You Can Finally Add Multiple Stops To Your Uber Ride

About a year after Lyft started allowing riders to request multiple stops on their trips, Uber is joining its rival in offering the option for extra destinations.

Perhaps you’d like to pick up a few friends for a night on the town — or carpool home with your pals later. Either way, Uber passengers can have up to three stops on every trip.

Here’s how it works:

1. Press “Where to?” and then “+”
2. Add any addresses you’d like to travel to.
3. Request your ride.
4. Take that trip.

If you need to make changes during the trip you can add and remove stops as you go.

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are five of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.
via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

Amazon Has Obtained Pharmaceutical Wholesaler Licenses In 12 States

There are a few things left that Amazon.com doesn’t sell, and one of them is prescription drugs. Yet for most of the last year, analysts and retail-watchers have speculated that Amazon may be looking to get into the prescription drug business. Now there’s proof that the retailer has taken more official steps toward becoming a mail-order pharmacy.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Amazon has become a licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler in 12 states, with a pending application in a thirteenth. To ship drugs directly to consumers, competing with large pharmacy benefit managers and mail-order pharmacies like Caremark or Express Scripts, Amazon would also need to be licensed as a pharmacy in each state to which it shipped drugs.

The facilities listed on the applications are distribution centers in Indiana. One industry analyst observed to the Post-Dispatch that Amazon may be building its own pharmacy capabilities, or could acquire an existing pharmacy, as it did when it acquired Whole Foods to bolster the grocery business that it had been building for years.

The Post-Dispatch was able to confirm through public records that Amazon has been approved as a pharmaceutical wholesaler in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, and Tennessee. An application in Maine is still pending.

The names on applications are people who previously worked in the medical supplies and mail-order pharmacy industry, according to LinkedIn.

Amazon declined to comment to the Post-Dispatch, calling the clues “rumors and speculation.”

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

CVS Reportedly Looking To Buy Aetna Insurance For $66 Billion

Earlier this year, health insurance giant Aetna was left broken-hearted when its $37 billion merger with Humana fell through because federal antitrust regulators apparently hate to see two mammoth insurers so in love with each other. But in this autumn season, there’s a rare bloom of corporate romance peeking out, as Aetna has reportedly found itself a suitor in the form of CVS Health.

The Wall Street Journal — citing the ever-anonymous but always chatty “people familiar with the matter” — claims that CVS Health is angling to purchase the Connecticut-based Aetna for $200 a share, which would currently put the deal at around $66 billion.

While most people know CVS for its vast chain of retail drugstores and pharmacies, parent company CVS Health also has businesses that are more directly related to Aetna’s operations, like CVS Caremark, which operates prescription benefits management (PBM) services for thousands of health insurance plans. In the world of prescription drugs and insurance, PBMs operate in the role of middle-man, negotiating prices with drug makers for insurance providers.

Aetna attempted to acquire Humana in 2015 — around the same time of another proposed insurance mega-merger between Cigna and Anthem. In July 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice, along with attorneys general from nine states, filed lawsuits seeking to halt both mergers, arguing that they would result in over-consolidation and fewer choices for insurance buyers in just about every type of health insurance: Individual plans purchased through exchanges; employer-sponsored group insurance; and plans sold to supplement Medicare.

Such DOJ lawsuits often end with the merger partners calling off the deal or making concessions to appease antitrust regulators, but Aetna and Humana attempted to make their case in court. In Jan. 2017, a federal judge ruled against the insurers, saying the merger would “likely to substantially lessen competition in Medicare Advantage” in each of the 364 counties challenging the deal.

The insurers subsequently called off their engagement in Feb. 2017.

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

Illinois Sues Payday Lender For Forcing Employees To Sign Non-Compete Agreements

The state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against payday lender Check Into Cash, but not for its short-term lending practices. Instead, the company is accused of exploiting its low-wage employees by forcing them to sign non-compete agreements that restrict their ability to find jobs elsewhere.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office filed a lawsuit [PDF] against Check Into Cash of Illinois — a subsidiary of the national payday lending venture — accusing the company of running afoul of state laws by imposing highly restrictive non-compete agreements on low-wage customer service employees.

According to the lawsuit, employees at Check Into Cash’s 33 Illinois locations are subject to a non-compete clause that restricts them from working for any other business that provides consumer lending services or products for one year after they leave the company.

Targeting Low-Wage Workers

The lawsuit alleges that these clauses are in violation of the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, which prohibits the use of non-compete agreements for employees earning minimum wage or less than $13/ hour.

The AG’s office contends that most of Check Into Cash’s employee make less than $13/hour, meaning they fall within the scope of the law.

Too Restrictive

Additionally, under Illinois law, non-compete agreements must be premised on a legitimate business interest and narrowly tailored in terms of time, activity, and place.

The AG’s office alleges that Check Into Cash’s non-compete clause is in violation of these requirements, as they include restrictions that cover too many different employment options and places too many limitations on the location of future employment.

For instance, consumer lending services and products can include any payday advance services; check-cashing services; pawn or title pawn services; secured or unsecured credit lending services; secured or unsecured installment lending services; or essentially any other consumer lending service or money transmission service.

The state’s lawsuit contends this is too wide-reaching, noting it could also apply to retail stores or auto dealerships that extend credit or companies like Western Union or the U.S. postal service that transmit money.

Additionally, the non-compete agreements prohibit employees from finding future employment at these types of companies if they are located within 15 miles of any office or retail location of Check Into Cash, or any location of the company’s parents, affiliates or subsidiary companies.

“Check Into Cash inappropriately tries to retain low-income workers by requiring them to sign unfair non-compete agreements that attempt to prevent workers from getting better jobs elsewhere,” Madigan said in a statement.

With the lawsuit, Madigan’s office seeks to void the non-compete clauses and prevent Check Into Cash from imposing future clauses.

Not The First

This isn’t the first time Madigan’s office has tackled unfair non-compete clauses.

In Dec. 2016, Jimmy Johns entered into a settlement with the AG’s office over the use of restricted non-compete clauses that prevented employees from working for other sandwich companies. 

Under the deal, Jimmy Johns agreed to pay $100,000 to establish education and outreach programs, putting an end to a months-old lawsuit that alleged the fast food company illegally required all employees to sign a highly restrictive non-compete agreement as a condition of employment.

The AG’s office notes that it is currently investigating other companies that have also used restrictive non-compete clauses.

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

Criminals With Terrifying Baby Mask Deploy ATM Skimmers In Minnesota

As Halloween draws closer, here’s a reminder of what you should really be scared of: ATM skimmers, or devices that attach to cash machines to slurp up customers’ card numbers and PINs. You should also be afraid of adults in creepy baby doll masks. According to police in Minnesota, a recent crime there incorporates both of these terrifying prospects, with a mask-wearing suspect accused of placing skimmers on ATMs in two counties and stealing tens of thousands of dollars.

The team, a man and a woman, only try to disguise themselves in one image released to the public. Police believe that they may have traveled from out of town, and may be part of a larger skimming ring, they told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

PLEASE HELP US ID: Suspected of placing skimming devices on ATMs in the metro. Contact RCSO Investigator Picha at 651-266-7320 with info. http://pic.twitter.com/RaTWPOfwSA

— Ramsey Sheriff (MN) (@RamseySheriff) October 24, 2017

The skimmer installations were first discovered on Sept. 23 when someone (we don’t know whether it was a customer or an employee) alerted the cops to a skimming device on an exterior ATM at the City County Credit Union.

More devices were found in the following days, but police can’t be sure that they have them all. The local sheriff’s department shared tips that are useful for everyone. The sheriff’s department recommends inspecting ATMs before you begin a transaction.

“If it looks suspicious, don’t use the ATM and go inside the bank,” a sergeant with the sheriff’s department told the Star-Tribune. Alert the bank if you see something on the machine’s exterior that doesn’t look right.

We also recommend sticking to the same few ATMs when you’re at home so you’re more likely to notice parts stuck on or other oddities. It’s also a good idea to poke and pull at pieces of the device, making sure that there isn’t a false front, an extra card reader, or a pinhole camera attached to the front of the machine. Cover your hand while entering your PIN in case there’s a hidden camera.

Skimmers can also be completely invisible, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on your bank statements and immediately report any suspicious transactions.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office posted a Tweet with images of the suspects, but it’s the last picture, where the suspect is wearing a creepy cracked baby doll mask while fiddling with a drive-up ATM, that startles the entire Consumerist team every time that we look at it.

READ MORE:
Here’s A Gas Pump Skimmer That Texts Victims’ Card Data To Crooks
Here’s A Snap-On Bluetooth Skimmer Spotted Out In The Wild
Let’s Watch Some Promotional Videos From Makers Of ATM Skimmers
Here’s What You’ll Find Inside A Real ATM Skimmer Found In Indonesia
6 Things We Learned About Bluetooth ATM Skimmers In Mexico
Would You Have Spotted This Skimmer Found On An ATM In Mexico?
Watch Suspected Scammers Install And Harvest Data From ATM Skimmers
Tiny Bluetooth Card Skimmers Will Make You Hug Your Debit Card
A Visual 3-Step Guide To Detecting ATM Skimmers

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua

Some Massachusetts Residents Want State To Leave The Eastern Time Zone

If you’re like many other humans on this planet, winter’s shorter days may get you feeling a bit down from lack of sunlight. But some folks in the state are on a mission to reclaim one hour of sunlight, with a campaign to get Massachusetts to leave the Eastern Time Zone.

One member of a Massachusetts state commission that’s currently looking at whether or not the state should move to the Atlantic Time Zone — and thus, opt out of Daylight Savings Time — said he started his quest when he moved from Washington, D.C., to Massachusetts.

“I knew I was moving north, but I had no idea how far I was moving east, and so you can imagine my horror when in December the sun was setting” at 4:11 p.m., he told PDFNBC News.

If Massachusetts does move time zones, it would be an hour ahead of the rest of the East Coast for roughly four months each year.

In September, the state commission released a draft report [PDF] that found Massachusetts “could make a data-driven case for moving to the Atlantic Time Zone year-round.”

The commission’s report notes that year-round DST would positively impact consumer spending, which could help the state attract and retain more talented workers; would increase residents’ productivity and cut down on both the number and severity of on-the-job injuries; and improve public health in general.

A second draft will be voted on Nov. 1, and if approved could go on to lawmakers.

Massachusetts isn’t the only state to consider such a move, the commission notes: Four of the other five New England states have also looked into year-round DST. In Maine, a bill that would’ve prompted such a change in the state if Massachusetts and New Hampshire also participated was passed by both legislative chambers before it was laid aside.

Another bill in New Hampshire passed the House but was voted down in the Senate, while bills establishing year-round DST were also filed in the Connecticut and Rhode Island legislatures. Elsewhere in the country, legislators have introduced bills in Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

via Consumerist автовыкуп киев 1.s-cars.com.ua