Questions tagged [consumer-protection]
For questions related to the laws designed to protect consumers from fraudulent or unfair business practices.
361
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Are cheater plugs illegal in the USA?
I just recently moved into an older house with many two-prong outlets. I have a cheater plug available, which I could use to convert a two-prong outlet to a three-prong one, and intended to get more ...
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0
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34
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Can an order from physical store be cancelled if delivery date keeps being pushed back several months after first delivery date? [duplicate]
I ordered a GE range at a physical store in my hometown on March 1st 2021 with scheduled delivery date in April.
Since then the delivery has been pushed back 3 times with a vague promise in June for ...
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7
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2
answers
2k
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Can I compel a retailer to provide order details (serial number)?
Around 10 months ago I purchased some ear buds from a very large and well known high street retailer.
I have had gadget insurance for about 5 years and I am now trying to make a claim for loss for the ...
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1
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157
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Can we start a lawsuit against my colleges for having poor quality education during covid19
During covid19 most of the classes are basically shifted to online mode and all the awarded marks are just awarded based on googling skills as colleges have no infrastructure to conduct the courses ...
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49
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I returned an order to a business online that has a "typical" return policy, and they have not issued a refund. How can I take legal action? [closed]
I ordered an item from business online that has a "typical" return policy, i.e., a full refund will be issued in, say, two weeks upon receiving the returned item, assuming that the item has ...
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4
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106
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What effect does this ruling have on the burden of proof, if any?
“[T]he Act does not require consumers to take any affirmative steps to secure relief for the failure of a manufacturer to service or repair a vehicle to conform to applicable warranties—other than, of ...
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4
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3
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111
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Is a written promise relating to the “workmanship” of software and hardware components create an express warranty under Magnusson-Moss or U.C.C.?
A U.S. auto manufacturer promises in writing that its vehicles will, for the life of their vehicles, receive free hydrogen at its charging stations.
Bob buys such a vehicle. Turns out the vehicle ...
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2
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84
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Can Bob, as a non-resident for the purposes of U.S. law, relay information of his consumer experiences to his embassy or consulate of a sending State?
Say, Bob, purchases a consumer product in the State of California where he is a resident for the purposes of California law although not a resident of the U.S., a State for the purposes of the 1961 ...
- 475
2
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1
answer
106
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Should Bob sue a company on his home field?
Bob uncovers and obtains overwhelming evidence of several, major consumer exploitation ploys consisting of several distinct schemes, practices and policies of a major auto manufacturer of his new ...
- 475
16
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"Lifetime Warranty" terms and conditions changed after purchase
Around four years ago I purchased a pair of William Painter sunglasses through a successful Kickstarter campaign.
The campaign advertised a 'Lifetime Warranty', which they clarified in an FAQ on ...
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What is the definition of "retail" or "at retail" for the purposes of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act?
Bob, a private individual, visits a store in California — where Corp, the manufacturer, maintains a showroom — and proceeds to purchase a consumer goods.
Bob, after explaining his needs relevant to ...
- 3,869
2
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2
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76
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Legal obligations regarding customer ratings and reviews
As a user, I expect user ratings and reviews (on shops like Amazon or review sites like IMDb) to provide an independent information about a product. I'm aware reviews could still be biased (e.g. ...
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How is it Legal for sites like Udemy to charge more than 517% (Literally) to it's existing users?
If you search for any courses in Udemy, when you are not logged in and Incognito (important, as they do cookie tracking and mix ups with pixel track as well).
You will see a significantly low price.
...
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Can/shall I sue Domino's if I felt the manager was being racist?
Edit:
Lol , looks like it's hitting right at the spot for the racist. Look at the down votes and comments. Go ahead , be the idiots you are.
Can I sue Domino's if the manager was being rude and also I ...
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1
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118
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Claim for damages where store is unable to deliver goods
Bob ordered/paid for an item exclusively stocked by a store in the UK in limited quantities, to be delivered to New Zealand by courier (normally delivered within 1 week of shipment). The item was in ...
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Is it legal for a store to accept payment by debit card but not be able to refund to it, even in event of staff's mistake?
A store accepts payment by payment cards, including debit and credit cards. Refunds are allowed, however due to a technical problem refunds cannot be made to debit cards.
Sometimes a refund is ...
4
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1
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Lemon Law: May civil penalties be assessed for the damages more than once and each up to 2 times thereafter?
Hypo...
Bob buys a vehicle for $20,000 with a balance on the new vehicle warranty from the manufacturer; however, soon finds out that the engine, the AC and the radio do not conform to the written ...
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1
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58
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Is arbitration an "action or proceeding"?
Section 1681h of the Fair Credit Reporting Act grants limited qualified immunity to creditors, stating that:
[...] no consumer may bring any action or proceeding in the nature of defamation, invasion ...
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90
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Is it legal to sell food or supplement products online in unlabeled packaging?
As I understand it, the FDA requires labeling with specific information for food and supplement products in most cases, and steep potential penalties for "misbranding" if required ...
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2
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Is advertising a product as "Chemical Free" false/misleading advertising?
Many products, often times foods or cleaning supplies use the phrase "Chemical Free" in their advertising and packaging. This is often used in products containing more naturally derived ...
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4
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Is there some well known or established principle for this situation? Unfair jurisdictions and un-equal parties
Imagine a situation where an employer offers an employee a contract that stipulates that all disputes should be resolved by some arbitration panel in a tax haven. I don't know about America but I am ...
- 409
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82
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Can I have a collections report removed from my credit history?
I have a collections report on my credit history. The credit card company raised the minimum payment without notifying me or raising the automatic payment I set up for the minimum amount. I hadn't ...
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Is it legal for an oil company to charge customers a different price per gallon for the same oil?
I found out recently that my oil company is charging me and some of my neighbors almost twice as much as other neighbors for the same type of oil. The difference is per gallon so the amount shouldn't ...
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2
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3
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78
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Can a claim be litigated after a arbitration?
Consider this scenario:
Consumer signs a mandatory arbitration clause with a creditor that does not require Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) claims to be arbitrated
Creditor reports inaccurate ...
- 538
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1
answer
55
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Can a consumer bring an FCRA claim twice concerning the same inaccuracy?
In the context of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer has no private right to action to sue a creditor for reporting inaccurate information to a credit reporting agency (CRA). A consumer does ...
- 538
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0
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56
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UK - subscription fee introduced months after hardware purchase
I purchased a Cricut Joy in the UK a few months ago. Without warning or previous indication, Cricut have introduced a subscription fee to use the device I paid for, in full, with my own files more ...
- 141
2
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1
answer
270
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Can I use WhatsApp for legal communication in the UK?
I currently have a consumer rights dispute over a car and have been trying to resolve it via WhatsApp, as the only method I had to communicate with the dealer. I have followed everything I can and ...
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202
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How to make a complaint as a comsumer in Germany without going to court?
I'm not familiar with German law, but I'd like to complain about a certain international company as I was tricked by a company to pay to use a method that was shut down by the company online and many ...
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185
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Consumer Rights 2015 (U.K.): Wear & Tear dispute over a vehicle
I am planning to go to a small claims court about a Consumer Rights Act issue on a second-hand vehicle. The trader that sold the second-hand vehicle claims that it's the result of wear and tear. His ...
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203
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Is it legal for Steam to disable content on my PC?
Some time ago I've downloaded the Demo for the game "Observer" on the Steam platform. I didn't play it immediately though. A few weeks ago I wanted to give it a try and was shocked to find a ...
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answer
104
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Consumer Rights 2015 (U.K.): Faulty vehicle & Trader avoids responsibility and cannot reach him
I have been sold a faulty vehicle by a second-hand car dealer. The place is in the United Kingdom. According to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I can claim a full refund if I request it under 30 days. ...
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2
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3
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268
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Is it legal to sell un-trippable circuit breakers?
About a week ago, the popular YouTuber bigclivedotcom uploaded this video, in which he showed a "circuit breaker", which on the outside seems marked appropriately, but is entirely non-...
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39
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Is it ever doctor's responsibility to ensure insurance coverage for services received? California
If patient before appointment gives explicit instructions to doctor to proceed with appointment only if patient's insurance would fully cover appointment; and then doctor in writing confirms that ...
- 374
2
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1
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82
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Is it legal to divulge information about a company (kindergarten) online in Austria?
