Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, June 2, 2008 Hidden invoice means Everett man's out $195 By Mike Benbow Reader Dick Ptacek of Everett has come across a new way for mail-order businesses to make it difficult for people to get their money back. Call it the case of the hidden letter. Ptacek, a fellow former Clevelander, said he couldn't sleep a few months ago so he got up, put on his robe and proceeded to watch a little television in the wee hours of the night. Between watching and drowsing, he saw an ad for a powdered shake mix said to help people lose weight. Hoping to drop a few pounds, he ordered the "Gold Standard Protein System" for $9.95 on his credit card, but didn't use much of the powder. "The stuff was terrible," he said. "It was very bland." Ptacek said he went on a cruise and forgot about the powder until he got a charge on his credit card for $195. That was because he had received five cans of the diet powder and not returned any, so he was charged for the full price. Ptacek complained, but he says the company refused to refund his money because he hadn't done what he needed to do. "She kept telling me that if I had read the packing slip it gave me complete instructions on what I was supposed to do," Ptacek said of the woman who took his complaint. He said he looked at the box and couldn't find any instructions until he looked behind the UPS label. "The only thing she didn't tell me was that their shipping label completely covered the packing slip," Ptacek said. He showed me the box, and he wasn't kidding. The letter from Media Power/MPDirect that explains how to try to get a refund is so precisely covered by the UPS label that the average person would never look there for it. That's where it explains how to call the company and get a return authorization number. The company sent Ptacek a letter saying in part: "As your invoice indicated (copy enclosed) along with the product return instructions, the manufacturer gives you 30 days to make sure that you are happy with the product ... Unfortunately, we are unable to process a credit at this time since you returned the product after the 30-day guarantee. We wish you had complied with the manufacturer's guarantee stated on your invoice." Ptacek wishes he had, too. But of course, he never saw the invoice or any of the instructions, which were completely concealed by the UPS label. It was so precisely covered up that it's hard to imagine that was a mistake. Ptacek has complained to the state Attorney General's Office, and he called The Herald to let people know they need to be more careful than he was in following directions and searching for all the fine print. But he said he did lose weight. Not with the powder, but during the cruise. He said the key was to have a room as far away as possible from the dinner table. "I had to walk so far to my meals that I lost weight," he said. FDIC insurance I was politely scolded by a Marysville banker a couple weeks ago for telling people that FDIC insurance would cover their bank deposits only up to $100,000 per bank. That's true as far as it goes, but people can get additional coverage at the same bank for their share of joint accounts, some retirement accounts and a few other circumstances. The bottom line is that there are ways that your deposits can be covered above the $100,000 level. Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.

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