Why consumers need protection

You should regularly check your credit report for false or outdated information. One of the most important consumer protections in finance is the Securities Act of , which was enacted during the Great Depression. The act strictly limits the sale of investment contracts "securities" and requires issuers to disclose the details of their financing and business plans.

The act also established the Securities and Exchange Commission , which enforces securities laws and punishes violations. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was passed in to regulate the collection of credit information, which is frequently used to determine mortgage and lending rates. The law limits who can access a consumers' credit history, and prohibits lenders from providing outdated or inaccurate information.

The law also allows consumers to read their own credit reports, and to contest any inaccurate information. The act stepped up oversight of banks and financial institutions, particularly those deemed to have been responsible for the Great Recession. It created the Financial Stability Oversight Council , with the ability to break up banks that were "too big to fail" or to increase their reserve requirements.

It also established the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau , which regulates subprime mortgages and other predatory lending practices. According to the book "The Truth About Avoiding Scams," by Steve Weisman, scam artists always take advantage of whatever is happening at a particular place in time. In the wake of the housing bust of , for example, there were a lot of phony foreclosure rescues that caused people to lose the equity in their house to so-called rescuers.

There has also been an increase in scam attempts through automated phone calls. During the COVID pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission began receiving reports of scammers posing as government officials, using the promise of unemployment benefits to extract social security numbers, private bank accounts, or other sensitive information.

It also helps to use credit cards, not debit cards, for online shopping. Debit cards offer fewer protections than credit cards, and can also give access to your entire checking or savings account. Closely review every item on your monthly bills. If there is a transaction you don't recognize, question the creditor in writing. If you think a charge is fraudulent, also notify your card company in writing no later than 60 days after the charge appears.

Customers should use a separate email account for their online shopping. This method helps avoid spam. Also, never respond to emails asking you to "confirm" recent transactions after you shop because they can be phishing scams. Credit cards have better consumer protections than debit cards, and longer chargeback periods. This makes credit cards a safer option for online shopping. Financial institutions use the information contained in this report to determine the risk in lending to you.

Consumers usually find out about this report only after there has been negative information reported mishandled accounts, erroneous data, and so on. A report can be obtained annually for free from credit reporting agencies. It contains accounts opened and checks ordered in your name.

However, it is not the same as the free full consumer credit report. This report is a completely separate report that the mass majority of consumers only find out about after they have been declined by a financial institution to open a checking or savings account. The majority of banks and credit unions use the information contained in the report to approve, decline, or determine what type of account if any, can be opened at their financial institution.

Consumers who have a negative report may not be able to open a checking or savings account for five years. Finding out about the warranties of products you buy, reading service contracts, avoiding scams, and obtaining a consumer report is part of the overall maintenance of your financial health. Staying on top of these details helps you to make better-informed decisions and get more out of your hard-earned money.

It also regulates "negative option" contracts, in which a consumer's inaction is interpreted as an intention to pay for a service. Although ROSCA does not prohibit negative options, it does enact certain requirements to ensure that the buyer has informed consent. Consumer protection laws protect borrowers against discrimination and predatory lending practices.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origins, and several other categories.

This prohibition applies at every stage of the mortgage application process. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act prohibits several aspects of predatory lending, such as undisclosed mortgage terms and steering clients to those mortgage products which carry a higher commission.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act has several provisions to limit abuse of the bankruptcy system, including an income threshold for Chapter Seven bankruptcy. It also protects IRAs from bankruptcy liquidations, so that a person who declares bankruptcy will not have to lose their retirement savings.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits the use of consumers' credit history, such as bill payments and borrowing history.

Also, the Financial Modernization Act of establishes protections for personal financial information and requires banks to disclose clearly how private information will be used. Federal Trade Commission. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has offered consumer protection advice as a group legal plan benefit for years. We feel there are strong reasons for such support.

Companies rarely produce shoddy products on purpose. However, manufacturers may be tempted to use low-quality material in making certain appliances, causing them to be defective. This type of production can only be prevented if a consumer protection complaint is filed.

A lawyer as part of the group legal services benefit can advise a plan member of what constitutes a legitimate complaint, and how to go about filing it. A successful complaint can cause a manufacturer to stop production.

The modern economy is fiercely competitive and unethical business owners will cut corners without regard to the health or safety of the consumers. Unethical practices also produce incredibly bad service and no consumer should have to deal with it.

One of the group legal services a Countrywide attorney provides is information about fraud or what constitutes a defective product. He or she educates a group legal plan member on what consumer rights they have and how redress can be best achieved. If unethical practices merit a court case being filed, Countrywide attorneys will help plan members prepare the case to go before the Small Claims court.

These transactions include health, pharmacy, food, water, housing, education, financial services, banking, transport, energy and communication sectors. Consumer protection according to experts is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services and the public against unfair practices in market places. Laws and regulations on consumer protection are intended to prevent businesses from engaging in fraud and specified unfair practices in order to gain an advantage over competitors or to mislead consumers.

Cameroonians have often cried foul to contest the exploitative practices by businesses that are extremely detrimental to consumers. The struggle to phase out such business attitudes has been on for years, yet suppliers have adamantly refused to readjust even though some continue to hypocritically refer to consumers as king. The decision by government to, as from 15 October this year, implement the Phone Tax Law that will permit phone and tablet users in Cameroon to pay 30 percent tax after purchasing any of these electronics has naturally raised a lot of dust.

This of course is normal. First, the consumer does not understand why he or she should be the one to pay the price for tax evasion by the electronic supplier; second, the consumer is questioning how such goods could sneak into the country without having paid their frontier dues.

In any case, even though the burden on the implementation of the law will appear to be falling squarely on the buyer, a closer look at it tells of a situation where government wants to alert customers not to buy such appliances. The reason is simple; once one accepts to pay the 30 percent tax, one is incidentally promoting customs evasion.