Washington State: Any Trump Administration Crackdown On Marijuana Would Be “Unacceptable”

Washington state was one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, and now has quite a bit to lose if the Trump administration chooses to crack down on states with retail pot operations. With U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions hinting that federal intervention may be in the offing, his counterpart in Olympia is drawing a line in the soil, saying that any effort by the White House to interfere with the state’s marijuana regulations would be “unacceptable.”

Concerned by the Trump administration’s comments on legalized marijuana — White House spokesman Sean Spicer likened pot to the opioid epidemic; the President has indicated in writing that the Justice Department may ignore restrictions on pot prosecutions — state leaders have repeatedly reached out to Sessions to get a sense of what’s to come.

For instance, in April, the governors of Washington, Colorado, Alaska, and Oregon collectively wrote to Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin [PDF], calling on them to not rescind previous financial and law-enforcement guidance that has allowed medical and recreational marijuana companies in their states to more easily conduct business.

Sessions responded to that letter and others this week, making it clear that he remains skeptical of both recreational and medical marijuana.

In his letter [PDF] to Washington Governer Jay Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Sessions cites a March 2016 report from the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program — a remnant of the Reagan-era war on drugs that is part of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Sessions points to a number of statistics from that HIDTA report [PDF] that he believes raise “serious questions about the efficacy of marijuana ‘regulatory structures’ in” Washington state.

Among the stats called out by Sessions: 49% of young adult drivers who used marijuana had driven a car within three hours after using; that 61.9% of drivers do not believe that marijuana use makes a difference in one’s driving ability; and that the number of fatal accidents involving drivers with THC (the active chemical in marijuana) in their blood had increased 122% between 2010-2014.

It’s worth pointing out that the number of fatal incidents involving drivers with THC in Washington state is dwarfed by those involving alcohol. According to the same Washington state study used by HIDTA, there were 314 incidents between 2010 and 2014 involving drivers with high levels of alcohol (no THC or other drugs present) in their system, accounting for nearly 30% of all fatal incidents where there substances detected. Compare that to 56 incidents where THC was the only drug present. Yet, despite the large numbers of deaths easily attributable to alcohol, there is no indication of an impending reinstatement of the Volstead Act.

The AG also tries to make the argument that Washington is now a pot exporter to other states, citing a claim from the HIDTA report that authorities have seized Washington-produced pot that had been intended for distribution to 43 other states. While that is nearly every state in the union, Washington growers had been shipping to nearly the same number of states before legalization (HIDTA only provides data going back to 2010, when Washington growers tried to ship pot to 35 different states).

Nor does the report make any attempt to put that figure into context: Did the seized pot come from licensed growers or illegal farms? How does the figure compare to seizures from producers in other states? What is the likelihood that illegal growers are shipping to every state and this “43 states” figure is more a reflection of law enforcement’s ability to halt the shipments?

Washington AG Ferguson said today that he is “disappointed” in Sessions’ response to his state’s concerns, and the DOJ’s reliance on “incomplete, inaccurate and out-of-date information” about Washington’s regulation of marijuana.

“Any action from the Department of Justice short of allowing our well-regulated, voter-approved system to continue is unacceptable,” says Ferguson. “I will continue to defend the will of Washington voters.”

Ferguson says he has invited Sessions to meet in person to discuss these concerns but that Sessions has not responded to those invitations.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Which States Have Tax-Free Holidays, And When Do They Happen?

As families prepare to send their little ones back to school, they’re heading to malls, big box stores, and other retailers to fill their backpacks and closets. While many companies offer deals and programs targeting back-to-school season — we’re looking at you Target — many states are also offering their own deals in the way of sales tax-free weekends. 

Although these holidays have been popular with shoppers, they haven’t exactly proven to be an economic stimulus.

In fact, The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that some states’ sales tax holidays have lost their luster.

The holidays — which apply only to certain items like clothing, school supplies, or tools — tend to cause an increase in shopping, but because these shopping sprees don’t include sales tax, states aren’t benefiting.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that states lost $300 million due to sales tax holidays in 2016.

In Georgia, where the state recently scrapped its tax-free holiday, Georgia State University researchers estimate the state lost $24 million in taxes last year.

Despite the often meager savings for shoppers, many retailers have continued to advocate for the tax-free holidays, arguing that the weekends help level the playing between bricks-and-mortar retailers and those doing business online, which are often tax exempt, Pew reports.

