Consumer Protection

AARP membership practices under fire

In its newsletters and magazines, in congressional testimony and on its website, AARP warns seniors about deceptive direct mail and other dubious marketing come-ons as part of its mission to protect members from financial abuses. But the huge advocacy group’s own aggressive efforts to coax seniors to join or renew their memberships also have drawn a burst of criticism this year. Angry members say AARP’s…


Don’t get ripped off this holiday season

(Editor’s Note: Every year officials from the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures inspect thousands of stores to ensure price accuracy at the checkout counter. Inspectors have discovered the vast majority of those errors were in the store’s favor. Of the 5,230 inspections by the county’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures, nearly 20 percent showed price-scanning errors, according to county data….