White House Unveils New “College Score Card” To Help Students Select Schools

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(bluwmongoose)

With student loan debt now well past the $1.2 trillion mark — due in no small part to students that paid top-shelf tuition prices but ended up with bottom-shelf educations and job prospects — there’s a need to provide American students and their families with all the relevant information they need when it comes to picking the right school for their goals and their wallets.

In his weekly address to the nation this morning, President Obama announced the creation of a new “College Score Card” that his administration believes will help students get a better understanding of what they’re committing to before they buy.

According to the president, the score card will provide information, including how much money a school’s graduates earn. After all, surveys have shown that the most expensive and prestigious colleges don’t always lead to the highest-paying careers.

Similarly, the card will show the debt burden of a school’s graduates, and how many of those grads are able to pay down that debt.

The score card is a project in its early stages. The president says it will be improved upon and tweaked in the months to come as the administration gets feedback from students, parents, school counselors, and colleges.

Why offer these score cards when there are already seemingly countless annual reviews and rankings of schools? Many of those ratings treat the issue of cost and return on investment as a secondary issue to things like campus life, famous faculty and alumni, and athletics.

“The status quo serves some colleges and the companies that rank them just fine,” says the president. “But it doesn’t serve our students well – and that doesn’t serve any of us well. There are colleges dedicated to helping students of all backgrounds learn without saddling them with debt. We should hold everybody to that standard. Our economic future depends on it.”

We have yet to review the score card to see how its information stacks up against already available data in terms of accuracy and clarity, but we intend to keep our eye on the program as the school year progresses toward college application season.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Ace And TrueValue Hardware Consider Maybe Not Selling Insecticides That May Harm Bees

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(Karen Chappell)

Bees are important: they aren’t just cool-looking and producers of delicious sweeteners, but they’re essential to pollinate plants and to produce the food that those plants grow. Yet sudden deaths of bees have been linked to a new class of pesticides, neonicotinoids, which some experts say has a devastating effect on the nervous systems of bees.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth is encouraging True Value and Ace, two supplier co-ops for locally-owned hardware stores nationwide, to stop carrying plant-care products that contain neonicotinoids. Larger home-supply stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s are working toward ridding their stores of the products, but the co-ops haven’t done so yet.

Why? A spokesperson for Ace explained to the Chicago Tribune that the company wants to obey the law, so you won’t find any banned pesticides in their stores, but they want to strike a compromise between giving customers what they want and protecting the environment. “Ace Hardware is committed to providing our customers with products that not only meet their needs but that are also in compliance with applicable laws and regulations from environmental agencies and regulators,” they explained.

True Value said that they do offer “alternative pesticides,” including Milky Spore and insecticidal soaps, in it stores, and that the company would like to phase out products containing the controversial substances… as soon as there are effective alternatives.

Bayer, one of the manufacturers of neonicotinoid pesticides, says that they do not affect bees when they’re used “responsibly and properly, and according to label instructions.”

Ace Hardware, True Value urged to drop pesticides said to hurt bees [Chiacgo Tribune]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Surfing Outfitter Quiksilver Declares Bankruptcy, Will Close 27 Stores

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(James Crawford)

If you happen to have a gift card for Quiksilver sitting around idle, don’t use it as a tiny surfboard for your fingers anymore: it’s time to redeem it. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and is closing about 20% of its stores. However, the company received approval for a $175 million loan that will let it stay in business while it restructures.

Confusingly, this bankruptcy only affects Quiksilver USA, and the company’s branches in Europe and Asia/Pacific are doing just fine. The U.S. branch went public on the New York Stock Exchange and went on an acquisitions spree, notably buying up the ski company Rossignol. They now bill themselves as an “action sports company,” but will that action involve selling stuff?

They plan 27 store closings, out of a total 122 stores. These include brands Quiksilver, lady-surfer brand Roxy, and skateboarding brand DC. All of these brands have retail stores as well as discount “factory outlets,” and the company will close some of both store types.

Will the future version of the company accept “old” Quiksilver store gift cards? The company announced that it has asked the bankruptcy court for permission to continue accepting returns on old merchandise and honor gift cards, and news on that should come soon. If you have a chance, though, spend ’em of you got ’em.

If you’re a bargain-hunter, the company is now holding liquidation sales outside of current stores. Maybe “bargain” is the wrong word right now, since Hilco and Gordon Brothers are handling the sale, so you might see some acceptable bargains in a few weeks. There was a weird initial rumor that it would open pop-up liquidation stores in still-empty former RadioShacks, but that turns out not to be true.

​Quiksilver to close 27 stores [L.A. Business Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Weigh Your Insurance Options Carefully Before Choosing Where To Buy The New iPhone

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Back at the beginning, there used to be that there was only one way to get an iPhone: give AT&T at least $200 and sign a two-year contract. Now that the device is available from all major U.S. carriers and even some minor ones, and for sale worldwide, that gives consumers more options. More options means more possible confusion, though, especially with different ways to buy and insure the same product.

