Consumer Protection-2011
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Transcript 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/