The bank confirmed the news to Bloomberg this afternoon, saying that the halt on DFS transactions will remain until the court reaches a decision on whether or not these sites violate the state’s laws against illegal gambling.
We’ve sent comment requests to both DraftKings and FanDuel but have not yet heard back.
Johnson, as you might remember, joined ailing midmarket retailer JCPenney and wanted to try something novel: he got rid of sales. Along the way, he spoke out against the practice of perpetual sales, and over at Buzzfeed, retail reporter Sapna Maheshwari wonders whether the publicity blitz where JCPenney got rid of sales planted the idea in shoppers’ heads that retailers really are hiking up prices to discount them, and that outlet purse was never really worth $300.
Shoppers’ love of wildly fluctuating deals over consistent low prices won, Johnson is out of the department store business, and sales are back at JCPenney. Yet relentless deals meant to coax shoppers into stores during and ater the recession gave us deal fatigue,
Why 40% Off Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does [Buzzfeed]
A long-running fight between British Airways and cabin crew staff has come to an end today with the decision that recently hired female flight attendants are no longer forced to wear skirts on the job.
Unite, the union representing British Airway crew members, announced Friday that the airline had lifted its ban stopping women from wearing pants after a years-long dispute.
[Ed. note: Yes, we know that “pants” means underwear in England, and that we should probably be referring to the garment as “trousers,” but that’s a silly word.]
“British Airways’ stance was unbefitting of a modern airline in the modern age and demonstrates that Unite will not allow cases like this to go unchallenged,” the union said in a statement. “Not only is the choice to wear trousers a victory for equality it is also a victory for common sense and testament to the organizing campaign of our members.”
[Ed. note: See what we mean about “trousers”? It’s just a goofy word and it should be retired, like “bumbershoot” and “velocipede.”]
Crew members who joined the company after 2012 have been subject to a dress code that mandated women wear a skirt, unless they applied for a waiver on medical or religious grounds.
Unite says that a recent survey found that 83% of female members wanted the option to wear pants.
A spokesperson for British Airways tells The Guardian that employees who would like a pair of pants as part of their uniform can request them through their manager.
Female British Airways cabin crew win the right to wear trousers [The Guardian]
For years the owners of iPhones with broken screens or damaged buttons looking to trade in their older device for a new one through Apple’s Reuse and Recycle trade-in program have been out of luck, unless they shelled out the cash to repair the smartphone first. That’s reportedly set to change with an upcoming revamp of the program.
9 to 5 Mac reports that starting this week Apple will roll out an updated version of its program that gives credit for iPhone 5 and iPhone 6/6 Plus phones with damaged displays, cameras, and buttons.
The point of the newly expanded program, sources say, is to encourage customers to buy a new phone rather than simply repairing their current device.
Of course, the new deal does have some catches, mainly that Apple says only phones damaged within reason will qualify. However, the company hasn’t specified what that means.
Sources tell 9 to 5 Mac that the current trade-in values for the phones are $50 for a 5s, $200 for a 6, and $250 for a 6 Plus.
In other Apple news, the company will reportedly allow its retail stores to install screen protectors for iPhones for the first time, 9 to 5 Mac reports.
Previously, Apple Store associates were told not to perform screen protector installations on iPhones for fear that something would go wrong.
Under the plan, in the coming weeks all stores will offer official plastic screen protector installation via a machine in the back of the store. So far, the company has partnered with scree protector maker Belkin for the program.
If something goes wrong with the installation, Apple will provide a free screen protector replacement and re-attempt installation.
Apple launching new broken iPhone upgrade, screen protector installation programs [9 to 5 Mac]
Joe sent us these photos from San Jose, CA. These might look like a regular old Supercenter clearance aisle, but every aisle was like this. The bargain-hunting (and possibly reselling) horde had cleaned almost everything out. “Lines were incredibly long, grocery aisles were either bare or jammed with other merchandise,” he reported, four days before the store finally closed.
Here are more photos from retail chronicler Nicholas Eckhart: these were taken in Hartland, Michigan on January 23.
Thousands of homeowners who lost their homes or had their loans modified will receive a portion of a $470 million federal-state settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC to settle allegations the bank engaged in origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses.
The settlement, a joint effort between 48 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, addresses alleged abuses such as robo-signing, and improper documentation keeping that contributed to people being pushed out of their homes from 2008 to 2013.
