The Massachusetts Consumers' Coalition is the primary
consumer rights advocacy organization in
Massachusetts. The organization is structured as a non-profit (
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
), and serves as the primary umbrella organization for organizations working in Massachusetts with consumer rights concerns. The organization works on federal and state-level consumer laws and provides consumer education on credit, insurance, sales, media control, and other consumer issues, and was instrumental in passing Massachusetts'
lemon law in the 1970s, one of the first state-level lemon laws.
Significant initiatives worked on:
* Car purchase rules, including car
lemon laws, defeat of the "as is" car bill, enactment of a used car
warranty law; MCC is well known for its "Car Smart" guideline, periodically revised, which includes information about Massachusetts-specific rules for buying, leasing, and repairing cars
* Consumer
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
- Financial transactions (including
credit card),
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
, data aggregators, and other issues
*
Credit reporting reform
* Telecommunications and
media diversity
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates i ...
issues including opposition to
cable television ownership transfers without guarantees of
net neutrality, and opposition to the 2003
Federal Communications Commission proposal to permit greater consolidation of mass media ownership, opposition to higher cable rates
* Utility rates and promoting
energy efficiency
* Home ownership and home financing - Home safety including passage of law regulating sale of home water treatment devices; home ownership financing rules
["House OK's Legislation to Regulate Contractors", ''Boston Globe'', Oct. 9, 1991.]
*
Gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
, primarily working with the
Consumer Federation of America
References
External links
MassConsumer.org(MCC website)
Consumer rights organizations
Organizations established in 1976
Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts
Consumer protection in the United States
Consumer organizations in the United States
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