FOURTH COMMANDMENT:
Thou Shalt Not Pay in Advance

Many of the worst scams we hear about are ones where innocent people hand over their hard-earned money to someone who promises to "get the job done." Or they buy a product by check, sight unseen through the mail, only to discover that their $30 "executive calculator" is a plastic abacus. And sometimes your check gets cashed and you don't get anything back in the mail at all!

We can't emphasize our Fourth Commandment enough: Never, ever give someone full payment for a service they will be performing until the job is completed. A reputable business person will take your good faith deposit and expect to be paid the balance once the work is completed to your satisfaction.

Never, ever buy a product through the mail using a check unless you've already established a good working relationship with the company. Once you've paid in full in advance, you lose any bargaining power you might have had if a problem crops up. This brings us to our next Commandment: Thou Shalt Always Pay by Credit Card

FIFTH COMMANDMENT :
Thou Shalt Always Pay by Credit Card

For your protection, it's always best to pay for an item or a service by credit card. (We're not saying you should use your credit card to buy groceries or coffee and a donut.) But we don't want you running up a big credit card balance, buying things you don't really need. What we love about credit cards is that they offer you great consumer protection–and we think you should take advantage of this perk.

If you aren't fully satisfied with your purchase and need to get the problem resolved, credit cards give you a great deal of bargaining power. First off, if you buy something through the mail using your credit card and you never receive the item, you can notify your credit card company and get the charge removed from your bill. Secondly, if you can't get the merchant to resolve the problem, you can refuse the charge and get the credit card company involved.

If the credit card company decides the error is in your favor, they then "charge back" the amount to the merchant through the merchant's bank. Banks are a lot more powerful than any single consumer, so when the bank takes action, the merchant usually takes notice.

You have a lot of leverage when you pay by credit card. On the other hand, if you buy something through the mail using a personal check or money order, a disreputable company could cash your check and take the money and run before you know it. For your protection, always pay by credit card when buying by mail, when having a service performed on your car, and when making any purchase over $50.

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