I found a link to Consumerist.com the other day, and I’ve been reading through some of the posts there when I have a few minutes. The stories they share are entertaining, and it gives consumers a decent idea of what sorts of things we might want to look out for when doing business with large corporations — and how to deal with those corporations when we are slighted.

I can’t say I agree with everything that’s said there, though. This is from an op-ed a couple of weeks back:

But we can’t wait for Congress, or the next President, to feel like reviving the emaciated agencies of the FCC, FTC, and CPSC. It’s up to you to protect your consumer rights. Do your research. Ask questions. Knowing who to and how to complain when things go wrong. Get informed. Vote with your dollar. Your new policy? “It’s company policy,” is not a valid explanation for ripping you off.

While the advice here is good, there are no such things as consumer rights. The government is not obligated to protect you from your own stupidity. Read the contracts you sign, and only sign the contract if you’re absolutely certain that you understand it. If you don’t do this, and end up owing money for a fee you didn’t realize you would be charged, that’s a “stupid tax,” as Dave Ramsey would call it. Pay it, and learn your lesson. Don’t go whining about how Big Brother should have stopped the mean corporation from making you sign something without reading it (unless, of course, they actually did make you sign it by threatening you with a gun or something).

This is what annoys me about the freeze on ARM interest rates. Many people are yelling about unfair mortgage practices, but I haven’t heard anything that I really thought sounded unfair. I haven’t heard anyone say that the mortgage company forced them to take a loan they couldn’t afford; I’ve heard them say that the mortgage company allowed them to take a loan they couldn’t afford. In other words, they signed the loan contract willingly, and now that they’re being forced to live up to the terms of the contract, they want Big Brother to come help them out.

I sympathize with these people, really. I’ve paid more than my share of stupid tax already in my life, and I am sure that I will pay even more of it as time goes on. When I have to pay a stupid tax, though, I own up to it. I know this bill is my fault, and while I think it sucks that I have to pay it, I acknowlege that the reason I have to pay it is not because XYZ Financial loaned me more money than I could afford, it’s because I borrowed more than I could afford.

Are there times when corporations are actually committing fraud and tossing in truly hidden fees that weren’t in the contract at all, or advertising one thing while giving another? Sure there are, and in those cases, the government should be involved if they won’t make it right. As long as they’re being honest, though, there’s nothing wrong with companies trying to make a profit, and until they’re actually crossing the line into fraud, consumers should fight back by taking their dollars elsewhere and encouraging everyone who will listen to do the same, not by asking the government to intervene. There’s too much government involvement in the market already. Why would anyone want more?