Consumer Protection Law

Consumer protection laws are in place to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices by product manufacturers and distributors. Any kind of false advertising or ads that mislead the customer in any way (including ads that aren't actually intended to mislead) make the advertiser liable for deceiving the consumer. The Federal Trade Commission takes these cases seriously and does take action against those who violate the statutes enacted to protect consumers.?

In addition to false advertising, another problem area businesses are often sued for is in the matter of deceptive pricing. When a business makes claims of offering a product at a price that is supposedly at a reduction from the regular price when, in fact, it is not, is only one example of this ploy. Another is trying to make the consumer believe they are going to receive something for free when there is actually a cost involved.?

Unscrupulous business practices and consumer fraud take place every day. For this reason, not only are the federal laws set in place, but individual states have their own guidelines and statutes, as well, that businesses must follow. Some of the more common types of laws regarding these are:

Contract law - which typically involves three elements in order to be valid. These elements (in the most simplistic terms, of course) between the parties would include an offer, an acceptance, and a consideration (money or goods).

Lemon laws - these are intended to protect consumers from purchasing automobiles that are obviously defective, and can include new or used vehicles.

Telemarketer fraud - to protect the consumer from telemarketers who might make unauthorized charges with credit information.

Debt collection laws - to keep debt collection agencies from unlawfully harassing debtors. These laws limit the methods these agencies can used to collect debt owed to creditors.?

Home solicitation laws - to ensure consumers' rights are protected in this purchasing environment as well as in others.

Other concerns in the consumer protection law area involve misleading telemarketer phone calls, sweepstakes mailers, emails and SPAM mailings that offer free to the consumer what clearly is not.?

Those who hire a consumer protection attorney to help them with this area of the law have legal issues such as credit reporting disputes, identity theft issues, consumer fraud problems, and deceptive sales practice disputes.?

If you feel you are the victim of unfair collection practices by collection agencies who use harassment, intimidation or threatening phone calls and tactics, know that there are laws to protect you from such devices. The same follows when it comes to the area of frauds and scams, product liability, and the lemon laws the federal government has enacted to protect consumers. Find additional consumer protection resources or find a California consumer protection attorney in the Internet Lawyer Directory.