Category: Top Tip

If you buy a cheesy product or fall for even one scam, con artists will circle like vultures and try to get a piece of you. Once a scammer or an opportunist has your contact information, they’ll sell your name to other clever crooks for extra cash. Here are a few things to avoid if you don’t want to be bombarded by scammers: First, over-the-top catchphrases like “one in a million” or “specially selected.” Second, ads in dicey places like the back of a magazine, late night TV informercials, telephone polls or spam. YOU may know this, but share with friends —maybe seniors— who may not. Be especially wary of businesses such as foreign lotteries, questionable contests, credit repair companies, and manufacturers of cheesy products. These are the people most likely to put your name on a long list of “suckers” and sell your information to more criminals! I once signed up for such a product using a fake name and the mailroom at my TV station was BURIED in come-ons. I tried it so you don’ have to!

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Here’s a Top Tip about YOUR holiday gifts: If any of them break, you should know that there’s no set legal definition of the term “lifetime warranty.” You probably assumed “lifetime” means your lifetime, right?  Not always!  Some weasely companies choose to interpret it as the lifetime of the product.  I know, That’s like saying, “this product is warranted to last as long as it lasts.” Bottom line: a lifetime warranty is only as good as the company offering it because companies control the meaning of their own warranties.  So keep that in mind when you’re shopping… or thinking of making a claim.

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Here is a new year’s Top Tip: Avoid ironclad gym contracts that require big money up front and make it hard to cancel if you want buns of steel.  Lots of people join gyms this time of year.  And as with all future services contracts in which you make a long-term commitment and pay in advance, there are risks. Make sure you do your homework on the gym before signing a contract.  In fact, before you join, find out if the gym offers a trial period or free guest passes, so you can try the place before you commit.  Also find out what is and isn’t included in the contract.  Better yet, sign a short contract before agreeing to extended memberships!  Many jurisdictions now require gyms to offer a short introductory membership, but when I went undercover, not ONE gym told me about this option.  So ask.  Give THEM a work out before they give you one.

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Many people think you have 3 days to return any product you buy.  Sorry to say, that’s a myth!   Every company has the right to set its OWN return policy. The myth comes from a Federal Trade Commission policy known as the 3-day “Cooling-Off Rule,” but this rule ONLY applies to sales made away from the seller’s place of business.  For example door-to-door sales and sales at temporary locations like holiday street markets.  In THOSE few unique cases, you have 3 days to make a return and salespeople are required to inform you of that right. But that’s it!  Sellers at regular, fixed locations can give you 60 days or no days or whatever they want.  In other words, before you buy, check the seller’s individual return policy and know what you’re getting into.

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If you want to keep your credit score high, keep your credit card balances low. Of course, the best thing is to pay your cards off in full each month. But if you must carry a balance, it should be no more than ten percent of your credit limit if you want to keep your score reasonably high. You can go up to 30 percent for a second tier credit score. And really, it’s best not to even SPEND more than 30 percent of your limit, even if you pay it off. Yep, that’s right, the FICO scoring model wants you to have lots of credit but then barely use it. And of course all this matters because a high credit score brings you low interest rates on mortgages, car loans and so on.

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This time of year we all get a lot of appeals to donate to charity and I want your donations to count.  So, when people ask you for money, ask THEM if they are paid solicitors and if they are licensed.  If they’re paid, you’ll know this particular charity is spending some of YOUR donation on raising yet more money.  And if they can’t give you a license number, that means the charity isn’t on the up and up or isn’t even a charity.  The wrong answers to these questions should prompt you to do some more research before you give.  Two great resources to check out charities: give.org, which is run by the BBB and CharityWatch.org (note, that’s .org).  These groups grade charities and tell you what percentage of your money goes to the actual cause you want to support. 

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I’m going to give you a top top about the holiday season.  Beware of phishing scams involving shipping.  Scammers send out emails that look like they’re from UPS, FedEx and the US Postal Service.  They have convincing subject lines like “We could not deliver your parcel” or “Please confirm your shipment” or “Your order is ready to be delivered.”  We all send and receive so many packages in December, that it’s easy to fall for these ploys and click on the link in the email.  If you do, they will either load malware onto your computer OR request personal information to steal your identity —or both.  So if you receive an email about a shipment, do NOT open it or click on it.  Instead go to the legitimate company’s site and check any shipments of yours from there.

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Last week I alerted you about tow truck drivers who steal other companies’ calls and then overcharge you. Now a warning about what often happens next. This heads up is courtesy of an undercover investigation I did. We parked a car by the side of the freeway. Tow truck drivers we hadn’t ’t called pulled over to pick us up and, of course, overcharged us every time. And then every single one took us to the same gas station —A station several miles away. They made U-turns and passed up half a dozen other possible shops to take us to that one? Why? We later learned that gas station pays tow truck drivers a bounty to bring cars there. And if they’re willing to engage in that shady practice, who knows what kinds of shenanigans they’d pull when fixing your vehicle! Lesson learned: when you car is towed, always have a shop in mind and ask to be taken there and nowhere else.

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Beware of tow truck shenanigans. For one, if you call Triple A, other tow companies listen to their radio traffic and will try to get to you before the Triple-A driver.  If you don’t use Triple A, keep a reliable, legitimate tow truck driver on speed dial.  Either way, ask for ID and confirm the price, when the driver gets there.  After all once they have your car hooked up, you’re kind of at their mercy and that’s when unlicensed, unethical tow truck drivers will demand way more money than you need to pay.  Next time, I’ll tell you about towing kickbacks.   

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Outlet malls are victims of their own success. Or rather we’re victims of their own success. People assume outlet mall prices are lower, which is how they can get away with prices that are sometimes higher. For example, I once systematically compared outlet and regular mall prices and found plenty of examples, like brand name sneakers that were $16 LESS at the regular retail store. There are so many outlet malls that there just isn’t enough imperfect and second-season merchandise to stock them. So some stores have started designing lines just for their outlets. These items are sometimes shoddily made of cheap materials. My advice: scrutinize quality and compare prices at an outlet mall just like you would at a regular mall.

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