The deal reflects a continuation of enforcement actions to hold financial institutions accountable for abusive mortgage practices, the DOJ says in a statement, noting that the deal parallels the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement reached in February 2012.
“Mortgage servicers have a responsibility to help struggling borrowers remain in their home, not to push them into foreclosure,” General Counsel Helen Kanovsky of HUD, said Friday.
Under the terms of the agreement, HSBC will pay $100 million to federal agencies; $40.5 million of which will be paid to the settling federal parties; $59.3 million will go into an escrow fund administered by the states to make payments to borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2012; and $200,000 to be paid into an escrow fund to reimburse the state attorneys general for investigation costs.
The California Attorney General’s office estimates that its residents will be eligible for about 10% of the foreclosure payments, while the New York Attorney General’s office believes as many as 136,000 residents will receive some form of relief through the agreement.
Another $370 million will be paid in relief to homeowners in the form of loan modifications, loan refinancing, reduced mortgage interest rates, forgiven forbearance, principal reductions for borrowers who are at risk of default and other forms of relief, with disbursements being overseen by an independent monitor. These payments have already been underway, the DOJ reports.
Additionally, the agreement requires HSBC to change how it services mortgage loans, handles foreclosures, and ensures the accuracy of information provided in federal bankruptcy court.
Specifically, the settlement’s consumer protections and standards include:
• Making foreclosure a last resort by first requiring HSBC to evaluate homeowners for other loss mitigation options;
• Restricting foreclosure while the homeowner is being considered for a loan modification;
• Procedures and timelines for reviewing loan modification applications;
• Giving homeowners the right to appeal denials; and
• Requiring a single point of contact for borrowers seeking information about their loans and maintaining adequate staff to handle calls.
While Friday’s agreement resolves potential violations of civil law based on HSBC’s deficient mortgage loan origination and servicing activities, it does not prevent state or federal authorities from pursuing criminal enforcement action related to this or other conduct by the lender, the New York AG states.
Last year, HSBC was among four banks that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced said must abide by revised consent orders that impose limitations on the ways in which the lenders can conduct certain mortgage-related business activities.
The restrictions were handed down after the OCC determined that the banks hadn’t done enough to comply with enforcement orders related to past home foreclosure abuses such as mishandling loan papers, robo-signing legal documents, and improperly initiated foreclosures without reviewing each individual case.
While the restrictions didn’t affect mortgages that the banks issue themselves, they do limit the banks’ ability to acquire residential mortgage servicing or residential mortgage servicing rights from other companies.
Additionally, the lenders were limited in outsourcing or sub-servicing of new residential mortgage servicing activities to other parties and appointing senior officers responsible for residential mortgage servicing or residential mortgage servicing risk management and compliance, the OCC order stated.
The OCC said at the time that the banks face varying restrictions based on their particular circumstances, but didn’t elaborate in the announcement.
What they found was that the most effective repellents had high proportions of picardin or Deet, with one brand based on pil of lemon eucalyptus, Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, scoring well in their tests. Recommended brands include Repel, Sawyer, Off! Deepwoods, and Natrapel.
Zika is new to the Americas, there is no vaccine for it, and the disease has been potentially linked to a serious birth defect. The disease is spreading quickly, and the catch is that most people who are infected have no symptoms. Experts also aren’t sure how or at what point in a pregnancy the virus causes microcephaly.
While there’s evidence that the virus is sexually transmitted as well, the main infection route is through mosquitoes. While the disease is currently circulating in central and South America, patterns from other mosquito-borne diseases predict that it will eventually hit tropical parts of the United States. Infected travelers have brought it here, but infected mosquitoes haven’t made the trip yet.
Insect Repellent Ratings [Consumer Reports]
Sometimes you just don’t know what you want for dinner. For that reason, we have buffets. But there will be a fewer options for some diners, as Ovation Brands, the operator of restaurants like Hometown Buffet, Ryan’s, Fire Mountain, and Old Country Buffet, announced the closure of 74 underperforming locations.
Ovation Brands says the closings, which affect each of its buffet brands, constitutes about 20% of its buffet business, Nation’s Restaurant News reports.
The closures come just months after San Antonio-based Food Management Partners purchased Ovation Brands and its 328 locations.
