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Tip
Sheet: Culture & Living
Tip sheets highlight timely news and events at Washington University in St. Louis. For more information on any of the stories below or for assistance in arranging interviews, please see the contact information listed with each story. For comments on the Culture & Living news tips service, please contact the editor, Sue Killenberg McGinn at (314) 935-5254 or
susan_killenberg_mcginn@aismail.wustl.edu.
Tips Sheets: Business,
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Science & Health | Science & Technology
Buyer beware
Don't overcharge and watch your receipts, consumer law expert advises
Media assistance:
Jessica Roberts
- (314) 935-5251
Source: Michael M. Greenfield's Web page - (314) 935-6428
Related: Better Business Bureau
[St. Louis, Mo., Dec. '02/Jan. '03] - Consumers in a gift-buying frenzy
are at greater risk of fraud, says Michael M. Greenfield, J.D., Walter
D. Coles Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis and
author of a treatise titled Consumer Law, as well as a casebook,
Consumer Transactions. Greenfield suggests ways to make the
holidays less stressful, at least financially:
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| Michael M. Greenfield, J.D. |
- Budget your purchases to avoid finance charges on your credit card account. "It's very expensive to carry a credit card debt of $2,000 each month. Depending on the bank's method of calculation, the annual finance charge can exceed $500," Greenfield says. "If you need to carry a balance, by all means pay it off as quickly as you can. Never settle for paying just the 'minimum monthly payment' amount. If you pay the minimum amount, it may take eight years, or longer, to pay it off -- and that's assuming you never use the card again!"
- Watch out for telemarketers, Greenfield says. Consumers are more vulnerable to telephone offers when they are in the throes of gift buying around the holidays. Greenfield says beware of telemarketers who start out pretending to do a survey, but quickly turn it into a sales pitch. And definitely don't give out your credit card number unless you placed the call, Greenfield says. "You could be talking to someone who is after your card number, not your business," he warns.
- Keep track of credit card receipts and carbons so that no one can get your credit card number. If that does happen, Greenfield notes, consumers are only liable for the first $50 of fraudulent credit card use on each card. "As bad as the loss of $50 per card may be, even worse is the hassle of getting fraudulent charges removed from your account," Greenfield says. "Always check your credit card receipts against your bill."
- Check your credit card statements for erroneous charges when they arrive. Errors can be made by businesses or can point to fraudulent use by someone else. "The sooner you discover the problem, the easier it is to deal with," says Greenfield.
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