Although more states have ditched the sales tax holidays, there are still plenty offering the deals.

Here are the 16 states with tax-free holidays:

State	Dates	Applies To
Alabama	Feb. 24 to Feb. 26; July 21 to July 23	February: Hurricane preparedness generators and supplies. July: Clothing, computers, school supplies, and books
Arkansas	Aug. 5 to Aug. 6	Clothing and School Supplies
Connecticut	Aug. 20 to Aug. 26	Clothing and footwear
Florida	June 2 to June 4; Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	June: Disaster preparedness generators, batteries, fuel containers, and flashlights. August: Clothing, supplies, and computers.
Iowa	Aug. 4 to Aug. 5	Clothing
Louisiana	May 27 to May 28; Aug. 4 to Aug. 5	May: Hurricane preparedness supplies. August: Tangible personal property
Maryland	Feb. 18 to Feb. 20; Aug. .13 to Aug. 19	February: Energy star products. August: Clothing and footwear
Mississippi	July 28 to July 29	Clothing and footwear
Missouri	April 19 to April 25; Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	April: Energy star products. August: Clothing, computers, and school supplies.
New Mexico	Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	Clothing, computers, computer equipment, and school supplies
Ohio	Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	Clothing and school supplies
Oklahoma	Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	Clothing
South Carolina	Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	Clothing, school supplies, computers, and other
Tennessee	July 28 to July 30	Clothing, school supplies and computers
Texas	April 22 to April 24; May 27 to May 29; Aug. 11 to Aug. 13	April: Generators, storm devices, preparedness items; May: Energy star products and air conditioners; August: Clothing, backpacks, and school supplies
Virginia	Aug. 4 to Aug. 6	Clothing, school supplies, energy star products, hurricane preparedness items, and generators

 

Data from Federation of Tax Administrators 

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

VW Executive Pleads Guilty To Part In Dieselgate Scandal

Eight months after Oliver Schmidt — a former executive with Volkswagen’s regulatory compliance office — was arrested for his part in the company’s “Dieselgate” scandal, he has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges. 

Schmidt pleaded guilty [PDF] Friday on charges of wire fraud and violation of the Clean Air Act, as well as a charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and giving a false statement related to the more than 600,000 vehicles VW was accused of equipping with defeat devices.

Sentencing for Schmidt, who could face up to seven years in prison, is scheduled for Dec. 6, the Associated Press reports, adding that the former executive could be deported after his sentence is complete.

The Charges

Schmidt, who worked in the VW compliance office in Detroit from 2014 until March 2015, was arrested back in January.

He reportedly played a central role in trying to excuse the findings of the West Virginia study that first found VW vehicles included so-called “defeat devices” that skirted federal emissions standards.

The software was initially detected during independent analysis by researchers at West Virginia University who were working with the International Council on Clean Transportation, a non-governmental organization. The findings raised questions about emissions levels, and the EPA, along with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), began further investigations into the issue.

According to the complaint against Schmidt, he and other executives agreed to defraud U.S. regulators and customers and violate the Clean Air Act, as they knew vehicles did not meet emissions standards and knew that defeat devices were being used to evade those standards.

Related: Feds Bring Criminal Charges Against 6 Volkswagen Executives

For his part, the complaint alleges that after the study was released in 2014, Schmidt tried to convince regulators that excess pollutants released by the vehicles when not undergoing emissions testing were the result of a technical issue, not any deliberate deception by the carmaker, the order against Schmidt claims.

“Schmidt attempted to and did mislead and deceive [California Air Resources Board] by offering technical reasons and excuses such as ‘irregularities’ or ‘abnormalities’ for the discrepancy without revealing the fundamental reason for the higher [nitrogen oxide] measurements on the road,” the complaint states.

Months after Schmidt’s explanations, VW admitted that more than 500,000 of its vehicles in the U.S. — and more than 11 million across the world — were equipped with the defeat devices that allowed as much as 40 times the allowable rate of nitrogen oxide to be emitted during regular driving.

Other Players

Schmidt is the first of six former VW executives who were indicted [PDF] by federal authorities to plead guilty for his part in the scandal.

Back in January, federal authorities announced the indictment of six Volkswagen employees who allegedly played a part in creating the “defeat device” technology used in VW’s “clean diesel” vehicles to skirt federal emissions standards.

