Holiday shopping online has taken a lot of stress out the holiday season with one exception. What if your order doesn抰 show up on time? Here are the delivery rules.
Holiday Shopping ?Prompt Delivery Rules
The Internet is the fastest growing source of holiday gifts orders. The FTC, however, has received complaints in the past about gifts not being delivered on time. To stop this, the agency has set down rules for Internet retailers.
The FTC has issues directives spelling out the ground rules for making promises about shipments, notifying consumers about unexpected delays, and refunding consumers' money. Enforced by the FTC, the Mail or Telephone Order Rule applies to orders placed by phone, fax or the Internet.
Delivery Rules
By law, an Internet retailer must have a reasonable basis for stating that a product can be shipped within a certain time. If their advertising doesn't clearly and prominently state the shipment period, they must have a reasonable basis for believing they can ship within 30 days. Most retailers, however, will promise much shorter times, even a few days if you agree to extra shipping costs.
If a retailer runs into inventory problems and can't ship within the promised time, it must notify you of the delay. The retailer must also provide a revised shipment date and explain your right to cancel and get a full and prompt refund. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Your Response
For definite delays of up to 30 days, a retailer can treat a customer's silence as agreeing to the delay. But for longer or indefinite delays - and second and subsequent delays ?a retailer must get the customer's written, electronic or verbal consent to the delay. If you tell the retailer to pound sand, they must promptly refund all of your money.
FTC Takes Care of You
The FTC takes a very aggressive stance towards retailers who fail to deliver orders on time. This is particularly true if a retailer blows it during the Christmas season. Millions of dollars in fines are handed out each year.
Summary
If you order gifts online, keep notes on when you ordered and expect delivery. Also, keep an eye out for emails from the retailer, particularly since they may end up in your spam box. If nothing comes from the retailer, get on the phone and find out what is going on. Taking these steps will keep the kinks out of your online holiday shopping experience.
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals. Writing journals are great Christmas gifts for him or her and are always shipped on time.
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Holiday Journals ?Preserve Your Holiday Experiences
The holidays are a great time to gather the family. Alas, your holiday experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a journal for your holidays.
Holiday Writing Journals
Take a minute to give some consideration to the holidays in 2004. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about what you did for the holidays in 1998. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about 1998. The experiences you抳e forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a journal, this wouldn抰 be the case.
Keeping a journal each holiday season is a good way to build up a history of family gatherings. It also keeps you from losing hilarious and cherished moments to the passage of time. Each holiday season offers a chance to see how the lives of families and friends have changed. It is also a time to reflect on the things you have to be thankful for, such as a sister or brother you haven抰 seen in years. Keeping a journal lets you take a snap shot in time of what you were thinking then.
As time passes, your holiday journal will grow in detail. It will become a great keepsake by acting as a time line for the growth of your family. You抣l be able to look back at past years and read about the good and, perhaps, not so good times. You抣l be shocked how to realize how much everything has changed over time.
As time continues to pass, you will inevitably lose loved ones as nature runs its course. I am not trying to be macabre, just realistic. Your journal will give you a detailed account of memories involving that person. Frankly, re-reading the good times can help get you through the tough ones.
Eventually, you抣l have to come to a decision with your journal. Should you pass it on to one of your children to carry on the volume or just keep it as your private diary? Whatever your choice, you抣l be thankful you kept a record of the holiday seasons spent with your family.
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