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

Arizona PIRG’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 years, the state PIRGs’ Trouble In Toyland report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. To date, our report has led to at least 150 recalls and other actions to get dangerous toys off store shelves. Click the link to read our report.

BIGGER BANKS BIGGER FEES

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

Issue updates

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2008

The recall of 45 million toys and other children’s products in 2007 and continued recalls in 2008 reminded Americans that no government agency tests toys before they are put on the shelves.
Specifically, the wave of recalls focused attention on the fact that the agency charged with protecting Americans from unsafe products—the Consumer Product Safety Commission—is a little agency with a very big job to do.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG | Consumer Protection

Arizona PIRG Alerts Shoppers to Hidden Toy Hazards

Hazardous toys are still sold in stores across the country, despite a new law overhauling the nation’s product safety watchdog agency, according to the State PIRG’s 23rd annual toy safety survey released today by the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG). The group also warned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is taking actions to delay one of the new law’s toxic toy protections indefinitely.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG | Consumer Protection

Proposition 200 is No Reform to Payday Lending

Payday lenders hope that in packaging Proposition 200 as industry ‘reform’ Arizonans will vote to permanently legalize triple-digit interest rates and greater access to borrower bank accounts.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG | Consumer Protection

Consumer Groups Applaud U.S. House Passage of Strong Product Safety Bill

Today, consumer, public interest and scientific groups applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for passing strong product safety reform legislation that would overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  The bi-partisan Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will make consumer products safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they are sold, and by banning lead and phthalates in toys.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG | Consumer Protection

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Data Show Safety Recalls Increased 22 Percent Over Last Year

The number of recalls of toys and children’s products is up 22% over the first half of last year, despite industry promises last year to solve the problems that made 2007 the “year of the recall,” according to an analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission data by the nation’s leading consumer groups. The groups urged Congress to complete a “strong CPSC Reform Act” before the August recess.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

New Report Documents Dangerous Chemicals in Baby Products

Toxic chemicals can be found in common baby products, according to a new report released today by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund. “The Right Start: The Need to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals from Baby Products” documents toxic chemicals, including phthalates and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), in teethers, bath books, and sleep accessories.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. Senator John McCain Honored By Arizona PIRG As Public Interest Champion

As part of the state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) first lobby days of the 109th Congress, Arizona PIRG honored Senator John McCain for his unwavering commitment to a secure and affordable energy future and his leadership on global warming.

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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.

CONSUMER ALERTS

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