Saving up money to purchase the material things you want can be a pretty daunting task. It takes consistency and discipline to save money. When you do decide to make a purchase, you want to feel confident in knowing you won’t be stuck with an item that suddenly breaks. We will discuss some ways in which you can protect yourself as a consumer.
Below, we will discuss the feeling of getting what you saved for, types of consumer protections, and understanding consumer rights.
The Feeling Of Getting What You Saved For
Having enough funds to buy what you need or want can be a great relief. Not only is it a great feeling it’s also confirmation that you live a life full of sacrifices and discipline. Many consumers that shop based on savings experience a burst of energy. They also feel anxious to hurry and buy the item they have been saving for. All of these emotions running through your mind can easily take your focus off of the most important thing. Are you shopping with a guarantee for your purchase? Before making a purchase with any merchant, get familiar with their return and refund process first.
Types Of Consumer Protections
The type of consumer protection you get will depend on many factors. Each state has its own law for consumer protection. The store you shop in has its own policies for consumer protection. Shopping with a debit or credit card gives you a bit of extra consumer protection also. The reason being that if a store denies you a refund entirely and their item malfunctioned on its own, you could open a dispute with the card company and have them open up a claim on your behalf to return your funds. Buying with cash only means you would have to deal with the company yourself or file a claim through the Better Business Bureau.
PayPal is constantly changing their consumer buyer protection policies. Recently, they went from offering buyers a 45-day money-back guarantee to a 180-day money-back guarantee. It sounds like great news for the consumer! Most companies offer a 30-day money-back guarantee or a 30-day exchange. Large brands such as Walmart have decided to offer consumers without a receipt an exchange for the full amount or a bit less if the item exceeds a price limit they set. Check out your money-back guarantee on your next consumer purchase journey.
Depending on the type of items you saved up to purchase, in many cases, you can purchase a warranty through the manufacturer. You should read their guide as to what the warranty covers.
Square Trade is not associated with any particular item but what makes this company great is the fact that you can purchase a warranty on an item through their company if they cover the item. Square Trade is a third party company that provides consumers with added buyer protection. Your warranty could include a full refund or replacement item.
Understanding Consumer Rights
You can’t afford not to understand your rights as a consumer. The truth is, not all companies play fair. Not knowing your rights as a consumer could put you in a position to lose money. Consumer protection is your defense against companies that practice false advertisement. It’s also a civilized way to go about getting your funds back. If consumer rights didn’t exist, many companies would wrongfully take advantage of consumers.
Why You Should Know How To Shop?
Not all online companies accept PayPal, but they do accept Mastercard. PayPal offers a reloadable PayPal Mastercard to account holders. Owning one is a good idea because whether you purchase online or offline using your PayPal Mastercard, your purchase is backed with a 180-day money-back guarantee. The even better part about PayPal is they are able to override the money-back guarantee set by merchants. This is great news for you because if your merchant offered you a 30-day guarantee and the item malfunctions after that time frame, PayPal operates based on their 180-day guarantee. Not all purchases are covered through PayPal. You should certainly check with them to see which are.
