Three for Thursday 03.25.2021
Welcome to TrustDALE's Three For Thursday with Consumer Investigator Dale Cardwell.
Choosing your news feed. As a longtime journalist, I took for granted that people knew the difference between editorial content and news content. I was wrong. For the record, news is supposed to be free of opinion, and editorial is opinion. I just read a study that shows over the past year, US media across the board, has emphasized bad news regarding Covid over good news. For example, when new national cases started trending down, news outlets focused on new "hotspots" where infection was trending up. Why is this? American media is profit-driven, and bad news sells. Couple this with our news sources recognizing our desire to hear what we want to believe; we can find ourselves in an echo chamber.I think it's healthy to spend some time listening and reading sources we don't agree with, or that make us uncomfortable. It's what we don't know that can hurt us.
Watch this Investigation
Toyota oil filter- I didn't get what I paid for! Watch, because This Could Happen to You!
Ask Dale
Today's Real Consumer Question is from Laura who wants to know if a property owner can deny responsibility for damage to her car, just because they posted a sign that says "caution, automatic gates."
Todays Lesson on how to be a Savvy Consumer!
Today's seven-point lesson is modeled from our Toyota Oil Filter story above, and how you can with a vendor after you discover you didn't get what you paid for.
Fast - Do they want your money NOW? Payment in full BEFORE receiving the product is dangerous.
Funds - Is the investment required relevant to the promised payoff? Deep discounts that defy reason can be a signal the product you're purchasing isn't really what it's cracked up to be.
Found - A person who intends to rip you off will make certain he can't be found after he gets your money. People who intentionally sell you a bad product have also spent a lot of time making certain they can't be found after the fact.
Define - Your deal by comparing Product, Offer and Price. This is the irreplaceable "education" step where you discover exactly what you need, and compare it to what the product does.
Ensure - Your deal with an Ethical negotiation, an Equitable contract, and an Effective Guarantee. This is where real and tricky live. This is the MOST important step in this situation. Knowing you have an effective guarantee upon discovering you didn't get what you paid for, can get you what you paid for.
Authenticate - Your deal by requesting References, checking reviews, and examining government and watchdog reports. People who don't deliver are often exposed in the court of public option.
Legitimize - your deal by determining if the company has a business license, liability insurance and is Lawsuit and background checked. Companies that check these boxes generally don't set out to cheat you, but remember, there's no substitute for following the Define step mentioned above.
SCAMMERS BEWARE: SEASONED CONSUMER INVESTIGATOR DALE CARDWELL GIVES READERS A GAME PLAN TO AVOID RIP-OFFS