The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against two auto dealer groups, operating in five states with more than two dozen retail stores, for civil penalties for violations of FTC administrative orders, which prohibit them from deceptively advertising the cost of buying or leasing a car. “If auto dealers make advertising claims in headlines, they […]
Monthly Archives: December 2014
FTC Shutters Wide-Ranging Operation That Perpetrated Phony Mortgage Relief Scam
A federal court has entered orders against 22 defendants who offered financially strapped consumers fake home-loan modification services that the FTC claims violated the FTC Act and the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule. The MARS Rule bans mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from […]
Federal Trade Commission Continues Crackdown on Fad Weight-Loss Products
Marketers who pitched homeopathic HCG drops as a quick and easy way to lose substantial weight have agreed to pay $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their weight-loss claims were deceptive and not supported by scientific evidence. The defendants have stopped selling HCG Platinum drops, and under the settlement, Kevin Wright and […]
FTC Sends Refund Checks Totaling More Than $26 Million to Consumers Who Bought Sensa Weight-Loss Supplement
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 477,083 refund checks totaling $26,023,329 this week to consumers who bought the sprinkle-on weight-loss supplement Sensa. They are legitimate refund checks, and must be cashed within 60 days of the date they are issued, or will become void. The refunds stem from a January 2014 settlement with the marketers […]
FTC Requests Public Comments on Application from Owners of Surgery Center Holdings, Inc. for Approval to Divest Assets in Central Florida
The Federal Trade Commission is currently accepting public comments on an application by the owners of Surgery Center Holdings, Inc., known as Surgery Partners, to divest an ambulatory surgery center in Florida, as required by the FTC’s proposed order settling charges that Surgery Partners’ acquisition of Symbion Holdings Corporation would likely be anticompetitive. According to […]
FTC Requests Public Comment on Community Health Systems’ Application to Approve Sale of Riverview Regional Medical Center to Prime Healthcare
The Federal Trade Commission is currently accepting public comments on an application by Community Health Systems to sell Riverview Regional Medical Center and its associated assets near Gadsden, Alabama, as required under the FTC’s April 2014 final order settling charges that CHS’s acquisition of rival health system Health Management Associates, Inc. would be anticompetitive in […]
FTC’s 2014 Report Finds U.S. Ethanol Market Remains Unconcentrated
The market for fuel ethanol in the United States is unconcentrated, and the industry is less concentrated today than it was ten years ago, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2014 Report on Ethanol Concentration. Required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, this is the FTC’s tenth annual report on ethanol market concentration. It […]
FTC Approves Final Order in Case About Google Billing for Kids’ In-App Charges Without Parental Consent
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order resolving FTC allegations that Google, Inc., unfairly billed consumers for in-app charges incurred by children without their parents’ consent. The settlement was first announced by the Commission in September. It resolves allegations that Google billed consumers millions of dollars for charges […]
Medical Billing Provider and its Former CEO Settle FTC Charges That They Misled Consumers About Collection of Personal Health Data
An Atlanta-based health billing company and its former CEO have settled Federal Trade Commission charges they misled thousands of consumers who signed up for an online billing portal by failing to adequately inform them that the company would seek highly detailed medical information from pharmacies, medical labs and insurance companies. In a pair of complaints, […]
FTC Staff Urges Dental Accreditation Commission To Adopt Dental Therapy Accreditation Standards
Federal Trade Commission staff submitted comments to Dr. Sherin Tooks, Director of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), urging CODA to finalize and adopt accreditation standards for dental therapy education programs, which will likely benefit consumers. The staff comment is in response to CODA’s request for public comments on the 2014 version of its proposed […]