Consumer Law

Finding a safe kennel for your pet

Posted on November 27, 2007
The holiday travel season is here and if you plan to board Fido and Fluffy while you're out of town, the Better Business Bureau says you need to first check out your kennel to ensure your pets' safety. Complaints to the BBB about pet kennels and boarding facilities have more than doubled in the last five years with nearly 500 complaints nationwide made last year, according to the organization...

Read the fine print on rebate offers

Posted on November 21, 2007
Rebates can provide a nice shopping bonus ? as long as you follow the strict redemption rules. Many go unclaimed because consumers throw away proof of purchase codes or miss deadlines.

Gift card laws and scams

Posted on November 15, 2007
Gift cards are easy to give and great to receive. But be careful if you shop online. Some cards sold on auction sites are counterfeit or stolen. Plus, there's an important difference between cards sold by merchants and those issued by banks and malls...

FTC cracks down on rogue telemarketers

Posted on November 08, 2007
Some of the worst telemarketers were nailed for violating the Do Not Call list. This week, the Federal Trade Commission announced $7.7 million in settlements with six companies accused of ignoring the...

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AG working to protect small businesses too

Posted on November 08, 2007
In the realm of consumer protection, businesses can sometimes be victims. Our office took action this week in two cases in which consumers are businesses.We settled a lawsuit with a HouseValues, Inc., which...

E-mail alerts help consumers keep up with recalls

Posted on November 01, 2007
Who can possibly keep up with all the recent product recalls? It was big news when manufacturers recently recalled millions of toys because of toxic lead paint and when animals started dying because of tainted...

Can you spot the top 10 scams?

Posted on October 30, 2007
An estimated 30.2 million adults ? 13.5 percent of the U.S. adult population ? were victims of fraud during a single year, according to a new survey released yesterday by the Federal Trade Commission. Here...

How to find your missing property for free

Posted on October 29, 2007
Have you ever been contacted by someone who claims you may have some missing or unclaimed property that you didn?t know about? These businesses offer to locate your missing assets for a fee. But you don?t...

Fix for recalled Simplicity and Graco cribs

Posted on October 26, 2007
A fix is available for recalled Simplicity and Graco cribs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Simplicity will provide consumers with a repair kit. We blogged last month...

Home lead test kits often fail, fed study shows

Posted on October 22, 2007
Following reports of excessive lead in children's and pets' toys, parents are likely to turn to lead test kits that they can use at home.  But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says these tests...

Check out contractors before you pay for storm repairs

Posted on October 19, 2007
Attorney General Rob McKenna today urged homeowners to check out contractors they hire to help repair their storm-damaged homes and remove fallen trees caused by yesterday?s 40-50 mph winds. Storms often...

McKenna joins credit unions at statewide shredathon on Oct. 20th

Posted on October 19, 2007
So many free shred events this month! Tomorrow, October 20th, Attorney General Rob McKenna will join Washington?s credit unions in a statewide effort to reduce identity theft. More than 20 credit unions...

Use caution when shopping online auction sites

Posted on October 18, 2007
Our Consumer Protection High-Tech Unit filed a lawsuit today accusing a former Bremerton couple who sold magazine subscriptions of violating consumer protection laws. According to the state?s complaint,...

Security software, like fire extinguishers, needs maintenance

Posted on October 16, 2007
A few years ago, one of our kids mistakenly set the microwave to 40 minutes to cook a bag of popcorn.  My wife and I arrived home to find the first floor of our house covered in smoke and the smoke detector...

Lead found in lipstick - but cosmetics experts say don't panic

Posted on October 12, 2007
Ladies, you may be licking lead. More than half of 33 brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm), according to new product...

How much is that doggie on the Internet?

Posted on October 12, 2007
?Con artists have come up with another devious way to steal your money. Their bait: cute little puppies. It starts with an e-mail or a classified ad, and it ends with disappointment and a drained bank...

Feds bust list brokers in undercover sting

Posted on October 12, 2007
The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois halted an illegal operation that sold lists of consumers to Canadian telemarketers...

Tell us your fraud story

Posted on October 11, 2007
Feelings of embarrassment keep many fraud victims from ever coming forward. However, cons will continue to prey on unsuspecting victims as long as there are people who have yet to hear the warnings. Your...

Affiliate marketer violated spyware act

Posted on October 10, 2007
Yet another reminder why you must be cautious when downloading software: We announced a settlement today with an Internet affiliate advertiser who sent anonymous ?Net Send? messages to consumers? computers....

Ready for the digital TV switchover?

Posted on October 10, 2007
On Feb. 17, 2009, all television broadcasts will switch from analog to digital signals. If you subscribe to cable or satellite service, you shouldn't have to worry. But if you still have an analog TV,...

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