Coalition of consumer organizations request release of data on FINRA arbitration system – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

January 21, 2015

The National Consumers League joined with a coalition or organizations including: Americans for Financial Reform, Alliance for Justice, Center for Justice and Democracy, Consumers Union, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG to request that FINRA Dispute Resolution Task Force release the research and data that addresses the resolution of disputes in the FINRA arbitration system between investors and brokerage firms or investment advisers.

Read the letter here.

Top ten scams report finds rising rate of ‘phantom debt’ scams – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

January 20, 2015

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC — The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today released its annual compilation of the top ten scams reported to Fraud.org, NCL’s flagship project for reporting and tracking scams. Based on an analysis of more than 10,000 consumer complaints submitted in 2014, NCL is warning consumers to be on the lookout for so-called “refund and recovery” scams, also known as “phantom debt” scams.

The predominant version of the “refund and recovery” scams involved a fraudster contacting consumers claiming to be collecting unpaid debts. If consumers questioned the debt, they reported frequently being threatened with jail time, legal action, or other consequences. In 2013, this was the fastest-growing type of telemarketing scam reported to NCL’s Fraud.org campaign. This trend continued in 2014, as the “refund and recovery” scams jumped by 6.23 percentage points, rising to #4 on the overall complaint list.

Fake check scams, which were at the top of the Top Ten Scams list in 2013, dropped to the #3 spot in 2014, down more than 7 percentage points. Topping the list in 2014 were two other perennially frequent frauds—Internet merchandise scams and bogus prizes/sweepstakes scams, ranked #1 and #2 respectively. 

“Fraud remains one of the most pernicious threats facing consumers today,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We are particularly concerned about scammers increasingly relying on the ‘old-fashioned’ telephone as a way to reach millions of potentially vulnerable consumers.”

The telephone was reported by 42.85% of complainants as the way that they were first contacted by a scammer, ahead of the Web (30.97%), email (15.71%) and postal mail (6.92%). The telephone was the top method of first contact in 2013 and increased even more in 2014 (6.49 percentage point increase).

A positive trend in the 2014 report is the shift in how victims reported sending money to con artists. Previously, wire transfer had been the most popular payment method reported to Fraud.org. In 2014, nearly half (48%) of all victims reported paying by credit card when they lost money to a scam—continuing a trend first noted in 2013 (35%). Victims who pay with credit cards can more easily recover lost funds than those who pay via wire transfer service when they promptly report the suspicious charges to their banks or credit card companies.

“Credit card transactions are a safer way for consumers to pay for products since they can dispute fraudulent charges with their credit card company,” said John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “Unfortunately, when a fraud victim sends money via wire transfer or prepaid debit card, the chances of getting their money back are much lower.”

Read the full 2014 top ten scams report here.

###

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 https://nclnet.org.

2015 Consumer Policy Agenda – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

January 13, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Consumer Action • Consumer Federation of America • Consumers Union • Association of Consumer Advocates • National Consumers League • National Consumer Law Center • Public Citizen • U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Consumer Groups Urge President, Congress to Support “Robust Agenda” for Consumers in 2015 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With a new session of Congress underway, eight of the nation’s leading consumer organizations are calling on President Obama and lawmakers to help “level the playing field for consumers” by supporting a comprehensive agenda for consumer rights. In letters to the President and members of the House and Senate, the organizations wrote, “American consumers want and deserve a fair shake in the marketplace.  The safety of the food we eat, the products we buy, the healthcare we receive and the financial services we choose depend upon it.  Yet too often, the scales are tipped in favor of industry.  As the financial crisis made brutally clear, unchecked abuses in the marketplace can wreak havoc on individuals, families and the economy at large.  Now more than ever, consumers need the strong support of the Administration and Congress to defend existing consumer protections and promote further improvements where needed. The groups presented a list of priorities and concerns for the 114th Congress entitled “A Robust Agenda for Consumers.”  The priorities include:

  • Ensuring financial security for consumers
  • Making health care affordable, accessible and safe
  • Protecting regulatory safeguards
  • Making sure our food, products and cars are safe
  • Building on environmental progress
  • Ensuring the Internet remains affordable and accessible
  • Keeping legal avenues open to all consumers
  • Working for greater competition and consumer choice
  • Promoting fair trade
  • Reducing the influence of money in politics

The letters were signed by presidents and chief executive officers of Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumers League, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Public Citizen and U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “By working together and helping consumers make more informed decisions, we want to build an influential consumer movement that will be a force for change,” the groups wrote. Available online are the agenda and the letters to the President, the Senate, and the House.

