Each one of us is a consumer, who needs to buy or consume something almost everyday. But do you know as an individual consumer, how we should protect ourselves, how to stay away from potential ripoffs and fraud, what we should do if we are ripped off, and where we should go for help? What are our legal rights as consumers? What are the government regulations related to consumer rights? Where to go to gather and process information relevant to solving consumer problems?

In Consumer Issues (FACS 142), a course offered by the Department of Family and Consumer Science, we discuss all the above questions and we want to share our knowledge, information, and answers with more people because we would like more consumers to be educated consumers and better protect ourselves.

The topics include: how to stop telemarketers from calling you or how could you get $500 by suing them; how to purchase a new or used car since many college students buy their first car (how to deal with salespersons, what selling tactics salespersons use); applying credit cards on campus (all the tricks involved in the application, what should be aware of); renting apartments (if the apartment is not available, if the apartment does not work in some way, what are renters’ rights, what are landlords’ responsibilities); sweepstakes: where do the companies get the mailing lists?

Dong Shen, PhD

Assistant Professor

Family and Consumer Sciences