Three for Thursday 03.23.2023

Welcome to TrustDALE's Three For Thursday with Consumer Investigator Dale Cardwell.

I saw a Cracker Barrell ad on my Facebook feed for the first time earlier this week. The ad appeared the day after I had eaten at Cracker Barrell and was asked to submit my cell phone number in order to reserve a table. Generally, I'm neutral on Cracker Barrell. The food is usually good, but the service is always slow. That's probably not the exposure Cracker Barrell wants from spamming me, but now that they have, I'll let you know that during my recent visit, our wait for the table was 35 minutes, then the waiter disappeared for 15 minutes after taking our drink order. We wound up spending two hours at the restaurant when it should have been no more than one hour. So, Cracker Barrell, as a result of you apparently violating my privacy by using my cell phone number to profile me and spam me, here's your shout out to the TrustDALE community: Don't misuse our personal information, we don't appreciate it.

Watch this Investigation

Today's investigation = No show, show room. You can apparently make a lot of dough selling cars online if you never deliver the car. Watch because This Could Happen to you!

Ask Dale

Today's Ask Dale question comes from Robin, who wants to know f a used car dealer can get away with false advertising on its website. Watch the video to find out!

Todays Lesson on how to be a Savvy Consumer!

Today's seven-point lesson is on measuring the depth of personal information you should share.

Fast - Do they want your money NOW? Giving a person access to anything beyond your name is dangerous if they're demanding full or substantial payment upfront. Especially if it's cash.

Funds - Is the investment required relevant to the promised payoff? The lure of "too good to be true" is strong. Resist surrendering your name, address, phone number and especially your social.

Found - A person who intends to rip you off will make certain he can't be found after he gets your money. If you can't find them, why do they deserve to be able to find you?

Define - Your deal by comparing product, Offer and Price. Competing entities generally require similar levels of your personal information. The company that requires less might deserve an edge for your business.

Ensure - Your deal with an Ethical negotiation, an Equitable contract, and an Effective Guarantee. Generally, the level of info required is proportional to the value of the product.

Authenticate - Your deal by requesting References, checking reviews, and examining government and watchdog reports. Does this business abuse your personal information? It will likely show up in reviews.

Legitimize - your deal by determining if the company has a business license, liability insurance and is Lawsuit and background checked. Most corporations can pass this step. They also might have lost the human touch and allow their marketing departments to exploit your personal information for gain.