National Consumers League statement on Obama Administration action on data security – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

January 13, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today applauded the Obama Administration’s efforts to better protect consumers from the threat of cyber attacks. In a speech yesterday at the Federal Trade Commission, the President proposed a new Personal Data Notification and Protection Act that would set a 30-day national data breach notification standard.

NCL has supported a strong national data breach notification standard, modeled after state law in California, which would set a national floor for breach notification without preempting stronger state laws. NCL has also called on Congress to strengthen civil and criminal penalties for malicious hacking and welcomes the recent announcement that the President’s proposal addresses this by criminalizing the overseas trade in stolen identities.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director:

“The threat of criminal hacking is eroding consumers’ faith in our interconnected digital economy. We must not allow the immense benefits of our information revolution to fall victim to those who would steal consumers’ personal data for their own gain. The President’s proposal for a national data breach notification standard is an important step forward in giving consumers more control over their data, but there is much more to do. We look forward to learning more about the Administration’s proposal so that consumers will benefit from the strongest possible protections.”

As part of the #DataInsecurity Project, NCL has called on the new Congress to enact a range of reforms to better protect consumers’ data. In addition to data breach notification, NCL has called on Congress to create national data security standards, strengthen the Federal Trade Commission’s civil penalty authority; promote the growth of cyber insurance underwriting standards; increase criminal and civil penalties for malicious hacking; and strengthen international anti-cybercrime partnerships.

For more information on NCL’s 2015 Congressional Data Security Agenda, click here.

###

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.

Group praises Marlboro move to ban child work under 16 – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

December 17, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – In a major step towards eliminating child labor in American tobacco production, the largest tobacco company in the United States announced that it will require its suppliers to prohibit children under 16 years of age from working in their tobacco fields. The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, is praising Altria, the parent company of Phillip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes, for taking a leadership role on this important issue. These changes will be implemented in 2015.

“This decision by Altria is a significant step towards protecting American children in our tobacco fields,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “The negative health consequences for children working in these fields are well documented. Thousands of children routinely suffer from vomiting, dizziness, and headaches symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning. Other tobacco companies including R.J. Reynolds, America’s second-largest tobacco producer, must follow Altria’s lead.”

“We believe that no one under 18 should work in tobacco fields in the United States or abroad,” said Greenberg. “While we applaud this step forward, Altria has a lot of work to do to ensure that its suppliers enact the policy effectively. We’d love to see a detailed plan from the company on how it hopes to carry out this difficult task.”

Under US law, children as young as 12 can legally work unlimited hours in agriculture if that work does not interfere with school. It is time we close the loopholes that allow these glaring injustices.

The Child Labor Coalition, a group of more than 35 organizations working together to end child labor domestically and abroad, was founded and has been co-chaired by NCL since 1989. 

###

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 confirmation of Dr. Murthy as ‘Nation’s Top Doctor’ – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

December 16, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization is lauding the confirmation of Dr. Vivek Murthy as U.S. Surgeon General after a 17-month political battle. On Monday, the Senate voted 51-43 to confirm Murthy to a post that had been vacant since July 2013. The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, works closely with the Surgeon General’s office on a variety of public health policy initiatives.

“Murthy, a great public health champion, is a strong advocate for the Affordable Care Act and, like the majority of Americans, for including reasonable gun policies as part of our nation’s health agenda. This vote was long overdue. Dr. Murthy is a widely respected physician and public health expert who can nobly fill the duties of the office of the Surgeon General. He is a leader, innovator, and entrepreneur in promoting public health,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director. “For more than a year, many in Congress held the Surgeon General post hostage as confirmation votes were continuously delayed. We are pleased to have an ally and highly qualified public health expert occupying post as important as the nation’s top doctor.”

The National Consumers League has worked closely with the Surgeon General on medication adherence through its Script Your Future medication adherence campaign. Then-acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak spoke at the Script Your Future annual meeting in Washington, DC this November.

“Americans are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Murthy’s passion, creativity, and effectiveness in the job as Surgeon General,” said Greenberg. “We look forward to his tenure, to our continued joint work on medication adherence, and to supporting Dr. Murthy’s current and future initiatives as Surgeon General.”

###

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.

2015 Data Security Policy Agenda Urges Incoming Congress to Enact Stronger Protections – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

December 9, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Expert panel examines rising levels of fraud, identity theft and steps policymakers must take to confront the threat

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) today released its 2015 data security agenda for policymakers at a Capitol Hill briefing, where a panel of experts discussed actions the 114th Congress should take to improve data security at retailers, financial institutions, and government agencies.

“With the holiday shopping season in full swing after a year of seemingly endless data breaches, consumers are more concerned than ever about criminals stealing and exploiting their personal information,” said John Breyault, NCL’s Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “We want government, and particularly Congress, to address our nation’s data breach epidemic.”

Today’s discussion focused on NCL’s policy agenda, which lays out a series of measures lawmakers and regulators should take to protect consumers. It builds on the recommendations in NCL’s 2013 “State of Identity Theft” report and on innovative research NCL conducted this summer with Javelin Strategy and Research. Both studies found that the consumer impact of data breaches is severe, and that consumers urgently want government to act to protect their personal information from hackers and other criminals.

“Americans are losing confidence in our nation’s data security infrastructure as it fails again and again to protect our personal information,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “Right now, the bad guys have the upper hand. We can win this fight, but it won’t happen without leadership from Washington.”

Panelists at Tuesday’s briefing included Al Pascual, Director of Fraud and Security at Javelin Strategy and Research; Larry Clinton, President and CEO of the Internet Security Alliance; Jared Bomberg, Associate at Hogan Lovells LLP; Justin Brookman, Director of the Consumer Privacy Project and Center for Democracy & Technology; and Sam Simon, Senior Counsel to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. 

Tuesday’s policy briefing was the latest event in NCL’s #DataInsecurity Project, an ongoing campaign to raise awareness and push for action on data security in light of an historic period of data breach incidents around the globe. The initiative continues tomorrow, December 10th, when the National Consumers League will join cyber security expert and investigative journalist Brian Krebs to discuss his new book, Spam Nation, and the rising occurrence of data breaches. More information can be found here.

###

About the NCL #DataInsecurity Project

In 2013, there were 614 data breaches, which led to more than 550 million identities compromised. New data breaches means more identity theft and other fraud, and more consumers facing financial loss, great inconvenience, and a loss of trust in the marketplace. NCL’s #DataInsecurity Project raises awareness about the need for reforms aimed at better protecting consumer data and calls on our policymakers to act now to strengthen cybersecurity standards. 

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.

FANS Act promises to put brakes on cable bill increases – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

December 4, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today, the National Consumers League is calling on legislators to adopt pro-consumer legislation that could slow the rising cost of cable and satellite television bills. The FANS Act, sponsored by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), would condition professional sports leagues’ antitrust exemptions on agreements to reduce programming blackouts and increase opportunities for fans to access sports over the Internet.

“Fans and non-fans alike are right to be outraged that rising sports programming costs are driving their cable and satellite bills through the roof,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “As the leagues enjoy huge profits, taxpayers are right to question what they receive in return the tax breaks, antitrust exemptions and public subsidies lavished on professional sports teams.”

By placing conditions on sports leagues’ antitrust exemptions, the FANS Act would incentivize sports leagues to ensure that games remain on the air when broadcasters and cable and satellite companies cannot come to agreement on retransmission costs. In addition, the bill would encourage leagues to make games available online in areas where consumers are unable to acquire programming due to teams’ overlapping broadcast territories. Finally, the bill would help put an end to the decades-long policy of blacking out games on local television when they don’t sell out, a goal that has already been endorsed by a unanimous vote at the Federal Communications Commission.

“Consumers are the ultimate supporters of professional sports teams,” said Greenberg. “The FANS Act is an important step in recouping some of the public benefits that the leagues have long enjoyed at taxpayers’ expense.” 

Read Greenberg’s testimony here.

###

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.

Script Your Future celebrates successful three years of raising medication adherence awareness – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

November 20, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC— Upon completion of its initial three-year program to raise awareness among patients about the consequences of not taking medication as directed, the Committed Partners of the Script Your Future campaign gathered for their annual meeting yesterday. Three out of four Americans are non-adherent, meaning that they fail to take prescribed medicines as directed by their health care professionals. Coordinated by the National Consumers League and launched in 2011, the innovative, multi-stakeholder effort campaign has educated millions of patients, family caregivers, and health care professionals about the importance of adherence.

At the annual meeting, representatives from the campaign’s 130+ Committed Partners and other supporters gathered to celebrate the program’s accomplishments, examine “Lessons Learned” from years of campaign planning and implementation, hear from our pilot city field organizers, and present the awards for our Medication Adherence Team Challenge to the winning student teams from schools of pharmacy and health professions.

As former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop once said, ‘Drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” “The National Consumers League’s Script Your Future campaign gets to the heart of the issue as to why patients fail to take their medications,” said Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, M.D., M.P.H. “Raising awareness about the importance of medication adherence is a priority for the Office of the Surgeon General.”

