It is our belief that an
informed consumer is a safe consumer. Knowing even a little
about consumer laws and the ways in which unscrupulous businesses
violate them can go a long way to helping you protect yourself.
Click
on a question to view the corresponding answer:
1. Telemarketing
Fraud
2. Bait & Switch
3. Cosigning a Loan
4. Prize Notification
5. Mechanic's Lien
6. Vacation Scams
 Telemarketing
Fraud
You know the routine: you sit down to dinner and the phone
rings. You answer it. There's a pleasant voice trying to sell
you something. Here we go again.....
Consumers lose more than $40 billion a
year to telemarketing fraud. That's why the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) encourages you to be skeptical when you hear
a phone solicitation and to be aware of a new law--the Telemarketing
Sales Rule--that can help you protect yourself from abusive
and deceptive telemarketers. To see a summary of the Telemarketing
Sales Rule, or learn more about telemarketing scams, go to
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
click on "Consumer Protection" and then "Telemarketing".
To help avoid telemarketers completely, sign up on the FTC's
National "Do
Not Call Me" registry."
Telemarketers can steal your identity and run up credit
card bills that can ruin your good credit too! For more about
identity
theft, click here.
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Bait
& Switch
This form of misleading advertising has been around for years.
It usually works this way: a merchant will get you into the
store by advertising a very low-price item. This is called
"the bait." When you get into the store, you realize
that the advertised item is a very poor quality product, so
you naturally hesitate buying it. Another technique is where
the salesperson comes right out and tells you that the reason
it's on sale is because it's not very good. The salesperson
will then try to get you to buy a higher-quality version of
the same thing, which (naturally) is more expensive. That's
the "switch." This deceptive practice has been around
so long for one very good reason: it works. Don't let it work
on you!
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Cosigning
a Loan
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act limits a lender's ability
to require a spouse to co-sign a loan and also requires lenders
to promptly notify the consumer of any denial of credit. Violations
lead to actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
Ohio Fair Credit Area
When it comes
to protecting your credit record, fighting to keep debt collectors
honest and fair, and defending your consumer rights and repossession
rights, we’re here
to help you. And we've added a Ohio
Fair Credit section to inform you.
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Prize
Notifications
If you are notified by phone or by mail that you have won
something and all you have to do is call the number provided,
be careful. Notices of this type are used to get your interest
so you will call the number. Then they give you a sales pitch
for an over-priced or poor quality product. Sometimes you
may not ever even get the product or their "prize."
Many companies that solicit business in this manner ask for
your credit card number. Don't do it! Your name, address,
and credit card information is enough for a thief to charge
your credit card account for thousands of dollars.
To learn more, go to http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm,
click on "Consumer Protection" and then "Telemarketing."
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Mechanic's
Lien
 Consumer
Protection investigators have seen an increase in calls from
consumers who have found liens filed against their newly-purchased
or remodeled home. Here's how it can happen to you.
In most cases, consumers hire and pay
one general contractor who then buys materials from local
businesses and hires subcontractors. Even if you have paid
the general contractor, he may not have paid his suppliers
or subcontractors. You are then liable for the unpaid bills
for materials or work. The subcontractors can file liens against
your home until they are paid. Any individual who furnishes
skills, labor, services or materials for the improvement or
development of property has authority to file a lien on that
property for the value of what was provided. In most cases,
a consumer cannot legally transfer property until all liens
have been paid.
You can avoid having a lien filed against
your property by obtaining a lien waiver. When you hire someone
to build a home, an addition or even a deck, don't pay the
contractor or anyone else until you receive a waiver from
all businesses or each subcontractor who has provided a service
in the completion of the project.
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Vacation
Scams
 Typical
scam vacation spots are Las Vegas, Florida, and the Caribbean.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Firms make
these offers either directly to consumers, through telephone
or mail solicitations, or to businesses that use vacation
certificates as part of their own sales promotions. Most consumers
don't get what they expect.
These certificates usually cost from $100
to $500. If you buy one, you would typically be entitled to
several days and nights at the vacation spot. According to
the conditions on the certificate, you have to contact the
promoter--not the hotel--to make your reservation and probably
make a deposit. You might have to make another deposit when
you confirm the reservation.
In some cases, vacation certificate promoters
get rooms from the hotel only if the hotel is not booked up.
If it is already booked, consumers who want to redeem their
certificates may not get their first choice of hotel. You
may find promised "first class accommodations" aren't
all that classy or that the "vacation site" may
be some distance from the main attractions of the resort.
In fact, some promoters sell vacation
certificates without reserving any rooms. They issue counterfeit
certificates that are not honored by the hotel, restaurant
or casino indicated.
When in doubt, check with the Consumer
Protection office of the Attorney General's office in the
state where the promoter is located to see if they have a
record of complaints.
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Learn
More
 To
learn more about these, and other common consumer scams log
onto http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
and click on "Consumer Protection".
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