Consumer Rights Basics
The fundamentals every consumer should know. Your rights on refunds, returns, and warranties, billing-dispute and chargeback rights, cooling-off rules, and the federal and state agencies — the FTC, the CFPB, and your state Attorney General — that have your back.
All Consumer Rights Basics guides
- Can a Debt Collector Garnish Your Tax Refund? What's Actually Legal
Private debt collectors can't intercept your IRS tax refund, but they can levy the bank account once it lands. Here's what's legal and how to protect yourself.
- How to Protect Your Tax Refund From Debt Collectors and Garnishment
Can debt collectors garnish your tax refund? Learn how to protect your refund with timing, exemptions, and separate accounts under federal and state law.
- What If a Contractor Won't Honor Your Right to Cancel?
Contractor ignoring your cancellation? Learn how to enforce the Cooling-Off Rule, dispute the charge under the FCBA, and file complaints that get results.
- Your Rights When AI Screens You for a Job, Loan, or Apartment
Automated systems increasingly decide who gets hired, approved for credit, or accepted as a tenant. The consumer-protection and anti-discrimination laws that still apply to AI decisions.
- Student Loans, Child Support, and Back Taxes: What Can Actually Take Your Tax Refund
Only certain debts can legally intercept your federal tax refund. Learn the three big ones, how the Treasury Offset Program works, and how to fight back.
- Can You Cancel a Home-Improvement Contract Within Three Days?
Yes, in most cases. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives you 3 business days to cancel home-solicitation sales of $25+. Here's how it works.
- Is That Class-Action Settlement Notice Real, and Can You Still Join?
Learn how to verify a class-action settlement notice is legitimate, check the class period, and file a claim - all without ever paying an upfront fee.
- Can the Court Garnish Your Tax Refund After a Judgment?
After a judgment, a private creditor usually can't seize your federal IRS refund directly, but can take it from your bank account. Here's how it works.
- Are Hidden 'Junk Fees' at Checkout Legal?
Hidden checkout fees can cross into illegal deceptive pricing. Learn the federal rules, state all-in pricing laws, and how to fight back.
- Can a Lender Verify Your Tax Returns? What Borrowers Need to Know
Yes, lenders can verify your tax returns with the IRS using Form 4506-C when you consent. Here is how income verification works and your rights.
- Tax Return vs. Tax Refund: Can Collectors Take Either One?
A 'tax return' is the form you file; a 'tax refund' is the money the IRS sends back. Here's who can take your refund, and what private collectors actually can't touch.
- Can a Debt Collector Take Your Tax Refund for Old Debt? Statute of Limitations
A private debt collector generally cannot grab your IRS tax refund. Learn how time-barred debt, the statute of limitations, and your FDCPA rights work.
- What to Do If a Debt Collector Already Took Your Tax Refund
A debt collector took your tax refund? Learn who can legally seize a refund, how to claim exemptions, dispute an improper levy, and your FDCPA rights.
- Can You Cancel a Contract You Signed Electronically?
Yes, an e-signature is fully binding under federal law, but it does not erase any cooling-off period or cancellation right the contract already had.
- Is It Legal for a Debt Collector to Threaten to Take Your Tax Refund?
A private debt collector usually can't touch your IRS tax refund. A false threat to seize it can violate the FDCPA and be worth statutory damages.
- Can a Debt Collector Take Your STATE Tax Refund?
Can a debt collector take your state tax refund? It depends on your state and whether a court judgment exists. Here is how state refund offset and garnishment work.
- Treasury Offset Program: When the Government Can Seize Your Tax Refund
Can creditors garnish your federal tax refund? Mostly no. Learn how the Treasury Offset Program works, who can take refunds, and how to fight back.
- Can You Sue Over a Fake Discount or Misleading Price?
Fake 'was' prices and phony discounts can violate FTC rules and state law. Learn what counts as deceptive pricing and how to pursue a claim.