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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

How to freeze your credit files by phone or online | Teresa Murray

You have two primary options for freezing your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. You can do it by phone or online, whichever you’re more comfortable with.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

How to freeze your credit files by phone or online | Teresa Murray

You have two primary options for freezing your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. You can do it by phone or online, whichever you’re more comfortable with.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

22 ways to protect yourself from fraud, identity theft and headaches | Teresa Murray

Fraud/ identity theft is the No. 1 complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, with 2.2 million complaints last year. Consumers reported losing $3.3 billion last year, up from $1.8 billion in 2019.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

Fraudulent unemployment claims: You could be next -- here's what to do | Jacob van Cleef

Fraudulent unemployment claims have been on the rise during the pandemic. Scammers received more than $36 billion by fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits last year, with millions of cases of fraud suspected. You could be next.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

Credit freeze -- A free and fast way to help safeguard your finances | Grace Brombach

My first-hand, step-by-step guide to freezing your credit reports.

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News Release | CoPIRG | Transportation

Colorado joins electric vehicle truck pact

Colorado joined 14 other states plus the District of Columbia to announce today that they will set landmark goals for zero-emission trucks. CoPIRG joined clean car advocates in applauding the Polis administration’s decision to join the pact through an MOU that sets targets for achieving full electrification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, along with interim sales targets for truck manufacturers. 

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News Release | CoPIRG | COVID-19

New analysis: Colorado receives “trending poorly” marks for COVID-19 containment measures

With America as a whole continuing to struggle in containing the COVID-19 virus, CoPIRG released a new fact sheet today calling on Colorado to maintain all current restrictions and consider implementing additional containment measures. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Consumer advice: Ask for help with your bills before an emergency

This coming Monday, June 1, will mark the third full month that bills are due since COVID-19 was declared a national state of emergency in March. To help Americans manage their finances, U.S. PIRG Education Fund has published an updated guide with tips on what to do about paying bills during the crisis.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation and the Denver Streets Partnership | Transportation

Denver receives C+ for implementing its Vision Zero street safety plan in 2019

The Denver Streets Partnership issued its second annual report card and awarded an overall grade of C+ for the City and County of Denver's progress to meet their own Vision Zero Action Plan aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The Report Card focuses specifically on Denver’s progress meeting their goals on street safety improvements, such as building sidewalks and bike lanes.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Statement: Consumer complaints about COVID-19 fraud near 50,000

Consumer complaints to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the coronavirus approached 50,000 on Tuesday. U.S. PIRG Education Fund has documented the actions taken by the FTC and 14 other federal agencies in response to coronavirus scams.

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Report | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Recommendations After Equifax Breach

Equifax, one of the big three credit reporting agencies, announced on September 7th that it had been hacked, potentially compromising the data of 145 million Americans. The types of information taken from the massive credit bureau, particularly Social Security numbers and dates of birth, are the keys to new account identity theft. This is a big deal. To make matters worse, there’s a lot of confusion over what to do now. Here’s our recommendations for what you should do:

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2017

For over 30 years, CoPIRG Foundation has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children. Among the toys surveyed this year, we found potential choking hazards, and two products with concentrations of lead exceeding federal standards for children’s products. We also found data-collecting toys that may violate children’s privacy laws.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Lead In Fidget Spinners

While lead in toys has become less prevalent in recent years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested several models of one of today’s hottest toys, fidget spinners, for the toxic heavy metal. Laboratory results indicated that two fidget spinners purchased at Target and distributed by Bulls i Toy, L.L.C. contained extremely high levels of lead. U.S. PIRG Education Fund calls on Target and Bulls i Toy to immediately recall these two fidget spinners and investigate how such high levels of lead were found in these toys. Also, we call on the U.S.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group | Consumer Protection

Older Consumers in the Financial Marketplace

Older consumers are at risk of harm from predatory financial behavior. An analysis of more than 72,000 financial complaints submitted by older consumers (those 62 years of age and older) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, or Consumer Bureau) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database suggests that mistreatment of older consumers by financial companies is widespread. 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Chain Reaction III

The third annual Chain Reaction report, which grades companies on their antibiotics policies and practices, found that 14 out of the top 25 restaurants in the U.S. have taken steps to restrict the routine use of antibiotics in the production of the chicken they serve, up from nine just one year ago. While restaurant chains made great progress on chicken, the groups who authored the report found that there were no new commitments to limit antibiotic use in beef and pork.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Progress or more of the same from top corporate plastic polluters? | Haley Clinton

For the third year in a row, the list of the largest plastic polluters in the world remains pretty much the same. According to the 2020 Brand Audit Report by Break Free From Plastic, the corporations responsible for polluting the greatest amount of plastic waste are, in order: The Coca-Cola Company; PepsiCo; Nestlé; Unilever; Mondelez International; Mars, Inc.; Procter & Gamble; Philip Morris International; Colgate-Palmolive; and Perfetti Van Melle.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Toxic chemicals in single-use plastics are harming human healthDanielle MelgarHaley Clinton

Plastic is a problem not just for our environment, but also for our health. Chemicals used to make plastics anti-microbial, flame retardant, and more, can be toxic.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

What Does Right to Repair Mean for Colorado? | Allison Conwell

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it is broken, you should be able to fix it or take it to someone you trust to fix it.

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Blog Post

PFAS Free & I’m Lovin’ It | Danielle Melgar

McDonald’s just committed to phasing out PFAS-treated food packaging from its restaurants globally by 2025. Other restaurants, like Burger King and Wendy’s, should follow its lead.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Rebooking airline tickets: How to sort out various vouchers and credits for future flights | Jacob van Cleef

With vaccines here, it may soon be time to reschedule vacations and other trips for later this year

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News Release | US PIRG

Statement: Beech-Nut to stop selling some rice cereal over arsenic concerns

Beech-Nut will stop selling all single grain rice cereal after Alaska state officials discovered high arsenic levels during routing sampling, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement released Tuesday.

News Release | US PIRG

New recalls of infant gliders highlight urgency of making products safer

News Release | US PIRG

Statement: CPSC vote to regulate infant sleep products will save lives

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission approved tough new standards Wednesday to regulate several infant sleep products for the first time.

Blog Post

You’re not crazy: your appliances were built to fail you

Why appliances aren’t built to last, and how the E.U. is changing that. 

Blog Post

Here's how to report price gouging on gasoline or anything else

While businesses are permitted to charge higher prices in response to market forces, they aren’t allowed in states with price gouging laws to increase prices excessively to take advantage of a emergency such as the pipeline shutdown, a hurricane or the pandemic. 

  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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