Consumer News: Cerebral pays settlement to resolve subscription complaints

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Details: Written by Consumer Affairs News; Category: Consumer Daily Reports; Published: 08 May 2025; Created: 08 May 2025; Last Updated: 08 May 2025

More than 40,000 customers split $5 million settlement

By Truman Lewis

May 8, 2025

More than 40,000 people will receive a refund as a result of the Federal Trade Commissions settlement with Cerebral, Inc, an online mental health service provider that allegedly billed consumers despite their requests to cancel their subscriptions.

The refunds stem from a settlement of FTC allegations that Cerebral:

required its clients to navigate a complex, multi-step, and often multi-day process to cancel their subscriptions;
continued to charge consumers while slow-walking their cancellation requests, despite promising consumers they could cancel anytime;
disclosed consumers sensitive personal health information and other sensitive data to third parties for advertising purposes; and
violated the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act by failing to clearly disclose all material terms of their cancellation policies before charging consumers.

An independent refund administrator, Epiq Systems, is sending payments totaling more than $5 million to 40,249 affected consumers. Most of these consumers will receive a check in the mail, which they should cash within 90 days, as indicated on the check.

Eligible consumers who did not have an address on file will receive a PayPal payment, which should be redeemed within 30 days.

Payments will go to consumers who submitted a request to cancel their subscription on or before May 2022, but who Cerebral continued to charge.

Consumers who have questions about a payment or their eligibility for a payment should contact the independent refund administrator at 1-888-884-6036 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.

The Commissionsinteractive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2024, FTC actions led to more than $339 million in refunds to consumers across the country.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices atReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

Posted: 2025-05-08 19:53:02

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Since the start of the Iran war, mortgage rates are climbing

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Median U.S. mortgage payment rose to $2,742, up 0.4% year over year the first increase in nearly six months.
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Home affordability just got a little worse. The reversal in mortgage rates, combined with still-rising home prices in some markets, pushed monthly payments up for the first time in nearly half a year, according to a new report from Redfin.

In March, the median monthly mortgage payment reached $2,742, marking a modest 0.4% increase from a year earlier, but reversing a roughly six-month trend of flat or declining costs.

The uptick comes as borrowing costs surged in recent weeks. The average mortgage rate climbed to a six-month high of about 6.38%, with daily averages hitting as much as 6.64% toward the end of the period analyzed.

Home prices are still rising

At the same time, home prices also moved higher. The median sale price rose 2.1% year over year during the four weeks ending March 29 the largest increase in roughly a year adding further pressure on buyers already contending with elevated financing costs.

Redfin attributed much of the recent increase in mortgage rates to rising oil prices and broader economic uncertainty tied to the ongoing conflict in Iran. Those factors have pushed up bond yields, which heavily influence mortgage rates.

Because of higher costs, there is less demand. Pending home sales fell 1.2% compared with a year earlier, while mortgage purchase applications declined 3% week over week, signaling reduced buyer activity.

Homes are also taking longer to sell, with the typical property spending 53 days on the market five days longer than a year ago.

Buyers pull back as supply builds

Spring is the most active season for home sales, but affordability challenges appear to be sidelining many would-be buyers, even as the number of homes for sale increases. New listings rose 1.7% year over year, contributing to a growing imbalance between supply and demand.

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Heres what it means for consumers

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Google agreed to a $135 million settlement to resolve claims related to user data privacy violations.
Eligible users may receive direct payments or credits, depending on how their data was affected.
The settlement also requires Google to change certain data collection and disclosure practices.

Google will pay $135 million to settle allegations that it improperly collected and used personal data, marking another high-profile case in the growing scrutiny of Big Techs data practices.

While the company has not admitted wrongdoing, the settlement aims to compensate affected users and address concerns about transparency.

Who is eligible?

The settlement is expected to benefit millions of users whose data may have been collected or shared without sufficient disclosure. While final eligibility criteria will be outlined in court-approved documents, affected individuals are generally those who used certain Google services during a specified time period tied to the claims.

This could include users of products such as Google Search, Chrome, or location-based services, depending on the scope of the lawsuit.

How compensation will work

Consumers who qualify will likely need to submit a claim through a settlement website. Payments are expected to vary based on:

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In similar settlements, individual payouts often range from modest cash payments to account credits or other forms of compensation. In some cases, users who do not file a claim may still benefit indirectly through changes to company practices.

Changes to Googles practices

Beyond financial compensation, the settlement requires Google to modify how it handles user data. These changes may include:

Clearer disclosures about what data is collected and how it is used
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Limits on certain types of data tracking or retention

Advocates say these provisions are just as important as the monetary component, as they aim to prevent similar issues in the future.

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Simple chemicals can erase ink, allowing thieves to rewrite checks for much larger amounts.
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With digital payments, fewer checks get written these days. But that hasnt stopped a decades-old fraud tactic from making a troubling comeback across the United States: check washing.

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How the scam works

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Unsecured residential mailboxes
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How to protect yourself

Financial experts say prevention is the best defense. Key steps include:

Use more secure writing tools. Gel pens with pigmented ink are harder to wash off than standard ballpoint pens.
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Banks and law enforcement respond

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Builds on previous policy

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Visibility is key, safety experts note, because early detection allows flight attendants to intervene before a malfunction escalates into a dangerous cabin fire.

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