We’ve all heard stories of people who signed up for weight control or fitness club memberships, paid in advance, and lost their money when the providers went bankrupt and closed their doors. Can the same thing happen when you’re buying a new bed or other hard goods from a local merchant? Yes, it can.
A bed and bedding products store in a city west of Kingston, Ontario, took deposits and full payments for bed sets right up until they recently closed their doors. As the store was not a franchise store, there was no parent company to contact. In this case, police determined that there was no intent to defraud customers, and the owners have assured all its customers that reimbursement will be made as soon as financing is secured. Those customers will probably lose sleep over this until they get their money back.
How can you protect yourself from this kind of a situation? Simply pay with your credit card. I telephoned my President’s Choice Mastercard service center and asked them what would happen if I paid for something on my credit card, it was never delivered, and the company left town. Mastercard assured me that, after they investigated and determined that the merchant would or could not deliver, I would receive a credit back on my account from Mastercard. That’s comforting! The lesson: leave your check book at home and never pay with cash.
The only exception would be when you can negotiate a discount for NOT using your credit card on a non-major purchase.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment