Consumer Safety Links

RELATED LINKS - CONSUMER SAFETY:

• Consumer Information - Banks

  • BankRate.com - Look up ratings of banks
  • MoveYourMoney.info - Look up local banks, thrifts, and credit unions with a rating of B or higher

• Consumer Information - Census

  • United States Census Frauds and Scams - Find out how to tell a census scam from a real United States Census worker

• Consumer Information - Charities

  • Tennessee Charity Information - From the Tennessee Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming. Find out the registration status and look up financial reports of Tennessee charities, or by calling 615-741-2555.
  • GuideStar.org - Look up charities and their financial records. Be informed before you donate
  • Charity Navigator - Look up large ($500,000+/year) charities and their financial ratings. Be informed before you donate
  •  GiveWell.net - Look up charities and their financial ratings. Be informed before you donate
  • 990 Finder - Look up charities and their financial records. Be informed before you donate. From FoundationCenter.org
  • IRS Publication 78: Cumulative List of Organizations described in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - A list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Searchable online
  • IRS Suspensions Pursuant to Code Section 501(p) - A list of organizations designated as terrorist organizations, contributions to which are disallowed.

• Consumer Information - Complaints

  • Complaints Board - Made by the people for the people. Search by company or name for complaints against them, or post your own complaint. Not a government site

• Consumer Information - Credit

  • AnnualCreditReport.com - Free. This is the official site for your annual free credit reports provided you by law. Use this instead of the sites that advertise so much. This is the only authorized online site under federal law
  • Security Freeze Laws: Tennessee - Tennessee law allows you to put a freeze on your credit. This increases your privacy and decreases the chance of identity theft.
  • Instructions for Using Tennessee's Security Freeze Law - In PDF format (35kb). - Get Adobe Reader
  • What You Need to Know: New Credit Card Rules - In plan English from the Federal Reserve
  • NYTimes article on saving money on credit card interest - Pentagon Federal Credit Union offers very low interest on balance transfers. Must be military, government, or pay small fee.

• Consumer Information - Food and Other Assistance

  • Rockwood Ministerial Association / The Food Pantry - Help for needy families in the Rockwood area

• Consumer Information - Housing and Foreclosure

  • MakingHomeAffordable.gov - Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams - Help Is Free. A Federal Government site

• Consumer Information - Internet

  • Negative Cashback from Bing Cashback - As of November 2009: The Bing search engine allegedly leaves 3-month cookies on your computer that cause prices to be raised for you, even markedly raised, when you visit many other online stores. Before shopping online, make sure you close all browser windows showing Bing.com, then clear your cookies.
  • Broadband Landscape - Interactive Map - Connected Tennessee’s online, interactive Broadband Inventory Map for the State of Tennessee
  • Broadband Service Inventory: Roane County, Tennessee (PDF) - Detailed map of broadband availability in Roane County, TN. From ConnectedTN.org

• Consumer Information - Internet - Analyze Connection

  • ICSI Analyzer - Analyze and debug your Internet connection. Free from the University of California at Berkeley
  • Glasnost - Find out if your ISP is throttling your Internet service - a free online tool from the Max Planck Institute. Requires Java
  • PingTest.net - Test the latency and quality of your Internt connection. Free
  • Internet Speed Tests at Toast.net - Test the speed of your Internet connection. Free
  • ISPGeeks.com - Free broadband speed tests

• Consumer Information - Jobs

  • PhishBucket.org - Nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting job seekers from fraudulent job offers. Check suspicious offers and more
  • Top 10 Work-at-Home Jobs - Excellent article with good links. From the Boston Globe newspaper

• Consumer Information - Legal Rights

  • Know Your Rights: What To Do If You're Stopped By Police, Immigration Agents. or the FBI - Read about your rights or download a free wallet-sized card listing your legal rights when encountering law enforcement, from the ACLU

• Consumer Information - Medical Insurance

  • HealthCare.gov - Find out which private insurance plans, public programs and community services are available to you. A federal site

• Consumer Information - Nursing Homes

  • MemberOfTheFamily.net - Nursing home registry, watch list, ratings, and complaints. Get the nursing home care your loved one deserves. Mostly free; some detailed reports not free
  • Compare Nursing Homes - Find and compare nursing homes, from Medicare.gov
  • Nursing Home Checklist (PDF format, 64kb) - Checklist to help you choose a nursing home, from Medicare.gov

• Consumer Information - Privacy

  • KnowPrivacy.org - A comparison of users' expectations of privacy online and the data collection practices of website operators.
  • Electronic Privacy Information Center - Focusing public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues

• Consumer Information - Telemarketing

  • DoNotCall.gov - National Do Not Call Registry. Remove your phone numbers from telemarketing lists. Or call the registry’s toll-free number (1-888-382-1222). Free

• Consumer Information - Real Estate

  • State of Tennessee Real Estate Assessment Data - Look up real estate assessments in Tennessee, including in Roane County. Free. Tip: If your search returns no data, try searching with fewer fields. You may even need to just search by county, map, and parcel,

• Consumer Information - Seniors and Disabled

  • Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service - East Tennessee non-profit home care service for seniors and the disabled

• Consumer Information - Students

  • IBRInfo.org - Independent information about new federal student loan and forgiveness programs, including income-based repayment
  • Free Practice SAT Test and Questions - Free from the College Board

• Consumer Information - Terrorism

  • Current List of Individuals and Groups Designated as Related to Terrorism - Avoid transactions with these people
  • Foreign Terrorist Organizations - Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide material support or resources to a designated FTO.

• Consumer Information - Travel

  • Hotel/Motel Fire-Safe List - Find hotels and motels with sprinkler systems for fire safety. From FEMA

• Consumer Information - Television

  • DTV.gov - How to upgrade your TV set to digital and how to find broadcast digital stations. Or, call the government hotline at 1-888-CALLFCC (1-888-225-5322)

Disclaimer: Note that we do not operate the sites listed and can take no responsibility for their content. We will remove any link found to be unacceptable.

WRCVFD receives no remuneration or consideration from the above-listed websites.