Consumer Law

Wilkes-Barre, Sugarloaf and Hazleton, Pennsylvania

Consumer law is in place to protect you from being taken advantage of by powerful manufacturers or other producers or sellers of goods and services. The Falvello Law Firm, near Berwick, Pennsylvania, is experienced in consumer law and we want to help protect your consumer rights.

What Consumer Law Is

Consumer law refers to rules, regulations, or statues which help buyers to get an equal footing in the market with sellers because sellers are usually on a stronger footing than buyers. Sometimes this branch of law refers to consumer protection laws to help protect buyers of retail goods and services from products or services which are inferior in quality, dangerous, or hazardous. They also protect consumers from deceptive or fraudulent sales tactics.

Pennsylvania’s law covering consumer law is called Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL).

Types of Cases Involving Consumer Law

Many cases involve consumer law, including:

• Auto sales, including lemon laws
• Contractor disagreements
• Defective products
• Identity theft
• Insurance disputes over fire, health, homeowner, life, rental, or property insurance policies
• Long-term care insurance fraud
• Lost airline luggage
• Product warranties
• Real estate transactions
• Securities fraud
• Telemarketing
• Unfair debt collection practices or harassment

These are only a few examples of the kinds of cases covered under consumer law.

Some cases involve so many people with the same or similar cases against a manufacturer or other producer or seller of consumer goods and services that a class action suit is filed on behalf of all the consumers involved and each consumer who takes part in the class action suit receives an equal piece of the settlement.

Consumer Rights and Consumer Fraud

Consumers have the right to be protected from predatory businesses that engage in deceptive, fraudulent, or unfair trade practices.

Consumer law seeks to protect consumers in cases of:

• Bankruptcy cases
• Credit reporting practices
• Foreclosures on mortgages
• Predatory lending practices

State and federal laws that are in place to protect you, the consumer, from fraud include:

• The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
• The Federal Fair Debt Collections Act
• The Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
• The Pennsylvania UTPCPL
• The Unfair Trade and Deceptive Practices Act

If you feel you were taken advantage of in a consumer transaction, please email us at The Falvello Law Firm near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. We are ready and willing to work tirelessly to help you fight for your consumer rights. We offer a free initial consultation, so please do not hesitate to call us to schedule your initial consultation.