Consumer Affairs
Watching out for Chicago consumers and their money with product news, spending trends, and recall updates.
Chicago agents say the just-approved, $418 million National Association of Realtors settlement over broker commissions might not have an immediate impact, but it will bring changes, and homebuyers and sellers have been asking what it will mean for them.
MV Realty targeted people who had equity in their homes but needed cash — locking them into decadeslong contracts carrying hidden fees, the Illinois attorney general says in a new lawsuit.
The public deserves to know much more about the potential impact of the deal between the nation’s largest supermarket chains.
Honda’s intended plan to correct the defect is better than nothing but it does not go far enough as an official safety recall.
Hundreds of drivers in Illinois and throughout the country describe incidents in which their back windows “shattered” or “exploded” as they were on the road or after they were parked.
As Illinois seeks to pass its own online privacy law, it should avoid copying the inadequate laws passed in 14 states that were weakened by tech-industry lobbying, a consumer advocate group said in a report Thursday.
The Federal Trade Commission ruled that Intuit engaged in deceptive practices by running ads claiming consumers could file their taxes for free using TurboTax — when in fact many taxpayers did not qualify for such free offerings.
The five additives, including red dye No. 3, would be banned from retail sales of foods and beverages in Illinois by 2027.
Premium increases for new and renewing customers during 2023 totaled $1.25 billion, a consumer group found, with State Farm and Allstate raising rates by the largest amount.
Biden rolls out new round of student debt cancellation — and 244,700 Illinois borrowers are eligible
Here are the requirements for debt forgiveness open to borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, or SAVE.
The popularity of shopping online and remote work influenced the year’s biggest scams, according to the Better Business Bureau.
Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday, according to the National Retail Federation. But many gift cards wind up forgotten or unused.
If the fuel pump module doesn’t work, the car’s engine may not start or can stall while driving.
A split decision from the Illinois Commerce Commission rejected the $1.5 billion rate increase. That means Chicagoans will see much smaller electric bill increases than expected in the new year.
Some of the ways scammers have used QR codes are by placing fraudulent QR codes on parking meters or by posing as legitimate businesses.
About 500 artists from around the country have set up shop for the event at the Merchandise Mart, which has become a holiday shopping destination for an estimated 50,000 patrons.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says BMW is recalling 486 SUVs after the driver was seriously on Oct. 23. BMW blamed a welding defect and said it is limited to a small lot of inflators.
No need to panic, even though Medicare’s annual open enrollment period is about to end.
Accounts that haven’t been used in at least two years and deemed by the tech giant to be inactive could be deleted.
These highly profitable facilities often charge $5,000 a month or more and then layer on fees at every step.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, says the economy appears headed to a “soft landing” in which inflation returns to the Fed’s 2% target without an economic crash.
A jury in California convicted two executives from Gree USA Inc. for not telling the government what it knew about the defects. The appliances were widely sold under well-known brand names.
The syndicated financial columnist wants to get Social Security to end its practice of halting benefits in overpayment disputes. And that’s just a start.
The Illinois Commerce Commission voted to slash the utility’s pipe replacement budget for 2024, paused the program and ordered an investigation into the spending that Chairman Doug Scott said ‘is not justified.’