The six individuals are:

• Heinz-Jakob Neusser, head of development for VW Brand until 2015
• Jens Hadler, head of Engine Development for VW until 2011
• Richard Dorenkamp, head of VW’s Engine Development After-Treatment Department until 2013
• Bernd Gottweis, supervisor with responsibility for Quality Management and Product Safety until 2014
• Oliver Schmidt, General Manager in charge of the Environment and Engineering Office until 2015
• Jürgen Peter, VW liaisons between the regulatory agencies and VW until 2015

None of the employees were members of VW’s management board. However, several reported to the board.

While Schmidt was the first of the six to plead guilty, he was the second alleged Volks-villian to do so.

In Sept. 2016, James Liang, who worked at the carmaker in Germany and the U.S., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud regulators and customers.

Liang, who agreed to cooperate with the U.S. investigation into VW, was previously named as a developer of the defeat device in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in July.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

GrubHub Will Buy Eat24 From Yelp For $287.5M, Free Delivery

Just two and a half years ago, Yelp acquired the food delivery site and app Eat24, which seemed like a complementary business at the time. Now GrubHub is buying the site for $287.5 million — a little more than double what Yelp paid for it in 2015 — while the two companies will keep linking to each other and referring customers back and forth.

While some people speculated that GrubHub could be an acquisition target for Amazon after the Everything Store announced that it would be acquiring Whole Foods, instead, the company has gone on its own acquiring spree.

In addition to the robot-powered Eat24, this week GrubHub also acquired OrderUp, a food ordering site owned by Groupon. Coincidentally, Groupon acquired that site in 2015, the same year that Yelp acquired Eat24.

Grubhub has acquired much of the market across the country for online food ordering, gobbling up sites like Allmenus and Seamless. While other companies like Postmates and even Uber have tried to enter the market, GrubHub still dominates.

Regulators would still need to approve the deal, and one possible antitrust concern is that this deal would give GrubHub even more power over restaurant owners. If they don’t accept GrubHub’s commissions and other terms, they’ll miss out on making sales to the many users that the company has or has acquired through mergers.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Ohio Restaurant Owner Shipped A Milkshake To Terminally Ill Woman In D.C.

There are some things we do for the people we love, and then there are the things we do out of love for people we might not even know. Like the fine folks at an Ohio restaurant who helped deliver a milkshake to a terminally ill woman in Washington, D.C., yearning for a taste of home.

A friend of the woman wrote on Facebook this week that she only wanted two things before she died of pancreatic cancer: A Cleveland Indians hat — which he brought to her hospice bed the next day — and a mocha milkshake from Tommy’s Restaurant in Cleveland, in the neighborhood where she and her friend had grown up together.

A milkshake from a few states away is not so easily procured as a hat, however. He reached out the restaurant via email and asked if they could deliver to D.C. A few days later, he received a call from the owner, Tommy himself.

“’Yes. We will figure out a way to do this,’” he recalls Tommy telling him.

Soon after, Tommy shipped the woman a mocha shake, packed in dry ice.

“I would have even driven up there if I’d had to,” Tommy told The Washington Post.

“She was thrilled,” the woman’s friend wrote. “She shared it with her family. She talked about it for days and days. She shared the story with her friends back in Cleveland and here in the D.C. area. It was something that made everyone smile.”

She passed away last week, and her friend now wants others to know about the “caring and good heartedness of Tommy at Tommy’s.”

“So, my friends, if you are in Cleveland Heights, or anywhere near there, please stop in at Coventry, order one of those incredible milkshakes and ask for Tommy (he is the one cooking in the middle of the restaurant) and say, ‘This one is for Emily. Thank you for sending one to her.’”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Updated Gambling Code Of Conduct Calls For Casinos To Explain The Odds To Guests

Your next trip to the craps table in Las Vegas could come with a bit more explanation after the American Gaming Association called on casino operator to better promote responsible gambling. 

The American Gaming Association, along with the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, the National Indian Gaming Association, and the National Center for Responsible Gaming, announced this week an updated code of conduct on responsible gambling.

Under the updated code [PDF], casino operators are asked to explain to patrons the odds of winning or losing at various games.

The companies are also asked not to use advertising that contains claims that gambling will guarantee a person’s social, financial, or personal success.

Additionally, the code calls for heightened employee training programs.

