the National Consumers League has issued its annual report for 2009 on the Five Worst Teen Jobs, with work in agriculture again topping this year’s list for the third year running. Based on statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a teen American worker dies from a workplace injury every ten days, and an estimated 158,000 youth sustain work-related injuries and illnesses each year.

The National Consumers League (NCL), which coordinates the Child Labor Coalition, has issued this year’s Five Worst Teen Jobs report to remind teens and parents that while it’s never too late to focus on safety when considering a summer job, it’s often difficult to see the hidden dangers in many jobs that are legal for teens to perform.

“Seeing the dangers in summer work isn’t always easy. Jobs like construction are obviously dangerous, but others like retail work can pose hidden dangers when teens are asked to work alone at night and may be vulnerable to robberies and assaults,” said Reid Maki, NCL’s Director for Social Responsibility and Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition. “And at times, young workers performing seemingly safe jobs are asked to do very unsafe things, such as using trash compactors, something the law specifically prohibits them from doing because it is too dangerous. Choosing a summer job can be very difficult, even for those parents and teens who are mindful of safety concerns.”

In 2007—the last year for which there are complete records—an estimated 2.6 million adolescents aged 16 to 17 years worked in the United States, and that figure does not include the 400,000 children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who work at ages younger than 16 because of loopholes in our child labor laws.

“Each year, the National Consumers League issues our Five Worst Teen Jobs report to remind teens and their parents to choose summer jobs wisely,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director and co-chair of the NCL-coordinated Child Labor Coalition. “Summer jobs can contribute a lot to a child’s development and maturity, and teach new skills and responsibilities, but the safety of each job must be a consideration. If you think employers, even good-intentioned ones, and federal child labor laws can protect our young workers from dangerous tasks, think again.”

NCL’s Five Worst Teen Jobs of 2009 (read full report)

  1. Agriculture: Harvesting Crops
  1. Construction and Height Work
  1. Driver/Operator: Forklifts, Tractors, and ATV’s
  1. Traveling Youth Sales Crews
  1. Outside Helper: Landscaping, Groundskeeping and Lawn Service

The Five Worst Jobs of 2009 report focuses on jobs that are legal for teens to perform despite placing young workers in potentially dangerous environments, according to NCL. Despite urging by advocates for Congress and the Department of Labor to prohibit the jobs known as the “most dangerous forms of child labor,” most of the activities on the list remain legally permitted work for teens, including work at heights, poultry catching and processing, driving tractors and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), operating chain saws (prohibited for only use on wood) and working on traveling youth crews that sell magazines or other products.

In this year’s report, NCL has also highlighted illegal work in meat packing plants as a “Bonus Worst Job” in addition to the legal worst five jobs. Although workers must be 18 years old to legally work in these plants, recent federal immigration raids have found children as young as age 15 working in meat packing. Reports that 50 teens may have been working in the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa and the more than 9,000 child labor violations alleged against the plant by the State of Iowa have raised great alarm among child labor and child welfare advocates.

“Meat processing work, which involves repetitive use of very sharp knives, is extremely dangerous—for youth and adults. In a visit to Postville, Iowa last summer, we met a young worker who cut himself processing meat when he was only 16 years old,” said Maki. “The truth is that even laws that are meant to protect our young workers are not being obeyed, and teens are at great risk.”

NCL compiles the Five Worst Teen Jobs each year using government statistics and reports, including monitoring reports from state labor officials and news accounts of injuries and deaths. Statistics and examples of injuries for each job on the list are detailed in a report available here.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer 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.

NCL applauds FDA for warning General Mills for misbranding Cheerios – National Consumers League

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May 13, 2009

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

Washington, DC–In response to a letter of complaint sent by the National Consumers League (NCL) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to General Mills for the misbranding of its Cheerios cereal as a cholesterol-lowering product. In September of 2008, NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg wrote to the FDA to complain about the “drug-like claims” on boxes of Cheerios cereal:

“General Mills on the front panel of its Cheerios® breakfast cereal label boldly entices consumers to “Join the Challenge and Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks.” The back panel similarly claims, “You Could Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks,” and directs consumers to “Sign Up Today at CheeriosChallenge.com” General Mills’ claim promises consumers a health benefit (i.e., lowered blood cholesterol levels) merely by consuming Cheerios® breakfast cereal without accompanying changes in diet or lifestyle. NCL understands that such “magic bullet” health claims are impermissible under the laws that your agency enforces and properly are reserved to cholesterol-lowering medications . . .”

