Consumer rights

Consumer rights: Holiday insurer's small print left my sister out of pocket

The Independent (Free subscription) | yesterday

Q. My sister paid £74.79 for travel insurance for a trip around Europe. After leaving Budapest, all her travel documents (InterRail ticket, passport, health card etc), as well as cards, money, and photo cards were stolen and she was stranded. Her travelling companion lent her money to get back to Budapest to get a report from the police and to go to the consulate about her passport. She stayed...

Internet access-a human right?

Thoughts of Nigel (Free subscription) | yesterday

Is there a fundemental right to being online? The Times asked a number of people that question and here are some of the replies Being cut off from your broadband isn’t the same as being whisked to Guantánamo; I see it more as a consumer right and a citizen’s right. Nobody says you have to shop online at Tesco, but it is convenient. says David Rowan,Editor, Wired magazine easy access...

Best Buy to Install Google Mobile App, But Not For Droid, IPhone

eWeek (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009

Beginning Nov. 9, sales associates for Best Buy Mobile will install Google Mobile App on all BlackBerry, Microsoft Windows Mobile, or Nokia S60 smartphones through the Walk Out Working program, a free in-store smartphone setup. The deal makes Best Buy the first retailer in the U.S. to distribute Google Mobile App on smartphones sold in store. However, Best Buy won't install Google Mobile App on the...

EU agrees on rules to reform telecommunications markets

JURIST (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

[JURIST] The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on Thursday unanimously reached an agreement on rules to increase competition between telecommunications providers and protect the consumer rights of Internet and mobile phone users. The agreement on the European Union (EU) Telecoms Reform package was reached after intense negotiations by the conciliation committee, which was arranged by...

New federal bills expand consumer privacy rights

Reading Tea Leaves by Randy Wilson (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved two new data security bills that greatly expand the consumer’s right to notice for any data breach involving he or her personal information. The other bill will allow consumers to request that data brokers notify them about any personal information that is held for disclosure to third parties. For more: Posted in consumer [...]

The Right To Reject

Martin Kelly (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

Being unwritten, the British constitution contains no equivalent of 'We, The People'; however, our status as a nation of shopkeepers has meant that folk wisdom such as 'Keep your receipts' might as well enjoy constitutional force. It is gratifying to see that the Law Commissions have come out against the European Union's plan to abolish the right to reject faulty goods . The only reason for celebrating...

EU amends 'three strikes' bill

AfterDawn.com (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

The EU has ruled to change the Internet piracy "three strikes" bill, in an effort to give more rights to those accused of piracy. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding says EU lawmakers and governments are in agreement after two years of negotiations, that those accused of piracy and facing being cut off from the Internet should have the right to a trial. The bill goes to final approval...

• EU agrees on new Internet user rights - Sify
• EU agrees on new Internet user rights - Boston Globe
• See the 5 articles on the same subject

EU Agrees on New Internet User Rights

Law.com (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns for illegally downloading music and movies. They also include new privacy controls, consumer rights and increased competition for Internet and phone services.

EU agrees bill of rights in telecoms

The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

The European Union has secured agreement on a telecoms bill to boost consumer rights, competition and fuel investment in the €300 billion a year sector.

Dashboard Shows What Google Knows About You

Consumer Watchdog (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

Critics Say Google Makes Some Privacy Progress, But Call For More Transparency Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit advocacy group formerly known as the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said in a statement today that it applauds Google for giving users a single place to go to manage their data. But at the same tine, the group also came down hard on Google, contending that it needs to give users...

Norway threatens Amazon with lawsuit over Kindle user terms

Gadgetell (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009

Section: Gadgets / Other , ebooks Norway’s Consumer Council is threatening to sue Amazon over the user agreement for its popular Kindle e-reader. The council insists that the terms of the agreement are in violation of basic consumer rights. Those terms include Amazon’s right to remove books from the Kindle if the terms are violated, their right to change the terms at anytime, and the fact...

European Commission plans to end cash refunds on shoddy goods

Ellee Seymour (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009

It seems we could lose our right to a cash refund on shoddy goods as there are plans afoot to harmonise EU legislation as refunds are not offered in other European countries. My MEP Robert Sturdy has objected to European Commission plans which would abolish consumers’ rights to a refund for faulty goods, bringing legislation [...]

The EU Telecoms Reform

Information Policy (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009

Agreement on EU Telecoms Reform paves way for stronger consumer rights, an open internet, a single European telecoms market and high-speed internet connections for all citizens 5 November 2009 — Late last night (at 0:45), the European Parliament and the...

EU reaches agreement over telecoms reforms package

MobileTechNews (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009

The EU stands up for consumer rights.

Wife's mesothelioma threatens new series of asbestos claims

Jay's Place (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009

The case of a woman who contracted mesothelioma after washing her husband's asbestos-riddled work clothes for 27 years threatens to set off another wave of compensation claims against the occupiers of sites that handled the deadly fibres. Beverly Stavar, 70, has convinced the NSW Court of Appeal she should be able to sue Caltex for the time her husband, Frank, worked on the construction of a refinery...