“Presenting a unified message of commitment and putting a spotlight on an area of responsibility all of us share not just during this special week, but 24/7, reflects our full-time focus on an important aspect of our specific gaming entertainment,” Marcus Prater, Executive Director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, said of the code update and the annual Responsible Gaming Education Week taking place this week.

The Associated Press reports that members of the group, including MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, are expected to commit to the updates.

“What we should be doing is having a regular ongoing dialogue with our customers to make sure that what they’re doing is safe and fun for them and their families,” Alan Feldman, MGM’s executive vice president of global industry affairs, told the AP.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

New Drivers In Texas Have To Take Online Class About Distracted Driving

An average of nine people die every day from crashes caused by distracted drivers, a statistic that’s especially tragic when those deaths could be preventable. That’s why Texas is expanding its requirement for new drivers to learn more about what they shouldn’t be doing behind the wheel.

The state is gradually phasing in free video courses for new drivers, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The series started with a two-hour online class for drivers ages 15 to 17, which became mandatory in 2015. A new course, which is also delivered for free online, will be mandatory for new drivers ages 18 to 24 starting on Sept. 1.

People who are 25 or older and just becoming licensed have to take the course intended for younger adults, but will have a video designed just for them soon.

“This new component of the department’s distracted driving initiative uses research and compelling true stories to highlight the many risks facing drivers,” the director of the state’s Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

These classes are in addition to the mandatory courses that new drivers have to take before getting a license, which have their own units that try to instill better habits in new drivers. Teens take a 32-hour driver’s ed course, and adults obtaining a license for the first time must take a 6-hour course.

People who are renewing their licenses don’t have to take a course, but we could probably all stand a reminder to put the phone down while driving.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

British Bar Chain Bans Swearing & Patrons Are Totally Ticked Off

If you can’t tell your friend about that one time you were so sh*tcanned you f***d up your f*****g phone when you dropped it in dog sh*t while having a few drinks at the bar, is it really an authentic bar experience? Some pub patrons in England — where bar owners are trying to appeal to families — don’t think so. In fact, they’re pretty f*****g pissed off about new bans on swearing in bars.

The Wall Street Journal has quite a, uh, colorful piece on new “no swearing” policies that some bars have adopted recently, with the goal of attracting a more wholesome audience interested in the high-end dining atmosphere of newly popular gastropubs and bistros.

For example, Samuel Smith Old Brewery, which owns more than 200 pubs across the country, ushered in a new “zero-tolerance” policy on swearing, in which potty-mouthed patrons aren’t served drinks, and can even be kicked out.

“You just can’t ban swearing in a place where they serve alcohol,” one bar patron at The Cock Tavern, owned by Samuel Smith, told the WSJ. “That’s bullsh*t.”

Some pub operators — known as landlords — note that there are no clear rules about what constitutes as swearing — is “bollocks” bad enough to be banned, for example? Or “bloody”? — so the whole thing is a bit confusing.

Others feel that profanity and the pub experience should not be divorced from each other.

“The British pub is an institution where people go to enjoy themselves, an informal place where class and salary are forgotten,” a member of the Campaign for Real Ale 187,000 beer drinkers around the world told the WSJ. “We don’t need rules to restrict that.”

Pubgoers are prepared to fight back, including a longtime Samuel Smith’s patron who has vowed to swear up a storm at the bars to protest “this sh*tmonkey of a decision” that constitutes “arse-backwards twittery.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Unreleased ‘Game Of Thrones’ Episode Reportedly Leaked Online

It’s not Sunday night yet, but fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones may have already seen the show’s upcoming episode floating around online: A new report says the fourth episode of the season was leaked just days after hackers claimed they’d stolen 1.5 terabytes of data from the network.

According to Entertainment Weekly, an HBO insider says the leaked episode was not related to this week’s cyber attack, however, in which hackers reportedly nabbed a script from the same installment of the popular show.

The reported leak came from one of HBO’s international network partners — Star India — which has access to the episodes before they air. A watermark on the video was apparently the giveaway clue.

We’ve reached out to HBO for comment on the reported leak, and will update this post if we hear back.

A familiar song of ice and fire and leaks

This is far from the first time HBO has had to deal with leaked GOT content: The Verge notes that the first four episodes of season 5 were also leaked online because of advance screeners sent to members of the press.

And then there was the HBO subsidiary that prematurely released an episode during season 6.

Though HBO finally stopped giving out screeners to the press for season 7, that doesn’t seem to have kept it safe from leaks in this case.

