Ignore The TV Commercials: Don’t Sell Your Old Phone On eBay

(Erik Gunther)

eBay is currently engaging in an ad campaign, timed to coincide with the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus, meant to coax people who don’t currently use eBay to use the service to find new homes for their phones. Yet people who are frequent eBay users think that this is a terrible idea, and not just because they’re sellers who fear the competition.

Here’s one of the spots, urging aspiring phone-sellers to “delete that middleman” and sell directly.

It’s a pretty nice deal, where eBay promises a $100 coupon to people who list their phone in an auction, but it doesn’t sell. The problem is that selling in an auction format can be confusing for first-time sellers, and selling big-ticket electronics on eBay can also lead to trouble if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The editor and readers of industry site eCommerceBytes don’t think so. Selling electronics on eBay and on Amazon can be tricky, requiring experience and a keen eye to protect yourself from fraud. For example, they point to one customer profiled by First Coast News who sold a broken, non-working phone on eBay, and the buyer turned around and complained that the phone…didn’t come with access to the original owner’s iCloud account, which wasn’t a condition of the sale.

The problem is that buyer-friendly policies meant that the customer received a full refund after complaining that they didn’t receive what was promised in the sale. This left the seller without the phone and without her money.

One of our own readers also shared a tale of iPhone sales woe two years ago. In that case, the seller took precautions, mailed the phone with delivery confirmation, and it disappeared while in the metaphorical hands of the U.S. Postal Service. Unfortunately, proof that he had mailed the package wasn’t sufficient for eBay, and they issued a refund to the buyer.

Can you get more cash by selling your phone on eBay? Sure, sometimes. The difference is that selling directly to a third party who lives far away introduces the potential for fraud, and even the most experienced eBay sellers end up without their money and without their phone.

Consumer Gets Burned Selling Used iPhone on eBay [eCommerceBytes]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

EEOC Lawsuit Accuses Papa John’s Pizza Of Firing Worker With Down Syndrome

(Aaron TD)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it’s filed a lawsuit against Papa John’s Pizza, accusing the company of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act after firing a worker in Utah with Down syndrome.

The EEOC says it’s seeking back pay and damages for the former employee, as well as an injunction “prohibiting future discrimination and any other curative relief to prevent Papa John’s from engaging in any discriminatory practices.”

Officials with the federal agency say the man had been good at his job and was doing well with an independently employed job coach to help him.

According to the lawsuit, when an operating partner dropped by the store and saw the man working with his coach, he allegedly told the Papa John’s to fire him.

Under federal law, businesses must accommodate workers with job coaches where the situation calls for one.

“People with intellectual disabilities are one of the most underemployed segments of the workforce,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill. “Many disabled persons are qualified, ready and willing to work. All they need is an equal opportunity. Job coaches are one form of reasonable accommodation that allows employees with intellectual disabilities to be able to work.”

Papa John’s hasn’t commented on the lawsuit yet.

Papa John’s Discriminated Against Employee with Down Syndrome, EEOC Charges in Suit [EEOC.gov]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Las 21 Leyes Irrefutables del Liderazgo #leadership

Hola:

Una presentación sobre las 21 Leyes Irrefutables del Liderazgo.

Un saludo

Archivado en: Liderazgo Tagged: Liderazgo



from TICs y Formación http://ift.tt/1uWQeME

via Alfredo Vela Posteado por www.bscformacion.com

CFPB: Michigan Bank Must Pay $37.5M For Failure To Provide Consumers With Relief From Foreclosure

(Nick Bastian)

Consumers facing the prospect of losing their homes have few avenues of recourse and when even one of those options is taken away, the results can be devastating. That’s just one reason why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced action – to the tune of a $37.5 million – against a Michigan bank for its illegal conduct in blocking borrowers’ attempts to save their homes.

According to the CFPB, Flagstar Bank must pay victims $27.5 million and a $10 million fine to the CFPB for failing borrowers in every step of the foreclosure process.

Flagstar, a federal savings bank and mortgage servicer, administers foreclosure relief programs provided by the owner of the loan. The programs are meant to mitigate losses for both the borrower and the owners of the loans by providing alternatives to foreclosure.

The company is responsible for soliciting borrowers for mitigation programs, collecting applications, determining eligibility and implementing the loss mitigation program.

However, an investigation by the CFPB found that from 2011 to the present, Flagstar failed to devote sufficient resources to administering the programs.

The CFPB alleges that Flagstar took excessive time to process applications for foreclosure relief, failed to notify borrowers when applications were incomplete, denied loan modifications to qualified borrowers and illegally delayed finalizing permanent loan modifications.

To illustrate the company’s shortcomings, the CFPB provided an example from 2011 when Flagstar had 13,000 active loss mitigation applications but only assigned 25 full-time employees and a third-party vendor in India to review them.

At one point it took the staff up to nine months to review a single application and the average wait time for Flagstar’s loss mitigation call center was 25 minutes.

In addition to providing relief for borrowers and paying a fine to the CFBP, Flagstar must end all loss mitigation mortgage servicing violations, stop acquiring default servicing rights from third parties and engage in efforts to help affected borrowers preserve their homes.

CFPB Takes Action Against Flagstar Bank for Violating New Mortgage Servicing Rules [CFPB]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Thailand’s Government Employs Robotic Taster To Make Sure Food Is At Maximum Deliciousness

(blue387)

Spurred on by spread of bad food at restaurants around the globe, government officials in Thailand have embarked on a quest to decide once and for all which restaurants deserve the honor of being called Thai food. The solution? Get a robot to taste it.

The former prime minister got things in motion before her administration was tossed from office in May, reports the New York Times, after she kept encountering unsatisfactory cuisine in her travels.

She took her outrage over these impostor dishes to a cabinet meeting, and it grew from there. This week, the Thai Delicious Committee — a real group sponsored by the government — introduced the e-delicious machine at a glitzy event with diplomats and dignitaries this week.

Its backers say the robotic taster can scientifically evaluate Thai cuisine, and knows the difference between green curry done right and one that will never hold a candle to the real thing. It measures what it’s testing and compares it to the standards for ingredients and flavors.

The committee calls it “an intelligent robot that measures smell and taste in food ingredients through sensor technology in order to measure taste like a food critic.”

In other news, I’m starting my own Delicious Committee and will be very dedicated to my work in the cheese and bacon fields.

You Call This Thai Food? The Robotic Taster Will Be the Judge [New York Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

NHTSA Examining 163 New Complaints Of Unintended Acceleration In Toyota Vehicles

(StellarViewer)

Just six months after it was announced that Toyota would pay $1.2 billion to close a case involving the unintended acceleration in a number of vehicles, the car manufacture is facing a federal probe over the same issue.

According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice [PDF], a consumer petitioned the regulator for an investigation into low-speed surging in nearly 1.7 million model year 2006 to 2010 Corollas.

The unintended acceleration may cause the vehicle’s brakes to fail, resulting in the car not stopping in time to prevent a crash.

The petitioner alleges experiencing multiple low-speed surge events while driving a 2010 Corolla; the last incident resulted in a collision with a parked vehicle in June.

NHTSA reports receiving 163 reports in which the driver of a Corolla experienced a surge at low-speed or no speed. Regulators will examine the reports to determine if a formal safety investigation is necessary.

Many of the complaints referenced by NHTSA include consumers’ unstoppable acceleration while trying to park.

“My wife was pulling into a parking spot in front of a bagel shop and the car just lost control accelerating,” one complaint reads. “Not stopping until it crashed into a pillar, causing extreme damage to the car.”

“I was leaving the drive thru to park my car and wait for my food to come out,” another complaint states. “I made an immediate left followed by an immediate left to park in a handicap spot. I pressed the brakes and my car didn’t slow down at all. I kept pressing and nothing happened. My car went over the concrete block in front of the handicap thru [sic] bushes and finally stopped when I hit the corner of the building I pulled the car in reverse and pulled the e-brake.”

Officials with Toyota tell the Los Angeles Times that they will “cooperate fully with any inquiry.”

Toyota’s previous acceleration issues came to light in 2009 following the tragic death of an off-duty California Highway Patrolman and his family in a Lexus. The vehicle went off the road at around 120 mph, but not before someone in the car called 9-1-1 urgently seeking help because they could not get the car to slow down.

This incident and other reports led to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles, along with hundreds of civil lawsuits, some of which have been settled and some that continue to linger in the legal system.

NHTSA tied the sudden acceleration problems to five deaths. However, the root cause of the problem has been a much-disputed topic. Some have claimed it was a problem with the vehicles’ electrical systems, while Toyota blamed it on unsecured floor mats that became trapped under the accelerator or brake pedals, making it difficult or impossible to control the speed of the cars.

Back in March, it was reported that federal prosecutors found evidence that Toyota made misleading statements about safety problems that were revealed by its own internal audits, and that the company made misleading statements to the government and to the public about those safety issues.

In addition to the millions Toyota has already paid out in customer lawsuits, it has paid a total of $66.2 million to NHTSA for four recent claims that the carmaker failed to report safety defects to the government.

NHTSA reviewing new Toyota Corolla unintended-acceleration claims [The Los Angeles Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

FTC: You Cannot Lose Weight By Wearing Caffeinated Underpants

Infusing ladies’ undergarments with caffeine does not make them weight loss aids, as it turns out. This news may not come as a surprise to most of us, but two companies were trying to sell just such a product with the claim that it would indeed have a slimming effect. The not-so-magical underwear has made one thing significantly smaller, though: the bank accounts of the two companies in question, which have reached a $1.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC announced the settlement with Norm Thompson Outfitters, Inc. and Wacoal America, Inc. this afternoon. The companies are barred from making future “false and unsubstantiated claims” about their shapewear, and must pay more than $1.5 million in consumer refunds.

One company claimed that wearing their caffeine-infused unmentionables would “eliminate or substantially reduce cellulite; reduce the wearer’s hip measurements by up to two inches and their thigh measurements by one inch; and reduce thigh and hip measurements ‘without any effort’,” according to the FTC.

The other company made very similar claims, but also said that its iPants (yes, iPants) would also “destroy fat cells, resulting in substantial slimming.”

As we are all no doubt shocked to learn, these claims appear not to be true or backed up by any actual scientific evidence, which makes them a violation of the FTC Act.

In addition to paying up for refunds, the settlement agreement bans both companies from claiming that any drug-infused garment will cause a substantial drop in one’s weight, fat, or measurements.

“Caffeine-infused shapewear is the latest ‘weight-loss’ brew concocted by marketers,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If someone says you can lose weight by wearing the clothes they are selling, steer clear. The best approach is tried and true: diet and exercise.”

Today might be National Coffee Day, but there are some places caffeine just should not go.

Norm Thompson Outfitters and Wacoal America Settle FTC Charges Over Weight-Loss Claims for Caffeine-infused Shapewear [FTC.gov]

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

Uber Wants To Hire German Taxi Drivers, Not Fight With Them

(So Cal Metro)

Uber is best known as an app that dispatches limos, black cars, or regular drivers in regular cars to wherever you and your smartphone are, but has a less-known feature called UberTaxi. In Germany, where the company and taxi drivers are in a legal fight over whether the company should be allowed to compete with licensed taxis, the company is trying something new: hiring taxi drivers.

Well, that’s not exactly right. UberTaxi already exists in other cities with lots of taxi drivers, like London and New York. The service lets taxi drivers receive mobile hails during time that they’d normally just be sitting around waiting for a fare. What users get out of it is the opportunity to hail a cab, slightly cheaper.

The company will try UberTaxi in Berlin and Hamburg, and expand it to other cities if the test works out.

When the country’s taxi drivers brought a lawsuit against Uber, the court ruled that the UberBlack car-ordering service didn’t fit current taxi or limo regulations, and the low-cost UberPop service, which lets ordinary citizens drive people around for extra cash, isn’t even close to meeting the safety requirements normally asked of taxi drivers.

Uber to use regular taxi drivers in Germany [Reuters]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Harley-Davidson Recalls All 2014 Touring Bikes, Including Trikes And Custom Designs

(Matt McGee)

By now we’re used to vehicle recalls reaching into the hundred thousands, but this one is a bit different. Harley-Davidson is calling back nearly 126,000 motorcycles because a problem with the clutch could lead to crashes.

CNN Money reports the recall applies to all model year 2014 Touring bikes, including the three-wheeled trikes and customs builds.

The hydraulic clutch in the motorcycles may not disengage and the bike could crash.

An official with Harley-Davidson says the company is aware of 19 accidents related to the issue, but no serious injuries. Several of the accidents occurred during the company’s safety testing.

Owners of the affected bikes will be notified and the issue can be fixed by rebuilding the master clutch cylinder, which takes less than an hour, the company reports.

In a separate recall, the company is calling back about 1,400 model year 2015 XG500’s and XG750’s because of a possible fuel tank leak.

Harley-Davidson recalls all 2014 Touring motorcycles [CNN Money]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Diners At UK Cafe Must Sign Waiver Before Attempting 8,000-Calorie Breakfast Challenge

The time limit is now an hour to eat all of that. (Bear Grills Cafe)

It’s a pretty clear warning sign that you could be in for some serious damage to your gut if a restaurant makes you sign a waiver clearing it of any liability for eating a dish on its menu. It makes sense, though, if that item contains 8,000 calories or so, and comes with the title of “The Hibernator” — because you’ll need a year to sleep that puppy off.

The Bear Grills cafe across the pond in ye olde England is offering a seven-pound plate of food that has four times the recommended daily caloric intake for an adult man, reports The Daily Mail.

Included on a four-foot turkey platter in this Man vs Bear challenge: eight rashers of bacon, eight sausages, four hash browns, four fried eggs, a four egg cheese omelette, four waffles, four pieces of toast, four pieces of fried bread, four black pudding, two ladles of beans, two ladles of tomatoes, mushrooms, a portion of large fries and a 2,000-calorie milkshake to top it all off.

Only 20 people have attempted The Hibernator since it hit the menu, and no one has been successful at eating the entire thing in under an hour… yet.

“I reckon with these ingredients you could feed a family for a week,” says the man who runs the joint, adding that he dreamed up this feast of calories to attract a younger set.

“Younger guys come in, and it is all men who have tried the challenge, and they look at the ingredients up on the board and say: ‘I am going to smash that,’ ” he explains. “But then they see it come out on the big platter all heaped high and start to cry on the phone to their friends. They give up after about twenty minutes.”

The instinct to weep does seem to fit the bill.

Is this Britain’s unhealthiest breakfast? The Man vs Food-inspired fry-up with FOUR TIMES the daily calorie allowance [Daily Mail]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist