The Consumer Protection Act of 1997

In 1997, the United States Congress enacted the Consumer Protection Act of 1997. The purpose of this Act was to represent and protect the interests of consumers in a free market economy, citing the unfair and unjust practices of businesses that resulted in countless consumers suffering personal injury, economic harm and other adverse consequences.

This Act is different from the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, more commonly known as the federal lemon law, which gives motorized vehicle owners a chance at receiving compensation for their defective vehicles. Enacted in 1975, the federal lemon law played a part in the beginning of consumer rights governed on federal and state levels.

The Consumer Protection Act of 1997 created a governmental agency, the Agency for Consumer Advocacy, to receive and transmit consumer complaints, distribute information on products to the general public and perform other functions in the interest of the consumer. All types of products and services are covered under this act, except for vehicles covered under the federal lemon law.

The Advantages

There are several advantages that began with the Consumer Protection Act. Manufacturers and representatives of products now have to follow a certain code of ethics, promising to provide safety, quality, purity, potency, healthfulness, durability, and effectiveness. They have to furnish full, accurate and clear instructions, warnings and other information so as not to deceive.

Deceptive trade practices began to disappear with the threat of penalties for violating this federal law. Advertising methods began to change so the consumer was not roped into purchasing products and services that did not live up to their claims. Prices and quality began to improve, as businesses that often went "over the line" started to make more credible claims about their products and services.

At What Cost?

But as with any type of regulation, there is always a price to pay. Manufacturers and shopkeepers had to include extra labeling, address consumer complaints that sometimes had very little merit, and, in some cases, change their packaging to allow for warnings and additional information. All of these steps cost money, and those costs were passed along to the consumer.

So the next time you buy products that work the way the manufacturer claimed they would work, remember the Consumer Protection Act of 1997, and its many amendments since then. Its regulations have upped the standards we have come to expect as U.S. consumers, and improved our lives in many ways. But this act has also increased the cost of those same product.

It's up to each of us to decide whether that extra cost is worth the protections we've received from this important act.