A Brooklyn dollar store is being slapped with some seriously steep fines for selling a plastic sheriff-themed toy set that includes one very plastic, retro-looking gun. The Department of Consumer Affairs is not kidding around with that whole "no fake guns" thing they've been harping about for years now, you guys! more ›

A big-time scam artist was busted and fined close to $1 million for allegedly running a fake talent agency promising nonexistent work for aspiring models and actresses over the course of nearly six years, the Department of Consumer Affairs announced yesterday. That's a whole lot of useless headshots. more ›

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is looking for a few good shoppers to snitch for them. For the past year the DCA has been aggressively seeking out (and fining) supermarkets who don't comply with basic rules (i.e. they have inaccurate pricing, incorrectly taxed products, and inaccurate scales and scanners). But of late they've been finding that our supermarkets are just dismal—seriously, back in January the compliance rate among checked shops was 33 percent!—so now it is asking for your help in finding scofflaw supermarkets. Specifically they'd like you to tweet @NYCDCA whenever you feel #nickeled&dimed. more ›

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has a new enemy besides Arachne and Swiss Miss to add to his villains gallery: Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. In a January 5 letter to the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, de Blasio blasts the webslinger's musical for selling pricey preview tickets without letting unsuspecting patrons in on the fact that the show is still a work in progress. Those poor unsuspecting souls are being subjected to a theater-going experience of "confusion and frustration" and it must be stopped! more ›

About six months ago, the Department of Consumer Affairs conducted a sweep of 700 supermarkets and found that one of out of every two stores failed inspection, for a compliance rate of 48%. Because of that abysmal performance, the DCA is doubling its number of inspections this year, and the percentage of shady supermarkets has already increased—more than $310,000 in fines have been issued in the past four months. more ›

The Department Consumer Affairs is reminding New Yorkers that even if you have a kickass Ash from Evil Dead costume, you'll have to leave the boomstick at home unless it's bright pink. Imitation firearms that look real are illegal to sell in the city, and CA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz is encouraging people not to buy them. He said in a statement, "Fake guns that look real aren’t toys; they’re actually so dangerous that selling them is illegal...The last thing anyone wants is to experience is a tragedy due to an imitation gun that looks real." However, fake chainsaws are fine, so you're good to go for Leatherface. more ›

The Department of Consumer Affairs conducted a sweep of 700 supermarkets and found that one of out of every two stores failed inspection, for a compliance rate of 48% (violations include "inaccurate check-out scanners, lack of prices on individual items, taxation of items that are not taxable, improperly weighed food, and unavailability of scales for customers"). And in the poorest communities (all in the Bronx), the compliance rate was only 36%. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz announced new regulations for debt collectors yesterday in an attempt to prevent New Yorkers from being harassed for debts they do not owe. In a press release, Bloomberg says that debt collectors frequently try to shake down people with the same name as the person on their list, regardless of whether that person actually owes any debt. That's going to be bad news for all the Isabellas in a few years. more ›

This week Mayor Bloomberg is announcing the NYC Service Initiative, which aims to provide free legal services to homeowners in danger of foreclosure. In an announcement yesterday, the Mayor's office said it would "increase the availability and effectiveness of free legal representation for those facing foreclosure by training and dispatching 300 volunteer attorneys to expand legal services provided by non-profit organizations." more ›

Funeral homes are illegally tricking New Yorkers into paying more than they should, according to a Department of Consumer Affairs investigation. In a two-month study, officials determined that 87 of the 579 funeral homes probed—or 15 percent—were overcharging customers by skirting strict city laws governing the funeral industry. more ›

Following the Williamsburg pedicab crash, the regulations around the human-pedaled vehicles are garnering some attention. The NY Times delves into them today, reporting that in 2007 the City Council passed a bill which was challenged in court by pedicab owners, who claimed it would allow more inexperienced drivers to get licensed. This put the rules on hold for years, but the lawsuit ended in April and still no new rules have been drafted or put in place—a task that falls in the hands of the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs. The paper notes that "the city acknowledges that its safety and licensing provisions," which include a ban on bridge travel, are not being enforced. A lawyer for the NYC Pedicab Owners Association said, “We begged the city, for the sake of safety, to please enforce these things before someone gets hurt," but so far that hasn't happened, and until it does the rules are moot. Currently the NYPD are treating pedicabs as cyclists, meaning there are no fines for carrying too many passengers and not having seat belts. more ›

As a way to help struggling New Yorkers, the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, City University of New York and Daily News are offering a week of free financial advice. The Your Money Helpline has more than 200 experts who will be able to answer topics like, "How to cope with credit card debt," "How to get financing for education," and "How to deal with mortgage problems." The Daily News says the experts come from "the City’s Office of Financial Empowerment, banks and credit unions, financial industry associations and participants, city agencies, CUNY's business, finance, and economics faculty, staff and student financial aid experts and other trained volunteers." Call 212-330-6505 for help in English and 212-330-6506 for help in Spanish. more ›