Consumer Action joined EPIC and the Consumer Federation in an amicus brief in a case that would implicate a fundamental privacy principle: the right of individuals to control the retention, use, and disclosure of their telephone communications. Eliminating the all-party consent rule would essentially transform telephone services in California into a take-it-or-leave-it regime, where individuals must allow others to record and retain their communications to use call services.

This report summarizes complaints received by Consumer Action’s hotline in 2008.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two key staffers.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010 contains information about our activities, our budget and our donors.

MoneyWi$e, Consumer Action’s financial literacy partnership with Capital One, had a good year in 2010.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Joe Ridout and Linda Williams.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Michelle De Mooy of our DC office and Ricardo Perez of our San Francisco office.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Audrey Perrott and Monica Steinisch.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Angela Kwan and Michael Heffer, and hotline volunteer Schelly Gartner.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Rose Chan and Linda Sherry, and hotline volunteer Ralph Stone.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016 contains information about our budget and our donors. In this report, we feature articles about two of the community-based organizations we work with as well as profiles of two staffers, Cui Yan Xie and Kathy Li.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, chronicles our advocacy efforts, educational and outreach activities, consumer engagement work, fundraising endeavors and more. It also features profiles of two long-time staffers, Vickie Tse and Alegra Howard.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, records the organization’s efforts, activities, accomplishments and partnerships. It also highlights vital statistics about our work, discloses budget and funding information, and lists staff and board members. We spotlight community-based organizations Prototypes (Los Angeles) and Ready, Aim, Advocate (St. Louis), and our staffers Tasneem Pitalwala and Lauren Hall.

Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, records the organization’s efforts, activities, accomplishments and partnerships. It also highlights vital statistics about our work, discloses budget and funding information, and lists staff and board members. We spotlight community-based organizations Chinatown Service Center (Southern California) and Desert Financial (Arizona), staff member Hazel Kong and board member Patricia Sturdevant.

New format! Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, offers information about our efforts, activities and accomplishments. This year’s annual report is presented in a shorter, more graphic format.

Celebrating five decades of consumer representation, protection and empowerment! Consumer Action’s annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, offers information about our efforts, activities and accomplishments. Thanks to all our donors and supporters for allowing us to keep up our important work!

As we entered our sixth decade, Consumer Action established new partnerships, expanded its educational offerings, launched new projects, and continued its vital work to promote fairness and financial prosperity for underrepresented consumers nationwide.

Each year, Consumer Action holds a fundraising event. This celebration of our anniversary and our long history of consumer advocacy and education allows us to raise funds for under-funded activities, such as our quarterly newsletter and our consumer assistance hotline.

Each year, Consumer Action holds a fundraising event. This celebration of our anniversary and our long history of consumer advocacy and education allows us to raise funds for under-funded activities, such as our quarterly newsletter and our consumer assistance hotline.

Consumer Action’s 40th annual fundraising event took in $147,760 to support Consumer Action’s work from the funders listed here.

Each year, Consumer Action holds a fundraising event. This celebration of our anniversary and our long history of consumer advocacy and education allows us to raise funds for under-funded activities, such as our quarterly newsletter and our consumer assistance hotline.

Consumer Action 2012 fundraiser garnered $180,000 in support of under-funded activities such as our newsletters and consumer assistance hotline.

Consumer Action’s 2012 Consumer Excellence Awards, held at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, raised $180,000, a new record for the annual fundraiser.

Consumer Action’s 2013 fundraiser in Washington, D.C., raised more than $200,000 in support of organization’s multilingual consumer education.

Consumer Action’s 2013 Consumer Excellence Awards in Washington, D.C., raised $215,000, topping 2012 by $35,000.

Consumer Action’s 43rd fundraiser set a new record, raising $240,000, from the donors listed.

Consumer Action’s 43rd Anniversary theme was “Train the Trainer,” to commemorate the outreach and training work Consumer Action does among community-based organizations (CBOs), and to honor the organizations who in turn carry our consumer literacy message far and wide in their own communities. Held in Washington, DC on Oct. 21, 2014, the event raised $240,000, a new record.

Consumer Action is grateful to the donors (listed here) who contributed to our 44th anniversary awards event.

