Did you know that Oklahoma (and most states) has statutes that protect you from unfair or deceptive practices? Of course you did, even if you didn’t know what it was or where to find it. Natural assumptions about good and evil tell us that somewhere or at sometime someone created a statute to protect us from "the evil corporation."

The good thing about the statutes is that they give us, as consumers, some protections against practices that violate general conceptions of good conscience. Typically we think of this in terms of the "sleezy used car salesman" who is only trying to make a quick buck (think Danny DeVito in Matilda). What these statutes attempt to do is level the field for the purchaser or consumer, and impose penalties for those companies or individuals who violate our good conscience.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most consumer statutes, there are loopholes in them that continue to protect actions or industries (in Oklahoma, it’s the credit, insurance and utility companies) from these types of violations.

The National Consumer Law Center, an organization fighting for consumer rights, has created this report highlighting the various UDAP statutes in the United States, and examining their strengths and weaknesses. You’ll notice that Oklahoma is among the states with some of the stronger provisions (including a $10,000+ penalty for UDAP violations), but also has some weak or non-existent protections. You can read some of the specific recommendations and a brief summary on Page 28.

You’ll also notice on Page 23 that there are a number of suggestions for improving the UDAP statutes. Each of these applies to Oklahoma’s statutes, so if you want stronger enforcement/protection, then it’s important to make your legislators aware of the gaps (especially as they relate to credit, insurance and utility companies). This is another difficult fight, but something that important for Oklahomans.

If you’d like to read the statues, you can find them beginning here.