by Jeff Sovern
Traditional consumer protection rules drew on law and economics models that assumed that consumers were rational and that when consumer markets functioned poorly, all that needed to be done was give rational consumers the ability to protect themselves. For example, the Truth in Lending Act's focus on disclosures presupposes that rational consumers would read them and use them to make appropriate decisions. More recently, the 2003 FACTA Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow consumers to obtain a free copy of their credit report each year from each of the big three credit bureaus. Again, rational consumers should take advantage of that opportunity to protect themselves from identity thieves.
But behavioral law and economics has shown that consumers are often irrational in predictable ways. To the extent that law-makers fail to take these irrationalities into account in formulating rules, the rules will fall short of what is needed to protect consumers. More recent laws, like 2009's Credit CARD Act and 2010's Dodd-Frank Act have used some of these insights to create rules which fit real consumers better (my co-author, Dee Pridgen, wrote about this in her paper, Sea Changes in Consumer Financial Protection: Stronger Bureau and Stronger Laws, 13 Wyoming Law Review (2013)).
As for the specific examples I noted above, I have previously written about failures of disclosure, as have plenty of others. But what about the right to obtain free credit reports? It turns out that less than 20% of consumers check their credit report annually, according to the CFPB. In other words, more than 80% of consumers are not taking an easy, free opportunity to determine if they have been victims of identity theft (I wonder how many readers of this blog post fall into that category).
So if the vast majority of consumers do not protect themselves, the government has a choice in making rules: it can continue to depend on consumers to protect themselves, knowing that many will not and therefore will not be protected, or it can provide protections that do not depend on consumers to act.
This is so true. The public acts in irrational ways and not in their own best interest. There are simple safeguards in place to protect people from identity theft. Unfortunately, like you say 80% of the people don’t take advantage of it. How do we to protect people from themselves?
Hello,
My Name is Cosmo Miller and I am the Affiliate Manager at James Publishing’s affiliate program currently managed by Commission Junction.
James Publishing has become one of the best sources for practice-oriented law books in the legal service industry. Over the decades we have encouraged our authors to load their books with time-saving motions and pleadings, client letters, and step-by-step procedural checklists. We have also sought heavy doses of pattern arguments, model questions, pitfalls to avoid, and practice tips. You can find out more about our catalog by visiting us at: http://www.jamespublishing.com
Your pubcit.typepad.com website caters to traffic that is complementary to us, yet not in direct competition. I wanted to take a moment to reach out regarding an opportunity for us to partner up, whereby you’d be earning commissions on sales your referrals made through an affiliate link on your website.
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If you’re not ready to join the affiliate program right away, I would still love to hear back from you: to see how/if we can still work together.
I am looking forward to your reply.
Best Regards,
Cosmo Miller/Affiliate Manager
Email: cmiller@jamespublishing.com
http://www.jamespublishing.com
Hello,
My Name is Cosmo Miller and I am the Affiliate Manager at James Publishing’s affiliate program currently managed by Commission Junction.
James Publishing has become one of the best sources for practice-oriented law books in the legal service industry. Over the decades we have encouraged our authors to load their books with time-saving motions and pleadings, client letters, and step-by-step procedural checklists. We have also sought heavy doses of pattern arguments, model questions, pitfalls to avoid, and practice tips. You can find out more about our catalog by visiting us at: http://www.jamespublishing.com
Your pubcit.typepad.com website caters to traffic that is complementary to us, yet not in direct competition. I wanted to take a moment to reach out regarding an opportunity for us to partner up, whereby you’d be earning commissions on sales your referrals made through an affiliate link on your website.
The commission earnings start from 25 percent and go up depending on your performance.
If you join our affiliate program, and put up any two of our promotional materials in your website by 20th May 2013, I will increase your default commission level from 25 percent to 27 percent.
To join (or learn more about) our program you may fill out the application here http://goo.gl/iobuu
If you’re not ready to join the affiliate program right away, I would still love to hear back from you: to see how/if we can still work together.
I am looking forward to your reply.
Best Regards,
Cosmo Miller/Affiliate Manager
Email: cmiller@jamespublishing.com
http://www.jamespublishing.com