Understanding How Government Protects You

June 1, 2009 — -- The Obama administration is talking about creating one centralized government agency to oversee all aspects of banking, lending and anything else related to consumers and money. I'm a consumer reporter not a political reporter, so I don't know if the political will exists to do it. But I thought it would be a good time to remind you of the main federal agencies that already serve consumers in one way or another.

Here they are with a summary of some of the main things they do that impact consumers. With our alphabet soup of agencies and sub-agencies, I'm sure to have forgotten some, but these are the agencies I have most often covered in my years on the consumer beat.

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Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.govwww.ftc.gov

The FTC is the nation's consumer watchdog. It tracks bad companies and problem industries. The FTC's Web site contains scores of helpful articles about the most common scams and rip-offs and how to avoid them. The FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints, but it does file suit against companies that have shown a pattern of deceptive business practices.

The FTC also has some special responsibilities mandated by law. It runs the National Do Not Call list. The FTC is where you complain if there is a mistake on your credit report and the big three credit bureaus have refused to correct it. And the FTC is the central clearinghouse for tracking and educating consumers about identity theft. On the more corporate side, it is the FTC that rules on whether companies can be allowed to merge or whether by doing so they would create a monopoly.

Federal Reserve:www.federalreserve.gov

You already know that the Fed tries to both stimulate our economy and keep inflation in check by tweaking the interest rates that banks earn when they deposit their money with the government. But did you know that the Fed also sets regulations that credit card companies must follow?

Lost in the hubbub about Congress passing a credit card reform bill is that in December the Fed had already put rules in place to address most of the same abuses. The Fed's rules go into effect next July. The Fed also publishes helpful lists of credit card interest rates, so you can get a feel for what different companies offer. And, most obscure of all, the Federal Reserve oversees automobile leasing and the financial disclosures dealers must make to customers.