uMany Consumers Still In The Dark About Overdraft Fees & Other Bank Practicesr

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• While millions of consumers contribute to the $32 billion in overdraft fees collected each year, a new video shows that many checking account holders don’t fully understand the way overdrafts work or how much they spend on the fees each year.

  Today, Pew Charitable Trusts unveiled the above video that sheds a bit of light on just how little the average consumer knows about their financial product of choice.

  While previous reports and surveys have shown that overdraft fees and unfair practices are of great concern to consumer advocates, Pew officials hope the video propels the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take action regarding overdraft policies.

  The video begins by offering viewers a few facts about checking accounts – nine out of 10 households use the financial product – and their associated overdraft fees – banks often charge excessive fees to cover small transactions.

  From there, the video take a man-on-the-street approach to interviewing consumers about their knowledge of overdraft practices.

  Of the consumers who were asked how much the typical bank charges for an overdraft fee, only one was able to answer correctly. According to Pew’s research, the average fee is $35, but most consumers interviewed believed the fee was $25.

  When it came to bank’s overdraft protection programs, many of the chosen consumers said they were covered by the plans. However, their understanding of how such programs work was a bit skewed.

  One consumers said she was automatically enrolled in the plan, but, Pew Trusts reports that consumers must specifically opt-in to the program.

  The video goes on to address concerns many advocates have raised about banks’ overdraft practices, including charging consumers high fees for transactions of less than $50 and the tendency to rearrange transactions in a way that makes consumers incur additional overdraft fees.

  “I think it’s ridiculous based on the amount of the overdraft,” one man says. “If it’s that minimal the fee should be a percentage of what the transaction is.”

  As for rearranged transactions, all of the consumers questioned about the practice said they were unaware of its use.

  “That’s upsetting,” one woman says. “I’ll have to pay more attention, I guess.”

  If given the option to improve overdraft practices, many consumers told Pew Trusts that they would prefer to have a transaction declined rather than be hit with an expensive fee.

  In conclusion of the video, most consumers voiced their opinion that banks should face more oversight when it comes to overdraft practices. Pew says those feelings are in line with a 2014 Pew survey that found three out of four consumers believe that overdrafts should be more closely regulated.

  “The video shows people could use more information and feel overdraft fees should be more in line with banks’ actual costs,” Susan Weinstock, director of Pew’s consumer banking project, tells Consumerist. “Both conclusions are consistent with our research. We hope the CFPB will watch and take note.”

  Have You Ever Overdrafted? [Pew Charitable Trusts]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uPopeyes Manager Says She Was Fired For Refusing To Pay Back Money Stolen By Armed Robberr

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• When a fast food eatery is held up, should the manager on duty be responsible for reimbursing the owner? Common sense might tell you “no,” but a former Popeyes employee claims that she was fired after she refused to pay her employer for the money stolen during her shift by an armed robber.

  According to KHOU-TV, on March 31 the Popeyes restaurant in Channelview, TX, just outside of Houston, was held up by a man with a gun who ordered all employees to the floor.

  He then grabbed the shift manager and ordered her to get all the money from the restaurant’s safe. She didn’t have access to that, so the only thing she could give the robber was the nearly $400 from the cash registers.

  Afterward, she says her boss gave her an ultimatum: Reimburse the store for the amount stolen or she was fired.

  “I told them I’m not paying nothing,” she tells KHOU. “I just had a gun to me. I’m not paying the money.”

  Later that week, the restaurant terminated her employment.

  A human resources rep for the franchisee tells KHOU that the reason the shift manager was fired was because she had too much money in the registers. The rep also claimed to know nothing of a reimbursement demand.

  The dismissed manager contends that it was a busy day and that she did her best to minimize the amount of money in the registers at any given time.

  “They got what they got because that’s what we made within one hour,” she tells KHOU.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uIRS Hung Up On 8.1 Million Taxpayers Without Answering Phoner

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  (Joachim Rayos)

  We knew going into this tax season that budget cuts to the Internal Revenue Service would result in less help for taxpayers and a likely increase in taxpayer fraud and errors, but today IRS Commissioner John Koskinen detailed exactly how badly things went this year.

  In prepared testimony [PDF] before the House Ways & Means Committee this morning, Koskinen said that budget cuts left the IRS “unable to provide adequate levels of taxpayer service,” and that “taxpayers did not get the customer service experience they deserve.”

  One of the more egregious examples are so-called “courtesy disconnects,” where someone trying to contact the IRS via phone is hung-up on before they even speak to someone. This occurs when the IRS phone system is unable to deal with the flood of incoming calls and people on hold.

  Koskinen said the number of disconnects so far in 2015 has already reached 8.1 million. Compare that to only 360,000 during the same time in 2014. That’s an increase of more than 22 times the number of disconnects.

  And for those who weren’t cut off, the waiting times were outrageously long — upwards of 30 minutes or more.

  Koskinen said these stats are “unacceptable to all of us.”

  Lines at Taxpayer Assistance Centers are getting longer, and people are queuing up for help hours before these centers open for the day, said Koskinen. It’s not a new phenomenon, he testified, “but it has gotten worse over time, and we are working to find a better approach for taxpayers.”

  In an effort to trim government spending — and in apparent retaliation for alleged partisan bad behavior by some IRS officials — the agency’s budget has been slashed in recent years; down $1.2 billion since 2010.

  “Customer service, both on the phone and in person has been much far worse than anyone would want,” Koskinen testified. “It’s simply a matter of not having enough people to answer the phones and provide service at our walk-in sites as a result of cuts to our budget.”

  Some members of Congress have accused the IRS of deliberately diverting funds from customer service to implementation and enforcement of the Affordable Care Act, but Koskinen contends that the agency is required by law to implement the law and that this costs money. Without additional funding, and with additional budget cuts, the IRS had to take money from somewhere.

  “In both years the Congress gave us zero dollars so we had no choice but to look elsewhere,” he testified.

  Once again, we conclude by bringing you Sir Michael Bolton’s serenade to the under-funded IRS:

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uNew Orleans Ban Against Smoking In Bars Goes Into Effectr

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  (Mike Matney Photography)

  Bars never close in New Orleans, but now those late night hot spots and cozy dives won’t be filled with smoke: Following the lead of many of the country’s major cities, New Orleans put a ban against smoking inside bars into effect as of today.

  Though New Orleans is a latecomer to smoke-free bars, it isn’t the last one to take an all-encompassing approach to banning smoke, notes the New York Times: Fellow popular travel destinations like Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Memphis, St. Louis, among others, still have yet to completely ban smoking in all bars, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation [PDF]

  This wasn’t a sudden move, however, as Louisiana state law had already banned smoking in restaurants and many bars and clubs had enacted their own smoking bans voluntarily.

  Cut to last fall, when City Council member LaToya Cantrell, introduced an anti-smoking proposal. After some revising, the council approved a smoking ban ordinance a few months later.

  While some will surely be glad to inhale lungfuls of smoke-free air — including many performers and musicians, bartenders and servers who’ve had to work in venues filled with smoking, other people who enjoy a smoke and a drink after finishing work at 2 a.m. aren’t so pleased.

  Then there are those who mostly seem fine with the whole thing, especially given the plethora of smoking bans across the U.S.

  “This is one of the smokiest bars in town,” the owner of a jazz venue told the NYT. “I know a bunch of people who don’t come in here because of the smoke,” he said, listing names. “Maybe they’ll come back.”

  New Orleans Bars Issue Last Call for Smoking [New York Times]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uBlue Bell Creameries Beefs Up Investigation Into Cause Of Listeria Contamination, Two More Illnesses Reportedr

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  (Kusine)

  Two days after Blue Bell Creameries voluntarily recalled all of its products, the 100-year-old business says it’s making progress in pinpointing the cause of a massive listeria contamination that has led to three deaths and at least 10 illnesses.

  The Texas-based ice cream company announced Tuesday that it is stepping up efforts – including the hiring of a team of microbiologists – to quickly identify the cause of the listeria contamination, the Chicago Tribune reports.

  The microbiologists are currently working with federal investigators at Blue Bell’s four production facilities located in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

  “As each day passes, we are getting closer and closer to figuring out how this listeria was introduced into our facilities. … It’s a matter of doing the work and not making excuses,” a representative for Blue Bell tells the Tribune.

  In addition to hiring the microbiologists, Blue Bell says it will expand its cleaning and sanitation system, increase employee training and expand a swabbing system to include more surfaces. The company is also sending daily samples to labs for testing.

  At the same time that Blue Bell announced its beefed up efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the number of consumers sickened by the listeria contamination grew to include 10 people in four states.

  In all, the contamination has sickened five people – three of whom later died – have become ill in Kansas, three in Texas and one each in Arizona and Oklahoma.

  According to the CDC, the illnesses began anywhere from January 2010 through January 2015. One additional patient with listeriosis is undergoing further testing to determine if that illness is related to the Blue Bell contamination.

  “CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify any other ill persons that may be part of this outbreak,” the agency said in an update to the case.

  On Monday, Blue Bell added to three earlier recalls by pulling all products off the shelves after two more ice cream samples tested positive for listeria.

  The massive voluntary recall was initiated after two chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream samples tested positive for the potentially deadly bacteria.

  The final recall includes frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks distributed in 23 states as well as internationally, because those items “have the potential to be contaminated,” the company said.

  CEO Paul Kruse said in a video statement posted on Blue Bell’s website Monday, that the company couldn’t say how the listeria was introduced to its facilities.

  For several weeks, the contamination was thought to only be present in the company’s temporarily closed Broken Arrow facility.

  After that contamination was confirmed a number of retailers, including Sam’s Club, Walmart, H-E-B, and Kroger, began remove Blue Bell products.

  Blue Bell products being recalled are distributed to retail outlets, including food service accounts, convenience stores and supermarkets in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming and international locations.

  Consumers should not eat any Blue Bell products — if you have them in your freezer, throw them out or return them to the store where you purchased them for a full refund, even if no one has gotten ill from eating them.

  Blue Bell says it’s still trying to pinpoint listeria cause [The Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uJohn Deere Wants To Be Able To File Copyright Claims Against The Way You Use Your Tractorr

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  (Matt McGee)

  
  In the modern, digital economy, there are a whole lot of things you buy but still technically don’t own. Nearly all entertainment, for example: digital books, video games, music, and so on. Other software, too. But as basically everything continues to become some kind of computer in a specialized body, plenty of other goods are starting to be subject to licensing, copyright law, and non-ownership problems, too. Like tractors.

  Famous farming machinery company John Deere is making the case that you don’t own your vehicles, Wired reports this week. In filings with the copyright office (PDF), the maker of the ubiquitous green and yellow tractor argues that because your tractor has a chip and some code in it, you don’t actually own it. You’ve just got an “implied license for the life of the vehicle to operate the vehicle.”

  We’ve been through this song and dance before — really, we’re still going through it right now — with specifically high-tech items. You might own the plastic, glass, and aluminum casing of your iPad but everything that runs on it, every single line of code that makes it go, is just something you have paid for the right to access until someone else takes it away or changes it. That affects your ability to unlock your phone, resell your used tablet, or in fact act in any way like you actually own the thing you went and bought and paid for.

  Software is more like an event than like a thing, in many ways: You pay for a ticket that gets you into the rock concert, and you get to watch and participate and enjoy it, but you don’t own the musician, the concert, or any recordings made of it. You paid for the time-limited experience of using it, basically.

  So it goes with your digital book, or your video game, or that song or movie you downloaded. You’re paying for access to the experience, on the company’s terms. And with digital goods, culturally speaking, we’ve pretty much gotten used to that. They’re not tangible, and they’ve been subject to strict licensing for a long time. Overall we’ve more or less accepted that you can’t sell a used Steam game or Kindle book or iTunes song.

  But we still have an expectation of ownership for physical, tangible goods. I can resell this paperback, or this CD, or this DVD, or this car. We still have a (rapidly fading) second-hand market for disc-based video games. There’s an expectation that an actual object I can hold in my hands or park in my driveway is mine to do with as I please after I’ve legally paid for it with my money.

  Except, well, maybe you can’t.

  Copyright law controls basically everything, thanks to the pervasiveness of software. Everything has a chip and some code telling it how to act, from your coffeemaker to your TV to your car. And as John Deere so unsubtly points out, for farmers, that includes tractors and other farm equipment.

  Lest you think it’s just the agriculturally-employed who need to worry, it’s not. GM is right there with John Deere explaining to the Copyright Office that drivers might own the frames and windows and trunks of their cars, but that because everything under the hood and in the dash is driven by a computer chip, General Motors retains a claim on every car they sell. If you decide to go get some aftermarket mods done on your Chevy, you might be a software pirate.

  Congress has gotten involved with the YODA proposal (yes, really) to protect the consumer’s right to resell goods they own even if they have software in them, but that seems unlikely even to limp through committee and even less likely ever to see the light of day as law.

  The Copyright Office will be holding hearings on the matter in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in May, and they are expected to issue a ruling in July saying just what you can and can’t do with the things you thought you paid for.

  We Can’t Let John Deere Destroy the Very Idea of Ownership [Wired]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uMcDonald’s CEO Says He Has Turnaround Ideas Up His Sleever

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  (БРАТСТВО)

  Facing sagging sales, increasing criticism of its labor practices, and growing disenfranchisement from its franchisees, McDonald’s recently installed CEO Steve Easterbrook is at the head of a flagging company that was once viewed as an unstoppable fast food force. But Steve-E claims that he’s got some ideas on how to reverse the course before this burger Titanic strikes the iceberg.

  “We are developing a turnaround plan to improve our performance and deliver enduring profitable growth,” Easterbrook said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

  Of course, he’s not sharing those plans just yet. We’ll all have to wait until May 4 for that.

  McDonald’s same-store sales were down 2.6% in the first quarter, even as the company made a massive media push with its “lovin'” campaign, which briefly allowed random customers to pay with non-currency like hugs. The marketing, which included prominent Super Bowl advertising, increased brand awareness of McDonald’s but failed to improve sales or consumers’ feelings toward the company.

  McDonald’s also recently announced pay hikes for employees at company-owned stores in an apparent effort to steer away some of the negative publicity arising from protests and walk-outs from workers demanding higher wages. However, since 90% of U.S. McDonald’s are owned by franchisees who make their own decisions about wage levels, the overwhelming majority of employees are unaffected by this raise.

  The fast food giant recently held a Turnaround summit with franchisees, but some said the event was a “farce… The ideas presented — such as Create Your Taste — DO NOT fit our business model. McDonald’s Corp. has panicked and jumped the shark. The problem is an unwieldy menu—too big—and trying to be all things to all people.”

  In San Diego, McDonald’s has just begun testing an all-day breakfast menu (no biscuits included). If successful, it might appease disgruntled franchisees who have been complaining about too many high-cost, limited-time menu offerings that don’t pay off. By serving breakfast all day, it could give franchisees additional revenue without having to add anything new to the menu.

  One unquestionably positive move made by Easterbrook was to start sourcing meat from chickens raised without controversial antibiotics. This may not have an immediate impact on the company’s sales, but when one of the largest chicken-buying entities in the U.S. demands drug-free birds, it should lead more poultry producers to curb their medically unnecessary use of these antibiotics.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist