Consumer

(WNY News Now) The owner of Netspend Corporation, Ouro Global, Inc. (Ouro), and New York Attorney General Letitia James have negotiated a $1 million settlement over dishonest business practices that hurt thousands of New Yorkers. NEW YORK Yesterday, Attorney General Letitia James of New York obtained more than $1 million and important changes from Ouro Global, Inc. (Ouro), the company that owns Netspend Corporation (Netspend), a supplier of payroll cards and reloadable debit cards. According to an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Netspend hurt tens of thousands of New Yorkers, most of whom were low-income, and broke multiple consumer protection laws. For several years, the business unlawfully closed its clients' accounts and gave their money—which ought to hav...

(WNY News Now) Attorney General Letitia James of New York secured a settlement that holds Eufy camera distributors responsible for inadequate data protection procedures that exposed private home security footage. NEW YORK For failing to protect customers' private home security footage, New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained $450,000 from three companies that sell Eufy home security cameras. Under the eufy brand, a range of video cameras, video doorbells, and video smart locks are distributed by Fantasia Trading LLC, Power Mobile Life LLC, and Smart Innovation, LLC. Video streams from the cameras were not always properly encrypted, according to an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) inquiry, and anyone with the appropriate link could view them without authentication. In addit...

(WNY News Now) After Equifax Information Services, LLC misreported credit scores for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, Attorney General Letitia James of New York announced a $725,000 settlement with the firm. NEW YORK Equifax Information Services, LLC (Equifax) and New York Attorney General Letitia James reached a settlement today for falsely reporting tens of thousands of New Yorkers' credit scores to lenders, increasing the cost of loans and other products between March and April 2022. Lenders and insurers priced some of their loans and policies higher than they would have if Equifax had provided accurate credit reports because of a coding error that caused Equifax to fraudulently decrease consumers' credit ratings. Equifax will pay $725,000 as part of the settlement and put additional...

(WNY News Now) HARRISBURGA Due to the company's ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures, Pennsylvania shoppers are being warned by Attorney General Michelle Henry that all 64 Big Lots locations in the state may close. As part of the bankruptcy process, Big Lots, one of the biggest bargain stores in the United States, said that its remaining stores would close. Residents of Pennsylvania may be impacted by these closures, especially those who depend on the retailer's steeply discounted merchandise. What Consumers Need to Know Attorney General Henry suggests the following actions for consumers in view of these developments: Big Lots was previously permitted by a federal bankruptcy court to have going-out-of-business sales at all of its remaining locations, beginning on December 20, 2024. ...

(WNY News Now) Attorney General Letitia James recovers millions for customers by holding Card Compliant LLC responsible for helping H&M get around New York's gift card regulations. NEW YORK In violation of New York law, New York Attorney General Letitia James today obtained nearly $4.4 million from Card Compliant LLC (Card Compliant), a gift card firm, for willfully assisting well-known fashion store H&M in keeping millions of dollars in unused gift card payments from New Yorkers. Unused balances on gift cards that New Yorkers should have been able to collect through the state's Office of Unclaimed Funds were withheld by H&M for years. In order to provide the impression that Card Compliant, an out-of-state business, was managing H&M's gift card business and was exempt f...

Attorney General James Uses Significant Formula Donation to End Price Gouging Investigation (WNY News Now) After a price gouging investigation into Marine Park Distribution Inc. and its partner Formula Depot Inc., New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured $675,000 worth of infant formula for families throughout the state. NEW YORK In response to illegal price gouging during the 2022 nationwide formula shortage, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday that her office had obtained $675,000 worth of baby formula for New Yorkers from formula supplier Marine Park Distribution Inc. (Marine Park) and its affiliate Formula Depot Inc. (Formula Depot). According to an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) inquiry, Marine Park and Formula Depot violated New York's price go...

Whitehall, New York (WNY News Now)New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned companies that price gouging on necessary goods and services will not be allowed during a state of emergency in Whitehall caused by a severe water system failure. During this crisis, residents are encouraged to notify the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of any prices that appear suspiciously inflated. NEW YORK In the midst of a state of emergency in the hamlet of Whitehall because of a water system collapse, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a warning to businesses about price gouging of necessities. Whitehall has set limits on the usage of tap water and proclaimed a local state of emergency. New Yorkers are urged by Attorney General James to notify the Office of the Attorney General (O...

During the weather emergency, New Yorkers are being urged to report unfair pricing.(WNY News Now) Attorney General Letitia James is cautioning companies from taking advantage of the situation by raising prices for necessities as a strong lake-effect snowstorm engulfs Western New York.NEW YORK Today, as a powerful lake effect snowfall brought heavy snow to Western New York, Attorney General Letitia James of New York issued a warning to companies about price gouging of necessities. In Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Franklin, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Wyoming, and adjacent counties, the governor has proclaimed a state of emergency. The price gouging statute in New York prohibits companies from exploiting customers by charging exorbitant prices for ...

(WNY News Now) After SmileDirectClub kept charging for services it no longer offered, 28,000 customers, including those in New York, received refunds.NEW YORK Today, New York Attorney General Letitia James secured $4.8 million for over 28,000 customers, including 2,265 New Yorkers, who were wrongfully billed by SmileDirectClub, a telehealth company that ceased operations after going bankrupt. Despite filing for bankruptcy in September 2023, SmileDirectClub, a telehealth company that provided dental services, kept charging customers for services even after it unexpectedly stopped operating. New Yorkers who were still being billed for services they were no longer able to get due to SmileDirectClub's closure complained to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Customers who were incorrec...