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Tips for Shopping By Mail

December 13, 2006

Save By Mail Inc. • Consumers Grouse about Save By Mail • JD Marvel Returns as Save By Mail • Consumer Complaints --- • Tips for Shopping by Mail

To protect yourself from getting taken by an unscrupulous mail-order company, consumer experts offer the following tips:

• Find out if the company has a money-back guarantee on its merchandise;
• Never send cash through mail. Pay with a check, credit card, or money order;
• Keep a record of your order. Make sure you know the company's name and address;
• Keep your canceled check;
• Immediately notify the company if the products are not what you ordered or are unsatisfactory;
• Never pay for something you didn't order. It is illegal for companies to charge you for merchandise you didn't order

Federal Trade Commission rules state that mail-order companies must send your merchandise within 30 days from the time they receive your order -- unless the company clearly states another time for shipment.

If the company can't ship your order within 30-days -- or its advertised time -- it must notify you and let you cancel or agree to the delay. If you cancel, the company must give you a full refund within seven days.

The exceptions to this rule are magazine subscriptions, sales of seed and growing plants, photo-finishing, collect-on-delivery (COD) orders, Negative Option Plans like those used by book and music clubs, and orders placed over the phone and charged to a credit card account.

Under federal law, only two types of merchandise can be legally sent through the mail without a consumer's prior consent -- free samples that are clearly marked as such, and merchandise mailed by a charitable organization asking for contributions.

For more information contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at (877) 382-4357 or www.ftc.gov.

Consumers can file complaints about mail-order companies with ConsumerAffairs.com, the FTC, or their local postal inspector.

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