PayPal Tweaking User Agreement To Remove Mandatory Robocalls

(André-Pierre du Plessis)

PayPal’s new user agreement — the one that gives the company even more latitude to make obnoxious prerecorded marketing calls to “any telephone number that you have provided us or that we have otherwise obtained” — is set to kick in this week, but following an FCC warning that this policy might be in violation of federal law, and a letter from multiple senators asking PayPal to rethink its new terms, the company has agreed to make changes that “clear up any confusion.”

In a new blog post, PayPal’s general counsel acknowledges that company “used language that did not clearly communicate how we intend to contact them. Unfortunately, this language caused confusion and concern with some of our customers.”

The company says its intention in granting itself the ability to call or text any number it might be able to locate for you (an apparent violation of federal rules that say robocalls can only be made to specific numbers that a customer has agreed to receive them on), was to better reach users in case of emergency — and of course to collect a debt.

PayPal says the newly revised terms will clarify that customers do not have to consent to robocalls as a condition of continuing to be a customer of the payment platform. Forcing a consumer to accept prerecorded messages is also a violation of the law.

“We respect our customers’ communications preferences and recognize that their consent is required for certain autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts,” reads the blog post. “Customers may revoke consent to receive these communications by contacting PayPal customer support and informing us of their preferences.”

PayPal customers should be on the lookout for an e-mail explaining these changes.

In a statement to Consumerist, FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc, who sent the warning letter to PayPal, commends the company for making these tweaks.

“The changes to PayPal’s user agreement recognize that its customers are not required to consent to unwanted robocalls or robotexts,” says LeBlanc. “It clarifies, rightly, that its customers must provide prior express written consent before the company can call or text them with marketing, and that these customers have a right to revoke their consent to receive robocalls or robotexts at any time. These changes, along with PayPal’s commitments to improve its disclosures and make it easier for consumers to express their calling preferences, are significant and welcome improvements.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Senator Pushes FAA To Require That Airlines Drop Seat Change Fees For Parents

(frankieleon)

Nowadays, airlines charge a fee for just about everything – even when it comes to travelers trying to ensure they’re seated next to their children. But that extra cost could be a thing of the past if one legislator has anything to do about it.

In a letter to Federal Aviation Administration administrator Michael Huerta, Sen. Bob Casey urged the agency to step in and require airlines drop seat change fees for parents traveling with their children, The Hill reports.

The Pennsylvania senator expressed concern over what he believes is a lack of policies that would ensure airlines are taking “appropriate steps to guarantee that young children can sit with their parents during a flight without paying extra fees.”

While reassigning seats may be inconvenient, Casey says there is no reason to separate a child from a parent during a flight.

“In recent years, consumers have grown increasingly frustrated by the growing use of varying fees associated with air travel,” Casey wrote. “For a family that has already paid full fare to have to pay an additional fee so that parents and children can sit together is financially burdensome and stressful to families.”

Casey contends that airline policies that allow parents to be charged for changing seats to be near their children even when an open seat is available are unfair.

“Making those with children pay an extra fee to sit next to their children puts a burden on parents and guardians and disadvantages middle class families that may struggle just to afford the basic fare and for whom an additional fee would be a significant hardship,” Casey continued. “Prior to boarding the flight, reservation agents should make every effort to secure appropriate seating for young children and their guardian without additional fees.”

Some airlines have taken steps to alleviate inconvenience when it comes to seating parents and children together. Earlier this month, Southwest – which doesn’t offer assigned seats – announced it would revamp its boarding process to cut back on the time passengers spend moving back and forth between seats to accommodate traveling families on crowded flights.

Southwest’s current process allow families to board together after the “A” group as long as the children in their party are four years old or younger. Additionally, families can pay extra to board earlier. Now on select flights the airline is expanding the ages of those covered by the early boarding process to include children up to 6, 8 or 11 years of age.

Dem senator to airlines: Drop seat change fees for parents [The Hill]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Comcast’s New Remote Control Now Advertises Comcast-Distributed Kids Movie

Hey kids, isn’t vertical integration awesome? Thanks to Comcast’s acquisition of NBC/Universal, the cable giant can now use its latest high-tech remote control to advertise its feature films directly to your living room! Let’s all cheer for cross-promotional, cross-platform, market-targeted, gibberish-spouting synergy!!

Last week, Comcast boasted on its corporate blog that users of its new voice-enabled remote controls could speak “Minionese,” the hilariously family friendly and profitable language spoken by the Minions in the upcoming film release The Minions, distributed by Universal.

Say something in Minionese into the remote and it speaks back to you in Minionese, along with taking you to various pieces of content curated by Comcast to promote The Minions, opening July 10 in a theater full of kids you’ll want to avoid if you enjoy your sanity.

The idea of turning your remote control — for which Comcast customers pay a pretty penny each month — into a de facto toy that is then being used to advertise a movie with a kid-centric audience didn’t exactly win over Josh Golin, Associate Director at the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

“It’s extremely disappointing that Comcast is already using its voice-enabled remotes to manipulate kids,” Golin tells Consumerist. “Young children, the film’s target audience, won’t understand that this is just a ploy to get them to want to see the movie and buy Minions merchandise. It’s bad enough to target young children with clearly delineated commercials, but to use technology to wow kids and mask the fact that you are, in fact, advertising is deceptive, unfair, and unethical.”

[via IBtimes.com]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist