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National Consumer Organizations
Unless noted otherwise, these organizations do not assist consumers with individual
complaints, although many are interested in hearing from consumers about problems, issues
and trends in connection with their advocacy and consumer education activities.
Most, but not all, distribute consumer materials. There may be a charge for some of the
materials. Contact the organization to find out.
AARP
Consumer Issues Section
601 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20049
202-434-6030
Fax: 202-434-6466
The Consumer Issues unit is charged by AARP to examine those consumer problems and issues
that impact the financial security of people 50 and older, and to help its members to protect
themselves from marketplace fraud and deception. To this end, Consumer Issues stays abreast
of current and breaking consumer developments, and employs a variety of strategies to inform
AARP members.
Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing and Electronic Commerce
(AAFTEC)
National Consumers League
1701 K Street, NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
202-835-3323
Fax: 202-835-0747
Email: [email protected]
The alliance, coordinated by the National Consumers League, is a coalition of public interest groups,
trade assocations, labor unions, businesses, law enforcement agencies, educators, and consumer
protection agencies. AAFTEC members promote efforts to educated the public about telemarketing
and Internet fraud, and how consumers can shop safely by phone and online.
American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI)
240 Stanley Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
573-882-3817
Fax: 573-884-6571
Email: [email protected]
Serving the professional needs of consumer educators, researchers, and policymakers, ACCI
publications and educational programs foster the production, synthesis, and dissemination of
information in the consumer interest.
American Council on Science and Health (ACSH)
1995 Broadway
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10023-5860
212-362-7044
Fax: 212-362-4919
Email: [email protected]
A nonprofit public education group, ACSH has the goal to provide consumers with up-to-date
scientifically sound information on the relationship between human health and chemicals,
foods, lifestyles, and the environment. Booklets and special reports on a variety of topics are
available, as is a quarterly magazine, Priorities.
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
202-332-9110
Fax: 202-265-4954
Email: mailto:[email protected]
A nonprofit, membership organization, CSPI conducts reasearch, education, and advocacy
on nutrition, health, food safety and realted issues, and publishes the monthly Nutrition Action
Healthletter as well as other consumer information materials.
Center for the Study of Services
733 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7283
Fax: 202-347-4000
Nonprofit organization that publishes books and pamphlets to help consumer select doctors,
hospitals, and health plans. Publishes pamphlets and offers services to help consumers
get good prices on new cars. Publishes information and maintains an on-line database
to help consumers shop for good prices and desired features in big ticket products - audio-video,
major appliances, sporting goods, tires, home-office, etc.
Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
1010 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 510
Washington, DC 20005
202-393-7330
Fax: 202-393-7329
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud is a national alliance of consumer groups, government
agencies, and insurance companies dedicated to combating all forms of insurance fraud
through advocacy and public information. It conducts reasearch, develops public education
programs and publishes a consumer brochure, How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Insurance
Fraud, which is available upon request. It also refers consumers to appropriate agencies to report
incidences of insurance fraud.
Community Nutrition Institute (CNI)
910 17th Street, NW, Suite 413
Washington, DC 20006
202-776-0595
Fax: 202-776-0599
Email: [email protected]
An advocate for programs and services to enable consumers to enjoy a diet that is adequate,
safe, and healthy. CNI also works to increase citizen participation in the state and Federal
policy and administrative processes to achieve these goals. CNI publishes Nutrition Week, a
newsletter covering nutrition and food safety issues, as well as related legislative and
regulatory actions.
Congress Watch
215 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-546-4996
Fax: 202-547-7392
Email: [email protected]
An arm of Public Citizen, Congress Watch works for consumer-related legislation, regulation,
and policies in such areas as health and safety, and campaign financing, and has publications
available on the issues with which it deals.
Consumer Action
717 Market Street, Suite 310
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-777-9635 (consumer complaint hotlines)
213-623-8327 (hotline)
TTY: 415-777-9456
Fax: 415-777-5267
Consumer Action assists consumers with marketplace problems. An education and advocacy
organization specializing in credit, finance, and telecommunications issues, Consumer Action
offers a multi-lingual consumer complaint hotline, free information on its surveys of banks and
long-distance telephone companies, and consumer education materials in as many as eight languages. Community based organizations can receive these free publications in bulk.