The League, founded in 1899 as America’s oldest consumer group, has frequently filed complaints with the FDA on misleading claims, specifically, on manufacturers’ use of the words “healthy” and “natural” on food products and dietary supplements. NCL has also called attention to a manufacturers’ misuse of “low fat” and “fresh.”

The FDA’s warning letter to General Mills contains two significant findings, first informing Chairman and CEO of General Mills, Ken Powell, that “Your Cheerios ® product is misbranded . . . because it bears unauthorized health claims in its labeling.” Secondly, the FDA’s letter finds that “. . . your Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.” As a result, FDA has informed Mr. Powell that Cheerios is therefore considered a drug and subject to drug regulation by the federal agency.

“We applaud the FDA for taking tough regulatory action in response to NCL’s letter last fall, highlighting the impermissible claims General Mills is making about Cheerios. Consumers deserve accurate information and truth in labeling in the products their families purchase and consume. General Mills should know better than to market its cereals with these false claims,” Greenberg said.

FDA’s letter instructs General Mills to correct its violations and to inform the regulatory agency what steps are being taken within 15 days of receiving the warning. For copies of the NCL letter and the FDA’s response, visit www.nclnet.org.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer 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.

NCL applauds Obama nominations for CPSC – National Consumers League

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May 6, 2009

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

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League applauds President Barack Obama’s nominations of Inez Tenenbaum, attorney and former Superintendent of Schools for the state South Carolina, as Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Professor Robert Adler, who worked as counsel to former CPSC Commissioner R. David Pittle, as Commissioner. Adler also served as a member of the Consumers Union board of directors.

The following statement may be attributed to Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League Executive Director:

Inez Tenenbaum has shown, through her work as South Carolina’s Superintendent of Schools, that children’s health and safety are a high priority. As superintendent, she worked to fight obesity and to promote nutritional programs in the schools; as Superintendent, she has also had the kind of management experience that will be needed to run the CPSC.

If she is confirmed, Tenenbaum’s previous experience will serve her well in her new role as head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency that regulates the safety of over 15,000 products, including many products for children. We will welcome Tenenbaum to Washington and look forward to working with her in her new role as CPSC Chairman.

About Robert Adler, Greenberg also noted:

I’ve known and worked with Bob Adler on product safety issues for more than a decade. He is a highly qualified nominee who has a depth of knowledge about the CPSC and its authorizing statute, and he will be a strong champion for consumer health and safety. Both of these nominees will help to restore the CPSC to the agency Congress originally intended it to be: an independent federal safety agency that effectively protects consumers, and especially children, from product safety hazards.

The National Consumers League also commends the President for pressing for full funding of the Commission and his stated intent to restore the agency to its full complement of five commissioners.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer 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.

Wisconsin takes 2009 national LifeSmarts title – National Consumers League

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April 29, 2009

Winners take home fabulous prizes, will be honored in local parade

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

Washington, DC—The student team from Wisconsin’s Oconto High School was crowned national LifeSmarts champions in St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday. In a tough final match against the second-place team from Washington State’s Kittitas High School, the Wisconsin teens outscored their opponents and did it with great sportsmanship. Teams from New Hampshire and Oklahoma placed third.

“We are so proud of these students from Wisconsin, who represented their state program with class and pride,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “They played hard and demonstrated their consumer smarts throughout the four-day event. They are true LifeSmarts champions.”

LifeSmarts is a program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocate. It competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology, and the environment.

“NCL’s LifeSmarts program is allowing us to rear a generation of consumer-savvy teenagers who often outsmart their parents on issues related to avoiding fraud, credit and debt, and complicated health care decisions,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. In the 15 years that LifeSmarts has been educating high school and middle school teens on consumer issues, it has grown dramatically. The program’s latest partnership will bring the program to Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America youth and advisers.

Thirty state LifeSmarts champions gathered in St. Louis, where the best of more than 22,000 teens who competed in the 2008-2009 LifeSmarts program nationwide vied for a chance at the 2009 national title. Across the country, players answered more than 3 million consumer questions at www.lifesmarts.org in the online competition during the 2008-2009 academic year.