Consumer Action’s 44th annual anniversary celebration and Consumer Excellence Awards ceremony was organized around a theme of “common ground”—a nod to Consumer Action’s longstanding collaboration with diverse communities, private sector players, coalitions and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

In 2016 Consumer Action gratefully received these donations in honor of its 45th anniversary.

Consumer Action celebrated our 45th anniversary to the theme “Celebrating Consumer Champions”. The event brought much-deserved attention to the efforts of several dedicated and committed advocates who, through their leadership, have forged significant improvement for millions of consumers by enforcing laws, informing people of changes in the marketplace and fighting for improved consumer protections.

More than four decades of outstanding consumer advocacy work was recognized by these donors on our 46th anniversary.

Consumer Action hosted its 46th anniversary and awards reception in Washington, DC, to honor outstanding consumer advocates who have used their voices to educate and empower consumers. The theme of the anniversary was “Communication: Information, Awareness, Empowerment.” Advocates and allies from the non-profit, corporate and government sectors met at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Hall of Fame. The location complemented Consumer Action’s 46th anniversary theme—the ways in which communication tools and technologies inform, empower and protect consumers.

Consumer Action gratefully acknowledges these contributors to our 47th anniversary fundraiser.

In celebration of its 47th birthday, Consumer Action held its annual Consumer Excellence Awards Reception, honoring Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), personal finance website and app NerdWallet and fellow non-profit consumer education/assistance group Credit Builders Alliance. Through the generosity of AT&T, the event was held at the company’s Forum for Technology, Entertainment and Policy, a high-technology hub in Washington, DC.

Consumer Action thanks all of our contributors.

Consumer Action celebrated 48 years of consumer advocacy successes on Oct. 16, 2019, during its cocktail awards reception in Washington, D.C., honoring FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, consumer advocacy non-profit The Center for Auto Safety, and the consumer investigative television units Telemundo Responde/NBC Responds.

Consumer Action gratefully acknowledges these contributors to our 49th anniversary fundraiser.

Consumer Action celebrated 49 years of consumer successes during its annual convening and awards ceremony, held in late September via a series of virtual panels and an award ceremony, with advocates, allies and experts from the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors participating.

Consumer Action is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) advocacy and education organization that has served consumers since 1971. Consumer Action has a national reputation for multilingual consumer education and advocacy in the fields of credit, banking, privacy, insurance and utilities.

Promoting pro-consumer policy, regulations and legislation and helping consumers be heard by those in power is an important part of Consumer Action’s work. We accomplish our goals through networking, coalition building, lobbying and media outreach.

Your contribution will help us to continue offering our services and free multilingual publications to consumers nationwide, and to continue our work to uphold your consumer rights. And of course, your donation is tax-deductible. Join us in our fight to make sure all consumers get a fair shake! Contribute Now.

Consumer and public interest groups urged the courts to uphold the U.S. Department of Education’s gainful employment regulation, which would prevent for-profit colleges from accessing federal student aid if they can’t prove they provide students with adequate tools to find employment. (In June, 2015, the court ruled against the APSCU attempt to block implementation of the rule.)

A legal challenge held that local governments should not be permitted to retain illegally collected taxes merely because they need the funds to balance their budgets. As it turns out, the California Supreme Court agrees.

Consumer Action supports the efforts of defrauded students and state attorneys general who are suing the U.S. Department of Education, and Secretary Betsy DeVos, for delaying the 2016 Borrower Defense rule. The rule is essential to protect students and taxpayers from misconduct by unscrupulous for-profit education programs, and to maintain the integrity of our federal financial aid program.

Consumer Action is an active member of many coalitions of like-minded organizations working to promote social change.

Consumer Action works on a wide variety of consumer issues with its coalition partners. The Coalition Efforts section of our website describes this work.

A list of the various coalitions we are currently working with

Consumer Action has developed a unique, multi-pronged community education and outreach model to improve financial literacy at the community level.

Consumer Action serves the Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities with multilingual publications, financial literacy programs, stipend grants, in-language media outreach, a consumer hotline and a multilingual website.

Consumer Action joined an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs over their employer’s violations of California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) in the Connor v. First Student appeal.

Each year, Consumer Action awards several Consumer Excellence Awards at its annual fundraising event. Recipients usually fall into the categories of Media, Community, Regulatory, Legal/Lawmaker and Advocacy.

