Mike Masnick makes a plea on techdirt for a mobile phone vendor to step forward and offer truth in their advertisements and product descriptions. This was prompted by a JD Power report on the declining satisfaction with mobile phone providers in the US. Is there anyone responsible for ensuring that consumers aren’t ripped off in the US?
Here in Australia our competition watchdog also has a consumer protection brief. It has the power to make and enforce rulings, and to levy large fines on companies that do not act in the consumers interest. While they are not immune from political interest they have a good track record of championing the cause of the consumer, even in more complicated modern technology situations. Some of the rulings here that would help in the US are:
All DVD players must be region free.
If a product is advertised as {price}+delivery, then the delivery fee must be stated.
Mobile phone numbers must be portable.
Mobile phones must be unlocked at the request of the customer (although contract break fees are legal)
You cannot advertise ‘unlimited’ downloads unless they are.
All phone contracts must clearly state the minimum cost of the contract.
I know there are other countries like the UK that have similar consumer protection advocates, i.e. ones that can actually enforce. It seems from some of the news stories I see from the US that there is either no such entity there, or it has no teeth.