Consumers call tactics of debt collectors abusive

An investigation by Mc Nelly Torres, of ConsumerAffairs.com, found consumers complaining of illegal, abusive conduct as collectors defy federal and state enforcers. “There’s no doubt that the debt collection industry is thriving. You can’t get blood from a rock, but these guys are trying,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director and general counsel of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington D.C. Consumer advocates say stronger federal laws -- and much more aggressive enforcement -- are needed. While debt collector abuses are nothing new, Torres reports that consumer advocates fear the abuses will grow more widespread in numbers and scope at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills.

Once confined to cutting-edge labs, nanotechnology has an increasingly pervasive place in everyday life. Its ultra-tiny engineered particles are  now in as many as 10,000 products. A series by Andrew Schneider of AOL News shows a growing body of research suggests these nanomaterials pose significant and potentially fatal health risks including lung, heart and brain damage, cancer and birth defects. The federal government has done very little to address this emerging threat or regulate the use of nanomaterials.

Keith Epstein of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund provides an inside look at the tactics of the influential $42 billion-a-year payday lending industry, which is thriving from a surge in emergency loans to people struggling through the recession as it pours record sums into lobbying and campaigns. It's getting results, too - most notably in maneuverings in Congress over financial reform.

Homeowners with toxic drywall have reported eight deaths to federal consumer safety officials, though no direct linkage has been found. That's according to a Scripps Howard News Service analysis of almost 2,700 drywall complaints to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and 467 follow-up inspections by the CPSC, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Aside from the deaths documented in federal records, Scripps Howard reporter Isaac Wolf also located another death suspected to be linked to toxic drywall.

Through interviews with families and advocates and a review of thousands of pages of public records, the San Antonio Express-News reports that some of the city's most frail and vulnerable residents are suffering at the hands of their caregivers in Texas nursing homes. Yet state officials allow troubled nursing homes to continue operating with little or no penalty.

Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler and Anthony DeBarros of USA Today report that a recall of tainted beef from Beef Packers of Fresno, Calif. did not include beef supplied to schools. Their investigation calls into question whether adequate steps were taken to ensure meat supplied for school lunches was safe for consumption. Beef Packers has had continued problems with contamination, yet the government continues to contract with them. They have received nearly $60 million in government contracts since 2003.

An investigation by Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler of USA Today illustrates failures in food safety programs as schools unknowingly continued to receive food from suppliers with a history of tainted products. Del Rey Tortilleria of Chicago was linked to illness outbreaks at over a dozen schools between 2003 and 2007. "And in a 2006 study of prior outbreaks, a panel of top scientists with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration even offered this warning: 'Flour tortillas manufactured by Del Rey hold the potential to cause illness.' Despite the concerns, the FDA never shared the panel's warning with school officials anywhere."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is opening an investigation of possible lead contamination in an Atlanta neighborhood after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution unearthed old documents showing that a lead smelter spewed lead dust over the area for decades. Old smelting industry directories, property records and mothballed regulatory files were used to identify the old Evans Metal Co. smelter. The lead dust likely built up in the soil of surrounding properties and would remain near the surface despite the passage of decades, experts said. Soil contamination can pose a serious health threat, particularly to young children who put dirty hands and toys in their mouths.

A story by The New York Times shows the risks involved with consuming ground beef.  In 2007, a hamburger eaten by Stephanie Smith was tainted with E. coli and ravaged her nervous system leaving her paralyzed. "Ms. Smith’s reaction to the virulent strain of E. coli was extreme, but tracing the story of her burger, through interviews and government and corporate records obtained by The New York Times, shows why eating ground beef is still a gamble."

A sixth-month, statewide investigation into Florida’s child care centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities by Sally Kestin, Peter Franceschina and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that Florida laws have often placed children and the elderly in the hands of habitual criminals. The first of a three-part series includes a database of people with criminal histories approved to work in day care.