The situation is the following: We have made a very bad experience with a kindergarten in Vienna and would like to divulge (make public) the experience we made with this kindergarten.
This would ...
2
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2
answers
133
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Clarify section of the Hire Purchase Act
can someone let me know if i'm reading this correctly.
Is point 2 stating that if I purchase a vehicle from a private seller, and he/she does not inform me that the vehicle is subject to a hire ...
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2
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1k
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Insurance - Forced to call for cancellation
I purchased the insurance cover online, without having to use any phone/landline.
It's now close to expiration, and there's auto-renewal which I have no option to disable. In order to cancel the ...
- 179
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0
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44
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Requirement that terms not defined in a contract can only rely on the industry definition if "ubiquitous"
I had a reference to a case in english law where the judgment was that the supplier could not rely on the standard definition of a term within the industry, unless the other party was also active ...
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3
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2
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374
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If I warn British Airways that carrying me would break government orders, would they have any legal obligation to serve me a banning notice+refund?
I am not allowed to travel from London to my mum in Inverness for Christmas by UK government order (see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home):
"If you live in a Tier 4 area, you must ...
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1
answer
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Do public colleges in the US have to follow education laws on misrepresentation (34 CFR § 668.71-75)?
The registrar at a public college in the US claims that a lecture course is "substantially equivalent" to a course that was to be held in a lab to teach lab skills. They also claim that ...
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1
answer
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Are there laws disallowing discriminatory pricing based on the customer's employment?
Are there any jurisdictions in the US which make it illegal (against the law rather than against some contract or custom) to charge higher prices for categories of customers based on their employment. ...
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Is there such thing as reasonable expectation for delivery time?
I ordered a chair from a store here in town. Delivery estimate according to the receipt is 10-12 weeks. The receipt says if I cancel the order I have to pay a 25% restocking fee.
Twelve weeks has ...
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Is it legal for a company to upsell a customer for paid warranty, even after the customer refused this warranty multiple times?
Linus Tech Tips, a Canadian tech Youtuber, recently did a secret shopper gaming PC series. In the 4th and last video (https://youtu.be/Go5tLO6ipxw?t=114), he explains how the first system seller they ...
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1
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112
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Must a person obtain a license from console manufacturer before making a game for it? What was different in the 80s?
In this YouTube video around 2:30 it is stated
There was no way to stop another company from making a game for your
system.
and
Unlike now where you have to obtain a license to make a game
legally ...
0
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1
answer
141
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What are the difference in obfuscated contract laws between Indonesia and USA, Australia, Europe, and Singapore?
In general, people can write any contract they want. In practice, many people agree to a contract without even reading. Even those that read carefully may miss important terms if the writers of the ...
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42
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Consumer protection laws regarding products never delivering promised features
Note: this is not about any specific product, but a general pattern that I've observed.
It's alarmingly common, especially with tech-related products, to over-promise and under-deliver. Consumers buy ...
- 111
0
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1
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129
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Is it a bait and switch if someone pays for something, then they say it's unavailable?
I recently paid for a major airline ticket, and it got processed saying that the payment worked (on the website, and printed out the PDF). A moment later they canceled my order. Is this a bait and ...
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2
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68
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Can a company's terms of service prevent consumers of using their right of withdrawal (europe)
There is a company (from england) that provides services online that has the following in their terms of service:
Subscriber agrees that its assent, given electronically, will have the same legal ...
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21
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Website Disclosures to cover estimations/rounding/stale data
I am developing a website for a client, and we want to include some legalese in the disclosures that protects us against claims that our inforation was not correct:
Some facts/figures may be outdated ...
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3
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130
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Can you start a product line with ingredients used in a different product [duplicate]
Is it legal to literally purchase all of the ingredients in a product and make your own product with minor changes?
Ie; I’m making a hair growing serum but I want to put a small % of Selsun blue (...
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2
votes
2
answers
186
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Misleading sign on a bus claiming it is zero emissions when it is 100% diesel powered, what law?
A bus company in my town are misleadingly labelling their new hybrid buses as zero emission and electric when they are in fact 100% diesel powered and have normal levels of emissions. As an asthmatic ...
- 147