King of the pirates

GOT is one of the most pirated TV shows out there every year, and this season has lived up to that title. A report last month indicated that the season 7 premiere was pirated 90 million times in the days after it aired.

HBO has tried to combat pirates in recent years, launching new anti-piracy efforts last year that include sending copyright infringement warnings to ISPs, urging them to take action against alleged pirates.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Maine Raises Legal Smoking Age To 21

As the Food and Drug Administration considers lowering the level of nicotine in cigarettes to reduce the likelihood of addiction, some states and cities have taken it upon themselves to discourage smoking at a young age. This week, Maine joined New Jersey, California, and Hawaii to raise the minimum legal smoking age to 21. 

The Portland Press Herald reports that the Maine senate voted 29-5, while the House voted 90-44 to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill increasing the legal age for purchasing tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, hookah pipes, and other smoking accessories.

Under the new law, which takes effect in July, Maine residents under 21 won’t be able to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products. However, those who turn 18 prior to the July implementation will be grandfathered in, allowing them to purchase the products.

The Arguments

While the lawmakers easily voted to override LePage’s veto, many still fought against the age increase.

Those opposed to the law argued that 18-year-olds can be criminally charged as adults, can vote, and can join the military.

“We are picking an arbitrary number, 21 – well why not 25, why not 45, why not 70 or why not simply outlaw tobacco?” House Minority Leader Ken Fredette said.

However, another lawmaker argued that the state had recently voted on a measure making it illegal to purchase marijuana before someone turns 21. The legal drinking age is also 21.

Those in favor of the age increase pointed to studies that suggest smoking at an earlier age leads to addiction and that raising the age for tobacco makes people less likely to purchase the products, the Press Herald reports.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

4 Things To Know About Uber’s Singapore Leasing Program & Recall Issues

For nearly two years, Uber has offered a car leasing program that aims to remedy one of the biggest obstacles for those who wanted to sign up as a driver, but didn’t haven anything to, you know, actually drive. While some Uber drivers have expressed their frustrations with the Xchange Leasing program, a new report suggests that those taking part in similar programs outside of the U.S. are facing more than high monthly payments; they’re dealing with allegedly defective and dangerous vehicles. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that’s because many of the cars provided by Uber, at least in Singapore, were part of a recall and never repaired.

The ensuing debacle was just one of the issues Uber has faced in recent years; from now-departed and often maligned CEO Travis Kalanick to alleged sexual assaults by drivers, and a top-secret algorithm to avoid the law.

Still, the thousands of unrepaired recalled cars left on the streets of Singapore, and their proclivity to catch fire, left drivers and passengers in a new type of danger. The WSJ’s report offers a deeper dive into Uber’s leasing issue in Singapore, but here are four things we learned.

Entering Singapore

Singapore served as Uber’s first entrance into the Asian market back in 2013.

That debut, however, was marred with issues, as documents reviewed by the WSJ show the company struggled to find drivers, as owning a car in the city is significantly more expensive than elsewhere.

In order to move forward with the Singapore rollout, Uber created a leasing unit called Lion City Rentals in Feb. 2015.

Under the program, Uber would spend tens of millions of dollars to buy vehicles and rent the cars to drivers for about $50 per day, the WSJ reports.

In purchasing cars, the WSJ reports that Uber didn’t turn to authorized dealers, but instead small auto import dealers, where they could pay about 12% less for the cars.

A Recall

Although Uber may have been able to save a bit in purchasing cars from the importers, the WSJ notes that safety, service, and legal contracts are difficult to enforce with such dealers.

Still, Uber allegedly assured drivers that the rentable cars were in “perfect running condition.”

Among these cars were about 1,000 Honda Vezel SUVs.

The WSJ reports that on April 4, 2016, Honda recalled some of these new vehicles over an issue with an electrical component designed to shut off the engine when the vehicle was idle. The issue, Honda said, could cause the vehicle to overheat. The carmaker advised owners to get the vehicles serviced as soon as possible.

An internal report from Uber shows that the company had purchased some of these vehicles from a dealer called Sunrita, which informed the ride-hailing company of the recall.

Sunrita estimated that it would replace the affected parts by the end of August. But another email shows this didn’t happen, as Sunrita said there was a shortage of parts.

