I subscribe to a few AARP services. As a consumer advocate, I'm always searching for relevant information that may be beneficial to my readers.
Aarp.org offers some smarter shopping solutions for 2017; several are simply common sense, while others pose provocative situations that really make us think. Even though we're four months into the new year, we have a long eight months to go and, by following some of AARP's tips, the financial crunch might ease off a bit.
- Pretend you're a monkey. One of those smart little monkeys that "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." (The "evil" happens to be products or services that someone who's inventive in outrageous promises pressures us to buy.) I don't care if the salesperson swears only five items remain or that this deal lasts only through today. Walk away! I have yet to discover any "deal" that cannot be reduced, reevaluated or reassigned. Be sure to check all references carefully, closely study all documentation, and understand any pitfalls that might result from an inferior product or a shoddy service. Avoid high pressure sales. Be a monkey.
- Never ever pay for services in advance. Avoid prepaying for contracting work, dating services, moving companies, travel agents, web design, plastic surgery, home improvements, etc. Paying the total upfront often leads to heartache as well as a botched job. Pay attention. While these services and others aren't always manned by unscrupulous creeps and are in the minority, those professions are top consumer complaint categories and oft times because of dishonest practices. Be careful.
- Practice makes perfect. Take a new mattress and box springs. Once you've completed initial research and narrowed the choices down to manufacturer, type and locations, then off you go. Experts tell us to roll around on a prospective buy, toss and turn, upside down and right side up. Take it a step further. Not only should a mattress and box springs last approximately eight years, it also should allow us many nights of restful sleep. Shoo away the salesperson and take a nap right there in the store. Even better, ask for a test drive. A week's worth of practice in your own bedroom can determine whether or not you need to continue shopping. Include other areas in your test "drive," such as a new car, a bottle of shampoo just on the market, a lawnmower, a cleaning service, or almost any other product or service we wish to sanction. Just be perfectly sure you understand all the terms of the return agreement (in writing, please).
- Deals must be in written form to protect the parties. Regardless of the other person's honesty, regardless of whether you've spent loads of money over the years with this company, regardless of your haste to hurry to another appointment - do not accept only a verbal assurance. Once the agreement is written down and signed by Sarah Seller, take it home and read every word, even the tiny fine print. Make sure "Sarah" clarifies all potential misunderstandings before affixing your John Henry. Cross out any contractual scrap you don't agree with. Frankly, if the transaction isn't important enough to write down, then its promise isn't important enough to keep. It's your word against the seller, and the customer isn't always right.
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com.