How to get help

April 21, 2011

Here’s a guide to where to get help from government agencies on a variety of consumer issues from dangerous products to getting ripped off. If a link is broken or you have a suggestion, please email mitch@TheConsumerChronicle.com.

If you need help, email or – even better – post a comment to Mitch’s Facebook page. You’ll not only get an answer from him, you’ll also benefit from the experiences of other experts and interested consumers.

Recalls

If you want to sign up for government recalls, all the sites and their sign-ups can be found at Recalls.gov .

You can also just stop by the ones that most interest you:
For basic consumer products, including appliances, clothes and baby things:

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Stuff you eat and the medicine you take:

Food and Drug Administration

Automobiles, tires and car seats

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Boats

U.S. Coast Guard

Other government consumer information

For other topics, the feds provide this helpful A-Z list of consumer topics.

Here are some additional links by topic:

Air travel issues

Stop by this site Department of Transportation site if you have an issue with an airline.

Banking

You’ll find information about banking regulators in all 50 states here.

Complaints, where to lodge them

Identity theft, scams, credit cards, deceptive marketing, etc.

The Federal Trade Commission has a an array of helpful information. Don’t look to them to help you out of your jam, though. They collect complaints and pursue the bad guys. They don’t deal with individual cases.

Annoying sales calls

You can access the National Do Not Call Registry here.

Internet scams and crimes

Check out:

OnGuard Online
Internet Crime Complaint Center (a coalition of the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance)

Private resolution

The Better Business Bureau sells memberships to businesses that commit to certain ethical guidelines. Membership, or lack thereof, by itself isn’t an indicator of the quality of a business or its commitment to good customer service.

However, the BBB does publish information about businesses that can give good insight into how they resolve complaints.

Use their complaint database or file a complaint here.

How to hire a mover

If you’re going to entrust all your household belongings to a company, it’s a good idea to check them out before signing up. There also are a few things to keep in mind since many rogue operations are set up to appear legitimate, but offer low-ball prices only to boost them later when they have all your things.

Here are some tips:

Make sure to contact at least three companies and meet their representatives at your home
Be sure to get written estimates from them based on their observations of the goods you intend to transport
For interstate moves, check the company’s record in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety database, which will show whether the company is licensed, insured and how many vehicles it operates (many rogue companies create the illusion on their web sites that they have a fleet of trucks, but often have one or none)
Consider the American Moving & Storage Association’s ProMover program, which is intended to present only legitimate movers

Remember, the lowest price isn’t always the best. Know who you are hiring and what they are offering for the money as well as what added costs you might have to pay.

Here are some additional tips from the Moving Association.

State and Local

Below is a list of agencies by state. You can also check out this federal government page that has some additional agencies you could turn to for help.

ALABAMA