Three for Thursday 09.29.2022
Welcome to TrustDALE's Three For Thursday with Consumer Investigator Dale Cardwell.
I'm excited to tell you about my friend John Pruitt's new book "Tell It True," which is available Tuesday October 4th from Mercer University Press. Click here to purchase. John was 22 years old in 1964 and was an on the ground photographer and reporter covering the civil rights movement. John has written a fictionalized account of a racially motivated murder and how it impacted the Jim Crow era south. I agree with Ambassador Andrew Young who believes journalists like John and his longtime co-anchor Monica Pearson are unsung heroes of the movement. Later, I believe it was incredibly important to see black and white people sitting together on a tv desk as equals and share the good and the sad times as we all experienced them. Please tell John how much you appreciate him, and now his book!
Watch this Investigation
Today's investigation - Cyber scam. What's the third most certain life event after death and taxes? Online theft. Watch because this could happen to you!
Ask Dale
Today's Ask Dale question comes from Howard, who wants to cancel his gym membership. Good luck with that! Watch the video to the left!
Todays Lesson on how to be a Savvy Consumer!
Today's seven-point lesson is on how to test the validity of an alleged breakthrough product:
Fast - Do they want your money NOW? Asking for full payment in advance is a bad sign.
Funds - Is the investment required relevant to the promised payoff? "Try it at a special price" can be suspicious as well. Proceed with caution!
Found - A person who intends to rip you off will make certain he can't be found after he gets your money. Think trade show sales. Sometimes demonstrations are rigged.
Define - Your deal by comparing product, Offer and Price. It might be interesting, but will it change your behavior enough to be worth the price?
Ensure - Your deal with an Ethical negotiation, an Equitable contract, and an Effective Guarantee. All should be in place no matter how impressed you are with what you see.
Authenticate - Your deal by requesting References, checking reviews, and examining government and watchdog reports. If it's amazing and you can find no reviews, it might not be so amazing when you get it home.
Legitimize - your deal by determining if the company has a business license, liability insurance and is Lawsuit and background checked. Businesses that take these steps usually want to stick around, and you stick around by delivering sound and effective products.
SCAMMERS BEWARE: SEASONED CONSUMER INVESTIGATOR DALE CARDWELL GIVES READERS A GAME PLAN TO AVOID RIP-OFFS