Minnesota Consumer Rights Blog

Do you ever see ads for a product that looks too good to be true? The problem could be that the ads are misleading, selling something that the product cannot deliver.

Of course, this can look vastly different from one product to the next. To get an idea of how it works, let's take a look at a few famous examples:

• Volkswagen marketed diesel cars as an environmentally-friendly option that produced low emissions when the reality was just that they spent years cheating on the emissions tests. The Federal Trade Commission said: "Volkswagen deceived consumers by selling or leasing more than 550,000 diesel cars based on false claims that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly."
• Kellogg said that Rice Krispies could help kids have a stronger immune system since it contained"25% daily value of antioxidants and nutrients — Vitamins A, B, C and E." This made parents think it was a healthy choice for kids, like giving them vitamins. The FTC had to step in and tell them to stop that marketing campaign.
• New Balance claimed specific shoes would burn more calories than the competition. This seemed odd, so follow-up studies were done, and they did not find that the shoes helped people burn extra calories or get in shape. New Balance had to pay out in excess of $2 million.

Debt collectors may soon add a new weapon to their arsenal for collecting money from consumer debtors. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency tasked with protecting consumers that was founded in the wake of the country's most recent financial crisis, has proposed some new industry rules.

One proposed change is to allow debt collectors to send debtors emails and texts regarding their overdue accounts.

Financial exploitation of the elderly remains a major problem throughout the country, with elderly individuals and their children concerned about this. Fortunately, with the proper knowledge, it's easy to spot a scam and avoid it before it takes its toll.

Every year, financial exploitation of the elderly costs older adults nearly $3 billion. And with the number of elderly individuals on the rise, it's safe to assume that this number will increase in the years to come.

In the modern world, it is increasingly important to keep a close eye on your credit score. Even if you don't have perfect credit, protecting what you have makes it easier to improve your credit and avoid costly hits to your score. Unfortunately, many of us see our credit score suffer because of reporting errors or because of fraudulent acts of others.

If you recently found errors on your credit report, you have some options. The first thing to do is take a deep breath and remember that you have a number of ways to fight back against inaccurate reporting. Errors and fraud may not clear up immediately, but with some careful research and a strong legal strategy, you may be able to get errors removed.