At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court halted a debt collection operation that the agency charged with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Fair Debt Collection Act by misrepresenting that they were with the government, falsely accusing consumers of committing check fraud, and then threatening consumers with arrest. […]
Monthly Archives: March 2014
FTC Announces Agenda for March 20-21 Workshop Examining U.S. Health Care Competition Issues
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the agenda for the upcoming public workshop on “Examining U.S. Health Care Competition.” The workshop will be held in the FTC Conference Center at 601 New Jersey Ave., N.W., in Washington, DC, on March 20 and 21, 2014. Health care spending accounts for a large part of federal, state, […]
FTC Seeks Public Comment on iKeepSafe’s Proposed Safe Harbor Program Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed safe harbor program that the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeep Safe) has submitted for Commission approval under the agency’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. The FTC’s COPPA Rule includes a “safe harbor” provision designed to encourage increased industry self-regulation in this area. Under this […]
FTC Requests Public Comments on SCI’s Applications to Approve Sale of Funeral Assets in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia
The Federal Trade Commission is currently accepting public comments on three applications by Service Corporation International (SCI) to sell certain funeral and cemetery assets, as required under the FTC’s December 2013 proposed order settling charges that SCI’s acquisition of Stewart would be anticompetitive. In total, the proposed order requires the combined SCI/Stewart to divest 53 […]
FTC Reaches Settlement With Home Security Company that Called Millions of Consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry
The Federal Trade Commission, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, has settled a complaint against a Massachusetts-based home security company that illegally called millions of consumers on the FTC’s National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to pitch home security systems. According to the FTC, Versatile Marketing Solutions (VMS), under the guidance of […]
FTC Requests Public Comments on SCI’s Application to Approve Sale of California Funeral Assets and Related Facilities Agreement
The Federal Trade Commission is currently accepting public comments on an application by Service Corporation International (SCI) to sell certain funeral and cremation assets, as required under the FTC’s December 2013 proposed order settling charges that SCI’s acquisition of Stewart would be anticompetitive. In total, the proposed order requires the combined SCI/Stewart to divest 53 […]
FTC Files Amicus Brief Opposing District Court Finding on Collection of Time-Barred Debt
The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, arguing that a federal district court erroneously dismissed a consumer’s class action complaint against a debt collector. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the complaint alleged that the collector’s letter violated […]
FTC Staff Provided Comments on Proposed CMS Contracting Changes
Federal Trade Commission staff, in response to a request for public comment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), submitted comments on March 7, 2014 on CMS’s proposed changes in contracting for Medicare Part D. CMS announced yesterday that it will delay finalizing certain portions of the proposed rule, including the “any willing […]
FTC Undercover Inspections of Funeral Homes in Nine States Test Compliance with Funeral Rule Disclosure Requirements
Investigators working undercover in nine states found that, in 30 of the 122 funeral homes they visited during 2013, the funeral homes failed to disclose pricing information to consumers as required by the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule. The FTC conducts undercover inspections every year to make sure that funeral homes are complying with the […]
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Aaron’s Inc. Allowed Franchisees to Spy on Consumers via Rental Computers
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Aaron’s Inc., a national rent-to-own retailer, knowingly played a direct and vital role in its franchisees’ installation and use of software on rental computers that secretly monitored consumers, including taking webcam pictures of them in their homes. Under […]