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How to be a smart consumer |
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Shopping for stuff is, for the most part, an enjoyable experience in
Canada. Prices are usually as marked (so you almost never have to
haggle), and most stores have a generous return/exchange policy.
However that doesn't mean you don't need to shop smart. Being a wise consumer is your best protection in today’s marketplace. That means becoming informed about purchases, understanding your rights as a consumer, and practicing responsible management of your private financial and personal information.
“Buyer beware” is still the best advice to any consumer considering any purchase of goods or services. Review these tips and remember that, while situations vary, the basic advice remains the same: be informed, ask questions, and proceed only when you are completely comfortable with your purchase.
General Tips
- Be cautious about ads promising guaranteed jobs, guaranteed loans, credit repair, debt consolidation or similar claims. Many of these offers are only a way to get you to send money in advance in exchange for little or no service.
- Be cautious when responding to advertisements, particularly those that use 1-900 telephone numbers. You can be charged substantial and differing amounts for calls to 1-900 numbers
- Be careful about giving out any of your personal information, including your social insurance number, credit card numbers and bank account numbers. Fraudulent businesses could use this information to make unauthorized charges to your credit card or to withdraw money from your bank account.
Before You Buy
- Take advantage of sales, but always compare prices. Do not assume an item is a bargain just because it is advertised as one. Don't rush into an expensive purchase because the "price is only good today."
- If direct selling (sale that takes place without any intermediary like door-to-door, television sales, etc), check whether the company is licensed or registered at the local or provincial level.
- Contact your provincial or territorial consumer protection agency for any consumer information they might have on this type of purchase.
- Be aware of extra charges such as delivery fees, installation charges, service costs, and postage and handling fees. Add them into the total cost of your purchase.
- Ask about the company's refund or exchange policy.
- Read the warranty. Note what is covered and what is not. Find out what you must do and what the manufacturer or seller must do when there is a problem.
- Never sign a contract without reading it. Don't sign a contract when there are any blank spaces in it or when you don't understand it. In fact, do not sign any document that you do not understand.
- Before buying a product or service, contact your consumer protection office to see whether there are automatic cancellation periods for the purchase you are making. In some provinces and territories, there is a cancellation period for contracts for credit, dating clubs, health clubs, pre-need funeral and cemetery services, time shares, natural gas, electricity, and door-to-door sales.
- Walk out or hang up on high-pressure sales tactics. Don't be forced or pressured into buying anything.
- Only do business over the telephone with companies you know.
- Be suspicious of post office box addresses. These might indicate that a business does not want to be found. If you have a complaint later on, you might have trouble locating the company.
- Do not respond to any prize or gift offer that requires you to pay even a small amount of money up front.
- Use unit pricing in supermarkets to compare what items really cost. Unit pricing allows you to compare the price gram-for-gram, kilogram-for-kilogram. As an example, bigger packages are not always cheaper than smaller ones.
- Use coupons carefully. Do not assume they are the best deal until you've compared the price you would pay with a coupon to the prices of competitive products.
- Do not rely on a salesperson's promises. Get everything in writing.
After You Buy
- Read and follow product and service instructions.
- Read the warranty so that you understand what is covered and for how long.
- Be aware that how you use and take care of a product might affect your warranty rights.
- Keep all sales receipts, warranties, service contracts and instructions.
- When you have a problem, contact the company as soon as possible. Trying to fix the product yourself might cancel your right to service under the warranty.
- Keep a written record of any contact with the company.
- When you have a problem, check with your consumer protection office to find out about the warranty rights in your province or territory.
- Check your contract for any statement about your cancellation rights. Contact your consumer protection office to see whether a cancellation period applies.
- When you take a product in for repair, be sure the technician or person taking it in understands and writes down the problem you have described. Ask for and keep a copy of the repair order. Get an estimate on the cost of repairs before allowing the work to go ahead.
Source: Canadian Consumer Handbook 2005, published by the Office of Consumer Affairs, Industry Canada
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