Current Events in March 2025

How are American consumers handling the daily barrage of news about tariffs, budget cuts and layoffs? Not well, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reports the evidence is in the numbers. Consumer spending is falling across all income levels, largely due to tariffs and other economic concerns. Retailers have reported weak demand since the start of the year, attributed to caution about spending.

From Walmart to McDonald’s, corporate executives have painted similar pictures of the American consumer. They’re buying less and, in the words of Costco Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip, being “very choiceful” about what they spend.

There’s nothing wrong with being careful with money and living on a budget, but Marisa Young, associate professor of sociology at McMaster University, worries that the constant economic headlines are taking a toll on consumers’ mental health.

Mental health concerns

"With 24/7 updates, social media algorithms that prioritize extreme content, and an endless stream of crisis-driven headlines, it’s no surprise that many people feel more anxious and overwhelmed than ever," Young said in a press statement.

Young highlights the concept of "ambient stress," where constant exposure to negative news creates a persistent sense of stress. "It’s not just about feeling sad or frustrated in the moment — it can create a sense of ongoing stress, almost like background noise that never really goes away," she said.

The relentless nature of negative news can contribute to chronic stress, leaving people feeling perpetually braced for the next crisis. This, coupled with the sense of powerlessness that arises from consuming distressing stories, can lead to anxiety, hopelessness, and emotional exhaustion. 

Young also identifies "stress proliferation" as a key concern, where stress from news consumption spills over into other areas of life, affecting job security, family interactions, and sleep.

What to do

To mitigate the negative effects, she recommends:

• Setting boundaries: Designating specific times for news consumption.

• Diversifying sources: Balancing sensationalized headlines with contextual and solution-focused reporting.

• Taking breaks: Stepping away from the news to reset perspective.

• Active engagement: Shifting from passive consumption to active participation through volunteering or advocacy.

• Social connection: Talking with others to process emotions.

• Grounding activities: Engaging in hobbies and activities outside digital spaces.

"The goal isn’t to ignore what’s happening in the world, but to make sure that staying informed doesn’t come at the expense of your well-being," Young said.

Government agencies are renewing their warnings about the “unpaid toll” scam that usually arrives in the form of a text. The text claims the recipient has one or more unpaid tolls and offers a strange way to pay.

In recent years, highway authorities have phased out toll booths with human operators. Today, they use cameras that make contact with a transponder, such as from E-ZPass, that debits the driver’s account.

If a driver doesn’t have a transponder, the camera records the license plate number and sends the driver an invoice through the mail a couple of weeks later. No state contacts drivers by text and demands to be paid in gift cards.

The FBI began issuing warnings about this scam last year, reporting at the time that it had received more than 2,000 complaints. The law enforcement agency now says the scammers appear to be moving from state to state, sometimes posing as E-ZPass.

The FTC’s advice

The Federal Trade Commission has also issued warnings about the scam. In January, the agency warned Americans the scammers are trying to steal both money and personal information.

“Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts,” the FTC said in a statement. “Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.”

To avoid being victimized by these scams, the FTC offers this advice:

• Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.

• Check to see if the text is legit. Reach out to the state’s tolling agency using a phone number or website you know is real — not the info from the text.

• Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use your phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts to your messaging app or forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Once you’ve checked it out and reported it, delete the text.

Kia is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging a defect, which risks starting fires, has harmed customers by dropping the value of certain Kia Souls and Kia Seltoses.

The lawsuit, filed March 7 in Pennsylvania, alleges defects in the piston oil rings, which caused a February 2025 recall, means the cars are "simply not worth as much" and Kia needs to compensate owners more than offering free repairs, ClassAction.org reports.

"The value of a car with a known history of engine issues is worth much less than a car with a properly working engine, or at least a history of a working engine with no critical issues," the lawsuit said.

In February, Kia recalled 137,256 of its 2021-2023 Kia Soul or 2021-2023 Kia Seltos because of the defect and offered free repairs as a solution.

Symptoms of the defect include increased oil consumption, abnormal engine noise and the illumination of the dashboard oil pressure light, Car and Driver reports.

A Kia spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit aims to represent all U.S. residents who bought or leased a 2021-2023 Kia Soul or 2021-2023 Kia Seltos that was recalled.

Lawyers at Carpey Law are on the case and can be reached at scarpey@carpeylaw.com.

Honda is paying a $632,500 fine and changing its business practices to resolve privacy violations of Californians.

The carmaker required Californians to verify themselves and provide "excessive personal information," didn't give people the options to make privacy choices, shared personal information with advertisers without customer contracts and made it difficult for people to authorize other individuals or organizations to exercise their privacy rights, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) said Wednesday.

As part of the agreement, the CPPA said Honda will create a simpler process and user design for Californians to assert their privacy rights, certify compliance, train employees and change its contracting process to ensure they protect personal information.

"We won’t hesitate to use our cease-and-desist authority to change business practices, and we’ll tally fines based on the number of violations," said Michael Macko, head of the CPPA's enforcement division, in a statement.