At the awards ceremony, Wisconsin’s coach Tammie McCarthy thanked NCL, praised her team’s hard-work, honored her team members, and described how good it felt to finally hold the championship trophy in her hands. McCarthy is a veteran LifeSmarts coach who has represented Wisconsin with Oconto High School teams four times. The students will be honored with a pep assembly upon their return, “Congratulations” signs around town, and an appearance in Oconto’s summer parade.

For team photos, event schedules, grid standings, and more, log on to www.lifesmarts.org.

All winners at the national LifeSmarts Competition received valuable prizes donated by sponsors to the National Consumers League, including scholarships, savings bonds, gift cards, and more. To learn more about the program, contact NCL’s Lisa Hertzberg at 202-835-3323. For a complete listing of this year’s prizes, visit www.lifesmarts.org.

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer 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.

Consumer, nutrition groups urge Obama, Congress to update alcohol policies for the 21st Century – National Consumers League

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April 23, 2009

Organizations issue four-step plan calling for mandatory alcohol labeling and more resources to combat underage drinking

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

Washington, DC — A coalition of public interest groups today called on Congress and the Obama Administration to overturn decades of inattention to the nation’s alcohol policies by finally issuing a useful final regulation to require standardized labeling information on beer, wine and distilled spirits products and providing the government resources needed to address such pressing problems as underage drinking, binge drinking, and drunk driving.

Using the observance of National Alcohol Awareness Month to rally attention, four leading nutrition and consumer advocacy organizations — Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, and Shape Up America! — released a new action plan, Alcohol Policy for the 21st Century: A Platform to Give Americans the Facts to Drink Responsibly, intended to bring the nation’s policies into the 21st century. Issued as a nationwide call to action, the platform urges the new Administration and Congress to make meaningful changes both in how information about the content of alcoholic beverages is communicated to the public and how the nation mobilizes to reduce underage drinking.

Specifically, the platform urges swift action on four regulatory and legislative measures:

  1. Gaining swift action by the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to issue a final regulation that requires complete and easy-to-read labeling information on all beer, wine and distilled spirits products. To provide the information needed for consumers to make informed purchasing and consumption decisions, the advocates continue to press for a standardized “Alcohol Facts” panel that lists the alcohol content, the amount of alcohol per serving, the definition of a standard drink, the number of calories and facts about other ingredients.
  1. Enlisting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make increased access to alcohol content information a new national health objective when HHS issues Healthy People 2020, the updated ten-year health goals, in early 2010.
  1. Including detailed advice on responsible alcohol consumption levels for the public when HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) release the revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2010, with a specific focus on what constitutes a “standard drink” and the calorie content of “non-standard” mixed alcoholic drinks now gaining in popularity.
  1. Gaining Congressional passage of the “Support 21 Act of 2009,” which will expand the nation’s underage drinking prevention efforts by allocating an additional $35.5 million to federal and state programs.

Among these actions, the top priority for the public health community is for TTB to move quickly to issue a consumer friendly final alcohol labeling regulation. This step would end the stalemate in modernizing beverage alcohol labels that traces back to 1972, when consumer organizations first asked the federal government to require meaningful alcohol labeling. In 2003, the National Consumers League, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America and 75 other public health and consumer organizations submitted a formal petition to TTB resulting in the agency issuing an “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking” in April 2005. Then, in 2007, TTB proposed a mandatory “Serving Facts” panel on beer, wine and distilled spirits that left out alcohol content and the amount of alcohol in a serving and was widely attacked by consumer groups and the public health community for being incomplete.

“There is no debate within the public health and consumer community about the need for mandatory and complete alcohol labeling,” said Chris Waldrop, Director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. “It’s time to give consumers the same helpful and easily accessible labeling information that is now required for conventional foods, dietary supplements, and nonprescription drugs.”

Although TTB’s 2007 actions were roundly criticized, the advocacy groups believe the record in the current rulemaking is sufficient for the agency to act now to issue a final alcohol labeling regulation in 2009. The advocates also urge TTB to consult with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the most effective format and graphic design for the “Alcohol Facts” label.

George Hacker, Director of CSPI’s Alcohol Policies Project, said: “TTB has had a comprehensive response to its haphazard rulemaking to develop labels that will be helpful to consumers in measuring and moderating their alcohol consumption. The agency should accept the guidance it has received and find the political will to act.”