Consumer Alert
1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 1128
Washington, DC 20036
202-467-5809
Fax: 202-467-5814
E-mail: [email protected]
Consumer Alert's mission is to inform the public about the consumer benefits of competitive
enterprise and to expose the flawed economic, scientific and risk data that underlie certain public
policies. Consumer Alert has an active program of consumers with information to help them make
every day decisions. The constituent of Consumer Alert is the real consumer who pays the bills.
Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
1424 16th Street, NW, Suite 604
Washington, DC 20036
202-387-6121
Fax: 202-265-7989
Comprised of more than 240 organizations representing a membership exceeding 50 million
consumers, CFA is a consumer advocacy and education organization. Issues on which it
currently represents consumer interests before Congress and Federal regulatory agencies
include telephone service, insurance and financial services, product safety, indoor air pollution,
health care, product liability, and utility rates. It develops and distributes studies of various
consumer issues, as well as consumer guides in book and pamphlet form. In addition, CFA
publishes several newsletters.
Consumers for World Trade (CWT)
2000 L Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-4835
Fax: 202-416-1734
E-mail: [email protected]
A nonprofit organization, CWT supports trade expansion and liberalization to promote
economic growth and increase consumer choice and price competition in the marketplace.
Various publications are available.
Families USA Foundation
1334 G Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005-3169
202-628-3030
Fax: 202-347-2417
E-mail: [email protected]
A national, nonprofit membership organization committed to comprehensive reform of health
and long-term care, Families USA works to educate and mobilize consumers on health care issues.
In addition to its two grass roots advocacy networks -- asap!, a network of health and long-term
care reform activists and HealthLink USA, a nationwide health reform computer network for public
interest groups -- Families USA develops and distributes reports and other materials on health
and long-term care issues.
HALT: An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform
1612 K Street, NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20006
202-887-8255
Toll free: 1-888-367-4258
Fax: 202-887-9699
E-mail: [email protected]
HALT's mission is to enable Americans to handle their legal affairs affordably, equitably, and
simply. HALT publishes a series of self-help legal manuals, operates a legal information
clearinghouse, and advocates for legal reforms which will benefit consumers.
Health Research Group (HRG)
1600 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-588-1000
A division of Public Citizen, HRG works for protection against unsafe foods, drugs,
medical devices, and workplaces, and advocates for greater consumer control over personal
health decisions. A monthly Health Letter and a monthly letter on prescription drugs are available.
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy
919 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202-466-8604
Toll free: 1-888-45-EDUCATE
Fax: 202-223-0321
E-mail: [email protected]
The Coalition's direct objective is to encourage curriculum enrichment to ensure that basic
personal financial management skills are attained during the K-12 educational experience.
National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA)
1010 Vermont Avenue, NW
Suite 514
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7395
Fax: 202-347-2563
E-mail: [email protected]
An association of the administrators of local, state, and Federal Government consumer protection
agencies, NACAA provides training programs, public policy studies and conferences, professional
publications, and other member services.
National Coalition for Consumer Education
c/o National Consumers League
1701 K Street NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
202-835-3323
Fax: Fax: 202-835-0747
E-mail: [email protected]
NCCE is a coalition coordinated by the National Consumers League. It develops and provides
educational materials and resources to consumer educators through a network of state coordinators.
The coalition sponsors LifeSmarts, a game-show competition open to all teens in the Unites States who
are in the 9th through 12th grade.
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC)
733 15th Street, NW, Suite 540
Washington, DC 20005
202-628-8866
Fax: 202-628-9800
E-mail: [email protected]
NCRC was founded in 1990 with the goal of ending discriminatory banking practices and
increasing the flow of private capital and credit into underserved communities across the country.
NCRC has over 600 members in every state and major city in America as well as in many smaller
cities and rural areas.
National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)
18 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02108
617-523-8010
Fax: 617-523-7398
E-mail: [email protected]
NCLC is an advocacy and research organization focusing on the needs of low-income consumers.
It represents the interests of consumers in court, before administrative agencies, and before
legislatures. The Center also publishes Surviving Debt: A Guide for Consumers and the Consumer
Credit and Sales Legal Practice Series consisting of thirteen desk reference manuals for attorneys.
National Consumers League
1701 K Street NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
202-835-3323
Fax: 202-835-0747
E-mail: :[email protected]
Founded in 1899, the mission of the NCL is to identify, protect, represent, and advance the economic
and social interests of consumers and workers. The league is a nonprofit membership organization
working for health, safety, and fairness in the marketplace and workplace. Current principal issue
areas include consumer fraud, food and drug safety, fair labor standards, child labor, health care,
the environment, financial services and telecommunications. The league develops and distributes
consumer education materials and newsletters.
National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch (NFIC/IFW)
P.O. Box 65868
Washington, DC 20035
Toll free: 1-800-876-7060 (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F EST: TDD available)
TDD/TTY: 202-835-0778
Fax: 202-835-0767
NFIC/IFW assists consumers with recognizing and filing complaints about telemarketing and
Internet fraud. A project of the National Consumers League, the hotline provides consumers with
information to help them avoid becoming victims of fraud, and assistance in relaying consumers'
reports about telemarketing and Internet to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Spanish-speaking counselors available.
National Institute for Consumer Education (NICE)
559 Gary Owen Building
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734-487-2292
Fax: 734-487-7153
E-mail: [email protected]
NICE is a consumer education resource and professional development center for K-12 classroom
teachers, business, government, labor, and community educators. NICE conducts training programs,
develops teaching guides and resource lists, and manages a national clearinghouse of consumer
education materials, including videos, software programs, textbooks, and curriculum guides.
Public Citizen, Inc.
1600 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-588-1000
Fax: 202-588-7799
A national, nonprofit membership organization representing consumer interests through lobbying,
litigation, research, and publications, Public Citizen represents consumer interests in Congress,
the courts, government agencies, and the media. Primary current areas of interest include product
liability, health care delivery, safe medical devices and medications, open and ethical government,
and safe and sustainable energy use.
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People
7910 Woodmont Ave
Suite 1200
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-657-2248
301-657-2249
Fax: 301-913-9413
The largest international consumer organization devoted to serving the interests of consumers with
hearing loss through self help, advocacy, and education. Founded in 1979, SHH is a non-profit
membership association with over 250 chapters throughout the U.S. Publications include information
on: hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices, Americans with Disabilities Act,
employment, travel, lip-reading, education, parenting, medical research, psychological stress and
telephone and television strategies. Holds annual conventions and publishes Hearing Loss: The
Journal of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business (SOCAP)
801 North Fairfax Street, Suite 404
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-519-3700
Fax: 703-549-4886
Email: [email protected]
An international professional organization, SOCAP provides training, conferences and
publications to encourage and maintain the integrity of business in transactions with consumers;
to encourage and promote effective communication and understanding among business, government
and consumers; and to define and advance the consumer affairs profession.
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)
218 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003-1900
202-546-9707
Fax: 202-546-2461
E-mail: [email protected]
U.S. PIRG is the national lobbying office for the state public interest research groups. The PIRGs
are consumer environmental advocacy groups active in many states across the country. U.S. PIRG
works on a variety of consumer and environmental protection issues, including bank fees,
credit bureau abuses, clean air and clean water, right to know, campaign finance reform, and various
other issues. U.S. PIRG does not handle individual consumer complaints directly but measures
complaint levels to gauge the need for remedial legislation.
United Seniors Health Cooperative (USHC)
409 Third Street, S.W. Suite 200
Washington, DC 20024-3212
202-479-6973
Fax: 202-479-6660
E-mail: [email protected]
USHC is a nonprofit membership organization that provides consumer tested information
to help seniors achieve good health, independence, and financial security. Publications include books
on long-term care planning, managing health care finances, and choosing an HMO. Professionals
working with low-income persons of all ages will find USHC's benefit screening software valuable
for a quick, comprehensive determination of a person's eligibility for public benefits and assistance
programs.