Consumer Action is grateful to the donors.

Consumer Action focuses its work on a group of issues: financial services, housing and mortgage lending, insurance, telecommunications and privacy. Here we outline our positions on many important elements of these topic areas.

Consumer Action does not sell, rent, share or trade the names, email addresses or any other information about individuals who correspond with Consumer Action. Saved personal data will never be sold, rented, shared or traded to third parties for commercial or marketing purposes.

Cy pres awards are crucial to Consumer Action’s continued efforts on behalf of U.S. consumers. This fact sheet explains how the organization uses this little-known but vital source of nonprofit funding.

The documents and graphics on this website are copyrighted by Consumer Action. Please note that you are prohibited from using Consumer Action’s name or any reference to its surveys in advertising or for any commercial purposes.

For more than four decades, Consumer Action, a national nonprofit organization, has worked to advance consumer literacy and protect consumer rights in many areas, including credit, banking, privacy, insurance, healthcare and utilities. Consumer Action empowers low- and moderate-income, limited-English-speaking and other underrepresented consumers nationwide to financially prosper through education and advocacy.

Consumer Action provides free, non-legal advice and referrals on a wide range of issues, in Chinese, English and Spanish.

A searchable directory of resources, the Consumer Services Guide can help consumers solve problems and get answers to questions about their rights, how to complain effectively, and more.

Contact the Consumer Action Training & Outreach Department, includes staff listing, email and telephone.

Consumer Action
57 Post Street, Suite 708
San Francisco, CA 94104

Consumer Action’s Corporate Advisory Board assists the executive director with engagement and fundraising strategies.

“Credit Cards: What You Need To Know” and “Families and Credit Cards” are part of the Consumer Action-American Express consumer literacy and empowerment project.

This lists the cases in which Consumer Action has been the recipient of court awards (cy pres funding).

Consumer Action is proud to have produced educational materials in partnership with these corporations and organizations.

Consumer Action joined nine leading organizations in an amicus brief filed to uphold the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

In Expression Hair Design et al. v NY AG Schneiderman, Consumer Action and other advocates supported merchants’ first amendment free speech rights to inform consumers of the actual costs of credit transactions.

Consumer Action 2004 Form 990

Consumer Action Form 990

Consumer Action Form 990

Consumer Action Form 990

Form 990 for the fiscal year 2008-2009

Consumer Action Form 990 for 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Form 990 for the fiscal year 2009-2010

Form 990 for fiscal year 2010-2011

Form 990 for fiscal year 2011-2012

Form 990 for fiscal year 2013-2014

Form 990 for fiscal year 2014-2015

Form 990 for fiscal year 2015-2016

Form 990 for fiscal year 2016-2017

Form 990 for fiscal year 2017-2018

Form 990 (2018)

Form 990 for fiscal year 2019-2020

Form 990 for fiscal year 2020-2021

The full Ninth Circuit has agreed to rehear the Federal Trade Commission’s data-throttling lawsuit against AT&T, which was dismissed in August after a panel found that the company’s status as a common carrier exempted it from the FTC Act.

Consumer Action gratefully acknowledges these contributors to our Health & Financial Wealth Virtual Convening.

Consumer Action’s housing program was launched in 2006 to help consumers prepare for homeownership, learn about mortgages, protect their property investment, recognize and resist housing-related scams and discrimination, and avoid foreclosure.

Millions of consumers are struggling to make ends meet, stretch their dollars, find a job, keep their homes, and reduce burdensome debt. They need Consumer Action’s educational tools and advocacy now more than ever.

Consumer Action’s comments to the Treasury Department on increasing financial literacy.

Insurance is a major household expense, so the Insurance Education Project was created to help consumers make wise decisions when choosing and purchasing coverage.

Consumer Action was among the first consumer organizations to establish a presence on the Internet when its website launched in the late 1990s.

Consumer Action joins the National Association of Consumer Advocates and other groups in an amicus brief in support of reversing a district court decision in a case alleging fault with Owens Corning roof shingles.

A financial literacy project of Consumer Action and Visa Inc., this website delivers everything consumers need to know about using credit, debit, prepaid and gift cards safely and wisely.