Vene, Vidi, Visa (I Came, I Saw, I Shopped)

Posted Friday, November 26, 2010

It's Black Friday, the day shoppers push retailers into the black and, too often, their own budgets into the red. Holiday shoppers will spend close to a half-trillion dollars on a dazzling array of merchandise. If you're not armed with information, it's easy to get ripped off. A stiff dose of caveat emptor is what we're about today. For instance, make a budget and stick to it. More than 13-million people are still paying off last year's Christmas bills. Tips on smart shopping Friday on The Sound of Ideas.

Guests

Sue McConnell, senior vice-president, Cleveland Better Business Bureau
Greg Daugherty, executive editor, Consumer Reports.org
Sheryl Harris, consumer affairs reporter, The Plain Dealer

Please follow our community discussion rules when composing your comments.

Margaret Hewitt 10:36 AM 11/26/10

On the show today, that was previously taped, there was erroneous information given about using debit cards. It was said that there is no protection when you use this card. I know for a fact that this is not accurate. I have personally contacted the bank and they credited me back the charge from an unauthorized charge. When your debit card has a Visa or MasterCard endorsement it has the same protections as the credit cards with these companies.

I think that giving this erroneous information out causes people to get into more debt that they can not afford. This is bad advice.

Sheryl Harris responds 2:30 PM 11/29/10

You are legally protected from unauthorized electronic charges from a bank account.
However, if you authorize a company to debit your account, and the amount is NOT the one you agreed to - say, it’s higher than agreed - that’s not considered unauthorized charge and your bank may choose not to intervene. Some debit card issuers may choose to offer limited protections in these types of disputes, but they’re not required to, and you should read your debit card agreement so you know the limitations.
You are always much better off using a credit card than a debit card.