Do you just love taking your car to the dealer for service? J.D. Power says consumer satisfactiong with service visits "remains strong for a second consecutive year."

But don't break out the champagne just yet, because it adds that "wait times for appointments, communication shortfalls and gaps in fixing vehicles correctly limit the industry’s progress." That's according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, released today.

The survey found that dealers continue to battle with ongoing capacity challenges as the average number of days that customers must wait for an appointment is longer than was tracked from 2018 to 2022, and only nominally better than 2023 and 2024. Addressing this—and other opportunities—could improve service satisfaction and increase loyalty to dealerships.

“While it’s no surprise that customers gravitate to operations that serve them well, the study clearly shows that good service leads to loyal customers,” said John Tenerovich, director of automotive retail at J.D. Power. “This phenomenon proves true across all service types—oil changes, repair, tires and brakes.”

Gas is still king

The study finds that customer satisfaction with the service of electrified vehicles—both battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles—continues to trail satisfaction among owners of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by a wide margin.

Satisfaction (on a 1,000-point scale) among mass market BEV owners is 51 points lower than among owners of mass market ICE vehicles, and satisfaction among premium BEV owners is 57 points below that of premium ICE vehicle owners. The ongoing lack of well-trained EV technicians and frontline personnel is a key factor in the shortfall.

Following are some other key findings of the 2025 study:

• Fixed right first time: Surprisingly, 12% of repairs are not completed correctly on the first visit. 
• Satisfaction improves when maintenance items are combined with recalls.
• Communication helps deliver satisfying service experience: Among the 10 most influential key performance indicators measured in the study, four are communication-related.
• Trust in service personnel and overall service varies by generation. While Boomers express a great deal of trust in dealer service, younger generations have progressively less.

Highest-Ranking Brands and Segments

Porsche ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among premium brands with a score of 912. Lexus (900) ranks second and Cadillac (888) ranks third.

Subaru ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among mass market brands with a score of 896. MINI (888) ranks second and Honda (881) ranks third.

Subaru (886) ranks highest in the mass market car segment, followed by Honda (879) and MINI (879).

Subaru ranks highest among mass market SUVs/minivans with a score of 897. Honda (884) ranks second and Buick (878) ranks third.

Porsche ranks highest in the premium car segment with a score of 906, followed by Lexus (891) and BMW (887).

Porsche ranks highest in the premium SUV segment with a score of 917. Lexus (902) ranks second and Cadillac (891) ranks third.

Chevrolet ranks highest in the truck segment with a score of 877. GMC (876) ranks second and Nissan (873) ranks third.

The U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study is now in its 45th year and has been redesigned for 2025. Along with traditional Voice of the Customer survey data, the study index now includes, for the first time, repair data drawn from individual in-dealership repairs. This repair information, secured from individual dealership service transactions, allows the study to offer an unprecedented level of granularity of both service quality and customer retention.

The study measures satisfaction with service at franchised dealer and aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work among owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles. It also provides a numerical index ranking of the highest-performing automotive brands sold in the United States, which is based on the combined scores of five measures comprising vehicle owner service experience data and actual repair data. These measures are (in order of importance): service quality; service advisor; vehicle pick-up; service facility; and service initiation. In 2023, model segment rankings were added to the study to differentiate between the service needs for cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans.

The 2025 study is based on responses from 55,210 verified registered owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles. J.D. Power goes to great lengths to ensure that survey respondents are true owners of the brand for which they are surveyed. The study was fielded from July through December 2024.

For more information about the U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/us-customer-service-index-csi-study.

Oil refineries in the U.S. get most of their crude oil from Canada, and after the U.S. slapped a 10% tariff on Canadian oil, industry experts predict gasoline prices would rise. So far, that hasn’t happened. Gasoline prices are falling, with the lowest March gas prices since before the pandemic.

AAA reports the national average price of regular gas is $3.08 a gallon, down two cents in the last week and six cents lower than a month ago. Last year at this time, a gallon of gas averaged 31 cents a gallon more.

So, what’s going on? For starters, the world price of crude oil is falling, thanks to growing supplies from Saudi Arabia. Oil futures markets have been weak lately over growing concerns about the global economy.

In the U.S., 23 states have average prices of regular gas below $3 a gallon. Mississippi has the lowest gas prices in the nation with an average of $2.64 a gallon. California has the most expensive gas in the nation, averaging $4.64 a gallon.

Bucking the seasonal trend

Normally, gasoline prices begin to rise at this time of year. Refineries reduce output so they can perform seasonal maintenance. In another few weeks they will switch over to producing summer grades of fuel, which are more expensive.

Even though motorists may be enjoying lower gas prices now, the lower prices may be a sign of economic trouble ahead. 

“Concerns about the direction of the economy could have a major influence on fuel prices in the months ahead, especially with the high level of uncertainty surrounding tariffs,” Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s head of Petroleum Analysis wrote on the company’s blog.

“Additionally, OPEC+ announced last week that it would gradually begin restoring oil production after nearly two years of cuts, adding further downward pressure on oil prices. As a result, the typical seasonal rise in gas prices has yet to materialize, and if and when it does, it may be considerably smaller than expected.”

A coalition of 23 Democratic state attorneys general is urging a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to block the Trump Administration’s efforts to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), arguing that doing so would harm consumer protection efforts across the country.

In a legal brief filed in support of a lawsuit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the attorneys general claim that the administration’s actions amount to a “total dereliction of all mandatory statutory duties.” A similar brief has also been filed in a separate lawsuit by the city of Baltimore, which makes similar allegations.

Legal battle over CFPB’s future

The lawsuit, filed by the NTEU and several advocacy groups, seeks a court order requiring the CFPB to resume operations, arguing that halting the agency’s work violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled that no further changes be made to the agency until at least March 10, when she will hold an evidentiary hearing to review the case.

The Democratic attorneys general argue that shutting down the CFPB would severely impact consumer protection efforts, as many states rely on the agency for critical enforcement and investigative support.

Consumer protection concerns

According to the attorneys general, states depend on the CFPB for:

• Handling consumer complaints, which provide vital data for investigating fraud and abuse.
• Collaborating on investigations into predatory lending, deceptive financial practices, and fraud.
• Accessing mortgage lending data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which helps enforce fair lending laws.
• Distributing financial penalties already awarded to consumers through the CFPB’s Civil Penalty Fund.

“In the CFPB’s absence, consumers will be left without critical resources,” the brief states. “Although some states have similar mechanisms in place, those mechanisms alone cannot replace the CFPB’s vast nationwide complaint intake system overnight.”

CFPB’s fate is uncertain

While Jonathan McKernan, President Trump’s nominee to head the CFPB, assured a Senate committee last week that the agency would continue to function, employees have been sent home, the headquarters has been closed, and the CFPB’s name has been removed from its windows.

This contradictory messaging has raised concerns among state officials, who say the sudden disruption is already affecting ongoing investigations and enforcement actions.

The attorneys general represent New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and 18 other states that have historically worked closely with the CFPB to enforce consumer protection laws.

With the future of the agency hanging in the balance, the court’s upcoming March 10 hearing could determine whether the CFPB resumes its operations or remains effectively shuttered under the Trump Administration.

Despite a recent slowdown in home sales, brought on by the combination of prices and mortgage rates, the U.S. still faces a housing shortage. A new study by Realtor.com puts the shortfall at 4 million homes.

The stark figures, released in a press statement, highlight the growing chasm between housing demand and available inventory. The shortage was mostly caused by years of underbuilding following the 2009 housing market crash. It was compounded by recent economic factors that are driving up prices and creating fierce competition among prospective buyers.

The report concludes that the housing market is facing a significant crisis, causing families to struggle to find affordable housing. The report points to a confluence of factors contributing to the crisis, such as construction delays, supply chain disruptions, and rising material costs.

Another factor is causing a shortage. Current homeowners, especially those with low mortgage rates, are reluctant to sell. 

What can be done?

What’s the answer? Realtor.com is calling on policymakers to implement strategies that encourage new home construction and alleviate the existing supply constraints. These strategies include streamlining permitting processes, incentivizing builders, and addressing zoning regulations that hinder development.

"We need a comprehensive approach that tackles the root causes of the housing shortage," the real estate platform said in a statement. "By 'Letting America Build,' we can create more opportunities for homeownership and strengthen communities across the country."

An independent report suggests the struggle to find affordable housing is taking a toll on prospective buyers. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index decreased 1.8 points in February to 71.6, driven largely by consumers' increased pessimism that mortgage rates will go down in the next year. 

The share of consumers who say it is a good time to buy a home is only 24%, while the share who say it is a good time to sell dipped to 62%. February also saw a notable decline in consumers' optimism toward their personal financial situation, including household income and concern they could lose their job. 

Juice maker Mott's is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging it is falsely advertising its ReaLemon and ReaLime products as "real," "natural" and "100% juice."

The lawsuit, filed in Delaware on March 3, alleges the juice products contain the artificial preservatives sodium benzoate and sodium metabisulfite, ClassAction.org reports.

The front labels advertise "with added ingredients," but should read "with added preservatives" to be in line with state and federal laws, the lawsuit said.

“A reasonable consumer viewing the front labeling of the Products would come away with the impression that the Products are composed of only natural, real ingredients,” the lawsuit said. “Given that artificial preservatives are such a turn-off for consumers buying what they perceive as a natural 100% juice product, it is not appropriate, and is misleading, for [Mott’s] to simply state ‘with added ingredients,’ as opposed to ‘with added preservatives."

Keurig Dr. Pepper, the parent company of Mott's, didn't immediately respond to ConsumerAffairs's request for comment.

The lawsuit aims to represent all U.S. residents who bought a ReaLemon or RealLime product.

Lawyers at Cooch and Taylor and Smith Krivoshey are representing the case and can be reached at gdick@coochtaylor.com, yeremey@skclassactions.com and joel@skclassactions.com.