Phone upgrade plans that are part financing plan and part lease, like the one that Apple will offer when the iPhone 6S goes on sale, are a good idea if you like to upgrade your phone yearly. You’ll want to insure that phone so you’ll have a device to turn in when it’s time to trade up, though, and here’s the catch with Apple’s plan: the monthly payment price includes AppleCare+, their plan that offers some insurance-like benefits but that doesn’t cover loss or theft of your phone.

The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog breaks the available purchasing and insurance options down, but choosing what works for you means knowing your own habits. Do you prefer the simplicity of walking into an Apple Store for repairs and other phone issues? Stick with AppleCare+. If you’re absentminded and or have a phone-chomping dog, go with a carrier’s insurance option.

The AppleCare+ Wrinkle: Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Plan vs. the Carrier Plans [WSJ]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Walmart Knocks $1 Off Price Of 2-Year-Old Gaming Computer, Adds 44 Of Something

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Sure, most people in search of the finest gaming computer that $1,200 can buy wouldn’t head to Walmart, but that apparently doesn’t stop Walmart from stocking this machine from Alienware. As all lovers of obsolete technology know, Walmart is the place to go for that sort of thing. What this computer lacks in age, it makes up for in strangeness.

(Reddit)

After spotting the image on Reddit, we did the responsible journalistic thing and wrote to Alienware asking what a “44” is. They actually answered, saying that the “44” is a misprint on Walmart’s part, and that the item really should be marked down so someone will actually buy it.

It’s possible that the photo is old, maybe dating to the summer of 2013 when a $1 rollback on this computer would have been a reasonable price, if not a really great sale. Now the computer isn’t even available as a clearance item on Alienware or Dell’s site, though some third-party Amazon sellers have it available for as little as $850.

Forget consoles and custom built rigs, this alienware has a whole 44! [PC Master Race/Reddit]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Sony: You Actually Shouldn’t Use Waterproof Xperia Phones Underwater

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A promotional photo for the Xperia Z5.

Sony’s doing a bit of an about face after touting its Xperia devices as being waterproof enough that users can take pictures and videos underwater, updating its support page to advise against doing exactly that.

Despite the fact that Sony’s most recent phone, the Xperia Z5, comes with an Ingress Protection rating of IP68 — the highest possible in dust and water protection — and the marketing lengths Sony went to when bragging about all the awesome photos and videos you could take in the pool with its devices, the company has a few new statements on its site that contradict all of that, points out Xperia Blog.

Included on the page for water and dust protection: “Remember not to use the device underwater” and “The IP rating of your device was achieved in laboratory conditions in standby mode, so you should not use the device underwater, such as taking pictures.”

Laboratory conditions are a lot different than someone jumping into a pool, swimming around like a speedy little tadpole and generally moving the camera around a bunch. To that end, Sony’s updated support page notes that the devices are tested “gently” for their waterproof abilities. They also aren’t whipping them around underwater, a Sony mobile support rep explained.

“Moving or operating the device while it is submerged is not tested during the laboratory tests,” the comment reads. “There are also many environmental factors which we could not assess (e.g. water movement or water pressure changes during the movement), if a device is used underwater. Therefore we recommend not submerge our Xperia Z5 in water.”

Xperia Blog notes that the disclaimers were first spotted for the Xperia Z3+/Z4 in May, but they thought it was just something related to those handsets. When the statements appeared with the launch of the Z5, that’s when people started to notice Sony was trying to reset the phone’s waterproof limits.

It’s potentially confusing for customers, what with the hooplah surrounding Sony’s marketing of its flagship phones (up until the Xperia Z3+/Z4, at least). Many of those promotions included a slew of photos of the phones having all kinds of fun underwater. For example: a commercial for the Z3 showed someone diving into the pool and then taking a picture underwater.

The change of tune could be tied to the cost of repairing phones that fail underwater while they’re under warranty — if users have plugged all ports and memory card slots, etc. in the phones before submerging them and they’re damaged, Sony could be on the hook to fix them.

Xperia points to conflicting language on Sony’s site that remains despite the updated support page for the phones, including the product page for the Z3, which reads: “You can even dive down to 1.5 metres with it.”

The Z5 product page has the new disclaimer, however: “You should not put the device completely underwater or expose it to seawater, salt water, chlorinated water or liquids such as drinks. Abuse and improper use of device will invalidate warranty.”

The support page also has a list of which water-related activities its devices can handle. Acceptable? Spilling water on the device, using it with wet fingers, getting caught in the rain, having water splash on it in the tub. Not acceptable? Dunking it in that tub, or, again, going underwater with it.

This doesn’t mean your phone will definitely be busted with a dip in the pool, but Sony doesn’t want to take the chance that it will, so it’s covering its butt.

So how can Sony claim an IP score of IP68 — the best possible for a device — for the the Z5? First you’ve got to understand what the numbers mean: the 6 means it has the highest dust protection rating (“Dust tight.”), and the 8 corresponds to its waterproofness (“Protected against the effects of continued immersion in water at depths greater than 1 metre. The exact conditions are specified for each device by the manufacturer.”).

