consumer protection

Ombudsman Services

The Ombudsman Services is a company providing a range of dispute resolution services focusing on energy, communications, property and consumer issues. Consumers whose complaint has exhausted the internal complaints procedure of a company participating in the scheme are invited to register a complaint. This is a free service for consumers. The site has information on making a complaint, a list of participating companies, guides aimed at students and the elderly and a page of useful links.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health. It licenses and monitors medicines and reviews their advertising. Its website provides information about the work of the MHRA; it includes regulatory guidance, regulations, EU directives, consultation documents, newsletters and reports. Topics covered include the licensing of medicines; the licensing and regulation of herbal medicines; the regulation of medical devices; the regulation of nanotechnology; and clinical trials of medicines.

Food Standards Agency

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for food safety and food hygiene throughout the UK. It is a government body, set up by act of Parliament in 2000. The FSA website provides information about research programmes, public consultations, food safety management and enforcement of food standards regulations. Materials available on the site include UK and EU legislation, official guidance, consultation papers, surveys and statistics.

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

The EFSA is an independent European agency funded by the European Union. It is responsible for both food and feed safety, but is not responsible for EU food legislation. Scientific reports, consultation documents, annual reports and the EFSA Journal (an open-access scientific journal) are available on the EFSA website, together with news items. Policy topics can be browsed via an alphabetical list. The site is available in English, French, German and Italian.

American Association for Justice

Website of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). AAJ is a professional organisation of US lawyers and attorneys working in the areas of consumer protection and civil justice. There is information on the various CLE programmes, materials and events provided by the AAJ. The 'Protecting your Rights' section has resources aimed at consumers including news, fact sheets and research on issues such as insurance reform, drug safety, product safety, medical malpractice and asbestos. Parts of the site are reserved for members only.

Canadian Marketing Association

The website of the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) is an online information resource that aims to provide information to the Canadian marketing industry on legislative matters in general and self-regulatory policies in particular. The site has a section linking to guidance in the areas of privacy, telemarketing, consumer protection and internet marketing. The CMA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice is provided on the site in full-text.

Urzad Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów (UOKK)

This is the site of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) in Poland, which is responsible for counteracting monopolistic practices and protecting consumer rights. The site provides detailed information about the Office: its organizational structure (with an interactive map of the Office branches), listing of leading officials together with their biographies, tasks, powers, competences, and contact details; and a large number of the full-text legal acts on the OCCP's functioning.

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