Other LanguagesThe Public Counsel Section of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office is challenging electric and gas rate increases proposed by Avista, saying the Spokane-based utility’s request is not justified and that, in fact, the company might be charging its customers too much for service.
Textbooks are something all college students need but the prices
seem to keep going up with no sign of stopping. Fortunately, many people understand the plight of students and are now offering cost-efficient ways for students to acquire and sell textbooks. ...
Wednesday morning, BestBuy.com advertised a 52-inch Samsung HDTV for $9.99. Yes, you read that right – a savings of more than $1,600. Many buyers jumped online and were able to place orders, but the company announced it was a “pricing error” and cancelled sales. One Washington consumer contacted KING 5’s Jesse Jones, who asked me whether merchants are required to honor such deals ...
Last week, the feds injected another $2 billion into the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Cars are selling and the Attorney General’s Office is receiving questions from consumers about just how much dealers are supposed to knock off of their trade-in. Hopefully, this helps clear up some of the confusion.
We’ve repeatedly told consumers to protect their Social Security numbers. Those nine-digit combinations, unique for each of us, are a goldmine for identity thieves who would like to hack your bank account or open credit in your name.
We’ve repeatedly told consumers to protect their Social Security numbers. Those nine-digit combinations, unique for each of us, are a goldmine for identity thieves who would like to hack your bank account or open credit in your name.
Users of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter expect the services provided to fit their desires. When this fails to happen, as with Thursday’s Twitter outage and sluggish Facebook performance, frustrated consumers often believe the sites are solely at fault. However, individuals with inadequate anti-malware software may be unwittingly contributing to certain service deficiencies.
In this advancing age of technological inquiry, there are many new facets of information that can be used to enable identity thieves. Lots of us think that personal information stored on computers is safe as long as it's password-protected. However, this isn’t true. Here’s the story from the Bellingham Herald’s “Just Ask Gemalto”:
In this advancing age of technological inquiry, there are many new facets of information that can be used to enable identity thieves. Lots of us think that personal information stored on computers is safe as long as it's password-protected. However, this isn’t true. Here’s the story from the Bellingham Herald’s “Just Ask Gemalto”:
It’s your worst nightmare: having files with personal information available for anybody to see, including identity thieves. As time has gone on and awareness of the potential exploitation of this personal information has increased, individuals and companies have become increasingly vigilant. Occasionally, however, the neglect to safeguard personal information has resulted in catastrophe. One local incident particularly underscores the inherent danger in preserving documents with personal information. KIRO TV's Amy Clancy reports:
It’s your worst nightmare: having files with personal information available for anybody to see, including identity thieves. As time has gone on and awareness of the potential exploitation of this personal information has increased, individuals and companies have become increasingly vigilant. Occasionally, however, the neglect to safeguard personal information has resulted in catastrophe. One local incident particularly underscores the inherent danger in preserving documents with personal information. KIRO TV's Amy Clancy reports:
Are you in need of an adrenalin boost? Whatever the reason, the AG's office is here to help.
How, you ask? By offering reading material that is sure to spark your "fight or flight" response. Specifically, you should note the claims recently filed by our Consumer Protection Division against Rent-A-Center, Inc. The press release can be found here. For a more intense experience, however, you should read the sworn statements by some of the victims, which document a consistent pattern of terrorizing children, trespassing, attempted home invasion, and all-around intimidation. Rent-A-Center employees would even spread misinformation to third-parties, such as coworkers, bosses, neighbors, clients, and babysitters. In one instance, the employees would falsely claim to have a court order to gain access to a house; in another, they would pretend to call the police and tell children that Child Protective Services would come to take them away from their families.
Are you in need of an adrenalin boost? Whatever the reason, the AG's office is here to help.
How, you ask? By offering reading material that is sure to spark your "fight or flight" response. Specifically, you should note the claims recently filed by our Consumer Protection Division against Rent-A-Center, Inc. The press release can be found here. For a more intense experience, however, you should read the sworn statements by some of the victims, which document a consistent pattern of terrorizing children, trespassing, attempted home invasion, and all-around intimidation. Rent-A-Center employees would even spread misinformation to third-parties, such as coworkers, bosses, neighbors, clients, and babysitters. In one instance, the employees would falsely claim to have a court order to gain access to a house; in another, they would pretend to call the police and tell children that Child Protective Services would come to take them away from their families.
Are you in need of an adrenalin boost? Whatever the reason, the AG's office is here to help.
How, you ask? By offering reading material that is sure to spark your "fight or flight" response. Specifically, you should note the claims recently filed by our Consumer Protection Division against Rent-A-Center, Inc. The press release can be found here. For a more intense experience, however, you should read the sworn statements by some of the victims, which document a consistent pattern of terrorizing children, trespassing, attempted home invasion, and all-around intimidation. Rent-A-Center employees would even spread misinformation to third-parties, such as coworkers, bosses, neighbors, clients, and babysitters. In one instance, the employees would falsely claim to have a court order to gain access to a house; in another, they would pretend to call the police and tell children that Child Protective Services would come to take them away from their families.
The noted Greek author Diogenes Laertius once famously said "The foundation of every state is the education of its youth." In uncertain and perilous times like these, this quote rings especaially true. As every individual's period of youth turns into young adulthood, it is important that they have been educated on the roles of a consumer and the realities of consumer exploitation.