Consumer Law

When contemplating the filing of a claim against the City of New York, it is important to consider basic factors and follow general rules in order to properly commence a claim. While complex...

Keeping up with your credit is very important and essential nowadays. People check your credit when you buy a car, a house and sometimes when you apply for a job. If you don't stay on top of...

An individual, organization, company or anyone who is owed money can pursue the seizure of a bank account. The dollar amount of the claim will determine if a district court or circuit court is...

New Hampshire's attorney general provides a useful guidebook for consumer law, which includes sections on the state's credit card laws. The guidebook contains sections on late payments, minimum...

Once a judgment is entered by a court in a debt collection case, debtors face the prospect of garnishment of their paycheck, savings and checking accounts. Debtors desiring to best protect their...

The increasing role of mobile homes throughout Michigan raises new questions about the legal status of these residences and the rights of their tenants. Historically, they do not adhere to the...

HG is the chemical symbol for mercury. HG light bulbs contain a tiny amount of mercury--a poisonous substance--and that is what causes the disposal problem. Federal law regulating mercury disposal...

Mini storage units can provide a number of dangers as well as health concerns. Tenants can cause a number of concerns if they use the storage units for purposes other than what they were intended...

Many creditors will get a bank garnishment or bank levy if you refuse to make payment arrangements regarding your past due debts. Your account will be frozen and the money will be taken from the...

All new buildings in the United States, whether residential, commercial or industrial, must comply with the most recent edition of the International Building Code (IBC) or with standards of local...

British Columbia, a province of Canada, does permit wage garnishment if certain debts are not paid. As in other Canadian provinces as well as states of the United States, British Columbians can...

A verbal agreement can be legally binding if it creates an "oral contract" in law. If you offer to sell a computer to your friend for $200, and your friend agrees, you have created an oral...

Occasionally, you may receive a bill from a doctor, hospital or other medical provider which you believe is in error and does not accurately reflect medical services you or someone in your family...

Caveat emptor, Latin for "Let the buyer beware," is certainly good advice for any consumer, but at the same time it is important to know your rights as a buyer. The U.K. has laws in place to...

If you file for bankruptcy, you can dispute debts that you believe are inaccurate. However, your creditors also can object to your debts if they believe you incurred those debts while you were...

Real estate taxes cannot always be discharged in bankruptcy. Determining whether they can be discharged requires some investigation.

Diminished value, also called "loss of value," is the difference between the value of your vehicle after a car accident, and the market value of your car had it not been in an accident. Diminished...

The federal regulatory laws that govern the delivery of mail in the United States are known collectively as the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). ...

There is no quick cure for debt and individuals who expect one usually find themselves further in debt. Should the government protect consumers from dangerous consolidation loans? Perhaps--and...

Is the electric, phone, or cable company giving you the run around? Tired of having to call them over and over to complain about the same issues, only to get a tepid response, or none altogether?...

Within the United States, standard safety signs are posted to warn of specific conditions and potential hazards. The symbols used on the signs are uniform so that every sign in every workplace...

Errors on your credit report arise for a number of reasons, including computer errors, out-of-date data, and identity theft. These mistakes can lead to a lower credit score, which, in turn can...

How many are aware that when you use your credit card or the store' s 'savings card' that your purchases are captured in massive consumer databases and then sold for others to use in targeting...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, has existed since 1996. It was passed to do two things: To help protect workers from losing health insurance coverage as they...

The Consumers Act, currently known as The Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 (CFPA), was introduced to the 111th Congress on July 8th, 2009. The Act is part of the Obama...

If you jointly own property--real estate, a bank account, a business--with another individual, you need to understand your exposure when it comes to joint property being taken to pay debt....

Small Claims court is where you have to file a claim when someone owes you damages from a dispute of some kind and refuses to pay you. A judge will make a decision based on all evidence you and...

Need to sue your landlord for your security deposit, but don't want to pay for a lawyer? This how to will help you sue your landlord in small claims court, giving you a better chance at getting...

If your planning to sue someone in small claims, you must follow a certain guideline in order for your claim to be valid and credible. It is important for the judge to know that you followed...

When your credit card is stolen, the thief can do a multitude of things with it. The first and foremost thing a thief might do is immediately purchase something with it, presenting themselves as...

Brand name clothing is often faked and sold for much less than its usual price. Telling the difference between the genuine article and fake items isn't always easy, and requires an eye for detail...

A credit card charge may constitute an acceptance of a contract. Contract law gives different answers to when such a charge will or will not constitute acceptance. If the charge is made in...

Car-buying laws ensure ownership changes hands. These laws make buyers responsible for taking full ownership from the seller. A buyer has to know the seller is giving him legal title, not just a...

Many states have enacted statutes designed to provide remedies for consumers injured by the unfair and deceptive trade practices of businesses. Though the names of these statutes vary, they are...

Motor vehicle lemon laws represent a compromise between manufacturers and consumers. Consumers receive protection against serious manufacturer defects but have to endure a rigorous and...

The term lemon law officially dates from 1970, when the state of California enacted the first laws protecting consumers from purchases of poorly manufactured mechanical products, including cars.

Trust is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity within the marketplace, as new businesses are popping up everyday. Certain businesses that partake in false advertising and unfair business...

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs credit reporting agencies, such as Experian or TransUnion, as well as the companies that report information regarding your credit, such as banks and...

Almost any type of unpaid debt can end up owned by a collection agency. Collection agencies are companies that purchase old consumer debts from the original creditors for pennies on the dollar...

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives you protection from lawsuits or foreclosures from your creditors while paying them back over a designated period of time. If you own assets, such as a house or a car,...

The rise in popularity of the Internet and email has not stopped criminals from attempting mail fraud. This is a federal crime, and the best thing you can do when you suspect a scam is to report...

Lemon laws are state laws that protect purchasers of cars that do not work correctly. Most state laws require the car manufacturer to either pay to repair the car or provide a new car.

The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act is a New Zealand credit law that is enforced by the Commerce Commission. The Act requires certain disclosure be made in the course of doing business...

A vehicle promissory note is essentially an I.O.U., or a binding legal agreement whereby two parties agree on terms and repayment options for a loan. Family members and friends will sometimes turn...

A lease is a legally binding contract between a renter and the landlord that stipulates the conditions of the rental. It should clearly state how much rent is due and when, late-fee penalties, how...

Consumers purchasing cars are protected by federal lemon laws, state lemon laws and contract law. Federal lemon laws only cover the purchase of new cars but many state lemon laws extend the...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) establishes standards for health care transactions and it allows insurance companies, employers and health care providers to have a...

A consumer credit report is a summary of your creditworthiness. Prospective employers, landlords, and companies that provide credit may look at your report to decide if they want to do business...

The Grants.gov database provides access to federal grants on a governmentwide basis. It is beyond the scope of this article to begin to list the numerous nongovernment foundations that offer...

Repossession is the reclaiming of an item by its lien holder when the terms of the agreement between the buyer and lien holder are not met. Generally, this means that the buyer failed to make...