In this case, it seems Sony is — very carefully — defending its claim to that 8, by noting that the device is protected against continued immersion, but only when it’s tenderly placed in a lab container and oh-so-gently lowered to that depth.

Sony changes stance on waterproof phones: Do not use underwater [Xperia Blog]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

NASA TV Will Soon Bring Outer Space To Your Living Room In Ultra-HD 4K

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Who needs to sit outside and gaze at the stars when you can get a more detailed view of space happenings from your television or smartphone? If you’re looking for a different kind of space-escape than simply staring at the stars and old video footage, then NASA’s new channel might be for you – that is if you have the right TV. 

NASA announced today that it has teamed up with Harmonic – a video delivery infrastructure company – for the November 1 launch of 4K (Ultra-HD) version of its current space-focused television channel.

The channel, which NASA claims is the first non-commercial UHD channel in North America, will be sourced from high-resolution images and video generated on the International Space Station and other current NASA missions, as well as re-mastered footage from historical missions.

“As NASA reaches new heights and reveals the unknown, the NASA TV UHD channel can bring that journey to life in every home,” Peter Alexander, chief marketing officer at Harmonic said in a statement.

The new offering, made possible through the Space Act Agreement between Harmonic and the NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will have the capability of delivering video content, four times the resolution of HD video.

Viewers can access the footage via wide range of 4K and UHD TVs and other devices. However, NASA points out that Harmonic is still currently in discussions with pay TV operators to carry the channel on satellite, cable and optical networks for consumer access.

NASA’s current channel is not available on widely used services like Comcast and Time Warner, the Verge reports.

Those hoping to stream the channel on the internet must have at least 13 Mbps access connectivity, NASA says.

[via The Verge]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Lyft & First National Bank Busted For Forcing Customers To Accept Robocalls & Spam Text

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(Σπύρος Βάθης)

As we recently pointed out with the PayPal terms of service, it’s against the law for a company to require that its customers to accept spam text messages and pre-recorded, auto-dialed robocalls. Someone should have forwarded that message on to Lyft and First National Bank. The FCC has cited both companies for forcing their customers to agree to unwanted marketing messages, in violation of federal law.

In order to comply with Section 64.1200(f)(8) of the FCC Rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, any company wanting to make robocalls to consumers must obtain “prior express written consent.” Additionally, the consumer must not be required to agree to accept these calls “as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services.”

But the FCC says First National (F.N.B. Corporation) and Lyft violated these rules by telling people that if they wanted to be customers of these businesses, they had to accept robocalls or spam texts.

According to the citation issued for F.N.B. [PDF], when First National customers first go online to use the bank’s website they are told they have to agree to the company’s “Online Banking Services Agreement,” which declares — without providing any way to opt out — that users consent to receiving texts and other marketing messages on the phone number provided at registration.

The bank makes a similar demand — again, without a method for opting out — for First National customers who want to use Apple Pay with their bank-issued cards.

The FCC considers these to be “blanket agreements” that require “all consumers to affirm in order to obtain service” and “do not allow any opportunity for consumers to provide input on the terms.”

While the First National citation appears pretty cut-and-dry, the Lyft citation [PDF] is a little more complicated.

The ridesharing service’s Terms of Service automatically opt-in a customer to robocalls and texts. The company claims in the terms that it offers an “unsubscribe” option for people looking to avoid these marketing messages but notes in the terms that opting out “may impact your use of the Lyft Platform or the Services.”

Furthermore, the FCC contends that “contrary to the explicit representations in the Lyft Terms of Service… Lyft does not, in fact, provide ‘unsubscribe options’ for consumers to follow.”

Investigators say the only way to get out of these unwanted messages is to search for opt-out instructions on the Lyft website’s “help center.” And the only thing the FCC could find were directions for stopping texts from Lyft (you reply with “STOP”); no details could be found on the Lyft site for avoiding robocalls.

The icing on the spam cake for the FCC was the discovery that stopping marketing texts from Lyft meant stopping all texts from Lyft, including security confirmation texts needed to log in to one’s Lyft account.

“In other words, exercising the option to decline marketing messages made it impossible to use Lyft’s services,” reads the citation, which deems Lyft’s opt-out representation as “illusory in nature,” and concludes that Lyft “effectively requires all consumers to agree to receive marketing text messages and calls on their mobile phones in order to use services.”

The FCC has given both companies 30 days to reply to the citations and called on them to cease the allegedly unlawful practices. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to $16,000 for each future violation or for each day of a continued violation.

“Consumers have the right to choose whether they want marketing calls and texts to their cell phones,” said Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the FCC Enforcement Bureau, in a statement. “Today, we again make clear that such calls and texts are unlawful without express written consumer consent. We urge any company that unlawfully conditions its service on consent to unwanted marketing calls and texts to act swiftly to change its policies.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Don’t Pay A Telemarketer $500 Up Front For A Discount Travel Club Membership

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Everyone loves bargains, and there are some discount cards that are worthwhile. However, if someone calls you up and offers to sell you a discount travel card for only $500, save your money for your actual travel instead. One woman who purchased one of these cards wishes that she had saved her money instead: now that she’s bought the card, she can’t actually reserve any travel.