“The Script Your Future campaign has made a difference in the collective fight to increase awareness about this serious public health problem and has helped lay the groundwork for a healthier future for patients and our health care system,” said Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration. “The involvement of dozens of organizations, significant grass-roots support in the six pilot cities, and participation by health care professionals of the future through the Adherence Team Challenge has contributed to the success of this campaign.”

At the meeting, Script Your Future organizers presented awards to the winners of the 2014 Medication Adherence Team Challenge, who traveled to the meeting to represent their colleges and universities and receive the national honors. The month-long competition engaged health profession students and faculty in developing creative ideas for raising awareness about medication adherence as a critical public health issue.

This year’s awardees are: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy, and University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Pharmacy.

In its three years, the Script Your Future campaign has reached 12 million patients, distributed more than a million wallet cards for managing multiple medications, and provided direct counseling to 60,000 Americans.

“We are delighted to see how this campaign has grown over the years, as its messages on the importance of adherence have resonated with both health care professionals and patients,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Through our Adherence Team Challenge, we are seeing a new generation of health care professionals who appreciate the value of putting the patient at the center of care, and we expect this will yield immeasurable improvements in patient-provider relationships—and ultimately in medication adherence—in the years to come.”

Script Your Future is supported by a coalition of more than 130 public and private partners, including health care professional groups, chronic disease groups, health insurance plans, pharmaceutical companies, business organizations, consumer groups, as well as researchers and government agencies. The Script Your Future pilot cities are Baltimore, Md.; Birmingham, Ala.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; and Sacramento, Calif.

Since its launch in 2011, the campaign has represented the interests of consumers and patients in providing materials in numerous languages through partnerships with pharmacies, hospitals, medical offices and clinics, and health insurance plans; hosted community events and health fairs across the country; partnered with local officials, and evaluated medication adherence awareness through research. The centerpiece of the first-of-its-kind, multi-year campaign is a website, ScriptYourFuture.org, which provides tools to support patient efforts to adhere to their prescribed medicine. Tools include free text message reminders, videos, sample questions, medication lists and charts to keep track of medicines, and fact sheets on common chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

To learn more about the campaign, visit ScriptYourFuture.org.

###

Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. The National Consumers League serves consumers across the country by providing government, businesses and other organizations with the consumer’s perspective on a range of concerns – including health care and medication information. As an advocacy organization, NCL is working to educate consumers and key health stakeholders on the importance of taking medication as directed. For more information about this campaign, visit ScriptYourFuture.org, and for more information on our other areas of focus, please visit www.nclnet.org.

Group heralds minimum wage, paid sick days election victories – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

November 5, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

ashington, DC— The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and labor organization, applauds election advances in a handful of states towards a living wage for all workers, with increases to the minimum wage in several states, and implementation of paid sick leave for workers in several others.

“Last night’s victories for working Americans are also victories for the states and communities where the minimum wage will be raised. Their citizens will have a better standard of living as a result of these increases,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL.

Arkansas raised its state’s minimum wage from $6.25 (lower than the federal minimum wage) to $7.50 an hour, with 50-cent increases scheduled for 2016 and 2017. Nebraska voters approved a boost to $8 an hour, and set it to increase to $9 an hour in 2016. South Dakota voters supported wage increases to $8.50 an hour and linked future increases to inflation. Alaska voters approved a hike from $7.75 to $8.75 and again to $9.75 in 2016, with additional increases tied to inflation.

Last night also provided workers in traditionally more liberal areas with wage increases as well. Illinois voters approved a non-binding measure to boost their state minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 next year. The city of San Francisco became the second city in the country, after Seattle, to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour in next few years. In a similar move, the city of Oakland, California, approved a measure taking its wage from $9 an hour to $12.25, set to begin in March.

Experiencing its biggest single advance in history, voters in four locations—the state of Massachusetts; Montclair and Trenton, NJ; and Oakland, CA—approved measures guaranteeing workers paid sick days. The victories reflect broad public support for Americans who work at the lowest paying jobs.

“Paid sick days are a common-sense policy that allows workers time off to care for themselves and family members. And with cold and flu season upon us, these policies will lead to healthier workplaces and classrooms,” said Michell McIntyre, outreach director of labor and worker rights at NCL. 

With last night’s victories at the ballot box, three states and 16 cities have passed paid sick days laws, including two states and 10 cities in 2014 alone. “With additional paid sick days legislation percolating in numerous states and several municipalities, clearly the public supports access to paid sick days for all workers,” said Greenberg.

###

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, 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. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.