When a product recall goes out, what happens to competitors' sales?

Mar 27, 2023
It depends on why the recall was issued and how essential the item is.
While several companies have now recalled eye drops, recalls that get a lot of attention can affect other brands that make similar products.
Will Russell/Getty Images

Consumer rights aren't guaranteed in a digital world, warns Consumer Reports CEO

Dec 23, 2022
Marta Tellado, CEO of the nonprofit Consumer Reports, says shift to a digital economy may endanger some consumer rights.
Consumer Reports CEO Marta Tellado cautions that consumer protections have not kept up in areas of the economy like artificial intelligence and digital algorithms.
Courtesy Consumer Reports
Large banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase, are creating a system to reimburse customers who fall victim to scams.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

How companies use “dark patterns” to keep you locked into online subscriptions 

Oct 26, 2022
Subscription-based models have been around for a while, but the internet is making them more ubiquitous than ever.
Some companies' websites have design elements aimed at deceiving consumers into buying their products or services.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Supreme Court limits FTC's ability to make fraudsters reimburse consumers

Apr 23, 2021
In its unanimous ruling, the court says the FTC could always ask Congress for more authority to recover money for victims.
Over the past five years, the FTC says it’s returned over $11 billion to victims using the method that the court just struck down.
RiverNorthPhotography via Getty Images

With the CFPB's future uncertain, New York and other states want to step in

Mar 5, 2020
Some states are stepping up their plans to regulate the debt collection industry. Consumer advocates say the moves come at a time when Federal protections are weakening.
Gov. Cuomo announced a plan to crack down on fraud with additional oversight of the debt collection industry.
Scott Heins/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

A rice by any other name...

May 23, 2019
Lawmakers in the state of Louisiana are debating when food products can be called “rice.”
Jeff Durand on his rice farm in St. Martinville, Louisiana.
Laine Kaplan-Levenson

China's professional shoppers

Apr 4, 2019
They're making a living ... undercover.
People walk between buildings at a shopping mall in Beijing on October 18, 2018.
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Your student loan company just changed the terms of your agreement. What do you do next?

Sep 20, 2018
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau helps you handle problems you’re having with a financial service or product. Here’s how that process works.
A poster of evidence is presented by then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara during a press conference on May 7, 2013 in New York City.
John Moore/Getty Images