Wendy Knowler's Consumer Hacks: Must you keep your receipts?

1. Does a sale cancel your cooling-off period?

Question from Kim: "May an online retailer have this clause:  'Sadly we don’t issue refunds or exchanges for items bought on sale, so please ensure you are happy with your sale item before you buy’?"Answer: No, definitely not! You have the right to a 7-day cooling off period (from the date of delivery) when you buy something online, whether it was on sale/promotion or not. The company must refund within 30 days, according to Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. 

2. Receipts are worth a lot more than the paper they’re printed on

It seems like a no-brainer; to keep your receipts - but a surprising number of people don’t bother.  And so often that proves to be a very expensive habit - because if you have no proof of purchase, you can’t claim on the warranty claim if it breaks. And no, a bank card statement doesn’t cut it because it doesn’t prove what you bought on that day from that shop. So always keep your receipts: in a box, a drawer, or on a spike - whatever works for you.

3. Watch out: no service, no warranty

If you don’t have your car serviced when you’re supposed to, you risk having its warranty canceled, and any service maintenance plan, too.
Service intervals are stipulated in terms of time (every 12 months) or mileage (every 15,000 km), whichever comes first. So, if you do higher than average mileage will need to have your car serviced more often than once a year, and if you do relatively little, you will still have to have your car serviced at least every 12 months, regardless of your odometer reading.

ALSO READ: Wendy Knowler's Consumer Hacks: Expired Vouchers & Refund Realities