As a consumer, you are an important part of the chain of making the economy move. If consumers do not buy, merchants cannot make money. If merchants do not make money, then they cannot hire people. If people cannot be hired, they cannot be consumers. A vicious circle happens when the consumer stops buying.
A vicious circle also happens when the merchant cuts corners to bring cheap merchandise in order to beat out their competition. To bring the consumer cheaper goods, they must cut the pay they could give to their employees and ask the suppliers to take a cut in what they expect for producing the goods. When the suppliers have to take a cut in profits, the quality of the merchandise suffers. When employees have to survive on less money, they do not become ideal employees who have a great stake in what goes on in the business and just show up to get a check.
A credit agency is basically a bank. This type of "bank" is really an investment that lends money to the consumer in exchange for being paid back with interest. They need consumers who can pay off this investment. If consumers refuse to have anything to do with the credit market, these "banks" lose a significant source of income. Even with high risk consumers, they can make more money in interest from the ones who do pay making it a worthy investment, despite the rate of those who default because one way or another they will get their money. It is money they do not even have in reality. It is all virtual money, but they need consumers to pay real money.
As a consumer, you are actually in an interesting position. You have certain rights that you are entitled to when dealing with any business. You can even extend those rights to those who give credit. The current economic mess is mostly the fault of a lazy consumer who does not know their rights or responsibilities in making things go around.
Expect The Best
You work hard for your money, right? You expect to be paid a fair price for your work. If you are not paid what you are worth for your work, don't you feel a bit disgruntled? Well, it goes both ways.
If you are putting in your best all the time, you could demand a raise, just make sure you really are doing what needs to be done. Perhaps it is just you and that particular job are not suited for your skills and you need to work someplace else or start your own business. If you honestly do a good job, you should expect the best pay for the type of job you are doing.
The same goes for buying goods. If you worked hard for your money, why settle for junk? Sure, the price is cheaper, but why is it so cheap? Has the quality suffered to bring it to you cheaper? Has the wages of another hard worker been cut or has the job been sent out of the country to bring it to you cheaper? In the case of food, has a small farmer been put in a situation where they have no choice but to agree to terms of a deal where they make very little profit in order to save their farm? Has the product been pumped full of cheap chemicals and/or hormones to produce plentiful, cheap and oversized meat and vegetables at a cheap price and do you care what goes into your body?
If you keep buying cheap products that are cheaply made for the sake of having more stuff, that is your right as a consumer. However, your responsibility would be to insist on the best because when you choose the cheap over the quality, you get more of they cycle of cheap and quality harder to find.
Civility
Without you as a consumer, a business could fail. You have a lot of power. If you refuse to do business with a company, they cannot make a profit. You should expect fair treatment from any business which is your right and if they cannot give you fair treatment, it is your responsibility to take it somewhere else.
Why put up with bad service? Why put up with rude sales clerks? Why put up with a business that wants to draw you into the store with a good offer only to present you with something completely different at a higher cost (bait and switch)? And for businesses that approach you in your home, you have a right to say no to those who come to your door and a right to put up a sign that solicitors do not approach you. You are also responsible for the safety of those who are working in and around your home, so it is your responsibility to have insurance or to make sure the workers are licensed and bonded.
When it comes to collection agencies and other bill collectors, you have certain rights to have them call you between certain times and the right to have them not call you at all if you follow the proper procedure. You have the right to contest a debt within 30 days of a notice. You have a right to not pay a debt at all. However, if the debt is valid and not beyond the statue of limitations, it is your responsibility to pay it and the courts can enforce it. Even if you do owe, you have the right to be treated with dignity and respect in your own home and place of business.
Contracts
When dealing with credit lenders and banks, if you have excellent credit you can pretty much shop around and dictate the terms of your credit deal. If you have good credit, you have the right to shop around for the best deal. If you have poor or no credit, you still have the right to shop around for the best rate, but you often have less flexibility in the terms. In any case, you have the responsibility to read the fine print of the contract. Once you sign it, you agree to those terms, including the much overlooked phrases such as "the terms may be changed at any time by the lender" or "interest rate may increase if..." or "extra fees include..." there are many terms in these contracts that can trap a consumer into terms that are really bad, including repayment options. It is your responsibility to read it and understand it and live with the terms if you sign it.
