Don't Get Ripped Off

We work to protect consumers by:

Alerting the public to hidden dangers, scams, and unsafe products
Educating consumers about their rights in the marketplace

We have created a series of guides to help you avoid rip-offs and scams, and to be a smarter, healthier consumer.

Issue updates

Report | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed, Student Debt

The Campus Debit Card Trap

Banks and other financial firms are taking advantage of a variety of opportunities to form partnerships with colleges and universities to produce campus student ID cards and to offer student aid disbursements on debit or prepaid cards. In addition to on-campus services, such as student ID functions offered on the card, some cards offer traditional debit card services linked to bank accounts; other cards provide additional reloadable prepaid card functions. The disbursement of financial aid and university refunds is the most significant partnership identified.

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Blog Post | Corporate, Democracy

Success at Southern | Thomas Letchworth

Students and Ashland residents assembled in front of the student union to mourn the death of free and fair democratic elections in the United Stated yesterday. This was a peaceful candlelit vigil for individuals who believe corporations are not people, and thus should not be allowed to fund elections and support candidates with unlimited financial contributions. After over 160 people congregated on campus, we marched down the closed off lane of Ashland’s busiest street, Siskiyou Boulevard, chanting things like, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go!".

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Blog Post | Textbooks

Big Day for Open Education! | Nicole Allen

Today was a big day in the movement for free and open textbooks! A conference call featuring U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter, CALPIRG textbook affordability activist Arthur Karadzhyan, and other leaders kicked off two exciting new initiatives for open education:

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Resource | Textbooks

Federal Textbook Price Disclosure Law

Summary

The HEOA, short for the Higher Education Opportunity Act, is a higher education reform bill passed by Congress in 2008. Among the many provisions in HEOA was a set of important regulations to help make textbooks affordable, which went into effect July 1, 2010.

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Resource | Textbooks

Make Textbooks Affordable: Recommendations to Faculty

Summary

Faculty are in charge of selecting textbooks, which puts them in a key position to help students save money. Follow these guidelines to help minimize costs.

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Don't Get Ripped Off