PrintConsumer protection laws will generally apply to your corporation. A wide variety of both federal and state laws protect the interests of consumers, which laws exist to protect consumers from fraudulent or unethical business practices, misleading advertisements, and defective products. Federal and state consumer protection agencies provide information and advice for consumers.
City, county, and state consumer protection offices provide consumers with important services, including mediating complaints, conducting investigations, prosecution of offenders of consumer laws, licensing and regulation of a variety of professionals, promoting strong consumer protection legislation, providing educational materials and advocating in the consumer interest.
Most states have their own consumer protection or consumer affairs agencies, many of which can be found by using the Consumer Action Web site. Another way to find your state’s consumer protection agency or information about consumer protection in your state is to perform a search on the Internet using the search engine of your choice by entering the name of your state, followed by consumer protection, i.e., "Connecticut consumer protection." Once you find your state’s Web site, it will give you links to other state and local government consumer pages, federal government links, and general consumer Web sites.
Check out the following consumer protection resources:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides extensive information for the consumer at its Consumer Home Page. It offers a wide range of free publications and advice on avoiding scams, rip-offs, and tips on other consumer products.
LawGuru.com is a resource for information on business, finance, economic, and consumer protection law. This resource lists the topics by subject, state, country, and title.
The 2003 Consumer Action Handbook, published by the General Service Administration’s (GSA) Federal Consumer/Citizen Information Center, is available for free. The Consumer Action Web site is based on the handbook and is produced by the Federal Citizen Information Center. It offers consumer contacts at hundreds of companies and trade associates, local, state and federal government agencies, national consumer organizations, and more.
Read Consumer Protection Regulations, which discusses the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Small-Business Challenge: Complying with Regulatory and Legal Issues, which highlights a number of legal areas you'll need to know.
