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Protecting Consumers

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 the Public

PennPIRG’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 26 years, PennPIRG’s Trouble In Toyland report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. One year, our research led to the recall of a cloth children’s book that we found contained lead.

BIGGER BANKS BIGGER FEES

In April, PennPIRG released a report in which we surveyed more than 350 bank branches and revealed that fewer than half 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.

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Issue updates

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Despite toy safety progress, parents need to be aware | Alana Miller

We don't always know if the gifts will be a hit but the one thing we count on is that the toys we purchase are safe.  Thanks to the hard work of agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and consumer advocates like U.S. PIRG that's largely true.  But as our toy shopping researchers have found, that's not always the case.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

A fee too far | Alana Miller

We've posted about avoiding bank fees before, but the latest Bank of America shenanigan deserves another word of caution.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

Inquirer: Bank elsewhere to avoid fees

With its latest fee, Bank of America has made the decision to balance its books on the backs of its customers, instead of changing its business model to be more consumer-friendly. ("Bank of America to charge $5 debit card fee," Friday). Chase and Wells Fargo are also testing a $3 debit card fee in certain markets.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Avoid bank fees | Alana Miller

PennPIRG’s advice to consumers remains simple: shop around (see our banking guide). Big banks can charge increasingly bigger fees and make it harder for customers to avoid them because they know consumers don’t shop around.

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News Release | Budget, Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

New Consumer Agency Takes Over Thursday as Nation’s Consumer Bank Cop

Philadelphia, PA—Leading consumer groups today announced the results of a poll showing that an overwhelming majority of likely voters both support a new consumer agency (74%) and want Wall Street held “accountable” (77%), along with a report documenting “10 reasons” consumers need the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The Bureau will take over enforcement of all major consumer laws on Thursday, July 21. The groups called for the Senate to vote to confirm former Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray as its director, so that the CFPB is able to fulfill the promise of consumer financial protection.

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Tools & Resources

TOY SAFETY TIPS ON-THE-GO

From toxic chemicals to choking hazards to dangerous magnets, see what dangerous toys to watch out for while you shop.

TOYSAFETY.MOBI

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