uLowe’s Agrees To $1.1M In Refunds Over Sketchy Flooring Installation Price Quotesr

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  When a company tells gives you a “per square foot” price for flooring, it would be nice to know if that means “per square foot of the floor(s) being covered” or “per square foot of the material ordered to do the job,” because those are often two very different numbers. For years, Lowe’s failed to make this distinction, which is why the home improvement retailer has agreed to refund up to $1.1 million to flooring customers in New York state.

  Since at least 2008, according to the office of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Lowe’s advertised “per square foot” rates for installation of carpeting, ceramic tile, wood/laminate flooring but failed to adequately disclose that the pricing was based on the square footage of materials ordered, not the square footage of the project area.

  After a third-party installer measured the space, Lowe’s would provide the customer with an estimate for the job to be done, which included the cost of the material required, and the cost of installation. But again, what wasn’t properly disclosed, says Schneiderman, was the actual size of the room or the square footage of material ordered. Only if the customer specifically requested to get the measurements of their room was that information provided. Customers were also not told they could return unopened excess flooring materials for a refund.

  Following the NY AG’s investigation into Lowe’s installation sales, the retailer has agreed to settle with the state, paying cash refunds of up to 10% of installation fees to more than 16,000 New York consumers who purchased basic flooring installation services between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2012. Affected Lowe’s customers will be notified by mail about how to obtain their refunds. Lowe’s will pay another $900,000 to the state to resolve these allegations.

  The retailer has also agreed to improved disclosure policies that should give customers more transparent and accurate information about how Lowe’s calculates its flooring installation charges. Any costs in excess of the project’s actual square footage is to be plainly disclosed in quotes provided to customers.

  “When consumers shop for home installation services, they deserve to be dealt with honestly and fairly – and not to be misled by deceptive sales practices that conceal the true cost of a service,” says Schneiderman, whose office is investigating installation pricing policies at other retailers. “We expect others who advertise for flooring installation to follow the model practices outlined in today’s agreement.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uPanera Pledges To Move To Only Cage-Free Eggs By 2020, Wants You To Eat More Plantsr

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  As consumers continue to lean toward food options they see as healthier and more sustainable, Panera Bread is touting updates to animal welfare program. One big pledge the soup and sandwich chain is making: it’ll use only cage-free eggs in its supply chain by 2020.

  Panera noted that out of the 70 million shell eggs, hard boiled and liquid eggs it served in its restaurants in 2015, 20% of those were cage free. The move to entirely cage-free will encompass all egg products it uses — hardboiled and liquid egg whites included — in sweet goods, souffles and dressings.

  The move comes about a month after Starbucks also pledged to go cage-free by 2020, as the industry continually tries to keep up with what others are doing to lure health-conscious customers

  Along with the egg changes, Panera wants its customers to chow down on more plants, pushing its new plant-based protein options.

  “We know that guests are increasingly seeking plant-based proteins for personal health reasons and/or to reduce their environmental impact,” said Sara Burnett, Panera’s director of wellness and food policy, in a news release. “To that end, we have been adding plant-based proteins like edamame and organic quinoa to our pantry of ingredients.”

  It might not seem sexy or exciting to the average meat-eater, but focusing on plant-based proteins is a strong move, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

  “It’s the first national chain that I’m aware of that’s ever said that,” Josh Balk, senior food policy director for the Humane Society of the United States told Fortune. “It’s hugely significant.”

  Now that Panera has come out in favor of plant-based proteins, don’t be surprised if other chains follow suit, he adds.

  “Plant-based is the next big issue,” Balk said. “We’re at a tipping-point for plant-based foods.”

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uSenate Investigating Drug Companies Behind Huge Overnight Price Hikesr

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  A handful of pharmaceutical investors have been snapping up the rights to previously affordable prescription drugs, only to immediately raise prices to the point where patients now pay hundreds of dollars for a single pill — resulting in huge additional costs for consumers, insurers, and healthcare providers. Not only has this practice drawn the ire of the medical community, it’s also resulted in a Senate committee investigation.

