Consumer Action Network

Don't Get Ripped Off

Our economy needs to be fair to consumers in order to function. While a company may make a short-term profit from ripping off consumers or putting an unsafe product on the market, it's not good for anyone in the long term.

After Wall Street practices brought down the entire U.S. and parts of the world economies, Congress finally stepped up in July 2010 and created the Student PIRG-backed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new agency that will act as a counterbalance to the banks and ensure that the credit cards, mortgages, and student loans that consumers use are safe and easy to understand. When you have a complaint about a bank or credit card company, you can call on the new CFPB.

Our consumer program works to protect consumers by:

Alerting the publice to hidden dangers, scams, and unsafe products
Educating consumers about the choices available by conducting price surveys of various products and services available to students in an effort to allow them to the make the best choices for themselves.
Educating consumers about their rights in the marketplace by producing consumer guides to help people navigate the marketplace.
Advocating for change by working to build the support it takes to pass consumer protection legislation in our states and in D.C.

As students, we're particularly vulnerable to some specific consumer issues:

Thank President Obama for protecting consumers

Latest Updates

Media Hit | Consumer Protection

What college students -- and parents -- need to know about banking

Now that the fall semester's well under way, college students should take a moment to reconsider their banking options. According to a May 2012 report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, more than 900 colleges have made deals with banks to market prepaid debit cards to students. Some colleges offer students financial aid money preloaded on one of these cards, or even combine the campus ID with a stored-value card to make using these cards a more attractive option.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

College students’ debit card fees under scrutiny

The neediest college students who qualify for federal financial aid and receive that money on a debit card are being charged fees some call predatory: 50 cents per debit card purchase using a personal identification number, $10 a month for an inactive account, $20 for a replacement card.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

It's the 30th anniversary of Connecticut's New Car Lemon Law | Ed Mierzwinski

Thirty years ago today, the nation's first new car lemon law took effect in Connecticut, providing consumers with a real remedy, or a refund, when their new car was a lemon. California's law, championed by Rosemary Shahan of CARS, followed very closely, but Connecticut was first. Every state (list at Center for Auto Safety) now has a new car lemon law and consumers are better off for it.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

HR 4078 A BILL THAT WILL SHUTDOWN ALL PUBLIC HEALTH AND CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS | Student PIRGs

HR 4078 yesterday passed a floor vote in the House, this bill if passed by Congress will shutdown the U.S. regulatory system as we know it. Two other equally hazardous bills are rolled into it, H.R. 4607 and H.R. 3862. Combined, these bills will halt or delay virtually ALL rule making and public health protections and do absolutely nothing to stimulate the economy or new job opportunities. They would shut down safeguards that Americans take for granted. This bill will now pass to the Senate and if Congress makes this bill law we will see the following consequences.

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News Release | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection, Corporate

POLL SHOWS VOTERS FAVOR STRONG OVERSIGHT OF WALL STREET AND BACK NEW CFPB

Madison, WI – July 18, 2012 -- Financial reforms enacted in response to the financial meltdown remain popular with those likely to vote in 2012, a new opinion poll by Lake Research Partners shows. The poll was commissioned by AARP, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Americans for Financial Reform (AFR). Saturday July 21 will mark the two year anniversary of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new agency with a strong record of successes for consumers despite facing constant unfounded political attacks in its first year of work.

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