The Red Tape Chronicles

The Red Tape Chronicles

Fighting fine print with fine print: If Thrifty can charge me a $20 no-gas-receipt fee, why can’t I charge Thrifty a $20 no-receipt fee?

October 20, 2016 Bob Sullivan 0

I’m constantly amazed at the unfair contracts consumers are forced to sign during simple transactions with large corporations. Lawyers load up standard-form contracts with one-sided, take-it-or-leave-it terms, often called “contracts of adhesion.” I’m in a crowd that believes one-sided contracts where there’s unequal bargaining power aren’t contracts at all, and [Keep reading]

The Red Tape Chronicles

Time out: Buffett paid the equivalent of $20 in federal taxes last year. Why he, and Trump, and most owners, are laughing about the tax bill

October 12, 2016 Bob Sullivan 0

I just can’t let this go by without comment. Warren Buffett seemed heroic this week when he released his federal tax bill after Donald Trump called him out in the Sunday night presidential debate. “No Donald, I’m not like you,” he was saying, “I pay federal taxes.” In fact, Buffett [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Is there another Wells Fargo lurking? And why did the CFPB only get 28 complaints when there were a half-million fake credit cards issued?

September 28, 2016 Bob Sullivan 0

You probably can’t help but follow the continually unfolding fake account scandal at Wells Fargo.  When that story first broke, I wrote that the Wells way to do business – perverse incentives that encourage underpaid employees to cheat their fellow woman and man – is common.  Well, today brought more [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Wells Fargo victim consumers tried to sue, were thrown out of court — and you would be too

September 20, 2016 Bob Sullivan 1

Elizabeth Warren rightly eviscerated Wells Fargo CEO  John Stumpf at today’s hearing on that bank’s wide-ranging scandal.  She connected the dots neatly, showing that Stumpf made perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and stock while presiding over a crime involving two million fake consumer accounts.  She then made the [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

‘Stop and spit,’ cameras seized, trumped up charges — if you don’t think above-the-law cops impact you, just wait

September 20, 2016 Bob Sullivan 1

America is being ripped apart right now by one video after another showing unarmed African Americans killed by police.  The videos often turn into Rorschach Tests, with viewers seeing what they want to see; taken as a package, however, the depth of the problem is both obvious and undeniable. Thank goodness we [Keep reading]