For Release March 4, 2010 “We look forward to welcoming the newly confirmed Federal Trade Commissioners Julie Brill and Edith Ramirez. They are both exceptionally talented and committed, and will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and new energy to the Commission. However, this announcement is bittersweet with the imminent departure of Commissioner Pamela Jones […]
Monthly Archives: March 2010
FTC Bars Transitions Optical, Inc. from Using Anticompetitive Tactics to Maintain its Monopoly in Darkening Treatments for Eyeglass Lenses
Transitions Optical, Inc., the nation’s leading manufacturer of photochromic treatments that darken corrective lenses used in eyeglasses, has agreed to stop using allegedly anticompetitive practices to maintain its monopoly and increase prices, under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced today. Photochromic treatments are applied to eyeglass lenses to protect the eyes from harmful […]
Debt Collectors Will Pay More Than $1 Million to Settle FTC Charges
A nationwide debt collector has agreed to pay a civil fine of more than $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by inaccurately reporting credit information and pressing consumers to pay debts they often did not owe. According to the FTC’s complaint, the company and two of its officers […]
FTC, Partners Launch 12th National Consumer Protection Week
The Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies and national consumer groups are sponsoring the 12th annual National Consumer Protection Week from March 7-13, 2010. The event is a coordinated consumer education campaign that encourages individuals across the country to take full advantage of their consumer rights. This year’s theme, Dollars & Sense: Rated “A” […]
FTC Seeks Public Comments on Trustee’s Proposal to Divest Two Stores under Whole Foods Market Inc. Divestiture Order; FTC To Review Three Agency Rules in 2010
FTC Seeks Public Comments on Trustee’s Proposal to Divest Two Stores under Whole Foods Market Inc. Divestiture Order The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comments on applications filed by the Divestiture Trustee to divest two stores pursuant to the Commission’s March 5, 2009 order, which was issued to help restore the competition lost by […]
FTC Halts Massive Cramming Operation that Illegally Billed Thousands; Alleges Scam Took in $19 Million over Five Years
A U.S. district court judge has ordered a halt to the illegal practices of an Internet services company that crammed unauthorized charges onto the telephone bills of thousands of consumers and small businesses for services they never agreed to buy. At trial the Federal Trade Commission will ask the court to halt the practices permanently […]
Payment Processing CEO Banned from the Business; Company Illegally Debited Millions from Consumers Bank Accounts
The chief executive officer of a payment processing company will be banned from the business as part of a settlement resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that the company illegally debited millions of dollars in bogus charges from consumers’ bank accounts. In 2007, the FTC charged the executive, Tarzenea Dixon, her company, and others with processing […]