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NOT LONG ENOUGH LIST OF CONSUMER STATUTES
Some statutes that regulate consumer transactions are:
Retail Installment Sales:
Retail Installment Sales Act, 815 ILCS 405/1 et seq.
Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, 815 ILCS 375/1 et seq.
Sales Finance Agency Act, 205 ILCS 660/1 et seq.
Truth-in-Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq. and Regulation
Z,
12 C.F.R. §§ 226.1 et seq. [This important federal statute
governs many
aspects of consumer credit in addition to installment sales.]
Fraud:
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS
505/1 et seq.
Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 815 ILCS 510/1 et seq.
Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 45 et seq.
Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, 765 ILCS 77/1 et seq.
Home Repair and Remodeling Act, 815 ILCS 513/1 et seq.
Financial Identity Theft and Asset Forfeiture Act, 720 ILCS 5/16G-1
et seq.
Credit:
Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1666 et seq.
Fair Credit Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1661 et seq.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691 et seq.,
Regulation B,
12 C.F.R. §§ 202 et seq.
Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1681 et seq.
Collection Agencies:
Collection Agency Act, 225 ILCS 425/1 et seq.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692
et seq.
Warranties:
The Uniform Commercial Code covers express warranties, the implied
warranty of merchantability, and the implied warranty of fitness
for a particular purpose. 810 ILCS 5/ Article 2
The Magnuson-Moss -Warranty-Federal Trade Improvement Act,
15 U.S.C. §§ 2301 et seq.
Automobiles:
Automobile Repair Act, 815 ILCS 306/1 et seq.
Motor Vehicle Leasing Act, 815 ILCS 636/1 et seq.
Odometer Act, 49 U.S.C. §§ 32701 - 32711
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Illinois Complied Statutes (ILCS): visit http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.asp
United States Code (U.S.C.): visit http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
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The State of Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices
Act states:
[u]nfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or
practices, including but not limited to the use or employment of
any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation
or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact,
with the intent that others rely on the concealment, suppression,
or omission of any material fact, or the use or employment of any
practice described in Section 2 of the "Uniform Deceptive Trade
Practices Act," approved August 5, 1965, are hereby declared
unlawful whether any person has in fact been misled, deceived or
damaged thereby.
The elements of a Consumer Fraud claim are:
A deceptive act or practice by the defendant, such as the misrepresentation
or concealment of a material fact;
The defendant's intent that plaintiff rely on the misrepresentation;
and
Deception occurring in conduct involving trade and commerce.
The courts have held that the General Assembly directed the courts
to use the Act to the greatest extent possible to eliminate all
forms of deceptive or unfair practices and provide appropriate relief
to consumers.
The Act is very adaptable. It governs all aspects of automobile
transactions, home construction and sales, sales of commodity services,
insurance, sub-prime lending, and on and on.
And the Act (and most of the other statutes listed above) allows
a court-approved award (to be paid by the defendants) of attorneys
fees to private attorneys and of costs and expenses to plaintiffs
in successful actions.
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Edwin R. McCullough
Attorney at Law
19 South LaSalle Street, # 602
Chicago, IL 60603
312/987-9880
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