From a public health perspective, the advocacy organizations also urge HHS and USDA to provide detailed information on what constitutes a “standard drink” and the calorie content of popular “non-standard” mixed alcoholic drinks when the departments issue the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2010. The reason, according to the advocates, is insufficient information in the marketplace for consumers to know what constitutes a “standard drink” — 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof (40%) distilled spirits — and to understand that standard serving sizes of beer, wine and spirits are equal in alcohol strength and their effect on the body. As a result, research finds nearly 20 percent of current drinkers regularly consume more than the up to two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women that the Dietary Guidelines defines a moderate drinking.

“Those consumers who choose to drink absolutely need alcohol and calorie information per serving to help them comply with recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. “Without it, alcohol consumers continue to be left in the dark.”

The alcohol platform encourages HHS to add specific objectives to the upcoming Healthy People 2020 national health goals that reflect the current scientific knowledge about the calorie content of alcoholic beverages. Because alcohol is metabolized quite differently from these other macronutrients and provides 7 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates, increased access to alcohol content information through nutrition counseling and government education initiatives is needed both to combat the obesity epidemic and to reduce alcohol-related mortality resulting from hypertension, liver disease and certain cancers, as well as injury.

“To encourage weight management and reduce the health risks associated with alcohol requires that the 55 percent of adult Americans who drink have the information they need to make responsible decisions,” said Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., president of Shape Up America!, “Anything less is a setback for public health.”

Addressing the pervasive problem of underage drinking, the platform calls on Congress to pass H.R. 1028 — the “Support 21 Act of 2009” — which allocates an additional $35.5 million to federal and state efforts to reduce underage drinking. Recognizing that lowering the drinking age is not the answer, the bill focuses on delaying alcohol use through education and a stronger focus within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on disseminating research on effective strategies to reduce underage drinking. The bill also calls for a National Academies of Science report on available research regarding the impact of alcohol on adolescent brain development and the public policy implications of that research.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), underage drinkers are responsible for 11 percent of all the beverage alcohol consumed in the U.S. and on average, consume more drinks per occasion than adults. Moreover, new research on brain development shows that adolescent brains are not fully developed before age 21, and alcohol abuse damages this development process.

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About the Center for Science in the Public Interest

Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science. Founded by executive director Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. and two other scientists, CSPI has long sought to educate the public, advocate government policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health and environmental issues, and counter industry’s powerful influence on public opinion and public policies.

About the Consumer Federation of America

Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of some 300 organizations, with a combined membership of over 50 million Americans. Since its founding in 1968, CFA has worked to advance the interest of American consumers through research, education and advocacy. CFA’s Food Policy Institute was created in 1999 and engages in research, education and advocacy on food and agricultural policy, agricultural biotechnology, food safety and nutrition.

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.

About Shape Up America!

Shape Up America! was founded in 1994 by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to raise awareness of the health effects of obesity and to provide responsible information on weight management to the public and to health care professionals. The organization maintains an award winning website – www.shapeup.org – accessed by more than 100,000 visitors each month and an “opt-in” e-newsletter with more than 24,000 subscribers.

Teen financial literacy program receives grant from Experian – National Consumers League

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April 22, 2009

2009 state champion LifeSmarts teams en route to St. Louis for annual LifeSmarts championship, April 25-28

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

Washington, D.C. — The National Consumers League (NCL) has received a $146,000 grant from Experian®, the global information services company, to help underwrite LifeSmarts (www.lifesmarts.org), NCL’s 15-year-old program that educates teens and tweens on real-world financial and consumer literacy issues.

“We are grateful for Experian’s support as we help to prepare a new generation of consumers for the challenges of the marketplace,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “LifeSmarts is a fun, fast, and educational program, and a great vehicle for educating young consumers.”

LifeSmarts is a competitive educational program, in which teams of students begin online. Top-scorers progress to state competitions, and state champion teams meet each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. This year’s national event will be hosted by NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, in St. Louis, MO.

The Experian grant will allow NCL’s LifeSmarts program to forge a new partnership with Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) to bring LifeSmarts to its 220,000 student members nationwide. Also, for the first time this year, NCL will award each of the five students from the 2009 National LifeSmarts champion team—to be determined in St. Louis—a $1,000 academic scholarship, thanks to the grant from Experian.

“Experian is proud to support LifeSmarts and to help NCL expand the program through partnership with FCCLA,” said Rod Griffin, Director of Public Education for Experian. “LifeSmarts competitors will soon be heading off to college or into the workplace where they will be faced with critical financial decisions that can affect the rest of their lives. The LifeSmarts program sets them on the path to a lifetime of success by equipping them with the financial knowledge and consumer skills they need to make informed, responsible choices.”

2009 National LifeSmarts Championship Headed to St. Louis

Consumer savvy teens representing 30 states will compete at the national event. Throughout the 2008-2009 program year, more than 22,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at Nationals. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.

EVENT INFO

April 25-28, 2009

Millennium Hotel, St. Louis, 200 S. 4th Street, St. Louis, MO. 63102-1804
Final match: Tuesday, April 28, 10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Central
Awards Ceremony: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Central

WEBCAST AND WEB COVERAGE

Parents and teachers can follow the action at the official 2009 National LifeSmarts Championship blog (www.lifesmartsnationals.blogspot.com).

The semi-final and final competition matches will be streamed live at www.nextgenweb.org. Visit NextGenWeb for information, vidcasts, podcasts, webinars, and a blog that focus on how broadband technology can benefit the U.S. economy, consumers, health care, education, and the environment.

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer 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.

Consumer, public interest leaders to wireless industry: Forgive early termination fees for unemployed subscribers – National Consumers League

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April 21, 2009

Wireless industry leaders urged to help consumers facing economic crisis by eliminating pricey contract cancellation fees

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

Washington, DC, April 21, 2009 — Leaders of the nation’s consumer and public interest organizations today called on the heads of the wireless industry to immediately suspend charging early termination fees (ETF’s) on any subscriber who lose their jobs. Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the jobless rate nationally is at 8.5 percent, and most economists expect that number to rise above 10 percent in the coming months. Millions more are facing involuntary furloughs and underemployment or have ceased looking for work altogether. With this in mind, consumer and public interest leaders, in a letter to the wireless industry, are urging the wireless industry to take the pro-consumer step of allowing subscribers who have become unemployed to cancel their service contracts without incurring penalties that could add to their financial burdens.

The letter was signed by Consumer Action, the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Media Access Project and the National Consumers League.

“As the unemployment rate approaches ten percent, millions of consumers need to find ways to save money due to job loss or having their working hours reduced,” said Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League Executive Director. “For many of these consumers, a big expense is wireless phone service. Unfortunately they are often locked in to expensive services that they can’t afford to keep, but also can’t afford to cancel due to hefty early termination fees. The wireless industry can help such consumers by allowing them to cancel their contracts without incurring the financial burden of ETF’s.”

ETF’s vary by carrier but can cost consumers upwards of $150 per line of service. For consumers on multiple-line “family” plans, being unable to pay for a service plan can threaten them with ETF’s of several hundred dollars or more. The consumer and public interest leaders noted that wireless devices can be essential links for unemployed and underemployed to their support networks and prospective employers. As such, they further urged the wireless industry leaders to allow subscribers who request it to migrate from unaffordable service plans to plans with lower monthly service fees or prepaid plans, again without incurring ETF’s.

“With this small change in policies, wireless phone carriers could offer big help to struggling households reeling from job losses,” said Linda Sherry, director of national priorities, Consumer Action. ”It is also a positive public relations move that will build customer loyalty in the long run. It is surprising the companies didn’t think of it first.”

“Cell phones can play a vital role in people’s lives, but consumers who are in perilous financial situations should not be penalized for their efforts to trim their expenses and get their household budgets in line,” said Charles Shafer, president of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. “We urge the wireless industry to waive the ETF’s for those who have lost their jobs.”

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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.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action (www.consumer-action.org) is a national non-profit organization founded in San Francisco in 1971. During its more than three decades, Consumer Action has served consumers nationwide by advancing consumer rights, referring consumers to complaint-handling agencies through its free hotline, publishing educational materials in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages, advocating for consumers in the media and before lawmakers, and comparing prices on credit cards, bank accounts, telephone plans and other consumer goods and services.

About the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition

Founded in 2000, MCRC is a non-profit organization focused on fairness and safety in the marketplace. MCRC seeks to advance and protect the interests of Maryland consumers through research, education and advocacy. Our members include individuals and organizations that support the interests of consumers. www.mdconsumers.org

About Media Access Project

Media Access Project (MAP) is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the public’s First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in the electronic mass media of today and tomorrow. For over 35 years, MAP has promoted the public interest before the FCC and the Courts, advocating for an open and diverse media that protects the free flow of information, promotes universal and equitable access, and encourages vibrant public discourse on critical issues facing our society. For more information please visit our website at www.mediaaccess.org.

