Wired: This Clever New Service Auto-Cancels Your Free Trials. “The Free Trial Card is a virtual credit card you can use to sign up for free trials of any service anonymously, instead of using your real credit card. When the free trial period ends, the card automatically declines to be charged, thus ending your free trial.”
consumers
UCLA Anderson School of Management: That Online Hotel Review You Wrote? It Matters
UCLA Anderson School of Management: That Online Hotel Review You Wrote? It Matters. “Research by UCLA Anderson’s Brett Hollenbeck, University of Toronto’s Sridhar Moorthy and University of Southern California’s Davide Proserpio suggests that hotels with favorable overall consumer reviews have been able to treat those ratings as a substitute for advertising: They have notably reduced ad spending as their online quality ratings have risen. By contrast, hotels with relatively poor online reviews have had to use ad spending to substitute for their lack of strong consumer recommendations, according to the paper, forthcoming in Marketing Science.”
Ohio Attorney General: AG Yost Launches New Tool to Help Ohio Consumers
Ohio Attorney General: AG Yost Launches New Tool to Help Ohio Consumers. “Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced the launch of a new online tool to help Ohioans gauge the reputations of businesses and steer clear of those with problematic pasts….The searchable database houses civil lawsuits and criminal indictments filed by the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Section and its Economic Crimes Unit since 2013.”
Consumer Contracts Restatement Delayed: Consumers Win…For Now (Naked Capitalism)
Naked Capitalism: Consumer Contracts Restatement Delayed: Consumers Win…For Now. “Over the last several decades, US corporations have succeeded in making the legal system more business-friendly. Earlier this month, on May 21, consumers scored a small win, when the American Law Institute (ALI) failed to vote on its Restatement of the Law of Consumer Contracts – effectively shelving the project until at least this time next year. For the non-lawyers, this topic may appear to be abstruse and technical. Please stick with me.”
NBC News: Just how much is $250 billion in tariffs?
NBC News: Just how much is $250 billion in tariffs?. “To show the economic stake of each of the $250 billion in items already being taxed, NBC compiled a searchable database of the tariffs along with their import values for 2015-2017. The bigger the dollar amount, the more the U.S. economy spends on these goods.”
Ars Technica: Senator Hawley announces bill banning loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanics
Ars Technica: Senator Hawley announces bill banning loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanics. “Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today announced plans to introduce ‘The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act,’ which would target ‘the exploitation of children through ‘pay-to-win’ and ‘loot box’ monetization practices by the video game industry,’ according to a summary released by Hawley’s office.”
ValueWalk: Issue With Google Fi Draining Users’ Bank Accounts, And Google Knows It
ValueWalk: Issue With Google Fi Draining Users’ Bank Accounts, And Google Knows It. “Google’s MVNO service, Google Fi, celebrated its fourth anniversary last month. To mark the occasion, the service came out with 50% off on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, making many buyers happy. Now, it is resulting in a disappointment for users who say that they are being charged full price even if they have financed their purchases.”