For some reason, the company, isn’t returning her phone calls now that they have her money. Sure, the giant “passport” and VIP membership card look fancy enough, but they’re not worth $500. The California woman who paid for a travel club membership thought she might be able to use it to get some flight discounts: after just a few flights to Florida, it would pay for itself, right?

She called the company repeatedly, trying to make her discounted reservations. They didn’t get back to her. The “club” has a website, but it doesn’t list any prices, and to get actual information you have to pay a “processing fee,” even if you’ve already paid $500 for the “VIP Card.” That’s not much of a bargain.

She contacted CBS Sacramento: usually enlisting a media outlet prods companies into some kind of action, but they didn’t respond to the station’s calls. While paying with a credit card would let a customer dispute the charge for a useless membership, she paid with a check, so she’s going to file a complaint with the state attorney general.

Call Kurtis: I Can’t Get Travel Deals After Joining $500 Travel Club [CBS Sacramento]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

California Debt Bill Allowing Consumers To Fight Unfair Default Judgments Passes Senate

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Daniel Lobo

We recently told you how potentially millions of Americans are stuck with someone else’s debt because of the large number of default judgments in favor of debt collectors.  Yesterday, lawmakers in California approved a bill aimed at giving consumers in that state some ability to fight back.

Default judgments in debt cases are problematic because the collectors who file these complaints sometimes have incomplete or inaccurate information and can end up suing the wrong person based on the belief that they are the debtor. So if a defendant doesn’t appear in court because they never knew they were even being sued, they can face a steep uphill battle to shed themselves of this judgment — especially if they don’t learn of the court ruling until years later.

Passage of Senate Bill 641, introduced by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, gives a consumer the ability fight back against abusive debt collection tactics by asking a court to set aside default judgments and hear the case on the merits within 180 days after the first actual notice of the lawsuit.

The protection would ensure that consumers can defend themselves in situations where they received no initial notice that they were being sued, through no fault of their own.

Under current law, if a case is over two years old, consumers have to get an attorney and file a lawsuit, which is too costly for low-income Californians.

“This is an important step forward to providing increased due process protections for California consumers,” Wieckowski said in a statement. “Legal services providers and other non-profit organizations across the state that work with low- and middle-income Californians are seeing an alarming number of debt collection cases where consumers are getting their wages garnished without ever getting a day in court.”

Of course, setting aside the default judgment doesn’t automatically void the plaintiff’s claim, it merely restarts the lawsuit, allowing the defendant to properly argue their case.

Consumer advocates have previously pointed out that hitting this reset button on the complaint restores a consumer’s right to defend herself and have her day in court – a day that was robbed of her the first time around.

“Debt buyers are in the best position to retain important documents related to service of process,” Suzanne Martindale, policy counsel with Consumers Union said last month. “It makes no sense at all to strip away a consumer’s right to defend herself simply because debt buyers may not have their paperwork in order.”

Wieckowski points out that the need for the law has never been greater. Just this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against the country’s two largest debt buyers for illegal collection practices.

The companies, Encore Capital Group and Portfolio Recovery Associates, allegedly threatened and deceived consumers and filed lawsuits against them without having the intent to prove many of the debts, winning the vast majority of the lawsuits by default when consumers failed to defend themselves.

In addition to passing SB 641, the Senate also approved a measure that would create a tiered-garnishment rate to lower the high percentage of income currently taken from low-income workers’ paychecks and to recognize local minimum wage ordinances.

Currently, the wage garnishment level is 25 percent, the maximum allowed under federal law.

“For the many Californians living paycheck to paycheck the loss of a job or a medical event can quickly send families spiraling into debt,” Wieckowski said. “These two bills will help people get out from under their debt and fight default judgments for debt they don’t owe or have already paid off.”

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

You Can Now Make Your Own Pepsi At Home With A SodaStream

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(JeepersMedia)

SodaStream recently said it’d be focusing more on sparkling waters than on competing with traditional sodas, but it seems now that even if it did want to beat Big Soda, it’d rather just join’em, instead: after a limited trial run of Pepsi-flavored caps in Florida last year, SodaStream is expanding the partnership to offer the caps filled with Pepsi and Sierra Mist flavors to everyone.

Pepsi says the caps will be available through the SodaStream website and will be sold at about 50 Bed Bath & Beyond stores as well, reports Reuters, with a four-cap pack selling for $3.49.

Each cap will flavor about a half liter of carbonated water, using a system that allows the caps to latch onto the top of SodaStream bottles and then release its contents.

The twosome will be competing with the other major name in the soda business, Coca-Cola, and SodaStream’s rival, Keurig. Those two companies previously announced plans to start selling a cold beverage machine for at-home use, called, aptly enough, the Keurig Kold Machine, this fall.

PepsiCo deepens ties with SodaStream for homemade product [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Would You Pay $200 For A Machine That Only Brews Single Servings Of Tea?

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(JeepersMedia)

If you’re a fan of machines that dispense a single serving of liquid at a time, here’s to hoping you have a lot of room on your kitchen counter: Unilever is betting people love their tea enough to shell out about $200 for a Lipton tea machine, dubbed the T.O. and made by Krups.

The €179 machine is set to debut in France next week to compete with a similar Nespresso machine from Nestle (that costs about €79) reports Bloomberg, with a box of 10 tea capsules costing about €3.90 euros.

It’s unclear at this point if it’ll expand to other countries or if it works with any other brands or kinds of beverages other than Lipton tea. Lipton currently sells K-Cups of its tea for Keurig machines, and there are various other brands with their own teas on single-serving pod scene as well, at least in the U.S., so it’s unlikely there’s a huge need for a devoted tea machine.

The appeal is slightly unclear to us — it’s understandable if you don’t want to drink a whole teapot of tea, but are tea bags difficult? Or do people just not want to boil water for a single cup of tea? Is there something special about this particular machine that results in a superior cup of tea? We don’t know.

Is this something you’d be into, if it lands on our shores, or were the folks at Unilever perhaps partaking in mind-altering substances when they decided this was a great idea? Take our poll below.

Move Over, Kettle: Unilever to Sell $200 Lipton Tea Machine [Bloomberg]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Google Fiber May Expand Again: San Diego, Irvine, Louisville Now On List

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Google’s expansion plan map

Google has once again lengthened their shortlist of cities that could someday soon see Google Fiber service. If all the plans pan out, the next expansions will come in California and Kentucky.

Google announced this week that their Fiber division has added three more cities to the “potential” list: Irvine, CA; San Diego, CA; and Louisville, KY.

As Google terms it, they have “invited” those cities to “explore bringing Google Fiber to their communities.” That kicks off a planning process in which local officials — “strong leaders at city hall” — get to demonstrate to Google that they can roll out the right incentives, including tax breaks and various infrastructure rights, to make installation cheaper and faster.

Currently Google offers Fiber service in Austin, Kansas City, and Provo. Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and metro Raleigh are all on deck to get theirs hooked up in the not-too-distant future. And the rumor mill says that Portland is likely to be the next lucky locale to flip on the map above from maybe-grey to promising purple.

Even if Google Fiber does not come quickly to the cities on the shortlist, even being considered is probably a good thing for local subscribers. Google’s presence in various markets has — totally coincidentally, we’re sure — led to Cox, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T either increasing speeds, reducing costs, or both for local customers.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

Etsy To Try Same-Day, Next-Day Delivery In New York City

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(Kathy Z Tang)

With Amazon’s new “Handmade” platform trying to nose into territory that has long been the domain of Etsy, the online crafts and vintage marketplace is taking a page from Amazon’s playbook and trying its hand at same-day and next-day delivery.

Re/code reports that the Brooklyn-based company has teamed up with delivery service Postmates — who are already working with Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Carvel, and Cinnabon, among others — for a service called Etsy ASAP, designed to cut down on the sometimes lengthy and/or vague delivery windows for Etsy customers.

When ASAP launches in the coming months, customers in parts of NYC serviced by Postmates will see when a for-sale item is eligible for the speedier delivery. It will be up to Etsy sellers to decide — on an item-by-item basis — whether to enable the ASAP option.

Customers will be able to track deliveries and choose a delivery window, but ASAP comes with a not-small price tag of $20.

The company is pushing ASAP as something that both customers and sellers want.

“We hear from sellers that they get constant requests from buyers for getting stuff really fast,” an Etsy exec explains to Re/code. “They feel they are in a bind and actually it’s technologically almost impossible” to make expedited deliveries.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Regulators Could Call On Other Parts Makers To Increase Production Of Replacement Takata Airbag Inflators

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(Listener42)

Just days after federal regulators announced they would hold a public meeting to once again address the slow replacement of defective, shrapnel-shooting, Takata-produced airbags linked to eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, officials with the agency outlined what steps it could take to finally coordinate the messy recall.

Reuters reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  will likely use the Oct. 22meeting to call on other auto parts manufacturers to aid in expediting the replacement parts needed to repair the millions of recalled vehicles.

NHTSA chief Mark Rosekind said on Thursday that the agency will unveil the plan to compel top manufacturers to supply automakers with new safety devices in order to ensure consumers are driving safe vehicles.

The meeting will serve as a forum to “basically tell everybody how this is going to move forward,” Rosekind said.

The agency is currently in the process of figuring out a way in which other airbag inflator manufacturers can increase production of replacement parts, Rosekind said, adding that NHTSA has conducted a series of meetings with the 10 automakers involved in the recall, Takata and other manufacturers.

“We need to make sure the priorities are clear, make sure the supplies are going to be available, make sure the quality assurance is taken care of. The remedy has to work,” Rosekind said.

The first details of the plan come three months after the Japanese parts maker caved to regulator pressure and recalled more than 30 million cars, while NHTSA, just last week, revised the number to about 19.2 million vehicles.

That revision was based the most recent and accurate information provided by the 11 affected automakers, regulators said at the time.

