Author: Brian Lund
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Some Amazon customers shorted on refunds for returned items since 2017 must file by December 1 to share in a $309.5 million settlement, with a final approval hearing March 16
A federal class action over Amazon’s handling of returns has a $309.5 million settlement on the table, and one group of customers has until December 1, 2026 to file a claim form if they want a payment. A second group is paid automatically. The court will not decide whether to approve the deal until a…
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The FTC raised the Amazon Prime refund cap to $200, and the automatic payments that began going out October 1 expire 60 days after they are issued
The Federal Trade Commission has raised the ceiling on Amazon Prime refunds from $51 to $200 per person, and the first payments under the higher cap began going out on October 1, 2026. Each one stays good for only 60 days after the day it is issued. A payment issued on October 1 would lapse…
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Veterans in VA job training with no dependents now draw $837.23 a month
A veteran in full-time classroom training through the VA’s Veteran Readiness and Employment program, with no spouse or children to count, now receives $837.23 a month in subsistence allowance. The raise took effect October 1, 2026, and it is the Chapter 31 benefit paid to veterans while they train for work. The VA’s fiscal year…
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SSI ignores the first $2,500 a month of a working student’s pay once the 2027 rates start
Supplemental Security Income will set aside more of a working student’s pay in 2027. Social Security’s new figures put the student earned-income exclusion at $2,500 a month, up from $2,410 in 2026. A yearly ceiling of $10,080 sits on top of that monthly limit, so the two numbers work together. What is the SSI student…
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A minister who revokes a Social Security exemption can never claim it again
A new federal law lets members of the clergy who opted out of Social Security opt back in, but the choice only goes one way. Under the enrolled text of H.R. 227, the Clergy Act, a minister who revokes the exemption cannot elect it again. The revocation then applies to all later taxable years. The…
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The OCC fined Bank of America $750 million, and customers get none of it
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has imposed a $750 million civil money penalty on Bank of America, N.A., for failures in its anti-money-laundering program. The agency calls it the largest civil money penalty in its history. The money is payable to the U.S. Treasury, and the agency’s announcement describes no refund or…
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Credit Acceptance must also reach borrowers away from the dealer showroom to explain add-on products and offer to cancel them
Credit Acceptance Corporation, a subprime auto lender, has agreed to contact borrowers away from the dealer showroom, explain any add-on products on their loans and offer to cancel them. The requirement is part of a $700 million settlement announced Sept. 17 by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general. Add-ons are the extras that can…
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Veterans in VA job training with two dependents now draw $1,223.79 a month
Raising a family while retraining for work pays more under the VA’s Chapter 31 program than training alone does. A veteran in full-time classroom training with two dependents now receives $1,223.79 a month in subsistence allowance, after a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment that took effect October 1, 2026. The figure comes from the VA’s fiscal…
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Most NFL team credit cards moved from Visa to American Express, the old cards stopped working October 12, and no cardholder could opt out and keep a Visa account
NFL team credit cards that ran on the Visa network now run on American Express, and the old Visa cards stopped working on October 12. That was nine days ago. Cardholders could not opt out and keep a Visa account, according to CardRates, a card-industry news site. Comenity Capital Bank is still the issuer, and…
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U.S. Bank is dropping the five-cent fuel discount from Kroger Rewards cards
Holders of the Kroger Rewards credit card are losing the five-cent-per-gallon discount at Kroger Fuel Centers. U.S. Bank, which issues the card, is moving the accounts to a different product, the Smartly Visa Signature card. The discount ends when the replacement card is activated, and the switch is expected to be finished this fall. CardRates,…