In an administrative opinion and order made public today, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp.’s (ENH) acquisition of Highland Park Hospital (Highland Park) in 2000 was anticompetitive and violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The Commission opinion, authored by Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, affirmed an October 2005 ruling by Chief […]
Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission
FTC, Subprime Mortgage Servicer Agree to Modified Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has reached an agreement with a major subprime mortgage servicer to modify certain terms of a 2003 court settlement, providing substantial benefits to consumers beyond those in the original settlement, including account adjustments and reimbursements or refunds of fees paid in certain circumstances. In November 2003, Fairbanks […]
FTC Asks Court to Order Ab Belt Makers to Return Money to Consumers
The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal district court to order the marketers of Ab Force to return money to consumers who purchased their belts based on the marketers’s advertising claims. The ads made false and unsubstantiated claims that using their electronic muscle stimulation belt caused weight loss and well-defined abdominal muscles, and was […]
FTC Testifies on Fighting Fraudulent and Abusive Telemarketing
The Federal Trade Commission today told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety that targeting fraudulent and abusive telemarketing is a top priority at the agency. Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the subcommittee, “From 1991 to present, the FTC has […]
FTC Seeks Comments on the Uses of Social Security Numbers in the Private SectorGoal to Reduce ID Theft
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking comments on the uses of Social Security numbers in the private sector to reduce the overall incidence of ID theft, which often relies on SSNs. The FTC also plans to host one or more public forums on the issue in the coming months. In issuing its strategic plan to […]
FTC Charges Puerto Rico Optometrists Group, Two of its Leaders, With Orchestrating Price-Fixing Conspiracy
A group representing all optometrists in Puerto Rico, along with two of its leaders, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the FTC Act by orchestrating and carrying out agreements among the group’s members to refuse, and threaten to refuse, to deal with payors, unless the payors raised the fees paid […]
Cross-Border Telemarketers Face FTC Charges for Deceptive Phone Card Pitches
The Federal Trade Commission has charged a group of Canadian telemarketers with deceiving U.S. consumers through the sale of telephone calling cards. According to the Commission, Fusion Telekom and its principals violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by misrepresenting that they were from consumers’ banks or credit card companies, falsely stating […]
FTC Testifies Before U.S. House Subcommittee on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data and FTC Lending Enforcement Program
The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, that the agency is conducting several fair lending investigations of mortgage lending companies while continuing its work with other agencies to enforce laws against lending discrimination and predatory lending. “The current fair lending investigations are part of a […]
FTC Stops Massive, Deceptive Telemarketer
The Federal Trade Commission, with assistance from local police and the United States Postal Inspection Service, today halted the operations of a massive, Largo, Florida-based telemarketing scheme operated by Suntasia Marketing, Inc. The FTC alleges that over the last several years, Suntasia used at least fifteen different business names to defraud consumers across the United […]
FTC Releases Report on Effects of Credit-Based Insurance Scores
The Federal Trade Commission today released a report presenting the results of a study concerning credit-based insurance scores and automobile insurance. The study found that these scores are effective predictors of the claims that consumers will file. It also determined that, as a group, African-Americans and Hispanics tend to have lower scores than non-Hispanic whites […]