To date, NHTSA, Takata and other manufacturers have yet to determine why the airbag inflators have a tendency to explode with enough force to send pieces of shrapnel shooting at passengers and drivers. Because of this, it’s unclear whether or not vehicles already repaired are actually safe.

In fact, company also plans to re-recall about 400,000 vehicles that have already been repaired.

Takata announced it would change its use of the often volatile chemical ammonium nitrate in its safety devices and replace its batwing driver inflators.

U.S. regulator says Takata recall plan could include other suppliers [Reuters]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Study Says Ancient North American Civilizations Shared Our Devotion To Caffeine

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(fordsbasement)

If this were a celebrity weekly the above headline would read, “Ancient Civilizations — They’re Just Like Us!” But it’s not, so let’s just say that maybe getting out of bed wasn’t so easy without beverages that pack a caffeinated kick even thousands of years ago.

Caffeine was popular with ancient civilizations in what we call Mexico today as well as the South and Southwest U.S., says a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (via the Associated Press), so much so that different societies traded holly and cacao-based chocolate drinks among each other for around 700 years.

The holly could be used to make a caffeinated tea, and researchers from the University of New Mexico believe the cacoa beverages were also part of the bustling beverage trade, as the beans contain small amounts of caffeine.

Other studies had found traces of cacao drinks in parts of the U.S., but lead researcher Patricia Crown says this new study confirms they were popular, and that the holly drink wasn’t associated with people in the Southwest before now.

Researchers believe the drinks were traded between groups living in different areas, as caffeine was found on shards of pottery at sites throughout New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Neither holly nor cacao grow in those regions.

“The fact we have found traces of caffeine that are 1,000 years old is exciting,” Crown said. “As new technology develops, we can discover things about the past like this using objects we already have in museums.”

She believes the caffeine was used in rituals and political events. The drinks are believed to have been something mostly enjoyed by an elite or noble class, because of the tricky trade route involved to get their hands on it.

“For people who had a diet consisting of corn, beans and squash, the drinks provided a kick,” Crown said.

Study: Caffeine trade thrived in ancient America [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Walmart Asks More Suppliers To Pay For Space In Warehouses And On Shelves, And They Rebel

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(Ben Schumin)

Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, has an unimaginable amount of power over the vendors who supply it with products. Some suppliers are speaking out, though, after the mega-retailer has asked 10,000 more suppliers to pay storage fees for keeping products in its distribution centers, in warehouses, and on store shelves.

Massive vendors like Procter & Gamble and Unilever are in a stronger negotiating position with Walmart, because the chain can’t just stop selling Tide or Ben & Jerry’s. It’s smaller companies that are being squeezed the most, since their cash flow is smaller, and Walmart is encouraging them to borrow money to cover the new fee structure, and to wait 90 days after delivering merchandise for payment instead of 30.

Bloomberg Businessweek discussed the situation with a representative of one smallish business, which didn’t want to be named or even have its industry printed for obvious reasons, who said that the company would need to cut employee benefits or even lay off staff to make up the difference and cover the fees that Walmart is asking for.

Walmart says that isn’t the case: some suppliers were already paying these fees, and others “This is the price of not just selling things to Wal-Mart, but leveraging Wal-Mart’s massive platform,” a spokesperson for Wally World told Bloomberg.

The fees would punish companies whose products aren’t flying out of the store by having them pay the company for the shelf and warehouse space that they take up, which Walmart says is a simple cost-saving measure. Suppliers speculate that it’s to help cover recent starting pay increases for new workers while hurting their margins more than Walmart’s.

Wal-Mart’s Suppliers Are Finally Fighting Back [Bloomberg News]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Starbucks To Roll Out Mobile Ordering Nationwide, Accept Android Pay By End Of Month

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(ronnyg)

Android users – and those living in areas of the country where mobile ordering isn’t available at their local Starbucks – can soon order and pay for their morning cup of coffee straight from the comfort of their phones with little human contact, as the coffee chain announced today that it would expedite the rollout of its mobile ordering feature to all U.S. stores by the end of the month.

The Seattle Times reports that Starbucks is speeding up implementation of an Android version of its mobile ordering and paying app, and planning to expand the service to all stores as soon as the end of September.

The company previously anticipated the feature would be ready by the end of the year.

“We have a winner, and it’s running ahead of our expectations,” Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Scott Maw told analysts and investors at an investment conference in New York on Thursday.

The mobile ordering and pay feature, which until now had only been available to iOS users, was first released last year to select users in the Pacific Northwest and expanded to 3,400 more stores in 21 states in June.

The mobile-ordering app has recently been tweaked to allow customers to access a customized menu tied to specific stores, the Seattle Times reports.

When Starbucks first began testing the service it said users could select coffee or food while in line or before coming into the cafe, a move that officials say could speed up service and save you precious time.

The program will count down when your beverage is due to the minute.

There’s still no word on exactly what proper etiquette for using the service will be: can you simply jump the line if something is wrong with your pre-ordered beverage?