Despite the recall, Uber continued to buy the recalled Vezels. In fact, documents viewed by the WSJ show that 1,065 new Vezels were added to the company’s lineup.

While Uber sent emails to Sunrita trying to expedite the recall repair, the company continued to lease the potentially dangerous vehicles.

A lawyer for Sunrita tells the WSJ that the Uber’s leasing unit requested that the dealer produce replacement parts, which the company says it did when they were available.

A Dangerous Ride

In mid-January of this year, consequences of the Honda recall reared its head in the form of a fire in one Uber driver’s Vezel.

According to an accident report, an Uber driver picked up a passenger at 1:30 p.m. and drove for 19 minutes. Just as soon as the passenger had been dropped off, the driver smelled smoke and flames began to erupt out of the car’s dashboard.

The driver was unhurt in the incident, but the car suffered significant damage.

The Aftermath

The WSJ reports that the incident quickly raised questions at Uber, both in Singapore and at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

The problem was amplified after the company’s insurance provider said it wouldn’t cover the cost of the damage because of the known recall, emails viewed by the WSJ note.

An internal report suggested that there “is clearly a large safety/responsible actor/brand integrity/PR issue,” at play, as the company began assessing its legal liability.

There appeared to be a divide growing on how to deal with the recalled vehicles. While some managers wanted to take them off the road, others argued that such plan would simply cost the company too much and leaving them on the road seemed like a low risk.

“Asking drivers to give up their keys with no suggested fix will send panic alarm bells to the mass market,” one manager wrote in an email.

In the end, the cars stayed on the road. However, Uber asked drivers to bring the vehicles into repair shops where the faulty part was disabled. The WSJ notes, though, that this measure was not authorized by Honda.

A spokesperson for Uber tells the WSJ that the company notified affected drivers and asked them to bring in vehicles that same week.

Still, some drivers tell the WSJ that the message from Uber failed to adequately address the issue, as it wasn’t clear why the vehicle needed urgent servicing. One driver referred to the recall as “hush-hush.”

Since the recall process began earlier this year, Uber says it has worked to improve tracking of automaker recalls and stopped buying vehicles from importers.

“We’ve introduced robust protocols and hired three dedicated experts in-house at LCR whose sole job is to ensure we are fully responsive to safety recalls,” said the Uber spokesman. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve proactively responded to six vehicle recalls and will continue to do so to protect the safety of everyone who uses Uber.”

Consumerist has reached out to Uber for comment on the WSJ report. We’ll update this post if we hear back.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Sewage Leak Splashes Hundreds Of Checked Bags At Nashville Airport

Yesterday morning, water from a restroom directly above the baggage handling area at Nashville’s airport leaked through the floor and onto hundreds of bags below. While the water came from a plugged toilet, officials treated it as sewage, and removed 380 bags from Southwest flights that were on the carousel to check for, um, dampness.

The leak occurred because someone plugged a toilet in the women’s restroom with paper towels, flooding the area. While that isn’t the same as splattering bags with raw sewage, airport officials still took precautions, and brought in an environmental cleanup crew.

“The affected bags are being sanitized, and in some cases, replacement bags are being offered,” Southwest said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time that this has happened at Nashville’s airport, though. TV station KTRK reports (warning: auto-play video at that link) that the airport authorities are considering restructuring the airport’s drainage system to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“Second time that has happened? First time that’s OK, but a second time?” one passenger told CBS (warning: auto-play video at that link) after he learned about the incident last year.

Another Southwest passenger told TV station WKRN that her plane simply took off without her bags, and she wasn’t the only traveler affected in that way.

“People had issues that we could’ve dealt with in Nashville,” she told the TV station. “They knew that getting us on the plane, letting us happily fly out of Nashville with no luggage.”

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Sapporo Goes Shopping In Craft Beer Aisle, Picks Up Anchor Steam For $85M

With a dwindling beer-drinking population in its home country of Japan, Sapporo Brewing has set its sights on U.S. shores to bolster its business, snapping up Anchor Brewing Company — maker of Anchor Steam — for $85 million.

San Francisco-based Anchor has been around since 1896, and Sapporo [PDF] notes that its flagship brand “is said to be an icon that ignited the current craft beer boom in the U.S.”

Sapporo could use that power: Japan doesn’t have as many young people in recent years, which means fewer folks hitting drinking age and buying beer, notes Bloomberg.

