I just read an article on Consumerist that is really interesting. Apparently there have been an increase of people purchasing items from stores like Best Buy, getting home, and opening the box only to find some form of crap (floor tiles, news paper, phone books) instead of their new Xbox 360 or hard drive.
It is then impossible to return the item because the store has no reason to believe your story and they think you are just trying to rip them off.
The two main tips that the article offered were:
- Open the box before leaving the store to ensure you aren’t being sold crap.
- Always use a credit card, specifically one with “Purchase Assurance,” “Purchase Protection” and “Extended Warranty Protection.
Almost all credit cards or debt cards offer these features or at least a way to dispute charges on your credit card. It is important to take advantage of these features when you need it and not just sit down and take it and assume something stupid like “well…that’s just a part of life”. If you have that attitude, it will cost you.
I recently had a problem where I canceled a subscription, but the company continued to charge my credit card anyway. A simple 5-10 minute call to my bank, and they credited my account for the exact amount, no problems.
So what do we learn here? Use credit cards as often as possible (not cash or cash equivilents) and when you get ripped, don’t hesitate to call your credit card company!
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