If you want to shop at home, be an informed consumer. Before you ever pick up the phone to dial an 800 number, or fill out an order blank from your favorite postal purveyor, do your homework. This is especially true if the company is not one that you know well. Call your local Better Business Bureau, your state's attorney; ask your friends who have used the company, then make a calculated judgement as to whether the firm appears sound, honest and reputable.
Unfortunately, even if you have been meticulous, like choosing a life or love partner, your mail order provider may be disappointing, at least from time to time. Even a solid, reputable company can leave a customer dissatisfied: the wrong product was shipped or it is the wrong size or color, it arrives damaged, or it gets lost along the way.If this happens to you, the first and most important step is one many people never take: letting the company know about the situation.
"A lot of people don't complain, so there are a lot more unhappy consumers out there than just the ones we know about," said Shirley Rooker, president of Call For Action, based in Washington, D.C., a consumer group affiliated with 24 radio and television stations across the country.
If the company is as upstanding as you thought, it will probably try to satisfy you. But, if your complaints don't result in satisfaction, there are plenty of routes to get what you paid for or to get your money back.
RETURNS are not only for ugly wedding gifts. If you want to return your merchandise and the catalog doesn't provide any information on how to go about it, follow these rules of thumb, courtesy of the Direct Marketing Association, the nation's largest trade group for mail- and phone-order firms:
- Fill out the return form completely, if one is provided. Include the reason you're returning the product, as well as the method of payment that you used. If no return form is included, a letter will do just as well.
- In the case of a damaged package, save the box and let the company know what happened. Usually, they will replace your order immediately and take the matter up with the shipping company.
- Only return packages by insured mail or parcel post. This provides proof of your shipping and will protect you if the product gets lost.
- Records will help you negotiate your way through the problem and will be invaluable if you have to go to court. Cancelled checks, credit card receipts and even logs of your complaining phone calls all add up in your favor.
- If merchandise is late, or you are unhappy with it, keep a record of every communication that you have with the company. Write down the name of each person with whom you spoke, when and what was said. Then follow up with a letter confirming that conversation.
- Make copies of all your letters and telephone logs.
- Rights of consumers include the Federal Trade Commission "Mail Order Rule" (covered in an earlier article) which governs products purchased through the mail. Those who pay for mail order purchases with their credit cards will find further protection from the FTC's "Fair Credit Billing Act."
"Credit cards are the best way to pay for phone and mail order merchandise," said Rob Longendyke, a spokesman for Spiegel, one of the nation's largest catalog-ordering companies.
"The Fair Credit Billing Act gives consumers protection they didn't have before," said Lorna Christie, vice president for ethics and consumer affairs at the Direct Marketing Association. Here are the main provisions:
- Sometimes a canceled or returned order or a contested charge still appears on your credit card bill. When that happens, send a letter to the mail-order company and the issuer of the credit card within 60 days of the first appearance on your bill. By law, a credit must appear on your bill within one billing cycle from the time your notification arrives.
The credit card company must acknowledge your letter within 30 days unless the charge has been removed from your bill.
- Credit card companies are required to investigate the claim if you have supplied your name, account number and the reasons for the error and forward copies of all documentation concerning the claim. While the item is under investigation, you do not have to pay the amount in question, although the credit card issuer can continue to bill you for it, including finance charges.
The credit card company must tell you the outcome of their investigation within 90 days.
Remember, most mail-order and catalog companies will either promptly replace your order or refund your money if you aren't satisfied. They want your business and not bad press.
If all else fails, consumers with complaints can contact Call For Action at 1 (202) 686-6287, or write to the Mail Order Action Line at the Direct Marketing Association, 6 E. 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10017-4646.
Reader questions will be answered and may appear in this column, when mailed to Gary S. Meyers at 308 W. Erie, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60610