U.S. Government Resources: Consumer Issues

See more about this topic in the Dickinson Legal Research Resources:
DSL LegalLinks: Consumer Issues

Consumer Action Website
http://www.consumeraction.gov

This web site is the official online edition of the Consumer Action Handbook.

Consumer.gov
http://www.consumer.gov/

Consumer.gov is a "one-stop" site for a broad range of federal information resources on categories such as food, health, product safety, money, and transportation.

Consumer Price Index
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides monthly data on price changes paid by consumers for goods and services.

Consumer Prices Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/data/sa.htm#OPLC

Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index, Import/Export Index data are listed on this web site.

Consumer Product Safety Commission
http://www.cpsc.gov/

CPSC is an Independent Federal Regulatory Agency. CPSC works to save lives and keep families safe by reducing the risk of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products.

Consumer Product Safety Commission OCG Advisory Opinions
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/advisory.html

Opinions of the Office of the General Counsel are indexed alphabetically by subject.

Consumer Sentinel
http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel

The Consumer Sentinel is an innovative, international law enforcement fraud-fighting program. On the public version of this web site, one can report fraud complaints, find facts about fraud trends, learn how international law enforcers work together with private sector companies and consumer organizations to combat fraud, and more.

CustomerService.gov
http://www.customerservice.gov/

Begun in 1993, the American Customer Satisfaction Initiative has worked to improve the relationship between the Federal Government and the American people through the preparation of strategic plans, performance measures and annual performance plans.

Department of Justice: Fraud Section
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/

The U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting certain cases involving consumer fraud, identity theft and internet fraud.

econsumer.gov - Multinational Governmental Site to Combat Internet Fraud
http://www.econsumer.gov/

econsumer.gov is a joint effort though multiple countries to gather and share cross-border e-commerce complaints. The public site provides general information about consumer protection in all countries that belong to the ICPEN (International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network), contact information for consumer protection authorities in those countries, and an online complaint form.

Fair Credit Billing Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcb/fcb.pdf

Complete text of the amendment to the Truth In Lending Act in PDF format.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf

Complete text of the FCRA.

Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

Complete text of the amendment to the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

FDA Information for Consumers
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/default.htm

Food and Drug Administration consumer information is provided in an A-Z index.

Federal Citizen Information Center
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/

Formerly the Federal Consumer Information Center, this web site provides the answer to questions about the Federal government and everyday consumer issues.

Food Borne Illness Education Information Center
http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodborne/

This site provides information about food borne illness prevention to educators, food safety professionals, and consumers.

Food Recalls
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/index.asp

Consumer information about food recalls at both the federal and state levels is provided at this web site.

FoodSafety.gov
http://www.foodsafety.gov/

This web site, part of the National Food Safety Information Network, is maintained by FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. It provides access to government food safety information, including safety alerts, consumer advice, information on food borne pathogens, and a link to reporting illnesses and product complaints.

FTC Electronic Banking Information
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre14.shtm

General information on electronic banking and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

Household Products Database
http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm

The Household Products Database of the National Library of Medicine provides health and safety information on over 4,000 consumer products, allowing visitors to research products and their chemical ingredients. Users can search product names, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), or ingredients.

ID Theft Resources
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft//

A national resource for information on identity theft.

Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/itada/itadact.pdf

Available in PDF format.

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IFCC)
http://wwwic3.gov/

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends.

Kid Safety
http://www.cpsc.gov/kids/kidsafety/index.html

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's web site for kids is geared to prevent unreasonable risks of injuries to children associated with consumer products.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
http://www.lsc.gov/

Legal Services Corporation is a private, non-profit corporation that seeks to provide equal access to the judicial system by providing legal services to the poor.

Microsoft and Hewlitt-Packard Settle FTC Charges...
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/04/hpms4301.htm

Information is provided on the settlement of Microsoft and HP with the Federal Trade Commission.

National Do Not Call Registry
http://www.donotcall.gov/

To reduce the number of telemarketing calls consumers receive, they can register their home and mobile phone numbers for free.

Office of Defects Investigation
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Search and retrieve information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database. Consumers can search for complaints, safety recalls, defect investigations, technical service bulletins, and foreign campaigns.

OSHA Technical Links to Safety and Health Topics
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/index.html

This website provides links to technical occupational safety and health information arranged by topic. The links include a variety of OSHA and non-OSHA reference materials, such as full-text manuals, training materials, slide shows, standards, compliance guidance, and links to related Internet sites.

Recalls and Product Safety News
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products. This site provides a lengthy listing of all current toy hazard recalls. From this site, one may also search by product type, product category, or company for any recalls or product safety announcements.

Recalls.gov
http://www.recalls.gov/

Recalls.gov was created by six government agencies such as the FDA, USDA, EPA, and several others. The site is a "one stop shop" for information on U.S. Government recalls of unsafe, hazardous, or defective products. Information is arranged by categories such as consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, food, medicine, cosmetics, and environmental products. Features include the ability to receive newsletters from the various agencies.

Toy Hazard Recall List
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html

Links to notices of toy hazard recalls are provided.