On the Other Hand . . ....

On the Other Hand . . . Consumers are losing out on “tens of millions of dollars” because the Federal Trade Commission is not collecting and distributing all of the consumer refund judgment money from fraudulent companies, the Consumer Federation of America charged in a report. The group’s analysis of FTC records found that consumer refunds occurred in just 28% of the consumer redress cases. The FTC had no immediate comment on the report. The agency’s consumer redress program assesses and collects money from businesses that have been found to have committed unfair or deceptive trade practices; it then returns the money to eligible consumers. The report details several flaws in the FTC program, including failure to maintain accurate records on judgments and collections, failure to audit those who administer redress programs, and the lack of a central office to oversee collection and distribution of consumer redress funds. The consumer group is asking Congress to request a Government Accounting Office audit of all the records of consumer redress and civil penalty cases.