Consumer Ally

Coca-Cola's latest ad is 2-minute commercial touting it's commitment to reducing obesity by offering diet alternatives and smaller portion sizes. So why is the beverage giant also pouring money into a campaign to overturn New York City's ban on giant-sized, sugary drinks?

When it comes to social media companies, remember: You aren't the customer. You're the product. Those firms are collecting all the data about their users they can, so they can sell businesses micro-targeted access to you. Want to avoid some of that? Start with these three steps.

Macy's, Amazon and Sears have all agreed to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars each in fines after the Federal Trade Commission busted them for passing off Rayon fabrics as genuine, environmentally friendly bamboo.

Marc Himmelstein, CEO of D.C. lobbying firm National Environmental Strategies, is suing Comcast for $26,000, claiming its negligence caused a drop in his credit score which increased the price of his mortgage substantially.

Companies get into fights all the time: in the courts, through their advertising, in contract negotiations with partners, and even with their own workers. To some extent, it's just business as usual -- but when those fights escalate, it's often consumers who feel the pain.

Frequent travelers know that extra airline fees have become the norm. But resorts and hotels make it even harder to figure out what your final bill is going to add up to. Now, the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection is fighting back on our behalf.

Credit union membership is at an all-time high, thanks to our rising disillusionment with traditional banks. Banks, after all, are run by executives aiming to enrich stockholders, while credit unions are owned by, and run for the benefit of, their members. But that doesn't mean credit unions are right for everyone.

As the days without power stretched on for hundreds of thousands after Superstorm Sandy, patience turned to anger. But an AP analysis of outages from other big storms shows that the time it took to utility companies to restore electricity was no worse than average -- and in some places, actually faster.

When the IRS sends you an email that it owes you some cash, and all you need to do to collect it is click through to their website, it's naturally tempting. Don't bite: No matter how convincing that email is, you can rest assured that it's a scam.

MoneyGram said Friday that it has agreed to set up a $100 million compensation fund as part of a settlement of government allegations of fraud through money-transfer scams from 2003 to 2009.

Chrysler is recalling more than 919,000 older-model Jeep SUVs worldwide because the air bags can inflate while people are driving them. The recall affects Jeep Grand Cherokees from the 2002 through 2004 model years, and Jeep Libertys from model years 2002 and 2003.

California has repeatedly sued Safeway since 2003 for overcharging shoppers. Now, a new CBS San Francisco report says that the company is not only continuing that practice, but also disobeying a court order intended to provide customers with restitution.

The credit card market remains plagued by cards built to kill your savings, despite the consumer-friendly reforms of the CARD Act and record-low interest rates for most loans. Here are the five most common ways the worst credit cards prey on unsuspecting consumers.

The most tempting, succulent confection of the season might be candy corn. The tri-colored pyramids epitomize autumn and Halloween, and 35 million pounds -- or about 9 billion pieces -- of candy corn will be produced this year, says the National Confectioners Association. Not too shabby for the confection started in the 1880s by George Renninger, a humble employee of the Wunderlee Candy Company.

Experts say the oncoming storm could be wider and stronger than Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage, and might rival the worst East Coast storm on record. Here's how to deal with the potential damage of Sandy, the so-called Frankenstorm.

Experts predict the tab for Hurricane Sandy -- aka Frankenstorm -- will be in the billions of dollars. If your property gets damaged, proceed with caution: You don't want to get hit again, this time by home repair companies that jack up their prices, do a poor job, or walk away before the work is finished.

Getting a call from a debt collection agency is bad enough. Getting a call from a phony debt collector trying to scam you out of money you don't owe can be even worse. The scammers are out there: Here's what you need to know to avoid becoming a victim.