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Shopping by Phone or Mail
Produced in cooperation
with the Direct Marketing Association and AARP
Shopping by phone or mail is
a convenient alternative to shopping at a store. The
Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Mail or Telephone
Order Rule covers merchandise your order by mail, telephone,
computer, and fax machine.
Mail or Telephone
Order Rule
By law, a company should ship your order within the
time stated in its ads. If no time is promised, the
company should ship your order within 30 days after
receiving it.
If the company is unable to ship within
the promised time, they must give you an “option
notice.” This notice gives you the choice of agreeing
to the delay or canceling your order and receiving a
prompt refund.
There is one exception to the 30-day
Rule: if a company doesn’t promise a shipping
time, and you are applying for credit to pay for your
purchase, the company has 50 days to ship after receiving
your order.
Fair Credit
Billing Act (FCBA)
You’re protected by the FCBA when you use your
credit card to pay for purchases.
Billing
Errors
If you find an error on your credit or charge card statement,
you may dispute the charge and withhold payment on the
disputed amount while the charge is in dispute. The
error might be a charge for the wrong amount, for something
you did not accept, or for an item that was not delivered
as agreed. Of course, you still must pay any part of
the bill that is not in dispute, including finance charges
on the undisputed amount.
If you decide to dispute a charge:
- Write to the creditor at the address indicated on
the monthly statement for “billing inquiries.”
Include your name, address, credit card number, and
a description of the billing error.
- Send your letter in a timely fashion. It must reach
the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing
the error was mailed to you.
The creditor must acknowledge your
complaint in writing within 30 days after receiving
it, unless the problem has been resolved. The creditor
must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles (but
not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter.
Unsatisfactory
Goods or Services
You also may dispute charges for unsatisfactory goods
or services. To take advantage of this protection regarding
the quality of goods or services, you must:
- have made the purchase in your home state or within
100 miles of your current billing address. The charge
must be for more than $50;
- make a good faith effort first to resolve the dispute
with the seller. However, you are not required to
use any special procedure to do so.
Note that the dollar and distance
limitations don’t apply if the seller also is
the card issuer or if a special business relationship
exists between the seller and the card issuer.
Precautions
Before ordering by phone or mail, consider your experience
with the company or its general reputation. Determine
the company’s refund and return policies, the
product’s availability, and the total cost of
your order.
Contacts
for Resolving Problems
If you have problems with mail or phone order purchases,
try to resolve your dispute with the company. If that
doesn’t work, the following resources may be helpful:
- State and local consumer protection offices. Contact
the offices in your home state and where the company
is located.
- Postal Inspectors. Call your local post office and
ask for the Inspector-in-Charge.
Reducing
Direct Marketing Solicitations
You may want to have your name removed from direct marketing
lists. Be aware, however, that if you purchase goods
by phone or mail after your name is removed, it may
be added again. You may want to make a new request to
have your name removed every few years. You also may
want to ask mail or telephone order companies to retain
your name on in-house lists only.
Telemarketing
The Federal Government has created the National Do Not
Call Registry—the free, easy way to reduce the
telemarketing calls you get at home. To register, or
to get information, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call
1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register.
You will receive fewer telemarketing calls within three
months of registering your number. It will stay in the
registry for five years or until it is disconnected
or you take it off the registry. After five years, you
will be able to renew your registration.
Mail
The DMA Mail Preference Service lets you opt out of
receiving direct mail marketing from many national companies
for five years. When you register with this service,
your name will be put on a “delete” file
and made available to direct-mail marketers. However,
your registration will not stop mailings from organizations
that are not registered with the DMA’s Mail Preference
Service. To register with DMA, send your letter to:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Or register online at www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html.
Email
The DMA also has an EMail Preference Service to help
you reduce unsolicited commercial emails. To “opt-out”
of receiving unsolicited commercial email, use DMA’s
online form at www.dmaconsumers.org/offemaillist.html.
Your online request will be effective for one year.
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