  Yesterday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging sent letters requesting documents from four pharmaceutical companies regarding their sky-high price increases on certain prescription drugs.

  “Some of the recent actions we’ve seen in the pharmaceutical industry—with corporate acquisitions followed by dramatic increases in the prices of pre-existing drugs—have looked like little more than price gouging,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO), ranking member of the committee. “We need to get to the bottom of why we’re seeing huge spikes in drug prices that seemingly have no relationship to research and development costs. I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan investigation so that we can find some answers the public wants and deserves.”

  The committee sent letters to the following:

  • Turing Pharmaceuticals [PDF]: After Turing acquired the rights earlier this year to Daraprim — an anti-parasitic used to treat malaria and toxoplasmosis — the per-pill price skyrocketed from $13.50 to more than $750. Turing defended the price hike by saying it was going to use the money to invest in research for a better drug to treat the same diseases. But some physicians countered that Daraprim has been used for 60 years and there is no urgent need for a replacement.

  • Rodelis Therapeutics [PDF]: This Georgia company recently acquired the rights to sell Seromycin — used in the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis. After that acquisition, the per-pill price increased from around $17 to $360, meaning a patient who needs 30 pills would be on the hook for $10,800.

  • Retrophin Inc [PDF]: Charging $30/pill for kidney disease drug Thiola may not seem like much compared to some of the other drugs in this story, but consider that this same drug only cost $1.50/pill before Retrophin licensed the rights to sell it.

  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals [PDF]: The committee requested information on three different drugs that saw significant price increases immediately after Valeant acquired their rights. In a single day, the cost of cardiac arrest treatment Nitropress rose by 625%, from $215/vial to $1,346. Another cardiac drug Isuprel experienced a more drastic 820% price increase — from $180 per ampule to $1,472. The third Valeant drug, Cuprimine, is used for the treatment of Wilson’s disease. Its price soared from $8.88/capsule to $262/capsule, an increase of more than 2,900%.

  The companies have all been asked to provide the requested information by Dec. 2, and to schedule a time to confer with committee staff.

  “The sudden, aggressive price hikes for a variety of drugs used widely for decades affect patients and health care providers and the overall cost of health care. These substantial increases have the potential to inflate the cost of health care for Americans, especially our seniors, by hundreds of millions of dollars each year,” said committee chair Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. “Given the potential harm to patients across our country who rely on these drugs for critical care and treatment, the Senate Special Committee on Aging considers these massive price increases worthy of a serious, bipartisan investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uWant To Watch ESPN Without Cable? Buy A PlayStation.r

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  Live sports — the supposed killer app that keeps people subscribing to cable when otherwise they might cut the cord — is, well, going cordless. Disney today announced a deal with Sony that will bring all of their programming, including ESPN, to a streaming service near you. At least, if you live in the right area.

  The deal will bring Disney-owned networks to the PlayStation Vue streaming service, a cable-free cable alternative that still costs just about as much as traditional pay-TV. The deal includes live-streaming and library access to content from:

  • ABC owned-and-operated broadcast stations
  • ABC Family (Freeform)
  • Disney Channel
  • Disney Junior
  • Disney XD
  • ESPN
  • ESPN2
  • ESPN College Extra
  • ESPNU
  • ESPNEWS
  • ESPN Deportes
  • ESPN Classic
  • ESPN Goal Line
  • ESPN Buzzer Beater
  • ESPN Bases Loaded
  • Fusion
  • Longhorn Network
  • SEC-ESPN Network

  ABC affiliate broadcast networks not owned and operated by Disney will also be able to opt-in to joining the service.

  Unfortunately, the audience is still pretty limited. Not only do would-be subscribers need to own a recent-generation PlayStation console, but also Vue is still only available in a handful of markets: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

  Disney and ESPN have not yet announced when the content will actually launch on PlayStation Vue, nor where it will land in terms of plans and pricing.

