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Assistance
l
Automobiles l Charities l
Consumer Fraud l
Cost of Living
& Relocation l
Credit
Cards
Free
Phones
l
Gas Prices
l
Identity Theft
l Miscellaneous l Product Ratings
& Price Guides l
Product Recalls
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Assistance
2-1-1
Community Resources:
Provides
"simple and free access to information and referrals to health and human resources for local residents..."
Central Florida Health
Care Clinics:
"Shepherd's Hope is a faith-based organization
of volunteers that exists to provide access to health care for the
uninsured."
Christian
Service Center:
Offers "services
and resources that foster hope, well-being and empowerment."
Florida Attorney General:
The
office of Pam Bondi 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.
Florida Public Service
Commission:
"...committed to making
sure that Florida's consumers receive some of their most essential
services — electric, natural gas, telephone,
water, and wastewater — in a safe, affordable,
and reliable manner."
* especially helpful is the 59-page
Where to Find Help brochure.
Get Help Florida:
Find E-Government federal, state, and county help for
you and/or your family members, including emergency insurance and
shelter services.
Government
Complaint Center:
Record your complaints
online. The site is divided into Common Complaints, Topics and State Consumer Agencies.
Grace Medical Home:
Grace Medical Home offers ongoing primary care
needs of prevention, wellness and sick care to the low income and
underserved.
Health Care Center For the Homeless:
The Health Care Center for the Homeless has been
providing quality health care services to Central Florida's homeless
and indigent men,
women and children for over a decade.
Lemon Law:
Learn about
Florida's Lemon Law. Site includes forms.
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.
Intellichoice:
Get
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
CarPoint:
This
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 Association:
Read
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 (Federal Trade Commission):
"...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 Lab:
Thinking
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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Free Phones
Lifeline
Assistance:
"...Lifeline Assistance Programs help make telephone
service affordable to low-income customers in our state.
Link-Up
Florida gives a 50% rebate in the telephone hook-up
charge (up to $30.00). Lifeline Assistance gives a $13.50 credit per
month
on local phone bills. Over a year's time, that is a
savings of $162.00."
SafeLink
Wireless:
Low income Floridians can qualify for a free cell
phone from the government-supported program, Lifeline Service.
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
Electronics and Cell Phone Recycling:
Consumer Reports' Greener Choices.org
tells how to recycle your used appliances and
cell phones.
Consumerworld.com:
The most comprehensive directory of consumer
products and information on the Web with over 2000 resources.
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.
Federal Trade
Commission:
Get info on credit cards, ID theft, how to file a
complaint, and much more on the government site.
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, 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 Hospitals:
The
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 Online:
Includes current issue plus access to
2 years
of reports with ratings of thousands of products. Subscription
required.
ConsumerSearch.com:
Unbiased product info on
everything from toasters to cars.
Insure.com:
Research
& compare insurance companies policies.
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.org:
The American Bar Association's guide to smarter,
safer shopping online.
ShopLocal.com:
Compare local prices and save money in Central
Florida.
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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.
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