“Since that time, we have continued to execute former management’s operating plan to stabilize and enhance the performance of the company,” Peter Donbavand, vice president of business development for the company, said in a statement. “However, based on ongoing assessments of individual restaurants, it is necessary to shutter locations for the continued viability of the brands and our employees.”
The closures, which took place across the country, occurred on Thursday.
Local news outlets reported that hundreds of residents were out of work after the abrupt closures. The company says that workers are eligible to apply for positions at remaining stores.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that seven locations of Old Country Buffet were closed in the area, leaving just three of the buffet restaurants in operation in the Twin Cities.
While it was unclear how many workers were affected by the closures, many now-former employees say they were caught off guard.
“The OCB in Fridley has abruptly closed today. Thanks so much for giving your employees notice!!” one employee wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the Star Tribune reports.
In the San Diego area, 10News reports that six Hometown Buffet locations closed their doors on Thursday, simply posting signs to notify both patrons and employees that the restaurant wouldn’t open again.
Across the state in Sacramento the story was the same, CBS Local reports, where three Hometown Buffets closed.
WHNT 19 News reports that several Ryan’s locations in Alabama were affected by the closures. Again, staff was notified by a sign posted on the door, while U-Haul trucks were seen on location removing equipment.
Donbavand said in the statement Thursday that while the company can’t predict future market conditions, it plans to continue operating unaffected restaurants.
“We know that these decisions are not easy, however, we strongly believe that this direction is best for the long-term health of all brands,” he said.
National Restaurant News reports that this isn’t the first time Ovation Brands has downsized. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and again in 2012.
Ovation Brands’ new owner closes 74 underperforming locations [Nation’s Restaurant News]
The 29-year-old was arrested on Thursday after his drone allegedly crashed into the 40th floor of the building, NBC New York reported.
Police said the small aircraft he was piloting eventually came to rest on the 35th floor of the landmark building, and was retrieved by security staff.
When he asked building security workers to give him his drone back, they called the police on him instead, Reuters reported. Police say he’s now facing reckless endangerment and navigation in and over the city charges.
NBC New York identified the man as a Twitter user who Tweeted last night that he’d been filming with a drone and that it had gotten “stuck” on the Empire State Building, as in, stuck “with security.”
And yet, according to the Federal Trade Commission and Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, the company behind the ads and these supplements managed to make more than $16 million in just a few years from this scam.
The two agencies have filed a joint complaint [PDF] against the husband and wife, Portland, Maine-based operators of Direct Alternatives and Original Organics, alleging multiple violations of federal and state laws.
First up, let’s look at how the “risk-free” trial scheme operated.
The ads for AF Plus and Final Trim invited listeners to “participate in our nationwide risk-free trial” on a “first-come, first-served basis.” One ad even described the promotion as a “gift to anyone listening today who needs to lose weight.”
But when customers called the phone numbers given in the ads for these supplements, they found they had to provide their credit card information before any of the terms of the deal were provided. That’s when they find out the trial actually cost $7.95 for shipping of two bottles of the pills (valued at $79.90), and you’ll have to go out of pocket again for shipping if you return the product.
Customers were also automatically enrolled into additional, non-refundable, full-price shipments of the supplement.
Even trying to take advantage of the supposed “guarantee” was a byzantine mess that no consumer should be expected to navigate.
In order to be able to return the unused portion of that first shipment — which, by the by, must include at least one full, unopened bottle of the pills — customers had to obtain a return authorization code before they signed up for the free trial. None of this was disclosed by the company, says the FTC.
So in addition to getting that return authorization, paying for the initial shipment, and paying for the return shipment, customers who sent pills back had to obtain a tracking number to prove the product had been properly returned within 30 days and then call the company’s customer service number with that tracking number prior to the expiration of the 30-day trial period.
“Even when consumers follow all of Defendants’ refund policies, including the return of unopened products prior to the expiration of the “risk-free” trial, many consumers are nevertheless charged $79.90 to their debit or credit cards,” reads the complaint.
But wait — it gets better.
When calling to set up the free trial, customers are given a bonus options — get an $80 Walmart or Target gift in exchange for signing up for a 30-day trial membership in one of two “buying clubs.”
If a customer chose that bonus, they were charged $1.95, which jumped up to $24.95 a month if they didn’t cancel in the 30 days. And those $80 gift cards the customers were promised? Not quite.
