Consumer protection

A debt settlement company negotiates reduced payoffs with your creditors. Federal rules control when it may take a fee and what it may claim, and neither is as flexible as the sales pitch suggests.

Federal law regulates businesses that sell credit improvement services. It controls what they must tell you, when they may take payment, what they may claim, and how you cancel.

What a wedding vendor may keep depends on the contract you signed and on whether the amount reflects a real loss, because a charge that only punishes you is not enforceable.

A promotion becomes an unlawful private lottery when it combines a prize, chance, and a required payment. Removing any one of the three is what keeps it legal.

Randomized in-game rewards escape most gambling statutes because the prize cannot lawfully be turned back into money. Consumer protection and children's privacy law still reach them.

Price gouging is a state offense that generally activates only when an emergency is declared. This explains the two tests states use, what is covered, the defenses sellers raise, and how to report.

Repair fraud follows every disaster because urgency, insurance money, and unfamiliar crews arrive at the same time. This explains the patterns, the checks that stop them, and the recovery routes.