Creative Consumer: What You Need To Know About Gift Returns
Consumer correspondent Elisabeth Leamy warns about return policies.
Dec. 17, 2007 — -- It's the holiday shopping season, which means next comes the post-holiday returns season.
The key to returns is to find out each store's policy. Each one has its own policy, and it's worth knowing the details.
Many consumers are under the unfortunate impression that you have but three days to return anything you buy. It's not true.
I'm not sure why this consumer myth lives on. But I do know where it came from. The Federal Trade Commission has a helpful regulation called the Cooling-Off Rule, but it applies only to sales made away from the seller's place of business.
It's sort of a quaint regulation, really, from the days when women spent their days at home and overbearing salesmen hawked wares like vacuum cleaners door-to-door. This limited three-day right to return applies to purchases of $25 or more made at your home or workplace, or at short-term facilities rented by the seller, such as hotel rooms, convention centers and fairgrounds. It does not apply to Internet purchases.
Some products are exempt from the Cooling-Off Rule, including real estate, insurance and securities. Vehicles sold at temporary locations (like auto shows) are exempt as long as the seller has a permanent place of business.
Salespeople who sell you something from a temporary location are required to inform you of your three-day cancellation rights and give you a cancellation form. To cancel, you fill out the form or write a letter of your own and mail it to the seller. You must make sure it's postmarked by midnight of the third business day after you made the purchase. The seller then has 10 days to give you a refund and 20 days to pick up the items you purchased.
I mention all this because if you purchase something that does not fall into the narrow scope of the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule, the store or company has the right to set its own returns policy. In other words, before you buy, you need to check the seller's policy and make sure you really want the merchandise. Happy shopping and many happy returns …
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