promoearn: The Daily Money: Refunds are harder to get with buy now, pay later plans

Thursday, July 21, 2022

The Daily Money: Refunds are harder to get with buy now, pay later plans

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Thursday, July 21

Good morning and happy Thursday. We're almost to the weekend, Daily Money readers. It's Jayme Deerwester back with you.

Raise your hand if this bear market has made you a little afraid to look at your 401(k) . You're definitely not alone.

My colleague Elisabeth Buchwald is braver than me. But she was a little surprised to find that the E-Trade account she started at age 12 is outperforming her 401(k).

"When I first discovered that, I was angry," she writes. "I graduated from an undergraduate business school and I cover personal finance and investing for a living only to have the portfolio I started in middle school beat my portfolio that I'll one day live off in retirement."

But upon reflection, she says, "The more I think about it, I'm quite comforted that 12-year-old me is outperforming 'grownup' me."

Find out why her thinking has changed and what it's taught her about her 401(k).

Buy now, get a refund .... never?

If you are used to quick and easy returns like you get with Amazon or Nordstrom, you are probably better off pulling out your credit card instead of clicking on those ubiquitous "buy now, pay later" buttons when shopping online.

It can be difficult to get a refund if something goes wrong with the purchase, according to Charla Rios, deputy director of research at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about financial products.

"They don't come with the same protections of credit cards, so the consumer may end up with no merchandise at all, but still have their money taken out of their accounts," she says.

What's more, refund and return rights vary across companies and that information is hard for consumers to decipher. That's why consumer advocates are urging more protection for buyers in the event of fraud or canceled purchases.

🎧 Mood music 🎧

Today's lyric from Lisa Lisa (yes, the same Lisa Lisa that used to front Cult Jam) goes out to anyone who's tried to procure a refund after making a buy now, pay later purchase:

"I gotsta move on cause the love is done. I wanna trade it in) and get a better one. 'Cause now it don't fit for either one of us. Can I get a refund?"

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you. It even comes with its own Spotify playlist . It features nearly every song quoted here.

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