August 2021 • Issue 2, Volume 12 • www.consumer-action.org
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What people are saying
[Consumer Action's] small, professional staff is a bedrock of information and encouragement...The friendliness and willingness to help have never let me down in the decades they've been around. Highly recommended site for all questions consumerish."
--Donald Scott, Carson City, Nevada, via Consumer Action feedback survey
Did you know?
A new report by the Funeral Consumers Alliance and Consumer Federation of America found that most state funeral service regulators provide poor or no information to consumers about consumer protections regarding funeral purchases, how to file complaints, how to learn about disciplinary actions, and how to best shop for funeral services. Consumer information can make a huge difference in the lives of the bereaved, who must often quickly choose among funeral services where costs can range from under $2,000 to more than $20,000. Read the report.
New fact sheets cover Emergency Broadband Benefit and vaccine hesitancy
By Monica Steinisch
As the pandemic continues to pose a range of challenges, Consumer Action has published three new publications--one about the Emergency Broadband Benefit, a temporary program that attempts to close the digital divide, and two about how to overcome vaccine hesitancy so that our communities can recover. Read more.
Hotline Chronicles: My RV is a lemon
By Linda Sherry
Last year, more than 400,000 people in the U.S. bought recreational vehicles--including a woman who reached out to our hotline about her defective camper. It's good to know your rights and what you might face if the RV you purchase turns out to have defects. Read more.
Consumer Action reaches Spanish-speakers through print and TV coverage during COVID
By Nelson Santiago
Consumer Action's diverse, multilingual staff regularly works with local, national and ethnic media to bring attention to key consumer issues. Extra steps taken by staff during the pandemic have paid off in greater coverage of our translated pandemic-related consumer education publications for Spanish-speakers. Read more.
Coalition Efforts: Looking out for prescription drug users, bank customers, student loan and mortgage borrowers
By Alegra Howard
Consumer Action often joins its allies in letters, comments and complaints calling for change, standing up for consumer rights, supporting or opposing proposed laws and objecting to corporate misbehavior, among other activities. We collect these in the Coalition Efforts section of our website. Each month in the INSIDER, we highlight some recent activities. Read more.
CFPB Watch: New rule to help prevent foreclosures, and refunds on no-consent loans
By Ruth Susswein
In this regular feature, we detail recent actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In seeking to prevent COVID-related foreclosures, the CFPB released a new rule to ensure homeowners are really considered for a loan modification, and, as it marks 10 years, the Bureau returns millions to consumers enrolled in home improvement loans without their permission. Read more.
Class Action Database: Vivid Seats ticket resale marketplace changes rules of game
By Rose Chan
Consumer Action maintains a database of class actions so that interested consumers can learn more, join a pending action or make a claim. Class action lawsuits are an important element of consumer protection and can force changes to anti-consumer business practices and make bad actors return ill-gotten gains to consumers. Read more.
Tell us how we're doing!
We'd love your feedback on how we're doing and which of our services are most important to you. Please fill out our (very) brief three-question survey here! Your feedback might be featured in the INSIDER if you agree.
About Consumer Action
Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.
By providing consumer education materials in multiple languages, a free national hotline, a comprehensive website and annual surveys of financial and consumer services, Consumer Action helps consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and make financially savvy choices. More than 6,000 community and grassroots organizations benefit annually from its extensive outreach programs, training materials and support. Read more.
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