Fortunately, most of the providers of goods and services to consumers are honest and provide products and services that are satisfactory. All too often, however, suppliers will make promises that they cannot keep or their goods or services will be defective or inferior. For example, a car dealer may make promises or statements about a vehicle or its performance that turn out not to be true, a contractor use inferior materials or perform in an unworkmanlike manner, or a high pressure door-to-door salesman may pressure you to buy something you really don’t need or want. When this occurs, Ohio has a number of laws to help consumers. They include laws such as the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, the Ohio Lemon Law, the Odometer Fraud Act, and the Uniform Commercial Code. These are statutes that protect consumers from deceptive, unfair, or unconscionable acts or which require that suppliers of goods and services live up to their promises and provide goods and services of the quality that a reasonable consumer might expect.
There are, of course, other ways in which unscrupulous people can take advantage of consumers, especially in the area of consumer credit. In recent years, many consumers have been the victims of predatory lending, and some have even lost their homes as a result. Similarly, a lender may make a loan without providing the required disclosures and documentation. Unfortunately, discrimination in the granting of credit still exists, and identity theft is a huge and growing problem. And, if a consumer should happen to default on a credit obligation, lenders and collection agencies often use harassment and threats to try to force the consumer to pay.
As with the area of goods and services, there are many state and federal laws designed to protect consumers from these practices. Both Ohio and the federal government have strong law to protect against predatory lending. The federal Truth-in-Lending Act requires that lenders conspicuously provide borrowers with certain information to insure that the borrower understands the terms of the loan. Ohio and the Congress have both passed strong legislation to protect against discrimination in lending. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act both protect consumers from harassment by lenders and debt collectors trying to collect debts. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides protections to consumers against inaccurate information on credit reports.
There are many additional consumer protection laws and regulations. The attorneys at Isaac Brant Ledman and Teetor, LLP, are familiar with all of the state and federal statutes and regulations designed to protect consumers. In fact, one of our attorneys has written a book of more than 1000 pages dealing only with the topic of consumer protection. Isaac Brant also has a separate website devoted solely to our representation of consumers which can be found at www.Consumerlawohio.com. and which contains much valuable information about consumer laws. If you are unhappy with a product or service that you have been provided, or you feel you have been treated unfairly by a supplier, contact one of our attorneys.
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