Mortgage loans are not much different than credit loans. The best terms go to those with the best credit. The difference between a 5% interest rate versus a 12% for 30 years could literally be $1000 or more a month depending on the amount of the loan. Mortgage loans often come with stipulations that consider more than the credit. It is your responsibility to prove to the bank that you have access to a good down payment and have a job that is steady and plan to move into a home that will go up in value and that you can assure the house will be maintained and protected. It is also your responsibility to read the fine print of the extras that can go into the mortgage loan contract.
Complaint
If your service or treatment or product you bought is not up to your standards or what was promised, you do have the right to complain, but to do it in a responsible manner.
Before you do business with anyone, it is your responsibility to check them out before you make the financial transaction or sign any contract. If they do not have a solid reputation, do not expect them to be any better with you. There are many places online that can help you determine the reputation of the company including the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and to a lesser extent Consumer Reports and Ripoff Reports.
When you do business and the transaction has taken place, if you have issues it is your right to complain if things did not go so well. You should take it up with the person who sold to you directly. If you get nowhere with them, take it to the manager or owner. If you get nowhere with them and they seem less than interested in coming up with fair terms, take it up with the BBB or FTC or sue them.
Consumer Tips
You have the right to get what you paid for and the right to complain and get satisfaction when things do not turn out so well. Sometimes, there will be cases where you will not get what you want and you will not be satisfied, but then you have the right not to do business with them again and your word of mouth can spread the message about it. You do have responsibilities when it comes to protecting yourself.
There are particularly tricky scams that trap consumers all the time, but it is your responsibility to educate yourself so you do not fall victim to it and your right to complain when you are conned.
Identity Theft
Unfortunately, in this era where information can easily be obtained by a mere search on the computer, if you do something carelessly, a thief can turn your life into a living hell. All they need is a few key bits of information about you such as your name along with your address or phone number, a social security number, bank account or a credit card number and they can become you. They are free to run up charges that you will be left to pay or commit crimes where you will pay the time.
By simply getting a name is the first step in them becoming you. A search could find out more details, but the accuracy rate to commit this scam is not a sure thing. Aside from the name, they need your address or phone number. With those two pieces of information, an online search could pull up your past history of where you have lived, places you work, and even a list of your relatives.
With those crucial pieces of evidence alone, the damage can be done. They could create a fake identity card using your name in order to open a bank account and several credit accounts under your name and address while claiming that was your old address and have a fake address where they can get the goods and run up charges which would be attributed to you that you will find out about months later.
To make it even easier for them to steal your identity, a simple act such as throwing away a paycheck stub or a credit card bill can help them defraud your current accounts, open up a wider variety of credit scams, and commit acts of crime in your name. How? A social security number or credit card number might be on the statements. With that information, your name and address, they can take over and become an evil version of you.
To avoid becoming a victim, be sure to guard all financial information including paycheck stubs, bank account statements, checks, credit cards, credit card statements, retirement or investment account information and all tax information. If statements come by mail, when you have paid your bills, shred the paperwork or keep them in a locked file until you no longer need it and then shred it. The same goes with bank, investment and retirement accounts. With tax information, keep in locked in a file up to 14 years and then shred it. After you get paid, shred the stub.
Never put personal information in the garbage. That is the number one source of information for a con artist. On garbage night they wander neighborhoods peeking through the trash looking for information with your name, address, phone number, and any account information you might have. With it, they can either sell it or use it themselves.
Never disclose such personal information to people without good cause. If you are applying for a loan or a credit card, buying a home or a car, or applying for a job, then you do have to give them your name, address and social security number. Just make sure of the reputation of the company before you disclose it. Some cons will pose as lenders, credit givers, or employers to get the information and you never hear back from them until you find out you have been scammed.
If someone contacts you by phone, mail or e-mail with any story that they need your personal details and you have contacted them before, don't do it unless you have investigated them first. If they do it out of the blue, don't even think about giving them the details at all.
Online, beware of phishing sites that look like an official and legitimate financial company or business that you may have an account with. A good sign that it is a phishing site is you were sent an e-mail telling you some emergency excuse to check your account and verify something and it will have a link in the e-mail to click. The site will look exactly like the one you are used to, except the URL is slightly different. If in doubt, do not click the link and open your browser manually. Log into your account the proper way by using your bookmarked link or typing in the correct URL manually. Check to see if the web address is correct and then log into your account. Or call the contact number and talk to a live person and ask about it. If the conversation sounds fishy, don't respond because you could have a fake number with a fake representative from a fake site. Check the headings on the e-mail. If you see more than one e-mail address, it could be evidence of how it had been filtered and point to the person actually responsible for the crime. Forward it to the actual business so they can deal with them.
Telemarketing Scams And Door-To-Door Sales
Telemarketers really do have a hard job. There is a "do not call" list to always watch for. If your number is on that list, they get a first warning. If they do it again, you can sue. The door-to-door solicitors have it even harder to manually go to homes either out of the blue or following a lead they believe to be valid selling products that most people would rather look up themselves instead of it being on their front porch. There are many legitimate companies who follow the rules and offer a valuable product or service, but you have to be extra careful for the cons among them.
Sales tactics which occur in a store can at least be dealt with easier because if something goes wrong, you have a place to go to when you need to complain. With telemarketers and door solicitors, you don't always have that luxury. Unless the person selling to you in these methods can produce a legitimate address, phone number and contact name of the owner, refuse to talk to them. When they give you such information, excuse yourself from them so you can look it up and then if you want to listen, continue.
If a stranger, out of the blue, offers you a deal where you must act immediately, use scare tactics, demand wire payment or fees for a supposed prize you won, request personal information, or pressure you to do anything or make a commitment on the spot, dismiss them immediately.
Credit Card Offers, Advance Fee Loans, List of Lenders, And Lines of Credit
Especially vulnerable are those with bad or no credit. There are ads all over the place offering loans or lines of credit to anyone. There are even storefront operations that will take your car title, or offer a payday loan that can be a very bad deal. It is your responsibility to read the fine print and investigate before you do business with them. You may be desperate for the money now, but in the end it will only make your financial situation worse and you may not get the help you need.
If someone claims to have a list of lenders that will lend anyone with bad credit money, avoid it. All they did was pull up a list of bank addresses and you still have to approach them and you will find out it is nothing more than what you could have done pulling up the Yellow Pages. Most of the banks listed do not offer special deals for those with bad credit.
If you see those letters that have a check made out to you as a present from a company, even one you currently do business with, beware. Read the fine print. Many times on the check if you endorse it you are committed to buying something, extending your credit line, or doing something else that requires you to pay more money than the check is worth.
If applying for a checking account, if you have bounced even one check in the last 7 years, you will be in the ChexSystem listing and be denied. Try applying for a savings account instead or looking for a bank that does not use ChexSystem such as NetBank.
If you are looking for a credit card, shop around. Don't except the first offer. Read the fine print. Anything more than 18% is outrageous and at that point you would be better off without a card at all than to deal with such terms. Don't apply for a card if you cannot pay it back or use it responsibly.
Government Grants And Free Money Scams
There is a popularity on the infomercials about getting free money from the government. Online you may see many offers on the same thing. Basically, a list of all the money available from the government and instructions on how to do it. Alternatively, they may also offer foundation grants from private companies that give out free money "just for the asking".
First of all know that when you buy these things, you are only buying a list. A list which can be found online by going to any of the government web sites related to the type of loan you are seeking. For instance, if you are an artist looking for a government grant to pursue art, look at the National Endowment For the Arts and find the link for grants. Go to First Gov for a complete list of government based web sites and look up the one related to the type of grant you seek. Follow the link to see if they offer grants and follow the instructions to apply.
If you still would rather buy the list, keep in mind you will still have to do the work to see if the address and information is valid which would require you to look it up, find out the requirements and apply. If anything on the list asks you for money in order to get the grant, it is a scam because there are no legitimate offers for a grant that requires up front money.
As a taxpayer, you are in fact supporting these grant giveaways, but not everyone is entitled to the majority of those available. Most government grants are for extremely specific purposes (orphaned children of coal miners going to a university in Ohio, widows of Marine veterans of the Vietnam war that were killed as a result of agent orange and are planning to start a business in Texas, Boston area mentally ill patients needing money for a place to live coming out of a treatment center...) or are awarded to states, cities, schools, and nonprofit organizations to help provide services or fund research projects. The average consumer will often only qualify for government benefits only if they have lost their job and are living in poverty (welfare, disability, medicaid, food stamps, WIC...) or if they need help in purchasing a home and have good credit there are programs to help cut down on closing costs or the down payment. The majority of grants listed through the government and private foundations will never apply to you. Sure if no one claims the money it goes unused, but if you don't qualify for it you won't get it.
Work At Home Frauds, Sweepstakes, Prizes And Lotteries And Other Offers
As a consumer you have the right to get what you paid for and a responsibility to investigate before you pay the money. When it comes to this area, most people tend to let greed or gullibility get the best of their common sense. Money for nothing or easy money is a scam. If it is too good to be true, it is.
When it comes to make money at home type of deals, most companies make their money from selling you the program and not by actually doing the business they sell you. Keep that in mind before you buy any sort of product like that. It is your responsibility to investigate it and think logically about the offer presented before you make that purchase. Real at home business opportunities do exist, but there is nothing about sitting on your butt in your underwear working 5 hours a week to it. Like any other business it will require hard work, money, time and commitment. Not everyone is cut out for a home business or can pull it off to make it profitable.
Avoid the stuffing envelopes, assembly at home and post office job scams. With stuffing envelopes, your job is to place the exact same ad you responded to in a newspaper and giving those suckers the same information you were given. Assembly at home is a rip off because you have to buy the materials to put them together and your work will almost never be acceptable to the company that will offer to sell you more kits to put together and try again. If you want to work for the post office or other government job, go there in person and apply the normal way, don't buy a list which will not give you an edge over anyone.
If someone out of the blue is claiming you won a prize or a lottery, especially if you do not play, be warned it is a scam. They will demand up front money to cover the fees for your great prize or your cash winnings. Avoid like the plague. Any legitimate contest will not require fees to obtain a prize. If this a prize in a contest you did not sign up for, then ask yourself how did you win? As far as these lotteries go, if it is from another country that you won a huge lottery prize, think clearly...when did you play a lottery in another country and does that country allow those who are not citizens to win it? If you don't play a lottery, how on earth do you win it?
Nigerian (419) And The Classic Con Game Scam
The Nigerian scam is not new, but more known because of the easy access to suckers online. It is a classic con carried out by snail or e-mail and it does not necessarily have anything to do the people from Nigeria because it can be done anywhere in the world.
The basic bait and switch con is pretty old. One form of the early origins of this con is seen in big cities where a person might have a legitimate product they are trying to sell from the trunk of their car. They show the mark (victim) a product they might want for a price that is so much lower than in the store, but the deal has to take place now because it is hot. The mark shells out the cash and is given a box that is as heavy as the product they expect, but when they open it up they find it is stuffed with some worthless item to make them think they got the right thing.
Another version is when a team of cons approach a mark. One happens to find a wallet full of cash as you walk by. They ask if you dropped the wallet and start a conversation with you when you deny it (if you say it is yours, they will produce an id in the wallet that does not match to you and move you along). They will have a buddy approach and ask if they have lost a wallet. That con will deny it and ask to open it up for the identity. There are many variations on how it will turn out, but to secure your interest in part of the money in that wallet or reward for its collection, the con will have the other con and you give him money to hold on to it while the details are getting sorted and run off with your money, or have you pay to take the wallet (bait and switch) and you find out you have a wallet full of fake money.
419 is a bait and switch con. They give you a sob story or claim you won money and you need to contact them. The money you could stand to get is the bait. In order to obtain it, you have fees to pay. There will be fees upon fees until you run out of money. By the time you get to the point of getting the big jackpot (if you make it that far) you will get bogus cash in the end.
If someone has contacted you and offered you millions of dollars out of the blue, avoid it.
