Buyer Beware: TV Offers

We’ve all heard “buyer beware”, but sometimes it’s just hard to resist picking up the phone for that latest gadget or cute stuffed toy our children beg for. After all, the jingle is now cemented in everyone’s head and who knows how you ever survived without the convenience of this offered product on TV.

It might surprise you to know, that our information today is not focused on de-bunking whether one of these products works, whether they are worth the special price offered or even to tell you whether or not to make the purchase. We will however provide some key information and reminders on the “fine print” that can accompany TV offers to keep you in the know of the hassles you could encounter.

For the sake of best education purposes, we are going to present a true scenario from a recent TV purchase. We hope this story will provide a helpful example of things to be aware of when ordering items seen on TV.

We were recently contacted by a kind-hearted grandma who ordered pairs of special slippers for each of her younger grandkids. Those cute, snuggly slippers were sold at a price of $19.99 each with separate shipping and handling. Additionally, the website stated that the order would take 4-6 weeks, so our grandma was not disappointed when they did not make it by Christmas,. She was, however, perplexed when it took 7 ½ weeks to receive her order. Furthermore, all the pairs of slippers came in one box. (Didn’t she pay separate shipping and handling for each pair?)

As final insult to injury, she found four blankets included in the box along with charges for each. These blankets were never ordered. As you can imagine, the bill was quite high, and now she believed she would have to re-package and ship blankets back to the company to receive a refund for the extra product.

She went to the product website, wrote them and was given an alternative. She was offered a partial refund on the blankets to just keep them, which is exactly what she did, to avoid additional hassle.

Mistake or not? The product company still received more money than the original order placed, leading this grandma to question if this was an intentional move and prompting us to write this blog.

The slippers were cute enough and in the end our grandma was glad to give them to her grandkids, but in hindsight, the business transaction left her feeling a little cheated.

Not every company selling products on tv has the same policies, procedures or tactics, but how does one give a product/company a chance without feeling vulnerable? Here are some tips to help you feel more in the know, when considering an order.

1) First, Start with Trust! Your BBB provides FREE Reliability Reports providing ratings, consumer complaints/experiences, contact information and more! You can look up a business review at http://evansville.bbb.org/Find-Business-Reviews/ or call your local BBB office for assistance.

2) Check into the details… didn’t catch it all in 30 seconds? Look up the company website or ask for more details by phone before placing the order. Don’t feel intimidated to ask for a line out of charges, as you will be expected to pay them. Be sure to check out the company’s refund policy, too. Sometimes when ordering products, you just may be signing up for offers from a third-party vendor or a membership into a buying club, so ask lots of questions.

3) Find out what to do if there is a problem with your order. Can you contact them by phone or is all correspondence by email? Save copies of any such correspondence if problems occur.

4) Think about how you plan to pay….Your credit card might have dispute resolution services that can help, should problems occur, making it worthwhile to utilize this payment option. Check with your specific credit card company to learn more.

5) Know your rights….the FTC ‘s Mail Order Rule allows the seller 30 days to ship ordered products to the buyer unless otherwise specified at the time of purchase. If the seller cannot ship within the 30 day period, they are required to notify the buyer in writing of the delay, and give the option of waiting, or having their money returned within seven days. Credit card payments must be credited within one billing cycle. Tips like these as well as any government actions are often listed in a BBB Reliability Report.