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The FCC has fixed its watchful eye on the often lousy customer service we get from telecom providers. The agency said on Wednesday its opening a formal proceeding to review the customer support from cable, broadband, satellite TV and home voice service providers. The review will cover customers' friction points when contacting telecom industry providers. These include hard-to-cancel subscriptions, getting stuck in doom loops when trying to reach a human, sneaky automatic renewals and shoddy accessibility options for folks with disabilities. We can and should expect consistent, transparent, and helpful customer service from the communications companies that provide so many services that are so vital in our day-to-day lives, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a press release announcing the inquiry. No one should get stuck in a doom loop trying to cancel a subscription or just get a human being to help resolve their service problems. The FCC wants to simplify customer cancelation options, requiring providers to offer more choices and transparent disclosures at the point of sale and on bills. In addition, it hopes to mandate explicit customer consent before automatically renewing services and helping customers get easier access to live reps without bouncing through endless phone trees. It also aims to improve the accessibility of customer service resources for people with disabilities. Other finer points on the agenda include extending current regulations for cable operator installation, outage and service call rules to include satellite TV, voice and broadband services. Finally, it wants current cable operator customer service requirements to reflect marketplace and technology changes. The Commission adopted the Notice of Inquiry with a 3-2 vote with the majority highlighting the importance of customer support. For starters, the FCC will build a public record of where these customer service points stand today and what specific regulations it could adopt to make things smoother for families and businesses. The inquiry is part of a larger effort to crack down on everyday headaches that waste time and money. Earlier this month, the FCC launched an inquiry into the broadband industrys nonsensical, profit-grabbing data caps. This summer, Verizon paid a $1 million fine to settle an investigation into a 2022 outage that prevented hundreds of emergency calls from going through. Meanwhile, the FTC recently ratified its click-to-cancel rule, making ending subscriptions easier.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-fcc-will-review-the-broadband-industrys-lousy-customer-support-204329886.html?src=rss
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Amazon has a great deal running now on the M2 MacBook Air, where you can get the slimline laptop for just $700. The main deal price is $849, which is nice at 15 percent off the regular cost. But you can also apply a coupon to the space gray model for an additional discount, bringing the price down even further. For now, you can also nab the silver and starlight colors for $700 without adding in a coupon. This is the 2022 model of the MacBook Air, and it's some of the best we've seen out of Apple laptops. The M2 chip is a big factor in what takes this laptop from a lightweight to a powerhouse. By using Apple's own silicon, the computer reaches pretty high standards in performance, with 10 GPU cores and a 35 percent boost to the speeds of the previous M1 chip. It's also got a gorgeous Liquid Retina display. The model currently on sale has 8GB RAM and 256GB of solid state drive storage. And once Apple Intelligence starts rolling out next week, the M2 Air is prepared to handle the extra workload of those AI-driven tasks. The Air is also Engadget's pick for your best budget Apple laptop. In other words, this is a good deal on the model that's already a good deal. It's very possible that Amazon's supply will be snapped up quickly, so if this catches your eye, we suggest you act fast. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-m2-macbook-air-drops-to-a-new-low-of-700-195147706.html?src=rss
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The Apple Card has landed Apple and Goldman Sachs in hot water. In a press release spotted by The Verge, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it was fining the two companies a combined $89 million over practices involving the Apple Card. The CFPB says Apple failed to send tens of thousands of disputed card transactions to Goldman Sachs. When it finally sent the transactions to the investment bank, Goldman Sachs failed to follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes, according to the CFPBs announcement. Apple and Goldman are also accused of misleading customers about the Apple Card. Some consumers believed they could make interest-free payments to purchase an Apple device with the credit card but interest charges still showed up on their bill because they were not automatically enrolled as expected. Apple is also accused of keeping its interest-free payment option off of its website if the customer wasnt using a Safari browser. The CFPB also says Goldman Sachs misled customers about the application of some refunds that racked up additional interest charges. The CFPB has ordered Goldman Sachs to pay at least $19.8 million in redress funds and a $45 million civil money penalty. The company is also required to present a credible plan to comply with laws before launching any new credit card product. Apple also received a $25 million civil money penalty that will go to the CFPBs victims relief fund. Apple and Goldman Sachs introduced the Apple Card in 2019, advertising it as a product that could help customers lead a healthier financial life.. Four years later, a report from the Wall Street Journal said that Goldman Sachs was starting to have doubts about the consumer lending industry and thought the venture may have been a mistake.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-goldman-sachs-fined-89-million-for-misleading-apple-card-customers-192538650.html?src=rss
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