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All I want for Christmas... is what I ordered

You’ve probably spent a good part of 2020 doing some online shopping. Now that the holidays are here, you definitely want to be sure you or your friends and family actually get what you ordered. On this 11th day of Consumer Protection, take these steps to help Rudolph find his way to your house.

  • Confirm that the seller is legit. Read reviews and recommendations about the product, seller, and warranties from sources you trust. Look for reviews about their reputation and customer service, and be sure you can contact the seller if you have a dispute.
  • ’Twas the night before? Look carefully at the shipping date before you order. If there’s no date given, the seller has 30 days to ship. If you’re notified about a delay in shipping, you have the right to cancel the order and get a full refund. If you decide to cancel, let the seller know right away so you won’t be billed.
  • Give them some credit. If possible, pay with a credit card — that gives you many protections under the law. If you pay with a credit card, you may be able to dispute certain charges — and temporarily withhold payment for those charges pending an investigation.
  • Track and guard your delivery. Keep a record of your order, including tracking numbers. That way you can see where your stuff is in the shipping process. Also, consider having your items held at the post office or delivered to a family member or neighbor in case you’re not home. Some companies have their own secure locations where you can have your merchandise delivered. This protects you from having some Grinch steal your holiday right from your doorstep.
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

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BrueG.
December 18, 2020
Covid Impact? Package from Holmed, NJ to Gaithersburg, MD has taken 16 days so far! No update on expected delivery. For me this is very unusual -
Jo S use your …
December 28, 2020
Make sure you know where you are shipping a return to. Shipping charges are too expensive to return items especially back to China!!!!
Scotty
December 18, 2020
Thank you for your work; there are so many excellent tips we consumers need to know as the criminal element always seems to be one step ahead of us. Happy Holidays!
Don't use your…
December 18, 2020
Thanks for all the good information you publish
Julie
December 19, 2020
Make sure with certain sites that what you are ordering is what is actually being sent to you. Watch out for fake descriptions and false ads leading you to too good to be true pricing. Always make sure that what you think you order is what you are getting and to get a full price for the items and shipping before you purchase. I made that mistake on Wish.com. I had thought I ordered three snow globe statues but what I got were window decal stickers of snow globe. The items were described as Crystal trees with rotating statues. I never saw the rest of the title where I had guess it stated it was only stickers. Most overpriced stickers I ever bought.
sam
December 19, 2020
i get a alot of it saying from amazon and i never ordered anything from amazon,and thank you for all the info!! stay safe stay healthy!!