Consumer protection laws are designed to ensure fair competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional protection for the weak and unable to take care of themselves. Consumer Protection laws are a form of government
regulation which protects the interests of
consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products—particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food. Consumer protection is linked to the idea of "consumer rights" (that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to the formation of
consumer organizations which help consumers make better choices in the marketplace.
Consumer interests can also be protected by promoting competition in the markets which directly and indirectly serve consumers, consistent with economic efficiency, but this topic is treated in
Competition law.
Consumer protection can also be asserted via non-government organizations and individuals as
consumer activism.
Contents[
hide]
1 Consumer law1.1 European Union1.2 Germany1.3 Republic of China (Taiwan)1.4 United Kingdom1.4.1 Other Commonwealth countries1.5 United States2 Consumer advocacy groups3 Laws3.1 United Kingdom3.2 United States3.3 Australia4 References5 See also5.1 People5.2 Consumer issues6 External links//
[
edit] Consumer law
"Consumer protection law" or "consumer law" is considered an area of
public law that regulates
private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell those goods and services. Consumer protection covers a wide range of topics, including but not necessarily limited to
product liability,
privacy rights,
unfair business practices,
fraud,
misrepresentation, and other consumer/business interactions.
Such laws deal with credit repair,
debt repair, product safety, service contracts, bill collector regulation, pricing, utility turnoffs, consolidation,
personal loans that may lead to
bankruptcy and much more.
[
edit] European Union
See also:
informed consumerThe
European Union has been very active in the field of consumer protection, producing a considerable volume of
Directives which require
member states to regulate consumer protection to a particular standard (which may or may not allow a higher standard of regulation).
A very important innovation has been the
Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Also
Directives on
Unfair Contract Terms (93/13/EC) and
Electronic Commerce (2000/13/EC). There exists a
European Commissioner for Consumer Protection, a post currently held by the
Bulgarian Meglena Kuneva.
[
edit] Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the European Union and is bound by the consumer protection directives of the European Union. Thus a large part of German consumer protection law has been enacted pursuant to European Directives (e.g. the directives on door-to-door sales, consumer credits, distance selling, package tours, product liability, etc.) In 2002, a large part of this legislation was integrated into the German Civil Code ("
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch").
A minister of the federal cabinet is responsible for consumer rights and protection (Verbraucherschutzminister). In the current cabinet of
Angela Merkel, this is
Horst Seehofer.
When issuing public warnings about products and services, the issuing authority has to take into account that this affects the supplier's constitutionally protected economic liberty (article 12
Basic Law, see
Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court)
Case 3 C 34.84, 71 BVerwGE 183.
[
edit] Republic of China (Taiwan)
Consumer Protection Law in the
Republic of China is the national special law which specifically protects the interests and safety of end-user using the products or services provided by business operators. Consumer Protection Commission of Executive Yuan serves as an ombudsman supervising, coordinating, reporting any unsafe products/services and periodically reviewing the legislation.
[
edit] United Kingdom
The
United Kingdom is a member state of the
European Union and so is bound by the consumer protection
directives of the European Union. Domestic (UK)
laws originated within the ambit of
contract and
tort but, with the influence of
EU law, it is emerging as an independent area of
law. In many circumstances, where domestic law is in question, the matter judicially treated as
tort,
contract,
restitution or even
criminal law.
Consumer Protection issues are dealt with when complaints are made to the Director-General of Fair Trade. The
Office of Fair Trading[2] will then investigate, impose an injunction or take the matter to
litigation.
The Office of Fair Trading
[1] also acts as the UK's official consumer and competition watchdog, with a remit to make markets work well for consumers, and at a local, municipal level by
Trading Standards departments. General consumer advice can be obtained from
Consumer Direct or via a local branch of the
Citizen's Advice Bureau.
[
edit] Other Commonwealth countries
In
Australia the corresponding agency is the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or the individual State Consumer Affairs agencies. In
New Zealand, the corresponding agency is the Ministry of Consumer Affairs
[3] and the New Zealand Commerce Commission.
[
edit] United States
Consumer protection laws often mandate the posting of notices, such as this one which appears in all
automotive repair shops in California
In the
United States a variety of laws at both the federal or state levels regulate consumer affairs. Among them are the federal
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the
Fair Credit Reporting Act,
Truth in Lending Act,
Fair Credit Billing Act, and the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Federal consumer protection laws are mainly enforced by the
Federal Trade Commission and the
U.S. Department of Justice.
At the state level, many states have a Department of Consumer Affairs devoted to regulating certain industries and protecting consumers who use goods and services from those industries.
For example, in the
U.S. state of
California, the
California Department of Consumer Affairs regulates about 2.3 million professionals in over 230 different professions, through its forty regulatory entities.
In addition, California encourages its consumers to act as
private attorneys general through the liberal provisions of its Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civil Code § 1750 et seq.
California has the nation's strongest consumer protection laws, partly because of rigorous advocacy and lobbying by groups such as Utility Consumers' Action Network
[4],
Consumer Federation of California and
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
[
edit] Consumer advocacy groups
Main article:
Consumer organization[
edit] Laws
Competition law[
edit] United Kingdom
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977Sale of Goods Act 1979Consumer Protection Act 1987Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002General Product Safety Regulations 2005[
edit] United States
General consumer protection laws
Consumer Product Safety Act - gives the
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) the power to develop safety standards and pursue recalls for products
Federal Trade Commission Act - created the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent unfair competition, deceptive acts, regulate trade, etc.
Privacy LawsUnited States National Do Not Call Registry - allows US consumers to limit telemarketing calls they receive.
Food & Drug
Pure Food and Drug Act - led to the creation of the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate foods, drugs, and more.
Communications
Communications Act of 1934 - created the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate all radio and interstate cable, phone, and satellite communications.
BankingFair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA) - regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) - eliminate abusive consumer practices, ensure fairness, etc.
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) - requires clear disclosure of key terms of the lending arrangement and all costs.
Real Estate
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) - prohibits kickbacks and requires lenders to provide a good faith estimate of costs
Health InsuranceHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - provides consumer protection for Health Information
Digital Media
Digital Millennium Copyright Act - prohibits production or sale of devices or services intended to circumvent copyright measures.
Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (proposed) - would repeal the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act[
edit] Australia
Trade Practices Act 1974[
edit] References
^ [1][
edit] See also
[
edit] People
Florence KelleyRalph NaderMichael VernonCurtis Arnold[
edit] Consumer issues
AntitrustClass actionCompetition policyCompetition regulatorCredit and
debtExtended warrantyFairtrade labellingFood safetyMandatory labellingProduct recallTransparency (market)Unfair competition[
edit] External links
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of
Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Information EconomyConsumer Complaint Assistant, Federal Trade CommissionConsumer Complaint Form Missouri Attorney GeneralConsumer Rights and Protection (India)Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)(India)Consumer protection information (U.S.)List of Consumer Rights as stated by the Government of IndiaConsumer Protection Act in IndiaIsraeli Consumer protection LawsUniversity of Delaware Library Consumer Protection Research GuideNew Zealand Consumer RightsConsumers International, the global voice for consumersNational Consumer Agency (Ireland)Consumer Rights and Protection (Indonesia)
