What to Do if your Consumer Rights are Violated
In the modern consumer society there is no element with greater importance than a consumer himself or herself. In order to make sure your consumer rights are not violated, you first have to be aware of what those consumer rights are.
Almost every single moment you hear or read about certain rights related issue. The field of consumer rights is not an exception in that sense. Nevertheless, it is entirely up to you to make sure that the violations of your rights as a consumer do not go unnoticed and without a proper reaction. People are often unsure of what to do when their rights have been violated. The first step is to identify the violation, then contact a consumer law attorney. A consumer law attorney will be able to tell you if in fact your consumer rights were violated and what to do about it.
Here are some of the most common consumer laws where consumer rights are violated:
FDCPA (The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) – The economic crisis brought us the debt trouble. We cannot negate the right of the debt collectors to do their job. On the other side, they should be pretty much aware of our rights while exercising theirs. The FDCPA is to ensure that they do not harass you during the debt collection process.
FCRA (The Fair Credit Reporting Act) – The next place the crisis can hit you hard is your credit report. Did you know that you have a right to request a report about your credit report? If certain decisions are being made according to the findings of a particular credit report, you have every right to know what is the content of such a report. This is one of the most important rights the FCRA provides, but definitely not the only one.
TCPA (The Telephone Consumer Protection Act) – Is your phone ringing? Well, it better be with a good and justified reason. The cases regulated by the TCPA include besides unwanted calls, the automatized or recorded voice or text messages, and junk faxes. If someone is taking away your time by using your phone number without an authorization, do not forget that you are fully entitled to request a financial compensation for it.
EFTA (The Electronic Fund Transfer Act) – With so many transfers on the way it is easy to lose count or to become completely disoriented. The EFTA’s purpose is to ensure that the small fees you are paying do not include big troubles for you. In addition, according to your consumer rights you are entitled to a proper proceeding, if the money from your account is taken without your previous consent.
Know your Rights, Fight your Fights.
It may come as a relief knowing that there are so many legal acts with a sole purpose of protecting your consumer rights. On the other side, this can also be pretty much confusing for a customer who is not used to fight legal battles. If you are not sure whether or not the rights you have as a customer are actually being violated, you can get additional information from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) section for consumers. The next thing you can do is to hire an attorney. Nevertheless, it would be wiser to consider the services provided by the professional consumer law lawyers. The importance of your decision is directly influencing your chances of obtaining the appropriate compensation for your troubles.
