Consumer Reports WebWatch Offers Twelve Holiday Tips for Smarter Shopping, Travel and Charitable Giving Online
YONKERS, NY, December 15, 2004: With the holidays here once again, more people will be shopping, making travel arrangements and giving to charities online. In fact, consumers spent $8.8 billion on holiday shopping online in November this year alone. While discounts and conveniences abound on the Web, so do scams, fraud and just plain lousy customer service. Consumer Reports WebWatch, the leader in investigative reporting on trust and credibility in the online marketplace, has compiled the Twelve Days of Holiday Advice to help protect consumers.
"The Web can relieve you from all kinds of frustration and hassle this time of year if you hate going to the mall, but there are, of course, caveats," said Beau Brendler, WebWatch’s director. "It's not like walking into a store – you've got to read the site’s policies, be aware of potential bias, and pay attention to things like price rankings. The best sites don't hide anything and are upfront about how they do business and whom they do it with."
Deliveries & Refunds
1. Get the goods: If a Web site guarantees delivery by a specific date during the holidays and is unable to fulfill that promise, the company must contact you to get your consent for the delay and schedule a new delivery date.
2. Get your money back: If you do not approve the delay, you are entitled to a full refund – no questions asked. No negotiations, no partial refunds, or credits. If the company doesn't agree to give you a full refund, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or online at http://www.ftc.gov.
Online Charities
3. Be charitable: But be wary of appeals made over e-mail or related to current events. Fraudsters often use tragedies and recent events as hooks to inspire holiday giving. Make sure the non-profit site lists an address and phone number.
4. Be certain: Call the charity's phone number and ask for its registration number, which every U.S.-based non-profit organization is required by law to have. Share that number with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance (http://www.give.org), or the state's attorney general's office (http://www.naag.org/ag/full_ag_table.php, for each state office's Web site and phone number) to confirm the non-profit's validity.
5. Be safe: Make your donation by credit card rather than debit card online, as credit cards offer the greatest consumer protections in the event of fraud.
6. Be Web savvy: Check that the Web page asking for your credit card information is secure. Look for "https" at the beginning of the URL on that page, which indicates it is encrypted for security.
Trains, Planes, Automobiles & Hotels
7. Compare and Save: WebWatch has said it before: shop around, compare sites, try the same site twice. It’s the best way to find the best fare online at holiday time.
8. Beware the final check out: Before booking a hotel room or rental car online, make sure you've determined the final rate. Hidden fees, taxes or insurance charges can dramatically increase the final costs. The best sites are the most transparent.
9. Watch out for "fare-jumping": Avoid being suckered by an attractive but unavailable rate. Make sure the rate you've selected is still available when you're ready to request total pricing and make a booking.
10. Don't forget discounts: You may be eligible for up to 20% discounts if you are a government employee, in the military, or are a member of AAA or AARP. Check with your credit card company for holiday specials as well.
11. Read the fine print: Never book a hotel room, car rental or airline ticket online until you've read and understood the cancellation policy. Many independent travel Web sites charge additional fees for changes and cancellations, and that’s on top of fees levied by the hotel, airline or car rental company. This is critical when weather wreaks havoc on your travel plans, and your wallet.
12. Be flexible: Considerably lower rates may be available for slightly alternative dates, other vehicle types, and nearby airports.
About Consumer Reports WebWatch
Consumer Reports WebWatch is the leader in investigative reporting on trust and credibility in the online marketplace. WebWatch uses the proven methods of Consumer Reports to produce comprehensive research, breakthrough conferences and serves as a daily resource of unbiased and trustworthy information. Its research agenda includes entire online marketplaces, such as travel, search, health, financial services and more. WebWatch is a project of Consumers Union and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society Institute. WebWatch's investigative reports, articles and news are available to the general public at http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/
About Consumers Union
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of its information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants. Consumer Reports content can be found online at ConsumerReports.org. Consumers Union's public policy work can be found online at ConsumersUnion.org.
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