Victims of tax-refund identity theft have a nightmare on their hands — a long-term nightmare. A government audit found that it takes an average of 278 days for the IRS to resolve ID theft complaints and issue tax refunds. And that’s an improvement over the 312 days it took the [Keep reading]
Starbucks said this week it is “doubling down” on its free college offer, expanding from two years to four years the ambitious tuition reimbursement program it announced in 2014. The announcement also deals with criticism the program has received because student/employees had been required to shell out considerable sums and [Keep reading]
Internet firms have a tough time dealing with the kids issue. The temptation to rope children into brand loyalty is great, but many of the things that are most effective are at least immoral, if not illegal. After all, kids’ brains aren’t fully formed, and they are even easier to [Keep reading]
The way Americans spend money is on the verge of its biggest change in decades, but the drumbeat of doubters continues to get louder. New chip-enabled credit cards are slowly getting into consumers’ hands in advance of a looming deadline later this year. But a Walmart executive recently told CNN [Keep reading]
Travell Thomas is desperately trying to save his business, or at least part of it. His debt collection firm, Four Star Resolution, was raided during the morning on Feb. 11, as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. Employees were told to leave immediately. A temporary restraining [Keep reading]
In the 1970s Sci-fi movie Logan’s Run, viewers are let in on a dirty little secret about a Utopian society — everyone gets killed at age 30. Sure keeps labor costs down. America hasn’t quite become Logan’s Run, but we seem to be tilting that way. It’s no secret that [Keep reading]
Have you ever grabbed your smartphone on your way to the bathroom? Yes, I know you have. All the evidence you need that we are all too dependent on our smartphones. For most of us, that’s a First World problem. But for a surprisingly large segment of the American population, [Keep reading]
I’ve described the many flaws in Ubernomics before, and you’ve about sexual assault allegations. Here’s a new Uber problem that users should understand. A Colorado man has been arrested and accused of returning to a passenger’s home after dropping her off at the airport to burglarize the home, seemingly because [Keep reading]
Payday lenders would face a new set of restrictions under rules being proposed Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rules include requirements that lenders ensure borrowers have the ability to repay the loans, and limits to the number of times consumers can renew the loans. The proposal covers [Keep reading]
It’s fun to watch the wireless carriers struggle to keep their prices sky-high while still dipping into the “low end” of the market. It’s quite a contorted two-step. It requires downgrading certain phones and services, or otherwise hampering them from working at full efficiency to make a low-value product, but [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan