The Equal Credit Opportunity Act forbids lenders from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, marital status, sex, age, receipt of public assistance income, or an applicant’s good faith exercise of any rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The ECOA requires creditors to provide applicants with the reasons why a credit was denied if the applicant asks.
The Electronic Fund Transfer Act establishes the rights, responsibilities and liabilities of participants in electronic fund transfer systems. The EFTA strictly requires participants to follow certain practices when they deal with transaction accounting and pre authorized transfers and error resolution, and sets liability limits for losses caused by unauthorized transfers.
The Consumer Leasing Act sets personal property leases that surpass 4 months and are made to consumers for personal, family, or household purposes. The statute requires that certain lease costs and terms be divulge, imposes limitations on the size of penalties for delinquency and on the size of residual liabilities, and in some instances, requires certain disclosures in lease advertising.
(Source:FTC.gov)
The Fair Credit Billing Act is important to a creditor who are billing customers for goods or services. The Act requires you to accept consumer billing complaints promptly in writing and to investigate billing errors submitted to you. The Act prohibits creditors from taking actions that adversely affect the consumer’s credit standing until the investigation is completed, and affords other consumer protections during disputes. The Act also requires that creditors promptly post payments to the consumer’s account, and either refund over payments or credit them to the consumer’s account.
(Source:FTC.gov)
The FTC Act strictly prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising in any medium. Advertising either through media or net must tell the truth and not mislead its consumers. A claim can be misleading if relevant information is left out or if the claim implies something that’s not true at all. As an example, a lease advertisement for an automobile that promotes “$0 Down” may be misleading if significant and undisclosed charges are due at lease signing. Furthermore, claims must be substantiated, especially when they concern health, safety, or performance. If your ad specifies a certain level of support for a claim – “tests show X” – you must have at least that level of support. Sellers are responsible for claims they make about their products and services. Third parties – such as advertising agencies or website designers and catalog marketers – also may be liable for making or disseminating deceptive representations if they participate in the preparation or distribution of the advertising, or know about the deceptive claims of the seller.
(Source:FTC.gov)
Nowadays, the Internet is already a medium to connect advertisers to customers with text, interactive graphics, video and audio. If you’re planning about advertising on the Internet, put in mind that many of the same rules that apply to other forms of advertising apply also to electronic marketing. These rules and guidelines protect businesses and consumers and help maintain the credibility of the Internet as one advertising medium.
The Federal Trade Commission Act allows the FTC to act in behalf of the interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive and unfair acts or practices. Interpreting Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Commission has determined that a representation, omission or practice is deceptive if it is likely to:
- mislead consumers
- affect consumers’ behavior or decisions about the product or service.
Moreover, an act or practice is unfair if the injury it causes, or is likely to cause, is:
- substantial
- not outweighed by other benefits
- not reasonably avoidable.
(Source:FTC.gov)
Bait advertising is a tempting but insincere offer to sell a product or service which the advertiser in truth does not intend or want to sell. Its objective is to lead consumers from buying the advertised merchandise, in order to sell something else, usually at a higher price or on a basis more advantageous to the benefit of the advertiser. The primary aim of a bait advertisement is to obtain leads as to persons interested in buying merchandise of the type so advertised.
(Source:FTC.gov)
The Truth in Lending Act strictly requires creditors who deal with consumers to disclose information in writing about finance charges and related aspects of credit transactions, including finance charges expressed as an annual percentage rate. Furthermore, the Act establishes a three day right of rescission in certain transactions involving the establishment of a security interest in the consumer’s principal dwelling (with certain exclusions, such as interests taken in connection with the purchase or initial construction of a dwelling). Lastly, the Lending Act also establishes certain requirements for advertisers of credit terms.
(Source:FTC.gov)
A study conducted by Jupiter Research shows that consumers that go online give more reception to ads that are behavioral than advertising that is contextual. This only shows for advertisers that behavioral targeted ads outshine contextual ads when it comes to consumer attention. The statistic is actually greater than at least 10 percent covering 14 major product categories. The study confirms that Internet users are now turning on the net to check on advertising. Because of the result of the study, it was found out that behaviorally receptive consumers are more likely to have better in fact higher source of revenues and they shop on the Net a lot more times than the others.
A killer advertising campaign and successful marketing plan will do wonders for any product launched in the commercial market. The combination of these two will generate exceptional results for any company that would like to make its mark and create a niche with a loyal customer base. However, are marketing and advertising really enough in order to create a successful business?
The government through various agencies has set forth guidelines on how to run advertising and marketing campaigns in order to protect consumers. Failing to comply with these can result in hefty fines and penalties rather than profits for you. Make sure that you comply with all these laws and guidelines to make you business venture profitable.