“To receive even a fraction of the promised gift card value, consumers must go to two separate websites, investigate each club’s website for gift card offers, print out forms, fill out the forms, mail in each form separately, and repeat the entire application process again eight weeks later,” explains the FTC.
In addition to the not-at-all-free-trials, the complaint alleges that many of the claims made in the AF Plus and Final Trim ads were false or unsubstantiated.
Ads for the products promised that, if “taken as directed,” they “will cause users to lose pounds in days,” “burns fat,” “boosts users’ metabolism,” and that they are “proven to cause substantial weight loss.” But the FTC says that the defendants had nothing to back up these boasts.
Likewise, the people in the radio ads claiming to have lost weight using these supplements are “fictitious, and their reported experiences did not occur,” says the complaint.
The defendants further misled consumers, according to the FTC, by running ads purporting to be news reports or public service announcements.
These are all alleged violations of the FTC Act’s prohibitions against deceptive advertising and unfair business practices.
Furthermore, the defendants are accused of violating the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and Maine state laws protecting consumers against “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.”
To settle these claims, the defendants are banned from “claiming any dietary supplement, over-the-counter drug, patch, cream, wrap, or other product worn on or rubbed into the skin can cause rapid or substantial weight loss or can cause a certain amount of weight loss over a certain period of time.”
More importantly, there is a $16.4 million judgment against the defendants, which will be suspended after they sell or liquidate assets, including real estate, furniture, appliances, timeshares, a boat, snowmobiles, IRAs, jewelry, artwork, numerous investment accounts, and business investments.
A sea lion pup on the skinny side apparently made her way down a ramp from the beach and went through a door left open by a restaurant cleaning crew, the chef told Reuters.
The staff was amused when the pup climbed into a booth “almost like she wanted to have dinner,” he added.
It’s unclear whether the marine mammal could afford any of the items on the menu at the white table-cloth restaurant, she wasn’t given the chance to put in an order anyway: a rescue team from SeaWorld San Diego arrived to pull the barking pup from the booth and transport it to the theme park for care, a spokesman for the tourist center said.
The pup was malnourished and lethargic, at less than half the normal size for its age, the spokesman said, adding, however, that SeaWorld staff is “guardedly optimistic” they can nurse her back to health and release her into the wild eventually.
Sea lion takes a booth at San Diego restaurant on the beach [Reuters]
AdAge reports that the new branding, which is expected to start making the rounds today, coincides with the company’s revamped burgers.
The new burgers, dubbed Dave’s Single (Double, or Triple), is meant to be a throwback to the chain’s original recipe — complete with a new bun and foil wrapping — that customers found unique from other fast food restaurants.
Kurt Kane, chief concept and marketing officer for Wendy’s, tells AdAge that the new phrase simply fits the chain that has always thought of itself as different from competitors, what with its square beef patties.
He said that while the “Now that’s better” phrasing had worked well for the company over the years, it “decide on ‘Deliciously different’ because customers consistently tell us what we do at Wendy’s is unique and different from what they get elsewhere…we have a powerful brand story to talk about in terms of how we do things differently… and we wanted to be overt about it.”
Customers might notice one glaring omission from the company’s new ads: You won’t be seeing “Red,” the perky Wendy’s shill who has been popping up in ads since 2012, constantly pushing the chain’s sandwiches on her friends at work, home, and in public.
Kane tells AdAge that the Red won’t appear in the new burger campaign, but that the company hasn’t “made any permanent decisions” on her future.
“She’s very identifiable, so we’re still evaluating her future,” Kane tells AdAge.
Wendy’s Changes Tagline, Leaves Red’s Future Up in the Air [AdAge]
An Arlington, TX, woman tells CBS Dallas that she recently took over responsibility for her mom’s finances when it became clear that mom needed help.
“She couldn’t write a check or have a credit card,” explains the daughter.
When her mom passed away at the age of 95, she was only six months into the two-year service agreement with Dish, and so the satellite company said the daughter had to pay an early termination fee worth hundreds of dollars.
The problem was that, even though the service was for the mom, the account was in the daughter’s name.
The daughter tells CBS that Dish didn’t care whether the sole user for the service had passed away. She offered to provide them with a death certificate, but the satellite company said no, unless it was her own death certificate. In fact, a Dish rep actually told the daughter that the only way out of the contract was if she was the dead one.
