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
ConnPIRG’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 30 years, ConnPIRG’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 avoiding dangerous toys.
BIGGER BANKS, BIGGER FEES
In April, ConnPIRG 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
Learn what the General Assembly is doing about Consumer Protection with our Legislative Scorecard.
Issue updates
Our research found the majority of grocery stores fail to warn the public about hazardous food recalls. While they collect significant information about Americans shopping habits to sell us more food, they aren't doing enough to use that information to protect the public health.
Americans are not hearing about food recalls, and that communication breakdown is having serious repercussions for public health. A new report finds that most grocery stores -- which should be one of the best places to learn about recalls -- don’t make it easy for consumers to uncover this information.
Congress must hold companies accountable for failing to protect condumers' confidential information.
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Comprehensive CREDIT (Credit Reporting Enhancement, Disclosure, Innovation, and Transparency) Act of 2020 (HR3621).
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that four companies have issued recalls for their inclined infant sleepers.
Consumer Protection
More than 165,000 life-threatening infant sleepers recalled
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on Jan. 29 that four companies have issued recalls for more than 165,000 inclined infant sleepers, which fail to meet the safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The CPSC's recall is an important step forward — we're continuing to urge manufacturers to stop producing these sleepers for good.
Consumer Protection
How safe is our food?
From chicken with chunks of metal to romaine lettuce with E. coli, our new report shows contaminated food continues to threaten the health of millions of Americans.
Consumer Protection
New federal bill will make it easier for consumers to know about unsafe, even deadly products
If you had a product in your home that the government knew could cause injury or death, you'd expect the government to warn you, right? Surprisingly, that's not the case for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The "Safety Hazard and Recall Efficiency Information Act" seeks to change that.
Consumer Protection
The Trump administration's Consumer Bureau just appointed a task "farce" on consumer law
The Trump administration's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just appointed a new task force on consumer law — but according to senior director of PIRG's federal consumer program, Ed Mierzwinski, this task force isn't set up to be on the side of consumers. "It is a task farce," he said.
Latest Reports
Tools & Resources
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Tips for Data Breach Victims
ConnPIRG Education Fund -
Leading Groups Send Criteria for Evaluating VW Settlement
Seeking Compensation for Consumers and Environment -
Fact Sheet: Older Consumers in the Financial Marketplace
An Analysis of Complaints, and Results, From the CFPB
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Your donation supports ConnPIRG’s work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.