Consumer Rights and Responsibilities

1. Consumer Rights and Responsibilities Chapters 3.1 and 3.2

2. Safety • Right to safety • Products must not endanger consumers’ lives or health

3. Information • Right to be informed • Business must provide accurate information in advertising, labeling, and sales practices.

4. Choice • Right to Choose • Consumers should have a variety of goods and services from which to choose.

5. Heard • Right to be heard • The government must consider consumer interests when creating laws.

6. Redress • Right to redress • Consumers should be able to obtain fair remedies to consumer problems.

7. Consumer Education • Right to consumer education • Sufficient information should be available for consumers to make rational decisions.

8. Healthy Environment • Right to a healthy environment • Businesses should avoid polluting the environment and should contribute to the welfare of the community in which they operate.

9. Consumer Responsibilities • With any right also comes responsibilities. • Using your parents car, proper use of a product

10. Consumer Responsibilities • Responsibility to… • Use Products Safely • Use Information • Choose Carefully • Express Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction • Seek Redress • Be an Educated Consumer • Contribute to a Healthy Environment

11. Who can help? • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) • Most important federal consumer protection agency • Responsible for protecting consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices such as misleading information in advertising or on product labels

12. Other Consumer Agencies • BBB • Files complaints • Underwriter Laboratories • Checks products for electrical safety standards • Consumers Union • Test products and rates them on the basis of their quality • Like Consumer Reports

13. Other Help • Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) • Protects consumers from dangerous products. • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • State and local governments • State’s attorney’s office handles frauds and misleading ad claims