“Yeah, if I died,” says the daughter. “I thought jeez, I’m not ready to die that’s for sure. That’s all I could think of.”
It’s not like the daughter could even use the service for her own enjoyment, as it was set up in her mother’s nursing home. And so she was hit with the nearly$400 fee.
Amazingly, as soon as CBS Dallas contacted Dish, the company was on the phone to the daughter to apologize and offer a refund.
“In this relatively rare situation, the account holder was not the deceased, but was a family member,” explains Dish in a statement. “In light of this situation, we intend to reexamine our policy. While all of Dish’s customer care representatives receive thorough training and have the tools necessary to promptly resolve most customer matters, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our processes.”
Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen ruled that Macy’s still has a “protected interest” in the trademarks on T-shirts of eight department store chains that it acquired over the years under the name Federated Department Stores, Inc., Bloomberg BNA reports.
Almost a year ago, Macy’s filed a second trademark infringement suit in the Northern District of California against a company called Strategic Marks (the first was filed in 2011). The company’s chief executive, Ellia Kassoff, spoke to Consumerist in June 2014 all about his plans for the trademarks he’d acquired for the various “heritage” brands: he wanted to sell products like T-shirts emblazoned with the department stores’ names on a site called Retro Department Stores.
Macy’s hadn’t been using the brand names since putting all its stores under the Macy’s banner in 2006, Kassoff said.
“They weren’t using these trademarks,” he claims. “We have proof they weren’t using these trademarks… Macy’s went to the Trademark Office and said, ‘No, no! These are ours! These are ours! We started it! This has our heritage! It’s our heritage!’ And the Trademark Office said, ‘Sorry, but you’re not using it. You haven’t used it in years.’”
Macy’s wasn’t pleased his business plan, as it was selling T-shirts and bags bearing the old names through its Macy’s Heritage Store online (Kassoff claims the company started doing that after he applied for the trademarks). It said in its suit that Strategic Marks was infringing on trademarks it held, and recently moved for partial summary judgment, seeking judgment on its trademark infringement claims with respect to T-shirts being sold on the Retro website bearing the logos of the eight heritage brands: Marshall Field’s, I. Magnin, Burdines, Kaufmann’s, Lazarus, Meier & Frank, Rich’s and Strawbridge’s.
Judge Chen agreed with Macy’s, writing in his judgment:
“Because Strategic Marks’s infringing activity consists of the deliberate sale of the same product sold by Macy’s (t-shirts), bearing the same exact mark, and sold at a relatively inexpensive price which likely results in limited consumer care, the Court finds that there is a high likelihood of confusion, and thus grants Macy’s motion for partial summary judgment.”
The court didn’t accept the argument that the closure of the old department stores meant Macy’s had abandoned those trademarks, necessarily.
“Simply because a store has ceased operations does not mean that its proprietor or owner does not maintain a valid interest in the registered trademark of the business,” Chen said. “A trademark can still exist and be owned even after a store closes. If an accused infringer uses the mark, a consumer may still be confused as to whether the owner of the trademark authorized or licensed the infringer.”
Macy’s lawyer told the Chicago Tribune that the company is “is pleased that Judge Chen recognized the importance of Macy’s heritage brands, and looks forward to prevailing at trial on the remaining store names.”
Kassoff says he’s pleased as well, telling the Tribune the ruling was expected. He says the judge’s decision only affects T-shirts, and not any online ventures or bricks-and-mortar stores. We reached out to Kassoff for additional comment as well, and will update this post accordingly.
This time, only about $400 worth of merchandise is missing, but the woman did change her outfit. Instead of a floral dress, this time she wore a black sleeveless one. The full skirt wouldn’t look out of place at all in any tropical area, but there’s a secret inside the skirt.
The police aren’t really sure how the garment works. “Detectives believe she has some kind of bag or pockets sewn into the inner lining of the skirt,” a police spokesperson explained to the Sun-Sentinel.
In the video footage, you can see her slip boxes inside a hidden pocket or slit in the front of her skirt. The dress was clearly made or modified for this purpose.
The couple were clearly aware that there were cameras, and that no one was monitoring them in real time. The woman looks directly into the camera at one point.
