Call for Action - Help with Consumer Problems

What can you do when things go wrong with your purchase and you can't get the retailer to respond? There is a nationwide organization - Call For Action - dedicated to helping consumers with a vast array of problems.

Call For Action, Inc. is a nation-wide nonprofit network of consumer hotlines affiliated with local radio and TV stations. The service is free, confidential and available to individuals and to small businesses.

Volunteer professionals in offices around the world are trained to assist consumers through mediation and education in order to resolve problems with businesses, government agencies and other organizations.

The idea behind this organization is that a mediator with the backing of a local radio or TV station, often has more leverage in dealing with a local (or national) retailer or service organization than an individual consumer. In addition, larger companies often have special representatives who will not respond to a consumer complaint but will respond to a media inquiry.

I served as a part-time volunteer in a Call for Action office in Washington DC. so I can attest that many callers received sublstantial settlements through this process. In general I would say that about 25% of the callers to our office received some type of compensation or company action as a result of Call for Action's efforts (keeping in mind that most consumers turned to Call for Action only after repeatedly failing to resolve the problem on their own.)

Although many calls came in for help with retailers in general (and furniture dealers specifically), there were also many calls for assistance with telephone or cable company problems (both service and billing), auto dealers and repair services, manufacturer's warranties, local service companies and many other categories of consumer interest.

When dealing with Call for Action you should be aware that the volunteers are mediators, not consumer advocates or attorneys. They will look for the "fair" solution to a problem and will often end up trying to explain to a consumer why their request is unreasonable or if the problem cannot be solved, that the consumer may have to resort to legal action to seek a settlement.

There are two ways to contact Call for Action. One is by filling out an application online explaining the problem; the other is to call your local office (you can find the telephone numbers through the website) during the limited hours that the volunteers accept calls. I have found that the volunteers generally react immediately to phone calls whereas it may take several weeks before an emailed request is processed. One thing to be aware of is that a successful negotiation may take weeks or even months before a resolution is reached.

To contact Call for Action go to www.callforaction.org