Consumer Watchdog

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Consumer Watchdog

Insurance

Who’s behind the curtain?

Who’s behind the curtain?

<h3>Consumer advocate Jamie Court talks about his new book, Corporateering</h3><p class="source">Chico News & Review</p> <p>The book features a foreword from best-selling author and fellow muckraker Michael Moore, who calls the book a "road map and battle plan" for taking back the cultural turf lost to corporations over the last two decades.</p>
Consumer first, citizen second

Consumer first, citizen second

<p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Will this stop what Court calls "corporateering" -- when corporations exceed their traditional role in the marketplace, invade our private lives and compromise our rights to privacy?</p>
Mixed week for consumer rights

Mixed week for consumer rights

<p class="source">The San Francisco Examiner</p> <p>"Word of mouth is what corporations want most, and what they fear most," says Court, director of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights. "And we've got it."</p>
Rules setting car-insurance rates to be revisited;

Rules setting car-insurance rates to be revisited;

<h3>GARAMENDI TO EXAMINE ZIP CODE ISSUE</h3><p class="source">San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said Thursday that he would investigate claims by consumer groups and city attorneys that automobile-insurance companies in California are giving too much weight to drivers' ZIP codes when setting rates.</p>
New Rate Battle

New Rate Battle

<h3>Car insurers' reliance on ZIP codes comes under fire</h3><p class="source">The Daily News of Los Angeles</p> <p>Consumer advocates on Thursday called on the state to enforce a 1988 law meant to change the way automobile insurance rates are calculated, claiming state insurers continue to charge excess fees based on auto owners' ZIP codes.</p>
Cuts to Car Insurance Rates in Poor Areas Urged

Cuts to Car Insurance Rates in Poor Areas Urged

<h3>City attorneys and consumer groups ask the state for relief. Garamendi vows action.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Nearly 15 years after the passage of the insurance reform initiative Proposition 103, the groups said that the measure's intent to base car insurance pricing more on individual drivers' safety records than their ZIP Codes has not been enforced.</p>