Download Consumer Protection-2011

Consumer Protection
Federal protection
State Protection
Product liability
Vocabulary
► Caveat
emptor
► Class actions
► Cease and desist
► Consent order
► restitution
Let the buyer beware
Allows a suit to be brought
on behalf of a class of similarly
wronged persons
An order of the court
to stop doing something
A voluntary (court enforceable)
action to stop a questionable
practice
Return
of money
wrongfully obtained
The market
If I knew what to look
for I wouldn’t need
protection from
unscrupulous or
greedy companies!
There are just too
many products! I
can’t possibly know
about all of them
The Market
Huge corporations
are capable of
manipulating the
marketplace!
Consumer Laws generally...
► Protect
against dangerous and substandard
goods
► Prohibit unfair trade practices
► Require licenses and inspections where
needed
► Provide remedies for injured persons
Product Safety Standards
► Regulated
by the 1972 Consumer Product
Safety Act which created the CPSC
 Companies are required to report product
failures, notify the buyers and recall and repair
the product, replace it, or refund the money.
 CPSC receives reports from hospitals
 CPSC has the power to seize a product and
remove it from the market
Food, Drugs, Cosmetics
► Regulated
by the Food and Drug Act
 Ensure clean production facilities
 Also inspected by the USDA – canners, packers, meat
processors, imported food
 FDA requires labels on products
► Manufacturer
and location
► Quantity
► Nutritional
facts
 FDA regulates drugs – mainly decides which are
prescription and which are OTC.
 Cosmetics are regulated
Standards for Weights and Measures
► Regulated
Standards
by the National Bureau of
 Provides standard sets of weights and measures
to state and local govt
 Regulates through inspections, testing,
enforcement
 Ie.) gasoline, food in grocery store that is
weighed, rope or wire used in farming, taxicabs
► www.cpsc.gov/
► http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Consum
er_Safety.shtml
► http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm
► http://www.recalls.gov/recent.html
► http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumers
.aspx
► http://www.fda.gov/