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Guide
to Texas Consumer Protection Laws
We've
collected links to the basic consumer protection laws of Texas.
The actual text of the statutes is not maintained by the section.
Some of the publicly available sources of statutes take a while
to post updates when the statutes are amended. You should check
with the source of each statute to find out whether the source is
current and up to date.
Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act
This
is the basic consumer protection statute in Texas. It prohibits
a laundry list of deceptive trade practices and gives consumers
the right to sue for damages. It requires that consumers who win
deceptive trade practice lawsuits be awarded their attorney's fees
and in some cases provides for damages of up to three times a consumer's
actual damages. Many of the other consumer protection statutes in
Texas tie-in to the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and allow consumers
to sue under the Act for violation of those statutes.
Chapter 541 of the Texas Insurance Code (formerly Art. 21.21)
This
statute, which only applies to insurance related transactions, contains
many of the same protections as the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Like the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, many of the other provisions
of the Insurance Code and the Department of Insurance's regulations
are tied into Chapter 541, so that consumers injured by violations
of those other laws may sue under Chapter 541 The Department of
Insurance has adopted
regulations
spelling out in more detail the obligations under Chapter 541 and
related provisions of the insurance code.
Debt Collection Act
The
Debt Collection Act prohibits unfair, abusive and deceptive practices
by debt collectors. It is broader in scope than the federal debt
collection statute, which only covers third party debt collectors.
The Texas Debt Collection Act also applies to creditors collecting
their own debts.
Lemon Law: Motor Vehicle Warranty Performance Obligations
Under
certain circumstances, the lemon law gives the owner of a defective
car the right to force the manufacturer to buy back the car. The Department of Transportation has adopted
regulations
which spell out the obligtions of manufacturers under the Lemon Law in greater detail. Note: (The
regulations are in an Adobe Acrobat file. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free and can be
downloaded
from adobe.com.)
Manufactured Housing Standards Act
This
statute gives consumers of manufactured homes important warranty
and other rights.
Chapters 2 and
2A
of the Business and Commerce Code
The
Business and Commerce Code is the basic commercial law of the State
of Texas. It is a uniform law, which means to the greatest extent
possible, each state has adopted the same code.
Chapter 2
applies to sales of goods and gives consumers important rights,
especially with respect to warranties.
Chapter 2A
provides many similar rights to consumers who lease goods.
Chapter 9 of the Business and Commerce Code
Chapter
9 of the code governs secured transactions, transactions in which
a creditor has the right to take collateral if a debt is not paid.
For consumers, it provides important rights when a car or other
personal property is reposessed.
Title
4 of the Finance Code:
Consumer Loans,
Pawn Shops,
Credit Sales of Goods and Services,
Motor Vehicles and
Manufactured Housing
These
parts of the Finance Code offer important protections to consumers
who borrow money or finance purchases of goods or services.
Chapter 91 and
Chapter 92 of the Property Code: Landlord and Tenant
The
Landlord and Tenant provisions of the Property Code give consumers
protections against security deposit abuses, utility cutoffs, retaliation,
and other practices, and requires security devices and smoke detectors.
Residential Construction Commission Act
This
statute sets forth important procedures that consumers must follow
if to make a claim against a home builder. The Residential Construction Commission was created in the 2003 Legislature. The
Commission is charged with making rules concerning
home warranties and performance standards,
registering home builders, and administering a
state inspection and dispute resolution process.
Texas Fair Housing Act
This
law protects consumers from discrimination in the housing market.
Regulated Professions and Industries
All
kinds of professionals, from
Acupuncturists
to
Veterinarians
are regulated by the State. These regulations are collected together
in the Occupations Code. This code also contains regulations for
a variety of different industries. These regulations often contain
important consumer protections.
The Timeshare Act,
Contest and Gift Giveaway Act,
Business Opportunity Act,
Health Spa Act,
Home Solicitation Sales Act,
Telephone Solicitation Act,
Regulation of Telephone Solicitation Act,
Regulation of Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, and the
Credit Services Organizations Act all give consumers protections from
illegal practices that may occur in specific industries or with
specific types of transactions.
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