Ever see a price for an item online, then look again and see a different price, and think you were going crazy? Probably not. You were probably encountering some form of dynamic pricing, which retailers have quietly dabbled in for many years. Quietly, because every time consumers find out about [Keep reading]
Lonely would-be lovers are falling for con artists at an alarming rate, with devastating consequences – the average victim loses $18,831, according to a new report by the National Consumers League. The group says complaints about fake lovers to their organization basically doubled last year. “Scammers will stop at nothing to [Keep reading]
Just how do victims of a massive data breach prove they were harmed — and how is that harm calculated so the victims might be compensated through a lawsuit? That’s been one of the central legal questions facing the millions of consumers who have their privacy violated every year through [Keep reading]
Free money is good. Getting free money as retribution from a misbehaving company — like a robocaller — is even better, says David Bookbinder. He was bragging to friends the other day about a $77 check he received because he’d registered as a “victim” in a class action lawsuit…months ago. [Keep reading]
How could a lifetime of investing lead to Wall Street keeping 80% of the returns, while the consumer/investor keeps only 20%? Quite easily, as investing and fee-fighting pioneer John Bogle taught us. I explain it in Chapter 5 of Gotcha Capitalism. Here’s the relevant excerpt. I present it again today [Keep reading]
Missing even one paycheck matters. A lot. To about 60% of all Americans, according to a just-released survey by BankRate.com. So yes, forcing government workers to show up without pay is wrong, unfair, and in some cases cruel. I flew out of Reagan airport in DC this morning, and I [Keep reading]
January is a good time to start looking around for simple ways to save money. Here’s a good one – stop paying for TV channels that you can watch for free. At least check your cable bill this month. January is also a “good” time for pay TV companies to impose [Keep reading]
January credit card bills are often very sobering — like a splash of cold water the morning after a bit too much partying. Maybe you’ve just seen the consequences of your generous December…or maybe you are too afraid to look. Either way, January is often a good time to take [Keep reading]
There’s been a lot of news this year. And it hasn’t all been about politics. It’s very hard as a reporter to break through all the noise coming out of Washington D.C. Still, I managed to do that a couple of times, as my list of 10 most popular stories [Keep reading]
Worst Christmas Eve EVER. Worst December since the Depression. Worst year since the Great Recession. Bear market. Do I have your attention now? The stock market is angry, and you are a victim now. If you’ve been brave enough to look at your portfolio in the past few days, you [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan