Consumer protection is a term that is thrown around a lot by lawyers, but with little description as to what consumer protection actually entails.

In simple terms, consumer protection is a way to shield consumers (a person purchasing a good or service) from being misled or taken advantage of by businesses.

Consumer protection impacts nearly everyone because there are sadly far too many unscrupulous businesses that employ fraudulent practices.

What Falls Under ‘Goods and Services’?

Both goods and services can also be considered wants and needs: Goods are categorized as material items, and services are considered items that are not tangible, but their effects are wanted by consumers.

Examples of goods: Food, cars, books, furniture, and clothes.

Examples of services: Haircuts, house cleaning, restaurant services, and lawn care

Why Is Consumer Protection Needed?

Consumer protection laws help protect everyday citizens from being ripped off by businesses. These laws provide a framework to go after companies for a variety of reasons, including:

Consumer Justice

In general, the practice of consumer protection is exactly what it sounds like: To protect you from being scammed by dishonest business practices.

More specifically, the regulations surrounding consumer protection allow lawyers to go after a business about their faulty or fraudulent goods & services to ensure the consumer receives just compensation.

Protection Against Poor Quality Products

Although companies don’t necessarily mean to make a product with poor quality, it can and does happen. A lot of the time, a product is poor because of the materials used to make it.

The production of this good cannot be stopped unless an official complaint is filed, which is where a consumer protection lawyer can help. Consumers are entitled to be compensated for a poor quality goods or services.

Unethical Practices

Unfortunately, companies and even smaller businesses partake in unethical practices.

Unethical practices frequently take place when business owners would rather cut corners than follow the rules; this usually happens because of a competitive market and low production costs.

The consumer then bears the consequence (often expense) of the unethical practice.

Because unethical business practices can lead to health and safety concerns, attorneys often need to get involved to advocate for the consumer if the business refuses to make the situation right on their own.

If you are a consumer who thinks they have bought a poor quality or fraudulent good or service, be sure to reach out to a lawyer to discuss your rights.

The Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld is dedicated to protecting consumer rights, so contact us today for a free consultation if you feel a business has committed any kind of consumer fraud.