Austin Consumer Protection Attorney Protects Consumer Rights

Despite legislation at the federal and state level, Texas residents still need an experienced Austin consumer protection attorney to aid them in the event your consumer rights are violated. “Consumer rights” means different things to different people, but it generally refers to the body of laws designed to protect you, the consumer, from products or services that can harm you. Consumer rights go back to the days of Ralph Nader, who is considered the champion of these rights. As the federal government continues to enact laws to protect people from dangerous or misrepresented products, Texas has taken consumer rights a step further and has its own code of law to protect its citizens. The majority of Texas consumer rights law falls under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

The Right to Safety

The biggest consumer right is being safe when you use a product or service. While manufacturers often recall products that are deemed dangerous, they tend to do so only when there has been a series of serious injuries or deaths. Infant necessities such as cribs, strollers, toys, and high chairs are often subject to recall. When you buy an item for your baby, you assume it’s safe. However, the news is filled with instances of babies being hurt or even killed because of unsafe products. Safety is your number one consumer right.

The Right to Information

You have the right to have enough information to make an informed decision when purchasing a product or service. This is particularly important when dealing with medications, health care devices, or home products. For example, if you have a cold and need medicine, you have the right to know exactly what’s in your medication and clear instructions on how to use the vaporizer to clear your stuffy head. Those instructions tell you how often to take your medication and what not to take with it. The vaporizer instructions explain how far to keep the vaporizer from you to avoid injuries. “Truth in advertising” laws stem from your right to have information. False claims made by manufacturers led to the laws that allow you to have access to the information you need to make an informed decision.

The Right to Choose

Consumers like choices. When you go to the grocery, you can see that you have several choices for which yogurt, detergent, or bread you buy. The right to choose means that you have a choice among several products at varying levels of price, quality, and service. Anti-trust laws are in place to protect consumers from one company gaining an unfair advantage in the marketplace and gaining a monopoly where they control all of a particular service or product leaving consumers without a choice. The recent collapse of the Comcast/Time Warner merger is an example of the anti-trust laws at work, since Comcast would gain an unfair advantage over its competitors.

The Right to Be Heard

You have the right to have your concerns regarding products and services heard by the federal and state governments. It is under this right that you need an experienced Austin consumer protection attorney to help in the event you believe your rights as a consumer have been violated. While it may not seem so, your elected officials are responsible for hearing your concerns about consumer issues and, as feasible, taking steps to protect those rights.

Contacting an Austin Consumer Protection Attorney

If you believe your rights as a consumer have been violated and you have been harmed as a result, you should contact an Austin consumer protection attorney to discuss how you believe your rights have been violated. The Austin consumer protection attorney at Nunis & Associates are experts in consumer rights and can advise you in the event there is a violation. Please contact the Austin consumer protection attorney at Nunis and Associates at (512) 236-9696.