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uMercedes Recalls More Than 126,000 Vehicles Because Airbags Should Deploy In A Crashr

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  Typically airbags deploy in the event of a crash and stay in their place when the vehicle is operating normally. But that’s apparently not the way it works for some Mercedes-Benz vehicles now being recalled. 

  The carmaker announced Wednesday that it would recall 126,260 vehicles because the airbags can malfunction, putting drivers and passengers at risk for injuries.

  Affected vehicles include the 2008 and 2009 C300, C350 and C63 AMG models, as well as the model year 2010 GLK350.

  According to a notice [PDF] posted with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, insufficient pressurization in the production process of the power supply control unit can interrupt electrical connections leading to airbag failure.

  If the interruption occurs, Mercedes says the vehicle airbags can malfunction in one of two ways: fail to deploy in the event of a crash or inadvertently deploy when there is no accident.

  The carmaker says it first became aware of the issue in March 2013 via customer complaints concerning the SRS warning lamp.

  At that time, the manufacturer was also aware of isolated instances of unintended airbag deployment in vehicles. Several months later, the company was made aware of two other instances of unintended airbag deployments in vehicles.

  Mercedes says that a subsequent investigation involving three inadvertent deployments in 2014 was complicated because the vehicles had other issues such as flood damage or had been in a previous crash.

  Last month, the car company began studying another deployment and concluded a recall was needed.

  Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by the company and a dealer will check the SRS control unit and replace it if necessary.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uFired Taco Bell Executive Apologizes For Drunkenly Attacking Uber Driverr

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  Days after a video hit the Internet showing an Uber passenger attacking a driver in California (and getting a face full of mace in the process), the California man accused of the assault has issued an apology. In the meantime, he was fired from his executive position at Taco Bell and the Uber driver is suing him.

  The 32-year-old man’s attorneys issued a statement Wednesday that their client was extremely remorseful for hitting the Uber driver, and that it was an isolated incident in his life.

  He “recognizes that despite his level of intoxication, he should have never slapped [the driver] and is extremely remorseful for his actions,” the statement read. The attorneys said they’ve reached out to the driver’s attorney in the hopes of offering an in-person apology.

  The driver is suing the unruly passenger over Friday’s attack, filing a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California in Orange County on Tuesday. He claims the passenger caused damages in excess of $25,000 for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

  The passenger is facing up to a year in jail if he’s convicted of assault and battery charges, reports CBS News. He was also fired from his position as brand manager for Taco Bell.

  “Given the behavior of the individual, it is clear he can no longer work for us. We have also offered and encouraged him to seek professional help,” Taco Bell said in a statement earlier this week.

  California man apologizes over Uber driver’s assault [CBS News]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uExpedia To Buy Vacation Rental Site HomeAway For $3.9Br

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  Just two months after Expedia completed its last big purchase, the travel-booking enterprise has hit the market again, offering $3.9 billion to buy vacation rental company HomeAway. 

  Expedia announced Wednesday that it would jump into the vacation rental arena by acquiring Airbnb competitor HomeAway.

  “We have long had our eyes on the fast growing ~$100 billion alternative accommodations space and have been building on our partnership with HomeAway, a global leader in vacation rentals, for two years,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer for Expedia, said in a statement. “Bringing HomeAway into the Expedia family and adding its leading brands to our portfolio of the most trusted brands in travel is a logical next step.“

  Under the new venture, which is contingent on regulatory approval, HomeAway would largely run independently out of its current home base of Austin, TX.

  As part of the deal, the New York Times reports that HomeAway will revamp its business model, charging travelers a fee based on a sliding scale.

  While the company didn’t disclose the details of the changes during a call, executives with the company say it adds an average of 6% to most rentals.

  Additionally, the company says it plans to lower the commission rates for owners listing their rentals, which was previously the its biggest revenue generator.

  Expedia says it expects the $3.9 billion acquisition to close during the first quarter of 2016.

  [via The New York Times]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist