Current Events in January 2024

If you are the parent of young children you know how expensive childcare is. But here’s a shocker: you could be spending enough to send your child to college.

A new report from Care.com shows nearly half of families participating in a survey spend $18,000 a year on child care, but 20% of parents spend more than $36,000 a year – more than the average cost of a year of college.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average cost of attending a public four-year state university – including room and board – is $24,030 during the current school year.

More than one-third of respondents to a survey said they have been forced to tap into their savings, on average exhausting a staggering 42% of their savings in 2023, leaving them with little financial flexibility.

'Forced into a financial hole'

“Within the first five years of their child’s life, parents are being forced into a financial hole that is nearly impossible to climb out of,” said Brad Wilson, CEO of Care.com. “A healthy economy depends upon the ability for people to save and spend, but given the crushing weight of childcare costs, those pillars are crumbling. The childcare crisis should be a major red flag for everyone, not just parents. It is a systemic failure that will impact our nation’s economic growth, and that affects us all.”

Derek Thompson, a writer for The Atlantic, recently tweeted that the costs are much higher in New York City, concluding that something’s not right in Gotham City. He cites U.S. Labor Department data showing that the average family with children would need an income of $300,000 to meet the federal guideline of spending no more than 7% of income on childcare. 

Could this become a political issue? It might. The Care.com report found that 88% of respondents said a political candidate’s position on childcare access and affordability would influence their vote.

BMW of North America is recalling 4,926 model year 2024 i5 eDrive40 and i5 M60 vehicles.

During vehicle start-up, the artificial sound generator control unit may fail to generate the external pedestrian warning sound.

Without external warning sounds, pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle, and be at risk of injury.

What to do

Dealers will update the external artificial sound generator software free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed February 13, 2024.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at (800) 525-7417.

The U.S. PIRG Education Fund completed a new consumer report that evaluated the process of consumers getting their money back when items are recalled. 

The overall theme: this process is often lengthy, complicated, difficult, and many consumers give up before getting their refunds. 

“Nothing is being done right now to make this process easier for consumers,” Teresa Murray, Consumer Watchdog director, and author of the report, told ConsumerAffairs. “That’s why we’re launching an effort to put pressure on companies, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and Congress. 

“At minimum, companies should offer online forms that work, one-stop submissions, a photo of the product, and a cash refund – not a voucher,” Murray continued. “It’s that easy.” 

What are the biggest hurdles for consumers?

The report found that in 2023, there were 323 recalls. Of those, only 141 companies offered a refund to customers who had purchased the recalled items. 

Ultimately, around half of the companies involved in the report made it difficult or impossible to submit a request for a refund. According to Murray, there are six primary hurdles that consumers face when getting a refund for recalled items: 

• Being required to return the product, either by taking it back to the store in person or waiting for a prepaid shipping label by email or USPS so it can be returned. We found this was often required with products that cost as little as $2 to $8. 

• Being required to call a customer service phone line during specific business hours OR fill out a form to request information on how to get a refund, and then wait for further instructions on what to do next. The customer-friendly companies offer an online form or instructions in the original announcement about exactly what to send via email.

• Not being able to complete the request in one sitting. Some companies will require you to call customer service, then get an email hours or days or weeks later, then follow those email instructions to submit a request, then when your request is processed, maybe get a refund or further instructions on how to return the product. In contrast, customer-friendly companies put a link to an online form in their public announcement, and that online form allows customers to submit EVERYTHING in one sitting, including a photo of the product or other documentation of ownership, and then just wait for the refund.

• Not offering details in the public announcement of exactly what someone will need to do or what information they'll need to have. The customer-friendly companies say up front what's needed.

• Providing web links that are inoperative/dead. 

• Saying they're offering a refund, but it's actually just a voucher toward a future purchase. 

Some retailers are more difficult than others

The report also showed that some retailers make the refund process more difficult than others. According to Murray, greed is likely the root cause of this. 

“The fewer customers who request and complete the steps to get a refund, the more money that stays in that retailer's pocket,” Murray said. “Some companies may say they require returns or other actions to reduce the chance of fraudulent requests. Even the easiest recall refund process takes time. It's just not the kind of fraud that most con artists are going to take the time to commit.”

What should consumers do? 

What is Murray’s best advice for consumers trying to get their money back from recalls? She offered three tips: 

• Fill out warranty cards/online submissions for larger purchases, especially electronics and children's items. This way the company has your contact information and has documentation of ownership if there's a recall.

• Once a month, go to cpsc.gov/recalls and check whether you own anything on the list. Recalls are generally announced every Thursday morning on that page. 

• Notify the CPSC if you’re having difficulty submitting or receiving a refund. The CPSC just last year created an online form for consumers to file a complaint if a company is being non-responsive or there are other issues. The form requires only your name, email address or phone number, the name of the product, and a short explanation of what the problem is. 

“Consumers deserve to get what they're entitled to,” Murray said. “If a company is ripping you off, you shouldn't just let that go. Change happens when people speak up.”

Ford Motor Company is recalling 1,889,110 model year 2011-2019 Explorers.

The A-pillar trim retention clips may not be properly engaged, allowing the trim to detach.

A detached trim piece can fall off the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace the A-pillar trim -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed March 13, 2024. Second letters will be mailed once the remedy is available.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S02.

If someone asks you what internet browser you use, you’re likely to say Google Chrome. It is – by a large margin – the most used browser on the planet, with more than 60% of us using Chrome to surf the web.

But when artificial intelligence (AI) came along, Google was forced out of its comfort zone and had to adapt quickly. Now, the company says it’s full speed ahead and is introducing new generative AI features.

On top of things like the existing ability to add real-time captions to videos, detect malicious sites and annoying permission prompts, and generate the key points of a webpage, Chrome users will see rolling updates over the next few days that are packed with three new experimental generative AI features to make it even easier and more efficient to browse.

Tabs can be arranged in a smart way

Chrome’s “Tab groups” have been around for a while, but their organization is manual and dependent totally on the user. Now, with AI in the mix, Chrome will automatically suggest and create tab groups based on your open tabs. 

A Google spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs that this feature can be particularly helpful if you’re working on several tasks in Chrome at the same time – like if you’re planning a vacation or shopping.

To use this feature when it rolls out, just right-click on a tab and select “Organize Similar Tabs.” Chrome will even suggest names and emojis for these new groups so you can easily find them again when you need them next. 

Create your own themes with AI

After getting comfortable with introducing generative AI wallpapers to Android 14 and Pixel phones, Google is now giving Chrome users the freedom to personalize their browsers.

For example, if you’re a Baltimore Ravens fan, you should be able to quickly generate custom themes based on football, the team, the team’s colors and maybe even Lamar Jackson’s stealth-like moves, all courtesy of AI.

If this interests you, visit the “Customize Chrome” side panel, click “Change theme” and then “Create with AI.” You can go animated, you can head in a “serene mood” direction, whatever you like. For more inspiration, check out this collection of the Chrome team’s favorite theme creations.

As a bonus to AI-generated themes, you can also customize Chrome with photos you’ve uploaded or themes from Google’s collections in the Chrome Web Store. 

Anyone who writes anything may get the most from the new features

Web writing can be intimidating, especially when you want to express yourself publicly. As part of Chrome's next release, Google will add another AI-powered feature to help you write better reviews, RSVP to someone’s party, or ask about an apartment that’s for rent. 

To get started, right-click a text box or field on any site you visit in Chrome and select “Help me write.” Type in a few words and our AI will jumpstart the writing process for you. 

Technical notes you need to know

Google says that Chrome users will be able to try out these new features in Chrome on both Macs and Windows PCs over the next few days.

If this piques your interest, the best advice is to sign into Chrome every few days, select “Settings” from the three-dot menu, and navigate to the “Experimental AI” page. The company spokesperson said that because these features are early public experiments, they’ll be disabled for enterprise and educational accounts for the time being. 

For many people, the risks of playing too many video games may be too much screen time or too much time sitting down. However, have you ever considered what playing a lot of video games does to your hearing? 

A new study looked at that exact question. The results: regular video game players put themselves at a higher risk of lifelong hearing loss and tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears. 

How you play matters

To better understand the risks associated with playing a lot of video games, researchers analyzed data from 14 peer-reviewed studies that included data on nearly 54,000 people from around the world. While all of the studies explored different aspects of video games and hearing, all were looking at the effect of gaming on hearing loss. 

On average, participants played video games for around three hours per week. However, the researchers observed that hearing was affected differently depending on how the participants opted to play. 

Those who played on their phones didn’t experience as loud sounds as those who played on gaming centers. Additionally, the longer that participants played, the more they were exposed to loud noises, and the more likely they were to damage their hearing long-term. 

Long-term hearing risks

In looking at all of the studies involved, the average sound exposure either exceeded or nearly exceeded the sound exposure limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, the recommended safe level for leisure noise is 80 decibels for a maximum duration of 40 hours per week. Any sounds over 85 decibels are likely to damage your hearing much faster. 

One study involved in this analysis evaluated the sound levels of five different games when playing with headphones on, all of which exceed the 85 decibel mark. One shooting game exceeded 91 decibels, while others were in the mid- to high-80s. 

Several of the studies involved in the analysis also had participants self-report on hearing loss or tinnitus. Those who played more video games were more likely to score themselves as having poorer vision or tinnitus. 

“Although the data provided in this review are limited, they suggest that some gamers, particularly those who play frequently, and at or above the average sound levels described by papers included in this review, probably exceed permissible sound exposure limits, and are thus engaging in unsafe listening practices, which could put them at risk for developing permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus,” the researchers wrote. 

“The findings suggest that there may be a need to prioritize interventions, such as initiatives focused on education and awareness of the potential risks of gaming, that can help promote safe listening among gamers.” 

Hyundai Motor America is recalling 10,984 model year 2024 Konas.

The 12-Volt battery cables may chafe against the engine control module bracket and short circuit in a crash, increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire

What to do

Dealers will install sheathing over the wiring free of charge.

Letters to owners regarding this issue are expected to be mailed February 23, 2024.

Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at (855) 371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 252.