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Learn to be a smarter consumer

By NANCY PARADIS
Published February 8, 2007

Today we continue the theme of this year's National Consumer Protection Week, "Reach Up and Reach Out: Be an Informed Consumer," with a repeat of Action's "10 Commandments for being a wise consumer." Heeding them can go a long way to making the consumer world less risky and easier to navigate:

1. Always read any document or contract, especially the fine print, before you sign it.

Once you sign a proposal or buy a product, you have entered into a contract. Unless it gives you a way out or the courts declare you incompetent, it is unlikely you will be able to get out of it by pleading poverty, old age, illness or lapse of reason.

2. Get and keep copies of anything you sign, as well as receipts, etc.

3. Send any cancellations by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof that it was sent.

4. Get any oral promises in writing. Without a copy of the written agreement, you have no proof.

5. Ask questions. If you don't understand something, ask questions until you do or seek outside advice from a friend, relative or lawyer.

6. Sleep on it. Before committing to any major purchase or investment, think about it. The deal may not look as good once you have walked away from it.

7. Do not assume you have three days to cancel an agreement. Though there are some exceptions (such as contracts for real estate, insurance, securities, health club memberships and sales of $25 or more made within your home that you did not initiate), most times you will not be able to cancel. Some car dealerships will offer customers three days to make a final decision, but this is not required by law in Florida.

8. Be particularly careful on the Internet, where you may not know with whom you are dealing. Learn to differentiate bogus from legitimate Web sites and look for the symbols that a site is secure before transmitting any personal information. A lock at the bottom of the page or an "s" after http generally indicate that the site is encrypted.

9. Check the complaint history of a business with the Better Business Bureau and your local consumer protection agencies before, not after, your transaction with it.

10. Learn your rights as a consumer. Check out:

- www.consumer.gov

- www.800helpfla.com

- www.pinellascounty.org/ consumer

- www.hillsboroughcounty.org/consumerprotection

- www.ftc.gov (The Federal Trade Commission's Web site has useful information as well as links to other sites.)

If you remember only one "commandment," let it be this: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Sources: Hillsborough County Consumer Protection, Pinellas County Justice and Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, www.consumer.gov.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request. Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check. We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 06:20:46]