COLUMBIA - Searching online for the best price can be difficult, although price comparison Web sites are a good place to start.
By law, merchants must ship your order within the date they promise. If there is no time stated, they must ship the item within 30 days.
If you don’t receive your item within that time, the merchant must offer you a new shipping date and the option of canceling the order for a full refund. If the new shipping date is within 30 days, and you do not explicitly cancel the order, the items must be shipped. If the new shipping date is more that 30 days, you have the right to a prompt full refund, unless you state otherwise. If the merchant fails to deliver again, it must offer a new shipping date or refund. If you do not respond, a full refund is due.
But, not all Internet retailers obey the law. Travis Ford, the consumer education coordinator for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, encourages consumers to file a complaint if they are billed for an item they have not received. Ford said you can file a complaint with his officee after you contact the retailer to dispute the issue.
You can file consumer complaints with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission.
Before buying from an Internet retailer, you can request a reliability report at the Better Business Bureau online, which will let you access its database that has information on 2.5 million organizations in the U.S.
Clink the links to the right of this story to learn more about online shopping and comparing prices.
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