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Consumer Protection

PROTECTING CONSUMER SAFETY—Toys should not be toxic or dangerous for children to play with. Our food should not make us sick. The terms for banking and credit accounts should be clear and easy to understand.

LOOKING OUT FOR CONSUMERS

CALPIRG’s consumer program works to alert the public to hidden dangers and scams and to ban anti-consumer practices and unsafe products.

TROUBLE IN TOYLAND

For 27 years, CALPIRG’s "Trouble In Toyland" report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. Our report has led to at least 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years.

Get our tips for buying safer toys.

BIGGER BANKS, BIGGER FEES

In April, CALPIRG released a report in which we surveyed more than 350 bank branches and revealed that fewer than half of branches obeyed their legal duty to fully disclose fees to prospective customers, while one in four provided no fee information at all. We also found that despite widespread stories about the “death” of free checking, free and low-cost checking choices are still widely available, if consumers shop around.

Find out how to beat high bank fees.

SEE ALL CONSUMER RESOURCES

Issue updates

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

CALPIRG Helps Parents & Consumers’ breathe easier sending their kids back to school

CALPIRG highlights ways to create safer and healthier learning environments by eliminating indoor air pollution caused by toxic chemicals.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG | Consumer Protection, Food

CALPIRG Supports Consumers’ Right to Know About Genetically Engineered Foods

CALPIRG endorses Prop 37, joins over 1,000 other consumer, environmental, labor, farmer, health and business groups in the call for the labeling of genetically engineered food.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Statement on the Recall of Bumbo Child Seats

Statement of Public Interest Research Group,  Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Kids In Danger, and Public Citizen on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Recall of Bumbo Seats.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Statement on the Recall of Bumbo Child Seats

Statement of U.S. Public Interest Group,  Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Kids In Danger, and Public Citizen on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Recall of Bumbo Seats.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

FDIC Orders Higher One to Repay Students $11 million in Campus Debit Card Settlement

FDIC announces an $11 million civil penalty of Higher One, the largest campus financial aid disbursement and debit card company, for alleged “unfair” and “unsafe” practices.

> Keep Reading

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

BANKS SKIM MILLIONS IN FEES FROM STUDENT AID

Banks and other financial firms take advantage of partnerships with colleges and universities, harming students.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG | Budget, Food

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES NEW TAXPAYER GIVEAWAYS TO BIG AG

Statement of Emily Rusch on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s approval of the 2012 Farm Bill: As this flawed legislation heads to the Senate floor, we urge Senators to stand with the public, not Big Ag. 

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News Release | CALPIRG | Consumer Protection, Food

CALPIRG Calls on USDA to Increase Testing for Mad Cow

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) statement confirming the presence of an infected cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - commonly referred to as “mad cow disease” - in California reinforces the need for increased animal testing.

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Media Hit | Food

KCOY Central Coast News: Consumer Group Shows Taxpayer Money Going to Junk Food

University of California students with the consumer group CALPIRG released a study that shows billions of taxpayer dollars have gone to subsidize junk food ingredients.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Food

Over 25,000 Californians Tell Congress "Stop Subsidizing Obesity"

This week, as the U.S. Senate holds a major hearing on agriculture subsidies in preparation for writing the 2012 Farm Bill, CALPIRG organizers and activists across California report delivering over 25,000 California public comments to members of Congress, calling on them to end subsidies to businesses that don’t need the support, and who grow ingredients for unhealthy food. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection, Tax

Paying Taxes, Safe and Sound | Jon Fox

With less than a month left to “Tax Day”, that special time of year when taxes are due, CALPIRG releases a new Questions & Answer guide to paying taxes.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Don’t Freeze our Public Health and Consumer Safety Protections | Jon Fox

In the 175 days that the U.S. House of Representatives was in session during 2011, it passed more than 190 anti-regulatory bills. Congress put profits over public safety and they are still at it.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era | Ed Mierzwinski

I've got a new column at Huffington Post, "50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era." I discuss President Kennedy's visionary "Special Message to the Congress on Protecting the Consumer Interest" announced on March 15, 1962. He declared that consumers have rights and government should protect them. Read the full column after the jump.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

FTC Releases Top Complaints for 2011, Identity Theft Tops the List | Jon Fox

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2011. Unsurprisingly, identity theft complaints topped the list.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

WH urges privacy rights, industry promises "Do Not Track Sometimes" while states investigate Google | Ed Mierzwinski

As web giants amass more and more information about consumers for behavioral targeting and even "social discrimination" -- which can include differential pricing for the same product or the use of web tracking data and falsely-flagged websites to promote certain brandname drug use -- the White House has called for a privacy bill of rights. Companies and powerful industry lobbies seeking to keep those rights weak simultaneously rolled out their own "Do Not Track Us Sometimes" button.

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Tools & Resources

TOY SAFETY TIPS ON-THE-GO

From toxic chemicals to choking hazards to dangerous magnets, see what dangerous toys to watch out for while you shop.

TOYSAFETY.MOBI

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