Prevention, not just enforcement, needed to curb growth in foreclosure rescue scams – National Consumers League

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 April 10, 2009

National Consumers League praises Obama Administration for commitment to enforcement, calls for renewed focus on consumer education

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

Washington, DC — With home foreclosures at an unprecedented and historic high, millions of consumers are more vulnerable than ever to mortgage fraud and bogus foreclosure rescue schemes, warns the National Consumers League (NCL), which has long tracked illegal scams through NCL’s Fraud Center. On Monday, the Obama Administration announced a wide-ranging multi-agency effort to bring loan modification fraud and foreclosure rescue scams under control. As the nation undertakes a much-needed crackdown, it is equally important that there be a renewed focus on consumer education to help consumers avoid falling victim to these criminals in the first place.

Mortgage fraud costs the lending industry an estimated $4-6 billion annually, according to the Prieston Group. At a time when consumer’s pocketbooks are stretched thinner each day due to a worsening economy, homeowners are increasingly vulnerable to fraudsters offering them a way to avoid losing their homes. Unfortunately, for tens of thousands of Americans, these schemes almost always end up with the consumer losing money, having their credit further damaged, and losing their biggest investment: their homes.

“We welcome the recent actions by the federal and state governments to tackle the growing threat of mortgage fraud,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “However, vigorous enforcement actions – while a critical component of fighting fraud – must be combined with education to help consumers recognize and avoid these scams in the first place.”

Mortgage modification and foreclosure rescue scams come in a variety of guises, but some of the common ones include:


  • Upfront Fee Scam. Fraudster promises, for an upfront fee, to negotiate with homeowner’s bank to pay down back-payments, but scammer ultimately takes the money and disappears.

  • Lease-back or repurchase scams. Con artists promise to pay a mortgage and lease it back to their victims if the consumer signs over the deed. The scammer then raises the rent, sells the house, steals equity, or even evicts the tenant.

  • Refinance fraud. Victim signs over ownership of the house, thinking that they are signing documents for a new loan at a lower payment level.

  • Bankruptcy schemes. The scammer encourages the victim to stop paying their mortgage and offers to file bankruptcy for the consumer, for a fee.

  • Appraisal fraud. An appraiser – in cahoots with a bank – overvalues the home, then secures an unnecessarily large loan at high interest rates for the homebuyer. Another scenario is that the appraiser undervalues the home in order to justify a short sale and subsequent re-sale at market value for profit.

“Recent multi-agency federal and state actions to tackle the threat of mortgage fraud are a positive step in helping to protect consumers,” said Greenberg. “Fraudsters should be apprehended and brought to justice. All too often, however, victims of these schemes have already been ruined financially by the time mortgage fraud rings are broken up by law enforcement. Now, more than ever, enforcement should be tied to prevention by devoting more resources to educating consumers through churches, community centers, senior centers, schools, and libraries. This is needed particularly in vulnerable low-income, elderly, and immigrant communities, whose members are frequent targets for mortgage fraud.”

Consumers who suspect they may be targets of mortgage fraud have a range of resources available to them. NCL’s step-by-step guide to financing the purchase of a home, including critical information for protecting yourself against fraud, is available online at www.mortgagetown.org. The federal government has made numerous resources available online for consumers facing foreclosure, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure” and HUD’s new www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov Web site, as well a toll-free foreclosure counseling assistance hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE.

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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.

NCL survey: consumers demanding more from their DVD collections – National Consumers League

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April 6, 2009

Near-unanimous agreement: Consumers believe backing up DVD content is a Right; many bothered by inability to do so

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

Washington, DC—Americans’ attitudes towards DVDs are evolving and driving expectations about their use, according to a new survey released today by the National Consumers League. The Opinion Research Corporation survey of 1,000 consumers, aged 18-64, who own a personal computer, conducted March 11-16, finds that—amidst a backdrop of a slowing market and troubled economy, when consumers’ satisfaction may be more important than ever—Americans are overwhelmingly interested in the ability to copy or back up their DVDs to their computers and laptops.