If you happen to know anything about the crime, contact Broward County Crimestoppers online or at 954-389-2010.
Same crime this year? Weston shoplifter changes her skirt, but not her technique, detectives say [Sun Sentinel] (Warning: auto-play video)
PREVIOUSLY:
Police Seek Woman Who Stuffed $1,140 In Electronics Inside Her Skirt
The letter [PDF] — sent to FCC Chair Tom Wheeler and signed by Sens. Ron Wyden (OR), Al Franken (MN), Bernie Sanders (VT), Ed Markey (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR), and Elizabeth Warren (MA) — says that “equipment rental charges are one of the numerous and often obtuse fees consumers face in this increasingly concentrated cable and broadband market.”
Comcast’s fees are singled out by the lawmakers, who point out that the company’s monthly modem rental fee was recently raised from $8 to $10, meaning Comcast is reaping upwards of $1.2 billion a year from just rental modems.
But some of those fees are being collected on modems that simply aren’t there.
“We are troubled upon hearing complaints of consumers being charged the modem rental fee after they have returned the equipment to Comcast or being charged the rental fee having never rented a modem in the first place,” write the senators.
Because many broadband customers sign up for automated payments, they may not notice right away that they are being charged for a device they no longer have (or didn’t have to begin with).
“[M]any consumers report having to call and remedy this problem throughout several billing cycles,” reads the letter, which meshes with the years of complaints sent to Consumerist by customers of Comcast who have to repeatedly remind the company that they do not use a rented modem.
The senators want to know what, if any, data the FCC has on these sorts of erroneous charges, and what regulatory authority the Commission has on this industry-wide problem.
The FCC is currently considering new rules that would require cable companies to open up their proprietary set-top box technology to other manufacturers. The hope is that this competition will result in lower-cost options other than having to rent your box from your pay-TV provider, much like most broadband customers can choose to either rent a modem from their provider or purchase one on their own.
Just days after losing access to federal student financial aid because it allegedly falsified records and overcharged students, the for-profit Marinello Schools of Beauty has shuttered all of its campuses.
B&H Education, which operated the beauty school chain, announced the closure of its campuses in California, Nevada, and Utah on Thursday, and plans to close its remaining locations in Kansas and Connecticut today, leaving about 4,300 student without a school and 800 employees without a job.
Marinello sent letters to students on Thursday detailing its decisions to shutter its operations, and informing them that a series of meetings will be held next week to provide directions on how to receive transcripts, proof of training and information about their transfer options.
“We want you to know that we did everything in our power to avoid this unfortunate conclusion and keep your school open,” the school said in a letter to students. “Unfortunately, the Department of Education’s unprecedented and unfounded actions left us with no other option except to close our schools.”
Problems for the for-profit beauty school came to a head Monday, when the Department of Education revoked the school’s ability to participate in federal financial aid programs, alleging that some campuses fabricated high school diplomas so that students would be eligible to receive financial aid.
Some schools also limited the amount of federal financial aid funding students could receive, even when they were eligible for more funding, forcing students to make high monthly payments out of pocket to cover the full cost of the school, according to the DOE notice [PDF].
In a sample review of student financial aid awards, the Dept. found that 92% of those students were given less aid than they were entitled to.
During the 2014-15 school year, the Marinello school chain — with 56 campuses across the country — received more than $87 million in Pell Grants and federal loans, according to the Dept.
“Students were threatened with suspension if the monthly payments were not made,” the Department alleges in its notice. “Marinello failed to increase student loan awards even when students explained that the payments were causing an extreme financial hardship, or that they needed extra funds for child care or transportation.”
In some cases, students told the DOE they had to withdraw from the school because they were unable to make the required payments.
Additionally, the school was found to have misrepresented its courses to prospective students, failed to provide equipment or necessary materials to complete programs, and were charged excessive fees for make-up hours.
The Dept. determined that Marinello had lured students into taking out loans for programs that didn’t adequately prepare them for jobs they were promised.
In all, the Department’s decision affected 23 Marinello locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Burbank, Moreno Valley, and Sacramento, CA, that enroll about 2,100 students.
A spokesperson for Marinello told The Washington Post at the time that the company had complied with the Department’s demands, but that the agency had made the decision to delay funding for the past two months.
