Consumer Issues & Services

Issues concerning the seeking to protect and inform the users of goods and services.

Sub-headings:

Automobiles

Includes pricing and related guides about the purchase of new and used vehicles as well as information about the repair and maintenance of automobiles and other motorized vehicles used for personal transportation

Resources in this category:

About.Com: Online Shopping
http://onlineshopping.about.com/

An Internet consumer guide to online shopping, with feature articles, Website guides, and discussion forums. Topics covered include Online Shopping 101, customer support & assistance, and product guides.

Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbb.org/

Web server for the better business bureau. "The Council of Better Business Bureaus is committed to promoting and fostering the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer andbusiness education, and service excellence." You can read BBB alerts, file a complaint online, get in touch with your local BBB, and access many online consumer publications through the BBB Library.

Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/

Consumer information from the United States FCC about telephones, the Internet, cellular phones, digital television, the National Do Not Call Registry, and more.

Consumer Information Center
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/

Includes information about cars, health, and much more. They provide the full text of many of their pamphlets on these and other topics. One of the best consumer resources available at this time. Searchable.

Consumer Price Index
http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/

The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program produces data on the prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Get current and archived news releases (back to 1994) plus detailed CPI statistics.

Consumer Protection
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

"Consumer Protection is the online service of the Office of Consumer and Business Education of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. It offers the full text of consumer publications on a wide range of categories." Publications cover consumer issues such as homes and real estate, credit, investment, automobiles, health and fitness, and several other topics. They are especially good in the area of how to avoid scams (not just telemarketing, but loans, jobs, 900 numbers, etc.). The publications are also available in Spanish.

Consumer World
http://www.consumerworld.org/

"Consumer World has gathered over 1100 of the most useful consumer resources on the Internet. Whether you want to check an airfare, find an ATM machine anywhere in the world, file a consumer complaint with a state agency, read 100s of consumer booklets, find a low rate credit card or mortgage, research a law, look up the wholesale price of a car, locate a Better Business Bureau, find a toll-free number, listen (literally) to the latest news, contact a company's customer service department, comparison shop for bargains and last minute travel, check stock quotes or CD rates, read a movie review or see a preview, clip electronic coupons, or search the Internet, you can do it in Consumer World." Searchable.

ConsumerSearch.com
http://www.consumersearch.com/

Compiles consumer reviews from a variety of sources, then goes one better by summarizing the reviews and 'reviewing the reviewers'. Areas covered include: electronics, house & home, automotive, computers, kitchen, family, sports & leisure, personal finance, photo & video, office, health & fitness, lawn & garden.

Cooling Your Home: Don't Sweat It
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/coolalrt.shtm

Article published by the US Federal Trade Commission offering information and advice for increasing the energy efficiency of your home.

DealTime
http://www.dealtime.com/

Search engine for comparing the prices of books, music, movies, software, video games, and much more at several dozen online shopping sites.

econsumer.gov
http://www.econsumer.gov/

"Your site for cross-border e-commerce complaints. File your complaint online; Contact consumer agencies around the world; Get tips for safe shopping online."

Epinions
http://www.epinions.com/

Reviews of products and services, including financial services, written by actual consumers. "Epinions brings the power of word of mouth from the offline world to the online world. We help shoppers make the right decisions using a platform that delivers real advice, ratings, and reviews from consumers who have actually used the products and services... Epinions.com offers over one million reviews and comments and covers over 200,000 products and services to help you make better buying decisions."

FoodFuture
http://www.foodfuture.org.uk/

"The Food and Drink Federation foodfuture programme aims to improve public understanding of genetic modification. The programme has initiated wider discussion of the technology the perceived benefits and disadvantages as well as the ethical and moral concerns. " The website gives background information on GM foods and a balanced analysis of its pros and cons. Also includes consumer information.

Gomez
http://www.gomez.com/

Rates online merchants, auction sites, brokers and travel agents and provides information on online commerce. "The mission of Gomez Advisors is to be the single best source of insight for consumers when selecting e-commerce services."

Government Loans
http://www.govloans.gov/govloans_en.portal

This site provides information on federally sponsored loans. Separate areas include agricultural, business, disaster relief, education, housing, and veterans' loans. Includes a comprehensive glossary of related terms. This site is sponsored by the United States government.

Heating Your Home
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/heatalrt.shtm

Article published by the US Federal Trade Commission offering information and advice for increasing the energy efficiency of your home and reducing utility bills for heating and cooling.

Home Energy Saver
http://hes.lbl.gov/

"The Home Energy Saver was the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings...By changing one or more features of the modeled home, users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much pollution prevented by implementing energy-efficiency improvements." Includes a glossary and links to other sources of information about products, construction standards, and home building.

Homefair.Com
http://www.homefair.com/

Real estate site with articles on buying and financing a home, along with interactive calculators - a salary calculator for comparing the cost of living in different locales, calculators for moving costs and qualifying for a mortgage and a quizzer to help you understand some of the issues in buying your home and auto insurance.

House Committee on Energy and Commerce
http://energycommerce.house.gov/

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest legislative standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Its jurisdictions include biomedical research and development, consumer affairs and protection, health, interstate and foreign commerce, energy resource exploration, pricing, production, and regulation, energy conservation, power generation, nuclear energy, travel and tourism, and interstate and foreign communications.

Insurance Information Institute
http://www.iii.org/individuals/

Information about insurance issues surrounding your home, business, auto, and more.

Macworld.com: The Macworld Buyer's Guide
http://www.macworld.com/

Macworld.com provides useful product reviews, rating and pricing information on the Macintosh platforms. The site includes a search function for assisting in finding product information/reviews. This site makes extensive use of drop-down menus.

Marketplace Money from American Public Media
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/

Daily radio show on National Public Radio (NPR) that discusses all matters financial, such as business news, retirement, home purchasing, asking for a raise, paying off credit card debt, and paying for college. All previous radio programs are available online, and be sure to check out features section.

Money: Best Places to Live
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/

This site profiles America's 300 largest metro areas. Money's Best Places search engine allows one to search a database in order to find the best places to live, work or play. Search by city name or by a combination of nine factors, including: weather, economy, housing, health, education, crime, transportation, leisure, arts and culture.

The Mortgage Calculator
http://www.interest.com/hugh/calc/

Interactive calculation and display of a payment schedule for a mortgage. Links to a number of other financial calculations produced by the same author, including savings accounts, retirement planning, FHA vs. conventional mortgages, and others.

Ohio Consumers' Counsel Consumer Assistance Handbook
http://www.pickocc.org/publications/handbook/

"While the OCC Consumer Assistance Handbook is most specifically geared toward Ohio consumers, it contains information useful to people across the U.S. Topics include avoiding telephone scams such as slamming and cramming, reducing unwanted calls from telemarketers, deciphering utility bills, choosing long-distance providers and gas suppliers, reading gas/electric/water meters, home energy efficiency and more."

Outlet Bound
http://www.outletbound.com/

This site enables the user to search for outlet stores by location, store name and brand of merchandise. It also provides information on outlet malls and on Outlet Bound's publications. "We are dedicated to providing the most comprehensive listing of all outlets throughout the United States and Canada."

PlanetFeedback.com
http://www.planetfeedback.com/

Use this site to compose and send feedback letters to companies in a variety of industries. Consumer news and information are also available, as well as pointers to other sources of consumer information.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
http://www.privacyrights.org/

PRC is a nonprofit consumer information, research, and advocacy program, based in San Diego, California. PRC provides a variety of services and products to consumers, including a hotline for reporting privacy abuses, consumer advocacy, and educational materials. Their web site contains a variety resources that provide practical tips on safeguarding personal privacy, including privacy fact sheets (in English and Spanish), identity theft resources, speeches and testimony given by PRC, and links to the privacy-related Web sites.

Ram Research Group
http://www.ramresearch.com/

Ram Research Group surveys over 500 banks, credit unions and financial companies which provide consumer credit cards, accounting for over 97% of the U.S. market. Terms and rates are described. The site also includes consumer tips and news about the credit card industry.

Recall Warnings
http://www.recall-warnings.com/

A site sponsored by Nolo Press that categorizes and makes searchable different consumer products and goods that have had recall warnings.

ReliaQuote.com
http://www.reliaquote.com/

"Access to valuable information about insurance. Consumers can obtain free quotes from multiple companies which will enable them to make an educated decision about their insurance needs. Completely pro-consumer and not affiliated with any insurance company." The "Insurance 101" provides basic information about several types of insurance.

Safeshopping.org
http://www.safeshopping.org/

A detailed and thorough guide to shopping safely on the Internet. Has information for buyers and sellers and covers such issues as security, privacy, payment, sellers, prodcut, delivery, and complaints.

Shidler Center for Law, Commerce & Technology
http://www.law.washington.edu/lct/

"The Shidler Center for Law, Commerce and Technology at the University of Washington is a leading center for collaborative research, teaching and scholarship related to the Internet and legal aspects of technology. One of our main focuses is on consumer protection and education...As part of our project "The Internet and the Global Citizen", we feature a new site each week." Info on current litigation and news related to technology included.

Strategis
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/engdoc/main.html

A website about Canadian business put out by the Minister of Industry. The site has sections on company information, international business, consumer information, technology, business support, human resources, small businesses, and more. Versions of the site are available in English or French.

Sustainable Building Sources
http://www.greenbuilder.com/general/BuildingSources.html

Includes links to a green building professional directory, sustainable building sourcebook, discussion forums, as well as related associations and magazines.

Tech Maven: Business Week online
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/wildstrom.htm

Tech Maven provides useful product reviews, rating and pricing information and advice on both Mac and PC platforms. The "news" section "takes you to the Business Week Online Computer Room, a browsable archive containing most of the computer coverage from Business Week magazine for the past several months." The site includes a search function for assisting in finding product information/reviews. This site is frame-based.

This to That
http://www.thistothat.com/

"A simple, practical guide to finding the right adhesive. Select the two types of materials that you plan to glue together, and get impartial product recommendations with information on toxicity, time to adhere, cost, and more. Glue trivia, history, and humor complete the offering."

U.S. Consumer Gateway
http://www.consumer.gov/

"A 'one-stop' link to a broad range of federal information resources available online. It is designed so that you can locate information by category -- such as Food, Health, Product Safety, Your Money, and Transportation. Each category has subcategories to direct you to areas within individual federal web sites containing related information. ScamAlert! provides current information on fraudulent and deceptive practices in the marketplace. This feature appears on each page, as necessary, and contains important law-enforcement information and tips to avoid scams. Of Special Interest showcases new education and consumer awareness campaigns and other items of significant interest."

The Utility Consumers' Action Network
http://www.ucan.org/

A consumer information center for the Internet community which keeps track of scams and rip-offs perpetrated on the Net, and tracks Internet-related consumer legislation.

Yahoo! News Full Coverage: Consumer News and Recall Information
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=business&cat=cons...

Features current news stories related to consumer information and product recalls. Also links to news sources, opinions & editorials, magazine articles, video sources, and related Web sites.