Consumer Rights and Remedies

The following links are designed to help answer some of your questions relating to the purchase of consumer goods and services. The resources listed below contain general legal information that should not be used as a substitute for specific legal advice. Please remember that the law is always changing through actions of the courts and the Legislature.

OSB Tel-Law Links:

Consumer Law

Liability for Defective Products

Are You a Victim of Mail Order Fraud?

OSB Pamphlet:

Small Claims Pamphlet

OSB Legalinks Cable Show:

Consumer Contracts (June 2005)

Buying a Car (May 2001)

Other Resources:

Oregon Department of Justice
http://www.doj.state.or.us/FinFraud/welcome3.htm

Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Section: Although the Justice Department is not permitted to give legal advice, they offer a variety of consumer information programs and publications.

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

(US General Services Administration): Free access to consumer publications produced by the federal government.

Office of Consumer Protection (Federal Trade Commission)
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

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

Basic consumer information plus directory of affiliated branches nationwide.

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

Consumer World has gathered over 1,500 of the most useful consumer resources on the Internet, and categorized them here for easy access. Loads of useful consumer information.

Public Citizen
http://www.citizen.org

Consumer alerts from the non-profit group founded by Ralph Nader.

Consumer Product Safety Commission
http://www.cpsc.gov

Information from the federal group responsible for investigating the safety of consumer products. Some types of products are covered by other federal agencies:

Cars, trucks and motocycles
— Department of Transportation
http://www.dot.gov/

Food, drugs and cosmetics
— Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov

Alcohol, tobacco and firearms
— Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms
(Department of the Treasury)
http://www.atf.treas.gov

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

U.S. Consumer Gateway describes itself as 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.

Oregon Law Help
Legal help for low-income Oregonians
http://www.oregonlawhelp.com