Answer: (For Plato)
a. The five state laws that protect consumer rights are:
Anti-Pyramid Sales Act (1974): This Act prohibits participation in pyramid sales schemes. Participants in pyramid sales pay some fees to join the scheme. Later, they hire other people for personal gain from the new joiners’ fees. A few people who participate at the beginning of this scheme may earn profit. However, the latter investors lose all their money.
Credit Card Truncation Act (2004): It forbids shopkeepers or sellers from printing credit card expiration dates on purchase receipts of customers. It also disallows the printing of more than five digits of credit card numbers of customers on receipts.
Hearing Aid Returns Act (1996): It directs the sellers of hearing aids to explicitly mention the consumer’s right to return the equipment if found unsatisfactory. The Act allows consumers to return hearing aids within 30 days.
Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act (2001): This Act allows a consumer the unconditional right to withdraw the purchase of a vehicle if the dealer fails to deliver the title within 40 days of the purchase.
Gift Card Act (2006): The Act declares the expiration of most gift cards in less than two years as unlawful. It clarifies that gift cards without any expiration date are usable until redeemed or replaced.
b. The five private agencies that protect consumer rights are:
Better Business Bureau: This agency attends to consumer grievances and carries out inquiries about unethical business practices that violate consumer laws.
American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI): The ACCI was established in 1953 to exchange ideas about consumer welfare without taking sides on political issues. Its purpose was to retrieve and disseminate information to consumers.
Center for Auto Safety (CAS): The CAS was established in 1970 to provide consumers with tools to protect themselves against unsafe and defective vehicles. It was responsible for establishing “lemon laws” in every state that made it easy to return defective cars. It also exposed unsafe vehicle features and so-called “secret warranties” that allowed consumers to save money on repairs.
Consumer Action: Consumer Action provides a voice for those without the means to take corrective actions when treated unfairly. Using education materials, outreach, and grassroots techniques, they ensure that all consumers regardless of language hindrances are able to assert their rights as consumers.
Justice in Aging: Justice in Aging protects senior citizens, both wealthy and poor, from injustice and harm due to a lack of needed services.
c. The five local entities that protect consumer rights are:
Chamber of Commerce: The local chamber of commerce in your city receives complaints about companies that may violate the laws or consumer rights and works to resolve them. They may also guide you to the appropriate state or federal agency to lodge your complaint.
Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs: In Ohio, those that live in Cuyahoga may turn to this authority to report scams, incorrect pricing, and inaccurate weights and measures of products priced by scaling, which may include timed devices, gas pumps, and food scales.
New York State Division of Consumer Protection: In New York, the Division of Consumer Protection protects consumers from scams, identity theft, unwanted telemarketing, unsafe products, and more. This department also provides a prominent “Consumer Complaint Form” allowing consumers to voice their complaints and receive a resolution.
KAKE On Your Side: In Wichita, Kansas, the news station KAKE provides consumers a voice by publishing consumer alerts and airing scams, unsafe practices, and unfair price increases. KAKE will also investigate problems and interview companies and consumers so that all information from both sides is disseminated.
Kansas Insurance Department: The Kansas Insurance Department regulates and reviews insurance companies for financial stability and compliance to applicable regulations. It licenses agents for selling insurance products. It also educates and assists consumers with issues with their insurance companies.
