Consumer Information:

Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Better Business Bureaus: Provide reports on business firms that will be helpful to you before making a purchase; Provide information about charity groups and organizations; Help resolve consumers' disputes with businesses through telephone conciliation, mediation, and arbitration; Promote ethical business standards and voluntary self-regulation of business practices.

Carfax
Learn the history of a car with the free Lemon Check or the free Problem Car Alert.

Car Talk
Find a shop. Enter your car details and search. "Trustworthy Advice" will help you troubleshoot a problem with your car and provide analysis of the likely cause and suggested repair. Find great deals near you. The custom services tool can send a service request to every shop near you within minutes, inviting them to make an offer on the work you need. Click on the highlighted service name from any point in the Find A Shop, Trustworthy Advice or Make an Appointment functions and you'll get a Service Details window with a description and service specifics, and even some good questions to ask at the shop. The Vehicle Vitals section provides important service bulletins and recall information for your vehicle, plus recommended service schedules. They will even email you a reminder when services come due. Want to really explore a vehicle maintenance or repair question? Visit the Reference Library. When you register for ProCarCare (SM) services, a personal car care page is created for you. Details of every service you schedule online are recorded. Looking for a great, honest, hard working mechanic? Mechan-X-Files is a huge database of great mechanics, recommended by "and for" the Car Talk community.

Consumer Action
The Consumer Action website is designed to help citizens find the best and most direct source for assistance with consumer problems and questions, offering tips on topics such as leasing cars, protecting against fraud, and shopping from home. It includes a sample complaint letter that consumers can use. The site also has links to state, local and county consumer agencies; consumer organizations; and corporate and trade associations with ongoing consumer programs.

Consumer Law Page, The
The Consumer Law Page offers a wide range of practical legal information with articles on selecting a lawyer, handling accident and insurance claims, defective products, investment fraud, and cancer/birth defects caused by chemical exposure at work.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission helps keep families safe by reducing the risk of injury or death from consumer products. This site includes business and regulatory information, file Section 15 reports, contracts, publications and press releases, links, Kidd Safety, electronic reading room, injury statistics, recall information, forms to report unsafe products.

Consumer WebWatch

Consumer World
Consumer World contains over 2000 of the most useful consumer resources.

Crashtest.com
A comprehensive source for vehicle crash data. Includes crash-test results, insurance ratings, and auto safety information. Well organized and easy to use.

econsumer.gov
Available in English, French, German, Spanish and Korean. At econsumer.org, consumers from all over the world can file cross-border ecommerce complaints, get tips about shopping safely online, obtain information about consumer protection in other countries, and learn how to contact consumer protection authorities in other countries. econsumer.gov was launched as a coorporation between 12 countries of the IMSN (International Marketing Supervision Network) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).

Edmunds.com
Edmunds.com reports extensive automobile pricing information at no cost; in depth automobile reviews; consumer information; and information about incentives and rebates. In addition, Edmunds.com's Town Hall is an online discussion area for feedback and questions from auto shoppers.

Fair Debt Collection Fast Facts
Fast facts on the law of debt collection. This site explains the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in plain english.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Full text of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Public Law 95-109, 95th Congress.

FCIC - Consumer Action Website Top Picks

Federal Consumer Information Center
Hundreds of consumer publications that you can read or order on-line. Consumer news and links. A free FCIC Consumer Information Catalog. Information on who to call for help with a question or problem. Consumer's Resource Handbook available (CRH).

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Consumer
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraud, deception and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide the information consumers need to identify and avoid fraud and deception. Contact information and an Electronic Complaint Form from the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center.

Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC)
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends. File a complaint online.

Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams (SEC)
Information on how to recognize a fraud, where to find frauds, using the Internet to invest wisely, types of fraud, questions to ask about any investment opportunity, and tips. File a complaint online.

Internet Scambuster
A free monthly e-zine dedicated to helping you protect yourself from Internet scams, fraud, misinformation and hype. Discover how to reduce "spam," avoid being ripped off by scams, reduce credit card fraud, spot virus hoaxes, and much more.

Keep Our Families Safe Web Site (ATLA)
As part of its national, comprehensive public education program, ATLA has created ATLA's Keep Our Families Safe Web site, dedicated to child and family safety news and issues. The Web site provides parents, children and other concerned individuals a wealth of information about the issues that affect their lives, access to helpful consumer news, stories and safety tips, and a forum in which visitors could share their own knowledge and cases.

Kelley Blue Book - guiding the car buyer
Includes free used car values, new car pricing, motorcycle trade-in and retail values.

Lemon Law America
A definitive resource for help with defective vehicles. Visit top Lemon Law firms in the country. Valuable information to help you determine if your vehicle qualifies as a "lemon", steps you can take to protect yourself at the repair shop, and online forms to let you submit your case for a free review. Also, you can research your state's Lemon Law statutes.

MissingMoney.com
A database of state unclaimed property records. Free search for unclaimed property. Includes bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, dividends, uncashed checks and wages, insurance policies, CD's, trust funds, utility deposits and escrow accounts. Does not include real estate property.

My References
Reference checking and employment verification. Find out what your references are really saying.

National Association of Attorneys General
Includes anti-fraud consumer news updates and fact sheets. Also biographies of Attorneys General across the country, key documents, meetings and seminars, and FAQs.

Nolo's Legal Research Center

Quatloos
Fraud risk management and financial frauds and scams revealed.

Safeshopping.org
A consumer protection web site to help educate Internet users about the legal and practical issues involved in online shopping. In particular, this site is geared toward consumers who have little experience with making purchases online.

Understanding Real Estate Mortgages
Rental Housing On Line (RHOL) provides comprehensive information on buying, financing and managing real estate investment property. The site contains several specialized webs, thousands of pages, and is interactive with support forums, chat, and vacancy listing services.

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