The deal, slated to close by the end of this month, will allow Sapporo to make a push into the U.S. market. Though Sapporo’s annual sales outstrip Anchor Brewing by quite a lot — $4.9 billion to $33 million in 2016 — the Japanese brewer will now have a chance to get a slice of the American craft beer pie as well.

“Sapporo shares our values and appreciates our unique, time-honored approach to brewing,” said Keith Greggor, Anchor Brewing co-owner. “With both a long-term vision and the resources to realize it, Sapporo will keep brewing Anchor’s beers in San Francisco while expanding to new markets worldwide.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are seven 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.

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

Frequent Overdrafters Spend $450 More In Fees Each Year, More Disclosures Could Help

Under federal law, depository institutions are prohibited from charging overdraft fees on ATM and one-time debit card transactions unless consumers affirmatively opted in. But a new report suggests that those who do opt-in might not know the cost of such a decision, with frequent overdrafters spending about $450 in fees each year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report today detailing the cost of overdrafting for those who opt in to the coverage, and debuting four prototype disclosure forms explaining the coverage to consumers.

Overdraft

For those unfamiliar, an overdraft occurs when consumers lack the funds in their account to cover a transaction, but the bank pays anyway. If a customer opts-in to overdraft protection, a financial institution may charge a fee for this service, typically around $34 per transaction, and require that the account deficit be repaid with subsequent deposits.

While a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts suggested that some banks have improved overdraft policies, they continue to charge high, sometimes exorbitant overdraft fees.

These findings were echoed by the CFBP today in a report highlighting the costs that opted-in frequent overdrafters face. Frequent overdraft users are characterized as those who overdrew their accounts more than 10 times in a 12-month period.

According to the CFPB’s report, of the 40 million checking accounts analyzed, nearly 9% were considered frequent overdrafters, who incur 79% of overdraft fees.

This translates to the typical frequent overdrafter having 22 overdrafts compared to 18 for those who are not opted into protection.

Related: Typical Overdraft Situation Is Comparable To Small-Dollar Loan With 17,000% Interest Rate

These additional overdraft attempts are likely tied to the frequency in which overdrafters use their debit cards. The report found that frequent overdrafters use their debit cards at least 25 times per month; that’s six times more than typical non-overdrafters.

Those who are opted-in spend an average of $450 per year on overdraft fees, while those who aren’t simply have their attempted transactions declined.

Who’s Most Likely To Overdraft?

Most of these frequent overdrafters are financially vulnerable, the study found, with lower daily balances and lower credit scores than people who do not overdraft as often.

For instance, the typical frequent overdrafter has an average end-of-day balance of less than $350, while the typical non-overdrafter has an average end-of-day balance of more than $1,550.

This means that the added costs of overdrafts, which average about $34, can put an additional strain on their finances.

Additionally, those who frequently overdraft have a median credit score of less than 600, well below what is considered to be a subprime score, the report states.

Sen. Cory Booker Concerned Over Hefty Overdraft Fees, Seeks Info From Top Banks

“Our study shows that financially vulnerable consumers who opt in to overdraft risk incurring a rash of fees when using their debit card or an ATM,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray, said.

Know Before You Overdraft

While federal regulations require financial institutions to give customers information about overdrafts and their fees, the CFPB believes more could be done.

In an attempt to prevent some of these overdrafts, the CFPB has created four prototypes of disclosures intended to make the costs and risks of opting in to overdraft coverage easier to understand and evaluate.

The four one-page prototype model forms unveiled today mirror the Bureau’s Know Before You Owe disclosures for mortgages and prepaid accounts, and are designed to give consumers more clarity about a key financial decision.

The CFPB developed the prototypes through interviews with account holders, and is now testing them more widely.

The prototypes allow banks to plug their specific program information into an online form and then quickly download it for free.

The form would then highlight the fees charged by the bank and would also explain that the opt-in decision applies only to one-time debt and ATM transactions.

In the end, the CFPB believes the prototypes would assist customers in making their own choice about whether they want overdraft service for debt card transactions. The forms would include specific language noting that overdraft protection is optional, and that customers are not required to opt in.

While the CFPB made it clear that it is not currently in the rulemaking process that could require banks to use the prototypes, the agency is considering overdraft regulations and amending them.

“This new approach could make it seamless for banks and credit unions to use a new model form within their existing compliance systems, and easier to update their disclosures following future overdraft program changes,” the agency said.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist