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@  Your Fingertips: WPPL's Best of the Web
 

 Consumer Resources

 
Automobiles    l    Charities    l    Consumer Fraud    l    Cost of Living & Relocation    l    Credit Cards

Gas Prices    l    Identity Theft    l    Miscellaneous    l    Product Ratings & Price Guides    l    Product Recalls
_______________________________________________________
 

 Automobiles
 
Car and Driver: A buying guide for new and used vehicles that includes pick-ups and minivans.

 
Edmunds Automobile Buyer's Guide: Get new and used car prices plus reviews and rebate information.

 
Fuel Economy: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a Fuel Economy Guide, car comparisons, fuel-saving tips, gas price FAQ's, & more.

 
IntellichoiceGet info on dealer pricing & ownership costs for new & used cars.  Advice on leasing, air-bags, & insurance is available, too.

 
Kelley Blue Book: New and used car price information.

 Lemon Law
Learn about Florida's Lemon Law.  Site includes forms.

 Microsoft CarPointThis site offers much more than prices of new cars: get safety reports, car comparisons, & an interactive database of dealers.

 
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)Find used vehicle values including automobiles, trucks, recreation vehicles, boats, & motorcycles.

 
National Highway Traffic Safety AssociationRead info about safety tests & regulations.  Search a database of recalls, consumer complaints, and more.



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 Charities
 Charity Navigator: Get ratings of over 2,500 charities in the U.S., learn about the financial health of charities and how to avoid charity scams.

 
Charity Watch: Visit American Institute of Philanthrophy for a list of the top charities. AIP publishes the tri-annual Charity Rating Guide.

 
Give.org: From the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. 

 
GuideStar"...verify a nonprofit's legitimacy, learn whether a contribution will be tax deductible, view a nonprofit's recent Forms 990" & much more.

 

 
Consumer Fraud
 Better Business Bureau: Get Business and Consumer Alerts, Philanthropy Advisory Service, & full text BBB booklets. Register your complaints online.

 
Complaints.com: "...a database of personal, first-hand, consumer experiences with products and services."  Post and read complaints, too.

 
Consumer Federation of America: An "...advocacy, research, education, and service organization."

 
Consumer Protection (Department of Labor): "...find publications with advice on avoiding scams and rip-offs, as well as tips on other consumer topics."

 
Consumer's Union: An "independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving only  consumers."  It also publishes Consumer Reports.

 
Florida Attorney General: The office of Bill McCollum provides info on many topics, including Florida's Lemon Law, identity theft, the seniors
                                      vs. crime program, & more.

 
Florida Consumer Action Network: A grassroots organization.
 
 
Government Complaint Center: Record your complaints online.  The site is divided into Common Complaints, Topics and State Consumer Agencies.


 
 
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 Cost of Living & Relocation
 Cost of Living Comparison Calculator: Bankrate offers this tool.  Enter in your current city, where you're moving, and current salary.

 Relocation Crime LabThinking of moving to another town or city?  Visit this site to compare crime statistics.

 
The Salary Calculator: "Compare the cost of living in hundreds of U.S. cities."

 
Yahoo! Real Estate: Type in an address or city & state, and find statistics for that area, including the cost of living index.

 

 Credit Cards
 Annual Credit Report: Florida residents can obtain 3 free credit reports per year. 
                                 Visit here to access free reports from 
Equifax, Experian & TransUnion.

 Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies: Locate counselors near you.

 
Bankrate Monitor: Get card ratings, a FICO score estimator, budget calculator, and tips.

 
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida & the Gulf Coast: Get info on bankruptcy, download forms, workshops, calculators & much more.

 Credit Card Ratings: A free source for comparing credit cards. Use the What Will It Take to Pay Off My Credit Card? tool, get debt relief tips & more.

 
National Foundation for Credit Counseling: A nonprofit credit counseling organization.  Find an NFCC member near you.

 
TruthAboutCredit.org: Read about traps, hazards, lower your APR rate, resolve credit troubles, and more. 
 


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 Gas Prices
 Cost2Drive: Type in your start/destination, year, make and model of your car, and get a free calculation of estimated gasoline costs.

 Gas Price Watch: Find the lowest gas prices in your neighborhood.  Search by address and/or zip code.

 
Orlando Gas Prices: A simple chart tells you where to fill up without hurting your wallet plus historical gas price charts as far back as three years. 

 
Trip Gas Price: Costs are estimated using AAA's daily, online fuel gauge report and the latest highway fuel economy ratings from the EPA.

 

 Identity Theft
 Identity Theft and Fraud: This U.S. Department of Justice site includes essential contact information for victims and references for further info.

 
Federal Trade Commission: "Your national resource for identity theft."  Find out what steps you can take if your identity has been stolen.

 
Florida's Identity Theft Resource and Response Center: Use the free Identity Theft Victim Kit.  Includes important phone numbers and forms.
 
 See above for how to obtain your personal credit report.

 For more materials on this subject available through the Library, visit Starting Points - Guide to Credit, Credit Repair, & Identity Theft.
 


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 Miscellaneous
 2-1-1 Community Resources:  Provides "simple and free access to information and referrals to health and human resources for local residents..."

 Cell Phone Recycling: Collective Good Mobile Phone Recycling helps you choose from four charities to donate to.

 Electronics and Cell Phone Recycling: Consumer Reports' Greener Choices.org tells how to recycle your used appliances and cell phones.

 
Consumer.gov: FDA, CDC, NHTSA, FCC, FTC, and more provide federal data.

 eHow.com: "...the world's most popular place to find clear instructions on how to do just about anything."

 Energy Tax Incentives: Take advantage of federal income tax incentives for energy efficient products and technologies. 

 
Federal Citizen Information Center: Free full-text articles from the U.S. General Services Administration.

 
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations: Find out licensing information.

 Florida Driver Handbook: English and Spanish versions available.

 Free Public Records Directory: "The largest directory of links to free public record databases on the Internet."

 
Get Human database: Follow these shortcuts to talk to a real human being for real customer service.

 New Bankruptcy Law: Learn about filing for bankruptcy by visiting this simple and informative site. 

 Unclaimed Money:  The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators tells you where to begin searching for unclaimed money.
                              For Florida's site, click here.


 
Where to Write for Vital Records: "The most comprehensive source for ordering vital records on the internet."

 
For more materials on this subject available through the Library, visit Starting Points - Consumer Protection.
 

 
 
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 Product  Ratings & Price Guides
 America's Best HospitalsThe website Infoplease has culled data from the U.S. News and World Report magazine.

 
Clark Howard: Clark Howard's wise shopping, money saving consumer action center.

 
CNet: Reviews selected technology with comparison charts on computers, servers, modems, & more.

 
Consumer Reports OnlineIncludes current issue plus access to 2 years of reports with ratings of thousands of products.  Subscription required.

 
ConsumerSearch.comUnbiased product info on everything from toasters to cars.

 
Insure.com: Research & compare insurance companies policies.

 
Lowermybills.com: Find the best deals for long-distance telephone, insurance, internet access, and more - enter your zip code to get started.

 
MySimon.com: Compare products and prices from all around the web.

 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA): Provides values including used automobiles, trucks, recreation vehicles, boats, and motorcycles.

 
Safeshopping.orgThe American Bar Association's guide to smarter, safer shopping online.

 

 
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 Recalls 
 Recalls.gov:
 Six federal agencies have joined together to create this "one stop shop" for U.S. government recalls.

 
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Lists recalls, product safety stats, safety hints, and more.
 

 

 

Page maintained by Nicole Heintzelman: nheintzelman@wppl.org

U
pdated: July 16, 2008

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Winter Park Public Library -- 460 E. New England Ave.-- Winter Park, FL 32789 -- (407) 623-3300.