Consumer protection

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is undertaking compliance activities designed to identify and deter noncompliance, encourage voluntary compliance and protect consumers. These activities are supported by a compliance framework to guide CAV’s compliance and enforcement officers in their activities, and to inform those it regulates. However, a range of administrative weaknesses undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of elements of CAV’s compliance activities and its compliance framework. None of the 16 badged compliance and enforcement officers spoken to during this audit—out of a total of 45—were aware of more than two of CAV’s 14 compliance and enforcement guides and procedures. This lack of knowledge increases the risk that compliance functions are not undertaken in line with the principles of consistency, transparency and proportionality. Weaknesses with its compliance data, and an underdeveloped performance monitoring and reporting framework, means that CAV cannot be assured about the reliability of its reported performance data. CAV also cannot determine how effective, efficient and economical it has been in performing its regulatory functions, or whether it is achieving its stated goals. CAV has started to address some of the issues this audit had identified, but needs to do more so that both consumers and traders can have confidence in it

Fair Is Fair—Reshaping Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act

Few fields of law impact as wide a swath of population as consumer protection law. Alaska adopted its consumer protection statute, the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPCPA), amid a national movement to strengthen consumer protection laws. The UTPCPA uses broad language to encompass a wide range of conduct. However, creative pleading and recent applications of the UTPCPA have expanded the law in ways that threaten Alaska businesses even in the absence of culpable conduct. This Note reviews the history of consumer protection, Alaska’s UTPCPA, and the incentives leading to an expanding application of the UTPCPA. The Note concludes by proposing potential legislative solutions to rein in abuse of the Act

Hearing on PCBs - Problems of Use and Alternatives for Disposal

Our hearing this morning is concerned with the health and environmental effects posed by the use and disposal of PCB\u27s - Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Because of the numerous incidents involving PCB spills and the increasing amount of liquid PCB waste accumulating in California, this Committee has a responsibility to examine these effects and insure they do not pose a risk to the public health and environment. At this hearing, we\u27ll examine the long and short term human health hazards caused by the exposure to PCB\u27s. There has been a general concern that these very stable compounds may escape into the environment from accidents and leakages or while in interim storage. The State\u27s appropriate goal is to insure that these substances are destroyed by an acceptable method

Factors affecting the public judgement of consumer protection authorities

The article first introduces the state-provided institutions for consumer protection in Hungary, then examines and systematises those factors having a significant impact on the public judgement of the work of consumer protection authorities. The study is based on the presumption that the public judgement of the work of consumer protection institutions is affected by many factors, and that these factors can be grouped and counted. After examining the main fields of activities of consumer protection institutions and the main factors and aspects affecting the judgement of the public, a model for the measurement of satisfaction is proposed