Starbucks to roll out mobile ordering and pay for Android in September [The Seattle Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

For-Profit Colleges Lead The Way On Loan Defaults: Report

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(RiddimRyder)

During the Great Recession, the growing industry of for-profit colleges promised millions of Americans a path to a higher education. But the high tuitions charged by many schools sent U.S. student loan debt soaring to more than $1.2 trillion. A new report claims that while for-profit schools charged top-dollar, many students were getting a cut-rate education, making it difficult to obtain jobs that will allow them to pay down this debt.

The report [PDF] from the Brookings Institute analyzed Department of Education data on student loans and earnings to look for any correlation between a student’s education and loan default rates. The authors found that the current student loan debt crisis is largely concentrated among nontraditional borrowers who attended for-profit schools and other non-selective institutions.

Prior to the recession, for-profit colleges and non-selective education institutions accounted for just a fraction of the student loan debt in the U.S., the report states.

The report’s authors, Adam Looney of the U.S. Treasury Department and Stanford University’s Constantine Yannelis, found that the biggest changes for student loans began around the time the recession hit, when many consumers lost their jobs and returned to college in search of better opportunities.

Many of these nontraditional students were drawn to for-profit colleges that touted flexible schedules and high job placement rates.

When the researchers compared the schools that received the most student loan funding in 2000 versus the largest loan recipients of 2014, the growth of for-profit schools is clearly evident.

In 2000, only one for-profit school — the University of Phoenix — made the list, and its $2.1 billion in loan funding was the second-largest amount of all schools. Fourteen years later, more than half of the list — and eight of the ten top spots — were for-profit schools. By this time, Univ. of Phoenix’s loan reliance had shot up to $35.5 billion; its 2000 figure of $2.1 billion would not have even made the top 25 in 2014.

According to the report, by 2011 – some three years after the recession began – borrowers at for-profit and two-year institutions represented almost half of student-loan borrowers leaving school and starting to repay loans.

These students went on to account for 70% of student loan defaults just three years later, the report found.

“[These students] borrowed substantial amounts to attend institutions with low completion rates and, after enrollment, experienced poor labor market outcomes that made their debt burdens difficult to sustain” the report states.

For example, the report found the median borrowers from a for-profit institution who left school in 2011 and found a job in 2013 earned about $20,900. However, one-in-five (or 21%) of these students were not employed.

Likewise, community college borrowers on the same timeline earned $23,900, while almost one-in-six (or 17%) were not employed.

Unfortunately, these students borrowed heavily to pay relatively high tuition costs. Median loan balances for these borrowers jumped almost 40% – from $7,500 to $10,500 – for for-profit students and about 35% – from $7,100 to $9,600 – for those at two-year colleges.

These more expensive loan debts, coupled with the relatively high percentage of students who remained unemployed after attending for-profits or community colleges has created a student loan debt crisis centered around the proprietary educational industry, the authors found.

In all, the report shows more than 25% of students attending nontraditional universities who left school during or soon after the recession would default on their loans within three years.

“In other words, what type of institution students attend matters: default rates have remained low for borrowers at most 4-year public and private non-profit institutions, despite the severe recession and relatively high loan balances,” the report states. “These students’ generally high earnings, low unemployment rates, and greater family resources appear to have enabled them to avoid loan repayment problems even during tough economic times.”

In fact, the report found that of the students who started repayment on loans in 2011, just 2% of graduate students and 8% of traditional undergraduates defaulted within two years.

Still, the authors say the increase in students seeking education during the recession and ultimately settling on for-profit institutions is just one part of the story, the other is the schools themselves.

For-profit college students represent a relatively small fraction of consumers seeking higher education – just 11% – but they represent about 44% of all federal student loan defaults.

The authors say these rates lead them to believe it’s ultimately the quality of education at these schools that drive students to default, as they aren’t prepared to find employment that would allow them to pay their loans.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Jane Birkin Gives Hermès Permission To Continue Using Her Name On Crocodile Leather Bags

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(twicepix)

Actress Jane Birkin and Hermès have come to terms over the pricy crocodile leather handbags that have borne her name since the 1980s: she’d voiced concerns over the treatment of the crocodiles used to provide the leather and demanded the company stop using her name to sell them, but it appears that talks between the two sides have worked in Hermès’ favor.

Birkin is satisfied with how the company ensures the crocodiles reared for their skins are treated humanely, the company said today in a statement, adding that it had identified an “isolated irregularity” in the slaughter process at a crocodile farm in Texas.

Hermès says it’s warned the farm it would cut ties if it continues to neglect its recommended procedures, and will now require suppliers to sign an agreement to uphold the highest standards in crocodile treatment.

“Hermès reasserts its commitment to implement best practice in the farming of crocodiles,” Hermès said. “This is in strictest compliance with international regulations.”

In July, the actress told Hermès to rename the bags until better practices replace the “cruel” methods used at some slaughtering facilities, after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said some workers at one farm were told to cut into 500 conscious alligators with knives when the bolt gun didn’t work, among other alleged mistreatment.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Discount Supermarket Chain Aldi Prepping To Take On Walmart & Others In U.S.