With 69 percent of respondents reportedly watching DVDs on their computers, and with more than a third saying they’ve had to repurchase lost or damaged DVDs in the past, consumers are resoundingly interested in the ability to back-up their DVD content. According to the survey, 90 percent (and 93 percent of those with children in the household) agree that DVD owners should be able to copy a DVD to their computer in the same way that they save music from a CD.

For years, consumers have been able to freely copy and back up the content on their compact disc (CD) collections to their hard drives and other devices. Given the growing availability of affordable hard drives capable of storing the contents of multiple DVDs, NCL wanted to examine whether the expectation of freedom of usage from the CD market is translating to the consumer DVD market. 

Consumers currently have limited options for saving the contents of most commercial DVDs to their computers, whether for back up purposes or simply so that they can easily access their DVD library without carrying around the actual discs.  Some “expanded” editions of DVDs, which are usually sold at an additional cost, come with the ability to save an additional copy to a computer.  NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy group, commissioned the study to examine consumers’ opinions related to the entertainment content stored in their DVD collections.

“Clearly, advances in technology have left consumers expecting a great deal of freedom when it comes to movies that they’ve purchased,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “Consumers’ attitudes towards saving content have been shaped by their ability to freely copy the contents of their CD collections to their computers and iPods. Our survey shows that they are eager to have that same ability with their DVDs and are frustrated that the market has not adapted to meet that desire.”

Survey Highlights: DVDs are in widespread use beyond the TV set

More than a third (35 percent) of consumers surveyed reported owning more than 50 DVDs, with the average household owning 78 DVDs, but consumers are no longer exclusively using a conventional television-and-DVD-player configuration:

  • 69 percent of respondents—and 74 percent of those with children—reported that they (or members of their family) use a computer to watch DVDs.
  • Nearly a third of respondents (31 percent) use a portable or in-car DVD player regularly. For respondents with children in the household, portable DVD players are even more common, with 40 percent reporting regular use.
  • More than a third (38 percent) of respondents reported that they have had to repurchase at least one DVD because it was lost or damaged. For respondents with children in the household, this number increased to 45 percent.

“Consumers are taking their DVDs on the road with them,” said John Breyault, NCL’s Vice President for Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “With the growth in popularity and affordability of hand-held and car-based DVD players and video-capable MP3 players, when and where consumers watch movies has changed dramatically.”

Survey Highlight: Consumers indicate a high desire to copy DVDs
While the majority of consumers (82 percent) have never saved a copy of a purchased DVD to their computers’ hard drives, and a small number (4 percent) has tried and failed, respondents demonstrated overwhelming interest in being able to do so:


  • Nearly all (90 percent; 93 percent with kids in the house) say DVD owners should be able to copy a DVD to their computer in the same way that they save music from a CD.
  • Half of those surveyed (51 percent) were bothered that they can’t save most DVDs to their hard drives without cracking the encryption or purchasing an expanded version of the DVD; these numbers were higher among those respondents with children in the household (56 percent) or between the ages of 25 and 34 (67 percent). In this age group, 92 percent think they should have this right.
  • Nearly half (46 percent) of those who said they should be able to save a copy of a DVD onto their hard drive have had to repurchase DVDs due to loss or damage.

Survey Highlight: The economy and the DVD Market – Is there a further slow-down ahead?

While the great majority of consumers (89 percent) are satisfied with the value they are getting out of the DVDs they purchase, many reported that the economy has changed their DVD buying habits:

  • More than half of respondents (55 percent) said that they are currently purchasing fewer DVDs than they did a year ago.
  • Four in ten (41 percent) said they expect to purchase fewer DVDs one year from now.
  • However, 41 percent said the ability to save a copy of their DVDs to their computer or laptop would make their DVD collections more valuable, and 40 percent said it might cause them to buy more DVDs.

Click here for complete survey results, including an executive summary and a copy of the questionnaire. The National Consumers League thanks RealNetworks for the unrestricted educational grant that made this survey possible.

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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.

Survey Methodology

1,000 online surveys were administered to adults 18-64, who personally own a desktop or laptop computer, between Wednesday, March 11th and Monday, March 16th, 2009.  Data was then weighted to better represent the national Internet population.  Variables included in the weighting are gender, region, age, and race.

About Opinion Research Corporation

Opinion Research Corporation, an infoGroup company, has offered innovative solutions to the toughest market research challenges of clients worldwide since 1938. Since the 1960s, ORC has conducted CARAVAN®, the USA’s longest continuously running consumer omnibus. In addition, the firm has been conducting national, speech reaction, state and flash/overnight polls for CNN since April 2006. To learn more, visit www.opinionresearch.com.

More bad economic news: Recession putting consumers at increased risk of being duped by pyramid schemes – National Consumers League

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February 26, 2009

National Consumers League issuing consumer alert, new resources at Fraud.org

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

Washington, DC—With nearly a third of Americans saying the current recession has made them more likely to consider a home-based business offer, consumer advocates have issued a warning that fraudulent pyramid schemes disguised as legitimate business opportunities are posing a greater threat than ever to consumers’ wallets and financial health. While “pyramid” and “Ponzi” schemes have received some media attention recently, with Bernard Madoff’s allegedly fraudulent investment scams making headlines, it’s clear that even the most sophisticated consumers are vulnerable to business opportunity scams. Today the National Consumers League (NCL) announced the findings of an Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) survey and launched new resources at www.fraud.org aimed at helping consumers spot and avoid risky business “opportunities.”

Pyramid schemes have existed for more than a century and in a bewildering array of guises. Despite their differences, pyramid schemes tend to share common elements, such as a focus on recruitment of new members, promises of unrealistic or “guaranteed” returns and, most importantly, the inevitable threat of collapse. Increasingly, pyramid scheme operators have tried to cloak their scams as multi-level marketing (MLM) opportunities through the sale of dubious products or services with little or no established market. Legitimate MLM businesses, also known as “networking marketing,” operate legally and offer goods and services through independent distributors. In legal MLMs, the focus of the business is on sales of products, not the recruitment of new members into the business.

In the ORC telephone survey of Americans ages 18 or older conducted February 12-15, 2009, many respondents—particularly African-Americans, Hispanics, and those with low incomes—revealed themselves to be at risk of falling for pyramid schemes disguised as legitimate work-from-home opportunities. Lower-income consumers (those reporting annual income of less than $35,000) were found to be more likely to mistake pyramid schemes for legitimate ways to provide supplemental income (42 percent vs. 33 percent of all respondents). They were also least likely (61 percent), as compared with all respondents (66 percent), to correctly identify pyramid schemes as a scam. Similarly, African-American (46 percent) and Hispanic (48 percent) consumers surveyed were more likely to consider a home-based business than the average (31 percent) yet less able to identify a pyramid scheme as a scam (48 percent and 35 percent, respectively).

Overall, an alarming number of respondents reported being approached to join some type of fraudulent pyramid scheme including chain letters (33 percent), general pyramid schemes (21 percent), gifting clubs (12 percent), and Ponzi schemes (7 percent).

“In a time like this, when many are struggling to make ends meet, some consumers may lower their guard and find themselves considering offers that – under other circumstances – they would rightfully identify as sketchy and high-risk,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “NCL’s Fraud Center is alerting consumers to use their heads when it comes to searching for new offers of income. Scammers advertise pyramid schemes as businesses that provide ‘easy money’ or ‘guaranteed income.’ Consumers must keep a level head, even when times are tough, and remember the old adage: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

NCL’s Fraud Center, which tracks consumers’ reports of suspected and confirmed telemarketing and Internet fraud, publishes information about new scams and prevention tips, and forwards reports to appropriate law enforcement in the United States and Canada, has launched a new guide for consumers about pyramid schemes. The new pages at www.fraud.org/pyramids offer tools for distinguishing legitimate business opportunities from scams, including checklists for evaluating home-based-business offers, information about common types of pyramid schemes, and warning signs.

For complete survey results, or to check out NCL’s new pyramid schemes education content for consumers, visit www.fraud.org/pyramids.

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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.

Survey Methodology

This data is the result of a telephone survey conducted among a national probability sample of 1,006 adults, comprised of 504 men and 502 women, 18 years of age and older, living in private households in the continental United States. Interviewing for this CARAVAN® Survey was completed during the period of February 12-15, 2009.

About Opinion Research Corporation

Opinion Research Corporation, an infoGroup company, has offered innovative solutions to the toughest market research challenges of clients worldwide since 1938. Since the 1960s, ORC has conducted CARAVAN®, the USA’s longest continuously running consumer omnibus. In addition, the firm has been conducting national, speech reaction, state and flash/overnight polls for CNN since April 2006. To learn more, visit www.opinionresearch.com.