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MEDITATION SCRIPTURE
In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues
of the wicked is trouble.
– Proverbs 15:6
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we
give. - Winston Churchill
BE SURE THE SCANNED PRICE IS RIGHT
It's a common
occurrence. You go to the store and buy an item, only to find the price you were charged was higher than the price marked.
In those cases all stores are required to refund the difference between the price charged and the price marked. But after
that, what happens? Is the problem fixed and the item remarked, or are more customers going to fall prey to the mistake?
From groceries to barbecue grills, most everyday items bear a Universal Product
Code (UPC). This symbol — a series of numbers and vertical bars of varying thicknesses — is shorthand for product
information. When a cashier passes the UPC symbol over an electronic scanner, a computer decodes the symbol and sends the
price to the register. The price appears on a display screen and on your printed receipt.
What you need to be aware of is that scanning errors
can occur and could result in overcharges and undercharges. Overcharges can cost the individual shopper money, especially
if the shopper doesn’t speak up when they occur. They also can be frustrating for time-conscious consumers, who may have to stand in line for a refund, or worse, return to the store.
So what can
you do as a consumer to protect yourself? a) Watch the display screen for prices. If you think you’re being overcharged,
speak up. Ask about the store’s policy on pricing errors, and ask the cashier to make the adjustment before you pay.
b) Bring a copy of the store’s flyer or newspaper ad to the checkout counter. Some advertised specials may not be in
the computer and must be entered manually by the cashier. c) Check your receipt before you walk away. If you notice an error,
ask the cashier to adjust the total. If you’ve already left the cashier’s lane, see the store or department manager
or the customer service department to correct any mistakes.
If
you notice a pattern of electronic scanning errors in a particular store, talk to the customer service department or the store
manager. You also may want to write a letter to the company’s headquarters. The retailer may not realize a problem exists
until it’s pointed out.*
FDIC INSURANCE EXTENDED Consumers who
want to safeguard their money in these turbulent times will benefit from the four-year extension of $250,000 FDIC deposit
insurance per depositor on individual accounts. The insurance limit was slated to roll back to $100,000 Jan. 1, 2010, but
Congress has extended the deadline through Dec. 31, 2013. As things stand now, the standard insurance coverage will revert
to $100,000 per depositor Jan. 1, 2014.
The original increase
from $100,000 to $250,000 was announced last October as consumers were losing faith in the financial markets and the banking
system. Congress wanted to assure consumers that their funds were safe in the nation's FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured
credit unions.
The $250,000 coverage is per depositor,
per institution. If you have $300,000 you want insured in deposit accounts at Bank X, you can't simply divide it among
a couple of branches. You either have to use two separate institutions – Bank X and Bank Y, for example, or you could
put it all in one institution under separately titled accounts. The separately titled accounts are deposit accounts but with
different titles of ownership.
As always,
credit union and bank-held retirement accounts, such as IRAs, remain insured for $250,000 per depositor. Congress permanently
increased protection on those accounts April 1, 2006.**
*Federal
Trade Commission. Making Sure the Scanned Price is Right. [Online] Available http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro01.shtm, June 2010.
**Bruce, Laura. FDIC Insurance Extended.
[Online] Available
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/investing/fdic-insurance-extended.aspx, June 2010.
Copyright 2010, ABCs of Money Ministries
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