uCord Cutters: Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For A Starz Streaming Servicer

4 4 4 9

• 

  If you’re a cord-cutter and hoped to catch up on Outlander, you’ll have to continue borrowing your friend’s Starz Play login credentials.

  Compared to HBO and Showtime, Starz may not be the biggest brand in premium TV, but the network isn’t without its many fans. And last year, Starz execs seemed destined to jump on the bandwagon of offering a standalone streaming service for people who didn’t also want to pay for cable TV packages. But now the network’s CEO is saying he’s in no rush to offer such a product.

  “We are evaluating what others are doing,” CEO Chris Albrecht told investors yesterday, according to Fierce Cable. “It’s early days. We have yet to see any hard reported data on the benefits of that to brands.”

  Instead, the company is putting its efforts behind its companion streaming service Starz Play, which is free for subscribers who get Starz through their cable/satellite providers.

  This wait-and-see attitude from Albrecht sounds different from the statements he made almost a year ago, when he declared that premium channels like Starz were seeing “significant value” constrained by cable operators requiring that customers purchase basic pay-TV service before they could get access to the premium networks.

  “This is a tide that has to turn,” he said at the time, while also dismissing the notion that standalone streaming services cannibalize the existing customer base.

  “Let’s get them in the tent,” Albrecht said in 2014 about cord-cutters and consumers who had never given pay-TV a try. “Let’s give them what they want.”

  But now the company is trying to walk back the implied sentiment of those statements.

  “We said in October 2014 and have said all along that we will evaluate the fast-moving marketplace,” a Starz rep explained to Fierce Cable. “Our focus is working with our core [pay-TV] distributors in selling Starz, be it through traditional means or working in developing creative ways–i.e., place Starz on top of a skinny video bundle–in tapping new growth opportunities.”

  The rep did, however, leave open the option that Starz service could be sold as an add-on through a digital distributor, much like Showtime’s recently launched product is being sold through Hulu and PlayStation, “but we are not going direct-to-consumers at this time.”

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uRegulators Deny Request For Investigation Into 5 Million Fiat Chrysler Vehiclesr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (bluwmongoose)
  

  Following a probe into 23 safety recalls and 11 million cars – which resulted in a record-setting $105 million fine – it appears that Fiat Chrysler is getting a little bit of good news from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to not open an investigation into nearly five million other vehicles over power system failures.

  The regulator denied a 2014 petition [PDF] from the Center for Auto Safety that called for an investigation into an electrical power control module used by the car maker in multiple vehicles produced since 2007.

  According to NHTSA’s denial [PDF], regulators found “no valid evidence” to support the claims in the petition.

  Last August, the advocacy group filed a request for the investigation, contending that defects in the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) could result in engine stalls, airbag non-deployment, failure of fuel pump shutoff resulting in unintended acceleration, fire and other issues.

  Vehicles covered by the petition included Ram pickup trucks, Chrysler and Dodge minivans, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, as well as Dodge Durango and Journey SUVs.

  In September 2014, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened an evaluation into the petition. At that time, regulators began analyzing data provided by the Center for Auto Safety and complaints submitted to NHTSA from consumers.

  In all, NHTSA says there were 296 complaints submitted by the advocacy group and 76 complaints in its own database. While investigators found no safety defect trends, they did find field analysis that indicated model year 2011 to 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles had higher complaint rates for fuel pump relay failure.

  Later that same month, Fiat Chrysler notified NHTSA that it would recall 188,723 model year 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles. In February of this year, the company expanded the recall to cover an additional 338,216 model year 2012 to 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee and model year 2012 Dodge Durango vehicles.

  Despite the recall initiated by Fiat Chrysler, NHTSA’s investigation determined that the Center for Auto Safety’s allegations were not supported.

  “No valid evidence was presented in support of claims related to airbag non-deployment, unintended acceleration or fire resulting from TIPM faults and these claims were found to be wholly without merit based on review of the field data and design of the relevant systems and components,” the notice states.

  NHTSA says that any additional investigation into the matter is unlikely to result in a finding that a defect related to vehicle safety exists in the vehicles.

  “Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA’s limited resources to best accomplish the agency’s safety mission, the petition is denied,” the notice concludes.

  Clarence Ditlow, executive director for the Center for Auto Safety, tells the Associated Press, that he considers the two recalls issued by Fiat Chrysler to be a victory.

  He says that the Center would continue to monitor the issues to determine if other vehicles could be covered by the stalling recall.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWhole Foods Learns That Admitting To Overcharging Customers Can Hurt Salesr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Frankieleon)

  Since Whole Foods first became a household name, it’s been the butt of jokes — like the oft-repeated “Whole Paycheck” nickname — about the high prices it charges. Yet customers continued to come. It wasn’t until the grocery chain recently admitted to “unintentionally” overcharging on certain items that shoppers began looking elsewhere.

  The company released its latest quarterly earnings report yesterday and said that while sales at established stores were up slightly, the 1.3% quarterly increase was its weakest increase since the early days of the Great Recession.

  It didn’t help that the final week of the quarter coincided with a public acknowledgement from co-CEOs John Mackey and Walter Robb that the store had been overcharging customers for some prepackaged fresh food items. Investigators in New York City had turned up evidence of some 800 violations at Whole Foods stores since 2010, with overcharges ranging from $.80 to nearly $15.

  “By any measure, it had a significant impact on our sales,” admitted Robb during the earnings call. “If trust is broken, it has to be rebuilt a step at a time.”

  One analyst told the Wall Street Journal that investors “are starting to lose faith in the management team” as the company’s “growth rate has slowed massively… yet they are still opening more stores.”

