Consumer Protection

RESOURCES FOR CONSUMERS

TROUBLE IN TOYLAND

For 25 years, OSPIRG’s "Trouble In Toyland" report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. Our report has led to at least 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years.

Get our tips for buying safer toys.

BIGGER BANKS, BIGGER FEES
In April, OSPIRG released a report in which we surveyed more than 350 bank branches and revealed that fewer than half of branches obeyed their legal duty to fully disclose fees to prospective customers, while one in four provided no fee information at all. We also found that despite widespread stories about the “death” of free checking, free and low-cost checking choices are still widely available, if consumers shop around.

Find out how to beat high bank fees.

RENTERS RIGHTS
In the United States, you can protect your legal rights only if you know what those rights are. Renting is a two-way street. Renters and landlords may unknowingly jeopardize their rights by not fulfilling their legal responsibilities.

Know your rights

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumer Watch - Free Tax Prep at Walmart? | Brian Rae

HR Block has teamed up with Wal Mart to offer in store free tax prep, however it is “free” for clients that filed a 1040 EZ, just 16% of their clients. This does not include taxpayers with kids, any requesting the earned income tax credit or any non standard deductions.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

President’s Recess Appointment Gives Watchdog Teeth It Needs To Protect Consumers Brian Rae Ed Mierzwinski

Kudos to President Obama for standing up for consumers this week by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President’s action means that the CFPB now has all its powers to protect the public from unfair financial practices, whether by banks or other financial firms, such as payday lenders and credit bureaus.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

Data breaches in 2011 carry unknown personal costs

In 2011, news about the loss of personal data became background noise. Unless it happened to you.

Media Hit | Food

Should Government Subsidize Crops Used in Junk Food?

As the obesity epidemic continues, consumer advocates at PIRG are asking whether Washington should subsidize crops used to make junk food.

Media Hit | Consumer Protection

New laws for 2012

Consumers will be able to put some cash back into their wallets with a new law on gift cards.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

Data breaches in 2011 carry unknown personal costs

In 2011, news about the loss of personal data became background noise. Unless it happened to you.

Media Hit | Food

Should Government Subsidize Crops Used in Junk Food?

As the obesity epidemic continues, consumer advocates at PIRG are asking whether Washington should subsidize crops used to make junk food.

Media Hit | Consumer Protection

New laws for 2012

Consumers will be able to put some cash back into their wallets with a new law on gift cards.

News Release | OSPIRG | Food

Subsides for twinkies or apples

With childhood obesity rates rapidly rising, the federal government continues to pour billions into subsidies for junk food.

News Release | OSPIRG | Food

What do Obama and Glenn Beck agree on?

A consumer protection group released a new video today juxtaposing President Obama and conservative TV show host Glenn Beck on agricultural subsidies.

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Result | Consumer Protection

KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCHES NOW SAFER

For years, America’s schoolchildren have been eating beef, chicken and other foods that would have been rejected as substandard even by fast food chains. Thanks in part to our advocacy, the U.S.D.A. has stopped buying such low-quality meat for school lunches.

Result | Consumer Protection, Health Care

Plan to cut health care waste moves ahead in Oregon

Members of the Oregon Health Policy Board approved a plan to cut health care administrative waste and save Oregonians $100 million per year in the process.

Result | Consumer Protection

Oregon legislature unanimously approves more help for homeowners

The Oregon legislature gave final approval to an OSPIRG-supported new law that will give homeowners more tools to avoid foreclosure.

Result | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

Wasteful student lender subsidies cut. Winner: students.

Congress finally ended wasteful subsidies to student lenders that diverted billions of dollars annually away from helping more students go to college.

Result | Consumer Protection, Health Care

Victory! Oregon Legislature Passes Landmark Health Reform

The bills expand access, tackle soaring costs, and set a path for possible public plan option. Passage of HB 2009 bodes especially well for national reform efforts to tame health care costs, which include many of the same strategies as the Oregon bill.

Report | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

Report | Consumer Protection

Big Banks, Bigger Fees

Since Congress largely deregulated consumer deposit (checking and savings) accounts beginning in the early 1980s, the PIRGs have tracked bank deposit account fee changes and documented the banks’ long-term strategy to raise fees, invent new fees and make it harder to avoid fees.

Report | Food

Apples to Twinkies

America is facing an obesity epidemic – one that’s hitting children especially hard. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last three decades, with one in five kids aged 6 to 11 now obese.

Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

10 Reasons We Need The CFPB Now

This report outlines predatory financial practices that hurt consumers and helped collapse the economy, and details “10 Reasons We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Now.”

Report | OSPIRG | Consumer Protection, Food

Recipe for Disaster

To assess one cost of not strengthening our food safety system, Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group studied recalls of foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from August 1, 2009, to October 2010. That study found that a wide variety of foods were recalled in the 13-month period due to contamination by Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and other bacteria.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumer Watch - Free Tax Prep at Walmart? | Brian Rae

HR Block has teamed up with Wal Mart to offer in store free tax prep, however it is “free” for clients that filed a 1040 EZ, just 16% of their clients. This does not include taxpayers with kids, any requesting the earned income tax credit or any non standard deductions.

Add new comment

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

President’s Recess Appointment Gives Watchdog Teeth It Needs To Protect Consumers Brian Rae Ed Mierzwinski

Kudos to President Obama for standing up for consumers this week by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President’s action means that the CFPB now has all its powers to protect the public from unfair financial practices, whether by banks or other financial firms, such as payday lenders and credit bureaus.

Add new comment

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

January bills and complicated credit card agreements | Brian Rae

> Keep Reading

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumer Watch: Web Piracy and a Critical Consumer Vote | Brian Rae

Stop Web Piracy? There has been much online talk about the internet piracy act being considered by Congress. Consumer groups have thrown their hat into the ring to express concern that the bill could close off online exchanges that provide lower prices for consumers, reduce online security, and allow for anti-consumer practices by online service providers

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Black Friday Tips and Warnings | Brian Rae

OSPIRG’s Consumer Watch Trouble in Toyland- OSPIRG has release its 26th annual Toy Safety Report and mobile website, www.toysafety.mobi to keep toy safety at parents fingertips. DOJ Warns of Black Friday Scams– Planning on shopping this Friday in stores or online? The Oregon Attorney General has issued tips and warnings on how to avoid holiday shopping scams.

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