Consumer Law Links

LEMON LAW

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA). Contains the Department of Transportation database of consumer complaints, defect investigations, recalls and summaries of technical service bulletins organized by model and year. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems

Center for Auto Safety. For selected models, this site has information on defects, service bulletins and actions you can take. www.autosafety.org

Kelly Blue Book. Vehicle buyers guide. Here you can research new car pricing, reviews, and used car values. www.kbb.com

CARFAX. Vehicle history report by VIN number. Provides a history (not always comprehensive) of your cars. Your report may show possible odometer rollbacks, salvage title, flood damage, etc. www.carfax.com

Lemon Law Attorney Directory. A resource to find a lemon law attorney in another state or your state's lemon laws, FAQs, or Hot Lemon Tips. www.lemonlawoffice.com

National Association for Consumer Advocates. NACA is a nationwide association of more than 1000 attorneys and consumer advocates who have a wide range of experience curbing abusive and predatory business practices and promoting justice for consumers. Resource for finding a lemon law or consumer attorney in your state. www.naca.net

AUTOMOBILE FRAUD

Consumer Information Center. A California Department of Consumer Affairs website that contains information on a variety consumer topics and tracks the top ten scams being reported to the agency. www.dca.ca.gov

Bureau of Automotive Repair/Smogcheck. BAR registers and regulates approximately 35,000 California automotive repair facilities, and licenses lamp and brake inspection stations. During the 1998/99 Fiscal Year, BAR negotiated refunds, rework, and adjustments valued at more than $4.8 million from auto repair shops on behalf of consumers. Also implements the Smog Check program. smogcheck.ca.gov/StdHome.asp

Keys To Leasing. Site run by the Federal Reserve Board. Excellent information on what leasing is, an explanation of terms, rights and responsibilities, leasing costs and a sample lease form with annotations. www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/leasing

Understanding Consumer Vehicle Leases. California Department of Consumer Affairs discussion of car leasing. www.dca.ca.gov

OTHER PRODUCT DEFECTS

Consumer Product Safety Commission. A government regulatory agency designed to prevent defective products from being sold to the public. Contains latest news and reports on unsafe products. www.cpsc.gov

Consumers Union. Publishers of Consumers Reports. Check out all of the latest on product and service issues being tracked by CU as well as product specific information and warnings. www.consumersunion.org

CREDIT REPORTING / IDENTITY THEFT

Secrets of Credit Repair. This site provides free information about debt, credit, and credit reporting. Includes a link to an on-line forum for questions and answers on credit. www.uni-sol.com/cca

ID Theft. Site maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. Provides valuable information on Federal and State laws, how to avoid being a victim, how to file a complaint, etc. www.consumer.gov

Privacy Rights Clearing House. The PRC offers consumers an opportunity to learn how to protect their personal privacy. The publications provide in-depth information on a variety of informational privacy issues, as well as practical tips on safeguarding personal privacy. www.privacyrights.org

Consumer Handbook to Credit Protection Laws. This site run by Federal Reserve Board which covers a myriad of topics including cost of credit, using credit, privacy of credit, etc. Very thorough. www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/consumerhdbk

bankrate.com Check out current interest rates on car loans and mortgages, calculate payments based on your specific information, find the best rates on credit cards, and tips on just about anything financial. www.bankrate.com

creditinfocenter.com A specially developed portal into the world of credit. Get info on credit reporting, collections, ratings, credit repair, scams, etc. www.creditinfocenter.com

CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES

consumerinfo.com Order a combined credit report with all three agencies on it. www.freecreditreport.com

truecredit.com Another service to order a three-agency credit report or sign up for a credit monitoring service. www.truecredit.com

Equifax Consumer Services. Order your credit report or sign up for a monitoring service; will also provide credit profile info used by creditors to evaluate you. www.econsumer.equifax.com

Experian Consumer Center. Order your credit report, sign up for a monitoring service, etc. www.experian.com/consumer/index.html

Trans Union. Order your credit report, dispute your credit report, get info on your rights. www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/personal.page

ELDER FRAUD

AARP. Information for Life After 50: Health and long-term care, economic security and work, independent living. www.aarp.org

The Elder Fraud Project. Provides information to help senior citizens combat telemarketing fraud. www.fraud.org/elderfraud/eldset.htm

TELEMARKETING / TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing & Electronic Commerce. The Alliance seeks to raise public awareness about fraudulent telephone solicitations. With the increasing use of the Internet and online services for marketing, the Alliance now also focuses on scams in cyberspace. www.nclnet.org

National Fraud Information Center. The NFIC is the only nationwide toll-free hotline for consumers to get advice about telephone solicitations and report possible telemarketing fraud to law enforcement agencies. In 1996, the Internet Fraud Watch was created, enabling the NFIC to offer consumers advice about promotions in cyberspace and route reports of suspected online and Internet fraud to the appropriate government agencies. www.fraud.org

ATT Phone Fraud Education. Site includes information on latest telephone scams as well as how to prevent becoming a victim. Also lists some fraud scams particular to AT&T customers. www.att.com/fraud

US Postal Inspection Service. The USPS provides information on some of the more common telephone scams, i.e. sweepstakes and lotteries, inheritances, employment, financial scams, etc. www.usps.com/postalinspectors

FCC Consumer Information Center. Site run by the FCC provides information on issues involving cable, cell, telephone and Internet telemarketing. www.fcc.gov/cib

Fight Email Spam. Learn how to fight back, and the latest laws involving spam. spam.abuse.net

Direct Marketing Association. Sign up on-line to remove your name from email marketing lists, telemarketing lists and direct mail lists. www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html

OTHER HELPFUL CONSUMER LINKS

Class Action Central Notice. A search engine database of class action lawsuits for consumer protection. www.notice.com

Consumer World. Covers a variety of consumer needs, from consumer complaints, researching laws, credit cards, airfares, purchasing a car, etc. www.consumerworld.org

US Consumer Gateway. This site contains links to a broad range of federal information resources available online. Includes info on credit, privacy, telemarketing, and a variety of scams. It is designed so that you can locate information by category. Each category has subcategories to direct you to areas within individual federal web sites containing related information. www.consumer.gov

Federal Consumer Information Center. Order free brochures on hundreds of consumer topics. www.pueblo.gsa.gov

National Check Fraud Center. A site which focuses on check forgery, theft and related issues. Allows you to file a report if you are a victim. Lots of interesting info for the white collar crime buff. www.ckfraud.org/menu.html

FTC Consumer Protection. Great articles on a variety of significant consumer issues, i.e. credit, car buying and leasing, privacy, e-commerce, senior citizen scams, etc. www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

Consumer Information Center. This California Department of Consumer Affairs website contains information on a variety consumer topics and tracks the top ten scams being reported to the agency. www.dca.ca.gov

Legal research links. Sponsored by CEB, this site provides links for any legal research subject possible, such as newspapers, television stations, law libraries, government databases, law journals, and every Federal and State court on the web. ceb.com