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uWant Solitaire Ad-Free On Windows 10? That’ll Cost Your

4 4 4 9

• After leaving Solitaire off Windows 8, forcing PC users who needed to fill that procrastinatory urge to download the program separately, Microsoft made many customers happy when it announced that it’d be including the game in Windows 10. While that’s all well and good, some players might be irked to know that the new Solitaire is a freemium — meaning if you want an ad-free experience and access to other premium features, you’ll have to pay.

  The new Windows 10 version of Microsoft Solitaire is included by default, but there are some features locked behind a paywall: it’ll cost $1.49 a month or $9.99 a year to get rid of ads, gain access to more coins (Solitaire’s in game currency) for completing daily challenges and have the chance to earn boosts in Tripeaks and Pyramid games.

  This isn’t the first time Microsoft has offered an upgrade, though the difference here is that Windows 10 has Solitaire bundled in, while the game had to be downloaded from Microsoft’s store with Window 8. That version also included separate paid additions that could be downloaded.

  (h/t to Business Insider UK)

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uVerizon’s Refusal To Repair Landline Service Leaves Elderly Man Without Phone For Monthsr

uRegulators Investigating University Of Phoenix’s Business Practicesr

4 4 4 9

• Apollo Education Group, owners of the country’s largest for-profit college – University of Phoenix – is the latest target for federal regulators set on reining in the for-profit education industry for engaging in allegedly deceptive marketing practices.

  The for-profit chain, which also counts Western International University, Carnegie Learning and College for Financial Planning among its other schools, announced through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing [PDF] Wednesday that it is now under federal investigation for engaging in possible deceptive and unfair business practices.

  According to the filing, Apollo received a Civil Investigative Demand from the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday requiring the company to provide all information regarding business practices at the University of Phoenix from January 2011 to present.

  “The demand indicates that it relates to an investigation to determine if certain unnamed persons, partnerships, corporations, or others have engaged or are engaging in deceptive or unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce in the advertising, marketing, or sale of secondary or postsecondary educational products or services or education accreditation products or services,” the filing states.

  The information supplied by Apollo must include details about marketing, recruiting, enrollment, financial aid, tuition and fees, academic programs, academic advising, student retention, billing and debt collection, complaints, accreditation, training, military recruitment and other compliance matters at the University of Phoenix.

  Apollo notes in the filing that it is evaluating the FTC’s demand and plans to cooperate fully with regulators.

  The investigation into Apollo and the University of Phoenix comes as the company goes through a “transition,” as CEO Greg Cappelli told investors back in March.

  The online school has seen enrollment falter in recent years, as the for-profit industry has come under greater scrutiny from regulators related to allegedly deceptive marketing practices like inflated graduation and job placement rates and aggressively pushing students into expensive private loans.

  However, at the time of the March investor call, Cappelli blamed the continued enrollment decline on the transition the career college has undergone and a decrease in marketing expenditures.

  “University of Phoenix is going through a transition, but we’re building a stronger foundation for future success,” Cappelli said on the call. “We’re working to build a much more competitive and efficient university for the long-term.”

  Despite enrolling fewer students, the for-profit college – which operates mainly online and at several campuses around the country – continues to be the top recipient of federal student aid for veterans – collecting more than $488 million in tuition and fees from veterans since 2009. The school often sponsors large military education and employment events in hopes of attracting new enrollments.

  A recent report from Reveal detailed how the company skirts some rules in order to showcase the school’s prowess to military members, in hopes of enrolling servicemembers.

  Several recent investigations into practices at top for-profit chains have resulted in fines and even contributed the recent closure of once-prominent Corinthian Colleges Inc, the operator of Everest University, Heald College and WyoTech.

  The company began its downward spiral last summer when the Department of Education withheld federal funding. The two parties reached an agreement in which CCI would sell several of its campuses. However, it was too late for the chain, and after selling nearly 60 campuses early this year, the company abruptly closed its remaining schools and filed for bankruptcy.

  The investigation into the University of Phoenix and Apollo Group comes less than a month after new federal rules went into effect for any school with career training programs.

  Under the rules [PDF], for-profit colleges will be at risk of losing their federal aid should a typical graduate’s annual loan repayments exceed 20% of their discretionary income, or 8% of their total earnings.

  Discretionary income is defined as above 150% of the poverty line and applies to what can be put towards non-necessities.

  So for example, say the typical recent graduate of a career education program earns $25,000. That student would need to average annual student loan payments less than $2,000, or the school would be at risk for losing federal financial aid.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uUber Launches Car Leasing Program To Attract More Driversr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (afagen)

  There’s one big obstacle for anyone who wants to sign up as an Uber driver and hit the road — if you don’t have a car, you’ve got nowhere to put any passengers. Uber wants to make it easier to attract potential drivers, launching its own auto leasing subsidiary unit that will bring the ride-hailing company into the financial services industry.

  There aren’t many details about the costs of the new leasing pilot project, called Xchange Leasing, but Uber says it will offer both new and used cars. Participants in the program can return the vehicle with two weeks notice and “limited additional costs,” the company said.

  “Unlike most multi-year leases that have high fees for early termination, drivers who participate in Xchange for at least 30 days will be able to return the car with only two weeks notice, and limited additional costs,” Uber said in a press release about the program. “The program allows for unlimited mileage and the option to lease a used car, with routine maintenance also included. These features combine to create a product unlike anything on the market today.”

  Xchange Leasing is currently operating in major metropolitan areas in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego and select cities in Georgia and Maryland, with additional locations expected in the future.

  Uber launched the Vehicle Solutions program in 2013 to arrange manufacturer discounts and work with lenders for prospective drivers who are carless, but interested in driving for Uber. Manufacturers like Toyota, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, VW, and Chrysler have all partnered with Uber for discounts. So far, the company says nearly 20,000 drivers have participated in the program.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist