FTC FACTSfor Consumers

SHOPPING AT HOME

Shopping by

Phone

or Mail

hopping 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.

S

FOR THE CONSUMER

1-877-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Facts for Consumers

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.

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

Reducing Direct Marketing Solicitations
Facts for Consumers

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.

For More Information

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent

fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business

practices in the marketplace and to provide

information to help consumers spot, stop and

avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free

information on consumer issues, visit

www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTCHELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-

4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing,

identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure,

online database available to hundreds of civil

and criminal

law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Office of Consumer and Business Education

July 2003

F C EDERAL RADE OMMISSION T FTC OR HE ONSUMER

1-877-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov

Facts for Consumers

Produced in cooperation with the Direct Marketing Association and AARP