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(Mike Mozart)

When you mention the name of Germany-based supermarket chain Aldi to most Americans, you get one of three responses: “I love Aldi; it’s so cheap!”; “Aldi? No thanks, I prefer higher-end supermarkets”; “Aldi? Oh yeah, I remember that ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ song. Oh wait… that’s Falco.” The company, which already has some 1,400 stores stateside, is planning a large-scale expansion in the coming years that it hopes will win over those last two categories of consumers with low prices and make it a dominant player in the U.S.

There have been signs of Aldi’s American plan for months, with the company opening 2015 by snapping up Mid-Atlantic discount operator Bottom Dollar. More recently, the chain announced an expansion into Southern California, bringing its national presence up to 32 states.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Aldi has plans to invest $3 billion and add 600 new stores to its U.S. roster by 2018. That would bring the total to around 2,000, putting it in the same league as Target and not far from supermarket biggies like Safeway, Kroger, and SuperValu.

At the same time, another German discount grocery giant, Lidl, is looking to enter the U.S. market in the coming years. These two companies recently shook up the UK supermarket landscape by drawing in consumers in search of affordable food. In just three years, Aldi and Lidl went from having a combined 6% share of the UK grocery business to nearly 10%. Even its competitors think that will continue to grow significantly over the next decade.

As a result of this competition, shoppers in the UK have seen price drops at more established supermarket chains like Sainsbury, Asda, and Morrison. There’s no guarantee that the expansion of Aldi and Lidl into more U.S. markets will have as far-reaching an effect, but the industry is watching.

“They’re on everybody’s radar in the U.S. today,” one analyst tells the Journal. “Everybody knows how successful they are in Europe.”

Beyond its namesake supermarkets, Aldi already has a brand that may be familiar to stateside consumers. The Trader Joe’s chain of stores has been operated by the company’s Aldi Nord group for more than three decades. But the company’s Aldi Sud group is responsible for its U.S. and UK Aldi-branded supermarket operations.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Salmonella Outbreak In Minnesota Linked To At Least 17 Chipotle Restaurants

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(Josh Bassett)

A salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that’s sickened 45 people and sent five to the hospital has been linked to at least 17 Chipotle restaurants, say investigators with the state’s Department of Health. Officials believe that the contaminated ingredient has already been removed from all Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota.

The outbreak’s source hasn’t been confirmed yet, but investigators said that interviews with 34 of the people who fell ill found that 32 of them had eaten at a Chipotle in St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Rochester, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Those people ate Chipotle food between Aug. 19 and Aug. 26, and got sick between Aug. 20 and Aug. 29.

“It’s safe to eat at Chipotle,” said Health Department spokesman Doug Schultz, who apparently ate food from Chipotle this week, ostensibly to show that it’s safe.

If you feel sick 12 to 72 hours after eating at a Chipotle — with symptoms like stomach pains, diarrhea or fever — you should report the symptoms to a health care provider but you don’t necessarily need medical attention, said an epidemiologist for the Health Department’s foodborne diseases unit. But if you’re elderly, have chronic diseases or weakened immune systems, it’s important to report those symptoms.

Though 45 cases have been reported, it’s likely that the outbreak is larger than that, the Health Department says. However, officials note that the Chipotle outbreak is not related to another salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers recently, as they’re different strains of the bacteria.

“There is no reason to believe that this product is available anywhere in Minnesota any more,” the Department’s epidemiologist said.

Minnesota Salmonella outbreak linked to Chipotle [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

After Twenty Years, Target To Drop Cherokee Brand Clothes

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(Mike Mozart)

The racks of clothing available at Target will look a bit different in two years, as the retailer announced this week that it won’t renew a decades-long contract with apparel retailer Cherokee.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Target decided not to renew the current deal, which is set to expire on January 31, 2017, in order to make way for newer clothing labels, specifically in children’s apparel.

Cherokee is primarily found in the children’s department, but also sells brands like Liz Lange and Tony Hawk.

For now, the company says it will continue to sell Liz Lange brand maternity clothing at Target.

Products from the company accounted for an estimated $1.1 billion in retail sales for Target last year.

The WSJ reports that the move by Target not to renew the long-running contract is just another piece of the retailer’s transformation under new CEO Brian Cornell, who has put an emphasis on style and fashion at the big box store by creating limited time collaborations with big name designers.

Other efforts have included a comprehensive review of the brands the chain is carrying and changes to appeal to Target’s new core customer that is younger and more diverse.

“As Target prioritizes signature categories, including kids and baby, we are looking at our business in new ways,“ Stacia Andersen, Target’s senior vice president of apparel and accessories, tells the WSJ.” We look forward to building on an already strong foundation, and are excited to introduce several new brands in the future.”

Target Won’t Renew U.S. License for Cherokee Brand [The Wall Street Journal]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

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Here are eight of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(Joachim Rayos)

(Ann Fisher)

(Jack Deem)

(angela n.)

(RedandJonny)

(Brian Rome)

(JoelZimmer)

(Great Beyond)

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist