Above / Meet up with McGruff the Crime Dog and help prevent being taken this Halloween. Remember. Keeping our community safe is up to everyone’s responsibility. Better Business Bureau offers tips to avoid being tricked this Halloween. (PN File Photo at Safety Town)
CHICAGO – October 25, 2018 – Shopping for Halloween should be fun-not terrifying. With so many costume and decoration ideas, it’s hard to choose what to buy, and where to buy it.
Better Business Bureau recommendations for all seasonal shopping
Always check the return policy… Whether you are shopping in a store or online, always make sure you are clear on the store’s return policy before you buy. Find out how long you must keep your receipt, or what happens if you should lose your receipt. This will help you avoid any issues like unwanted items being non-refundable.
Shop smart online… When shopping from an online website, the first step is to make sure the URL starts with “https” and includes a lock symbol. The S in “https” stands for secure.
Look up the website’s privacy policy and contact information. If it is not clearly listed, or they only have an email as the point of contact, take that as a big red flag and shop elsewhere.
Also, be sure to use your credit card instead of your debit card, as credit cards not only provide additional protection, but it’s also easier to dispute a fraudulent charge.
For more tips for shopping online, click here.
Seasonal stores… If you decide to shop from a seasonal store, ask whether or not they will be open after the holiday, how long they plan to stay open, and if they will accept returns after Halloween is over. If they plan to close up shop November 1st, or refuse returns after, either consider shopping elsewhere, or take more time to be sure that item is exactly what you want before making the purchase.
More tips for seasonal ‘pop-up’ stores
- Watch out for online pop up shops too – these disappear as quickly as they appear – and take your money just as fast.
- See if they have a website in case you have to contact them later.
- Save every receipt.
- Use a credit card so you can dispute problems with the card’s issuer.
- Make sure you are clear on what items are final sale.
To report a scam or fraudulent activity visit bbb.org/scamtracker.
About Better Business Bureau (BBB)
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org.
There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Chicago and Northern Illinois which was founded in 1926 and serves counties from Northwest Illinois across the State to Kankakee and all the areas in between.
Submitted by BBB Serving Chicago & Northern Illinois
RELATED PN STORY / This weekend begins a round of costumed family-friendly festivities to celebrate Halloween throughout the community from destinations all over the city to downtown Naperville (10AM to noon Sunday) and then some. Celebrate safely. Check out the story “Let’s see now… Consider carving, costumes, candy…”