“When the department began to withhold funds from our deserving students two months ago, we pleaded with the department to provide even basic information about its concerns, yet it refused to do so,” the spokesperson said, in a statement Thursday. “We are confident we would have been able to address them. The department waited until we were past the point of no return financially to allow us any opportunity to respond to its unfounded allegations.”
Still, the Post reports that the Department’s allegations were just the tip of the iceberg for the for-profit chain.
The California Bureau for Private Post Secondary Education barred the school from enrolling new students at its 45 locations in the state in January following accusations that the college failed to meet minimum operating standards.
Before that, the Post reports, all Marinello schools were placed on “heightened cash monitoring” by the federal government for issues including turning in late financial statements, having accreditation issues or operating with a lot of debt.
It’s unclear what will happen to Marinello’s students, but some lawmakers are already calling for the Department of Education to erase their student loan debts.
“The Department of Education has the ability to discharge all federal student loan debt for these students,” said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, in a statement. “I encourage them to expedite the process so that these borrowers can get their money – and their right to a real education – back in their own hands.”
Beauty school chain shuts down days after tangling with the government [The Washington Post]
Pakistan International Airlines has no idea where many of its passengers are right now, while its in the midst of a serious strike by workers who are against privatization plans, reports Bloomberg. The carrier has had to cancel 200 flights or so thus far while employees have been refusing to work over the last week.
“We have no data available on how many and where passengers with confirmed PIA tickets are waiting, because the entire system is shut, servers are down and no booking is being done,” a spokesman told Bloomberg.
Pakistan’s largest airline said it has some idea about 2,500 passengers stranded in Europe and North America, but there are a whole lot more it can’t quite account for at the moment.
The airline is working on tracking down its stranded passengers: it’s got a deal with Etihad Airways and is talking with Turkish Airlines to fly passengers stranded in Europe, the U.S., and Canada, a spokesman said. Saudi Arabia Airlines is also pitching in to fly back 2,000 passengers from the kingdom.
Bookings have dropped as the news of the stranded passengers has spread, the airline said.
World’s Most Overstaffed Airline Can’t Find Stranded Passengers [Bloomberg]
There is a certain kind of site out there that manages to exist through trickery. You go to it, looking for a specific file to download, and there’s a Big! Green! Button! that says “DOWNLOAD” on it in large, friendly letters… except, that’s not the download button you were looking for. The link you were looking for is actually one mostly-hidden line of text. The thing you’ve clicked was actually an ad, and now it’s redirected you and your computer is installing god-knows-what. Oops.
Well now, as Ars Technica reports, Google’s going to help more users avoid sites that post those ads entirely.
As Ars explains, it’s part of the “safe browsing” tech that Google’s been using for years — it’s just expanding. Specifically, the new block is against “deceptive embedded content,” which pretty much translates to “deceptive ads.” So when you search for something, the sites with the shady, misleading ads that claim you need to install a certain kind of plugin, product, or toolbar will now generate a big, red, scary, unfriendly STOP screen instead of leading you to a deceptively cheerful button.
This is a follow-up to a change Google made to search returns back in November, when it started blocking sites that it perceived were using some kind of social engineering attack to get you to reveal information you otherwise wouldn’t.
Google now blocking websites that show fake download buttons [Ars Technica]
Fabletics is part of the JustFab subscription-fashion empire, which sells nice private-label clothes and shoes to their “VIP members.” Members can log in at the beginning of every month and choose an outfit that they like, or opt out of receiving anything that month. If they don’t log in, they’re charged the membership fee of $40-$50 anyway.
In a recent speech that Buzzfeed News managed to get hold of, the company’s co-CEO compared the membership model to joining Costco or Amazon Prime, except that members don’t pay for their membership. Instead, he says, members are asked to commit to visiting the site at the beginning of the month.
“Instead of customers having to spend $50 a year, we ask for customers to make a commitment of their time,” he explained to the crowd at this year’s ICR conference. If they forget to log in, the company charges ’em $50 anyway.
The Fabletics business model is to offer discounts on a customer’s first purchase in exchange for signing up for a membership: this could be how the retail store works, or the point could simply be to get their products out there and find new customers that way.
(PRNewsWire via Chain Store Age)
FURTHER READING:
7 Things We Learned About The Shady Past And Problematic Business Practices Of JustFab
Fabletics And JustFab Keep Growing In Face Of Criticism [Buzzfeed]
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