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Consumer Rights News 30 September 2025 - 20 October 2025

Illinois Gas Bill Shock: Regulators Poised to Slash Record Utility Rate Hike Proposals

Illinois Gas Bill Shock: Regulators Poised to Slash Record Utility Rate Hike Proposals

<!– Key facts ended; full report follows –> In Illinois, utility regulators are weighing how much of a massive rate increase to approve for Ameren Illinois’s natural gas customers. Ameren filed in January to raise gas delivery rates by $128.8 million statewide. The proposal is intended to fund pipeline upgrades and maintain safety, especially amid a push for cleaner energy sources m.riverbender.com khqa.com. Two Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) judges recently issued a proposed order recommending a cut of roughly $40–44 million from Ameren’s request khqa.com citizensutilityboard.org. In practical terms, that would still leave about $85–$90 M of new revenue to be collected
20 October 2025
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Power Bill Bombshell: Synergy’s $40 Million Overcharge Scandal Shakes WA Customers

Power Bill Bombshell: Synergy’s $40 Million Overcharge Scandal Shakes WA Customers

Synergy’s $40 Million Billing Blunder – What Happened? Synergy, WA’s largest electricity retailer, has been caught overcharging customers by a staggering $40 million over 16 years abc.net.au. The revelation, made public on 10 October 2025, sent shockwaves through Western Australia. It turns out that nearly 174,000 customers who had closed their electricity accounts continued to unknowingly send payments to Synergy – payments the company accepted into those closed accounts instead of returning them abc.net.au. This went on from 2009 until now, unnoticed as a systemic issue. Synergy’s CEO Kurt Baker explained the root cause: a flaw in the billing system allowed automatic or mistaken payments to closed accounts to slip through abc.net.au.
10 October 2025
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Shocking £480 m Smartphone Claim Could Put Money Back in Your Pocket – Here’s What UK Apple and Samsung Users Need to Know

Shocking £480 m Smartphone Claim Could Put Money Back in Your Pocket – Here’s What UK Apple and Samsung Users Need to Know

Key Facts You Should Know Background: How Which? Took on Qualcomm Alleged Abuse of Market Power Qualcomm is a leading manufacturer of modem chipsets and holds patents essential for connecting smartphones to 4G networks. According to Which?, Qualcomm’s market dominance allowed it to charge handset manufacturers excessively high royalties and licensing fees, which were typically calculated as a percentage of each smartphone’s price hausfeld.com. Which? argues that these inflated fees forced Apple and Samsung to pass the costs on to consumers, resulting in higher smartphone prices or lower‑quality devices for millions of UK buyers smartphoneclaim.co.uk. The consumer organisation asserts that
6 October 2025
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Capital One Savers Cheated Out of Billions – $425M Settlement Payout Deadline Fast Approaching

Deadline Looms: Capital One’s $425 Million Settlement Could Put Cash Back in Your Pocket—Here’s What You Need to Know

In‑depth report In January 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Capital One of luring savers with promises of “high interest” returns on its 360 Savings account while quietly freezing that rate at 0.3%. The bureau said the bank simultaneously rolled out a 360 Performance Savings account with the same terms and conditions but far better returns—up to 4.3% during the Federal Reserve’s rapid rate hikes eu.usatoday.com. According to the CFPB, Capital One did not notify existing customers about the higher‑earning product and kept them in the dark about the rate differential masslive.com. The bureau’s director, Rohit Chopra, alleged that the practice “cheated families out of billions
2 October 2025
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Capital One Savers Cheated Out of Billions – $425M Settlement Payout Deadline Fast Approaching

Capital One Savers Cheated Out of Billions – $425M Settlement Payout Deadline Fast Approaching

Capital One’s $425 million settlement stems from a years-long fight over alleged bait-and-switch tactics. The crux of the case is that Capital One promoted its “360 Savings” account as a top high-yield product, yet kept its rate locked at about 0.30% even as national rates climbed. At the same time, the bank quietly introduced a nearly identical “360 Performance Savings” account, which did pay much higher interest (reaching 4.3% by early 2024) reuters.com consumerfinance.gov. Existing 360 Savings customers were largely kept in the dark – for example, Capital One reportedly removed most references to the old account on its website and
30 September 2025
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