Law School clinic publishes consumer-rights manual

A guide to help make Wisconsin consumers more savvy both in the marketplace and in the legal arena has been published by the Consumer Law Litigation Clinic at the UW Law School.

The 33-page manual provides a range of valuable consumer information, from tips on how to buy and sell used cars, to how to deal with phone slamming, mail orders, prize solicitations and bill collectors.

Steve Meili, a clinical associate professor and clinic director, says the guide is intended to familiarize consumers with their basic rights under Wisconsin law. It also offers ideas about where consumers can turn if they believe their rights have been violated.

“The primary goal is to make citizens aware of their rights as consumers,” Meili says of the manual, which was produced by UW law students and is also available in Spanish. “Wisconsin has some very strong consumer laws, but most people aren’t aware of them.”

The guide, Your Consumer Rights, is available online.

Law students who work in the Consumer Law Litigation Clinic, which is designed to provide students with hands-on work with consumer-rights cases, developed the manual as a service-learning project.
In general, Meili says, consumers can best arm themselves by:

• Reading all documents carefully before signing.
• Examining all bills closely.
• Keeping good records of purchase, service contracts and efforts to resolve problems.
• Putting complaints in writing, and keeping copies.
• Asking questions and negotiating actively.

“We want to help people become aware of the steps they can take before they have to take advantage of Wisconsin consumer law,” he says. “Part of the idea is self-help, things like knowing how to get a copy of your credit report and how to fix it if it contains errors.”

The manual was underwritten by the Dane County Bar Association, the Wisconsin Law Foundation, and the Consumer Protection and Information Committee of the State Bar of Wisconsin.