Department of Consumer Protection Offers Holiday Shopping Tips

HARTFORD — The Department of Consumer Protection is offering advice that can prevent a great deal of stress during the holiday season.

“Industry experts are predicting deep discounts in order to entice weary consumers to spend big this season, but shoppers should be careful — a great price today can be a lousy deal later, if you can’t get a refund on items that turned out to be the wrong color or size,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Edwin R. Rodriquez.

He offered these tips for shopping wisely and avoiding common consumer woes:

Read sale ads with care. Watch out for low prices on high demand items, where the ad says Quantities Limited, No Rainchecks, or Not Available at all Stores. This may be a truly great offer, or just a lure to get lots of shoppers into the store. If possible, try calling the store early in the day to make sure the item you want is in stock. This may save you a trip and prevent stress.

Get a raincheck for sold-out sale items whenever possible. When a store in Connecticut advertises a product at a stated sale price, it is expected to have that product in stock and available to customers during the sale period advertised. If the sale item sells out or is not available, for most items, the store must provide you with a raincheck on request. The store is obligated to contact you when the item is back in stock.

If the raincheck cannot be honored by the store within 60 days, the store must offer to sell you similar or comparable merchandise at the advertised price — or at a lower price.

Many stores will match, or even beat, their competitors’ prices. Bring the competition’s ads with you when shopping, and ask!

Before you purchase an expensive, special item, ask about sale adjustments. If you buy an item at regular price today and it goes on sale the next week, can you get a credit or a refund for the discounted amount? What documentation will you need?

Before buying always ask about refund and return policies. In Connecticut, sellers can set any refund or exchange policies they choose, provided that they post the policy in a conspicuous place for customers to see. Find out what the “restocking fee” will be, especially on large items like televisions and computers. Stores are allowed to charge you for the cost of returning the unwanted item to their warehouse.

If there is no return/refund notice posted, State law sets the minimum — you have seven calendar days to return any new, unused item to the store with a proof of purchased, and get a cash refund on a cash sale, or a credit to your charge account on a credit card sale. However, you are not entitled to a refund on food, perishable items, including live plants; custom-ordered or custom-made items; items sold “as is” or “final sale,” items with no proof of purchase; used items; mattresses and other items that cannot be resold for health reasons.

Since most holiday gifts are purchased well before the holidays, it may be well past seven days when you return the item. Technically, the store is under no obligation to refund your money or exchange the item, although most stores have an extended refund policy during the holiday season. Find out the policy before you buy! If the holiday return date is not printed on you receipt, ask the sales clerk to mark and initial the return date on your store receipt for you.

Because Connecticut’s gift card law now protects consumers against cards that “expire,” gift cards or certificates are always appreciated. Merchants selling gift certificates or cards in Connecticut can no longer place expiration dates on the certificates, nor can they impose inactivity fees or penalties if the certificates are not used by a certain date.

Finally, if you’re planning to do some holiday shopping online, these tips can reduce stress by protecting your financial information.

Know who you’re dealing with. Use only well-established online sellers. If you want to try a new online seller, at least confirm an online seller’s physical address and phone number in case you need to get in touch with them. If you get an email or pop-up message from the seller while you’re browsing that asks for financial information, don’t reply or click on the link in the message, and take you shopping elsewhere. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email or pop-ups.

Don’t email your financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting financial or personal information such as your credit card, checking account, or Social Security number. If you want to purchase an item online and are asked to provide your financial information through the seller’s website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for the website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”).

Check out the terms of the deal, including refund policies and delivery dates. Can you return the item for a full refund? If you return it, who pays the shipping costs or restocking fees? Check on when you can expect to receive your order. The law requires sellers to ship items as promised or within 30 days after the order date if no specific date is promised. Can the recipient return your gift? If so, ask that a gift receipt be included in the package. Some retailers that sell online will allow online purchases to be returned to their local retail locations.

Keep a paper trail. Print and save records of your online transactions, including the product description and price, the online receipt, and copies of any email you exchange with the seller. Read your credit card statements as you receive them to be on the lookout for unauthorized charges.

More shopping tips are available from the Department of Consumer Protection at www.ct.gov.dcp.