Twenty-six years ago this week, Consumer Forum first appeared on the pages of the Bangor Daily News, beginning what is now recognized as the oldest continuing consumer “help line” in the United States. In celebration, we will indulge ourselves by answering questions readers have asked about Forum and its author, COMBAT, Maine’s grass-roots consumer group.

Q: What exactly is the relationship between COMBAT and the Bangor Daily News? – Brad Turner, Trenton

A: Consumer Forum first was published in June 1978 as a collaboration by COMBAT, the BDN and the Bangor Chamber of Commerce. To our knowledge, this was the first time that an advocacy group, a major newspaper and a business organization had formed such a partnership for the good of the community, consumers and merchants. Forum aimed to provide useful information and, through COMBAT, to resolve consumer disputes in a fair-minded way.

Q: Where does your funding come from? – Julie Richards, Greene

A: COMBAT does not receive state, federal or United Way funding. The organization’s assistance, education and advocacy services are made possible by individual memberships, business and professional memberships, tax-deductible donations, fees for service, activities (yard sales, etc.), and municipal contributions averaging $100 from approximately 150 of Maine’s roughly 500 cities and towns that have contributed. COMBAT, a tax-exempt organization, pays state and federal revenue taxes, Maine sales taxes and local property taxes.

Q: How much does it cost to get your help? – Jean Francis, Edgecomb

A: Nothing. COMBAT’s advice and information are free. If we must contact a business on your behalf, we require that you purchase at least a $25 annual membership.

Q: Is COMBAT a low-income group? – Sally Trenholm, China

A: COMBAT services are available to Maine residents and companies with no income and has no other eligibility requirements. To answer a common misconception, we are not Pine Tree Legal Assistance.

Q: Is there anything like COMBAT in other states? – Beth Quimby, Waterboro

A: There are consumer groups in other states that focus on assistance, education or advocacy. To our knowledge, COMBAT is the only organization that combines all those programs, uses volunteers rather than paid staff and operates without government funding.

Q: What are we going to do about out-of-state companies who rip us off and refuse to respond if we are dissatisfied? – Eleanore Jacobs, Buxton1

A: We wish we could answer with certainty. COMBAT just turned 32 years old and, largely because of an explosion of Internet shopping and increasingly numerous and sophisticated scams, thousands of Maine homes and offices are being victimized each year. Maine’s wealth is being siphoned across our borders. Only three courses of action seem possible: Do nothing; wait until government responds with additional levels of expensive bureaucracy; or find new ways for Maine’s business and consumer communities to work together, much as COMBAT and the BDN have done.

Forum hopes to do even more as COMBAT expands its capacity, statewide reach and effectiveness through its Maine Center for the Public Interest, which serves as a platform from which programs and services are launched.

That’s how we will celebrate Forum’s 26th anniversary: work to assist and inform Maine merchants and families. If you or your business would like to help, write for information. As always, if you have a question or dispute related to consumer issue, let us know. We plan to be here for a while.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual membership is $25, business rates start at $125 (1-10 employees). For help or information, write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.