Certain financial experts and gurus encourage all their clients to make use of cash only. They claim that when you use cash, you won’t be able to overspend. Furthermore, they argue that you’re more mindful of your spending habits when you’re using cash. Although these assertions might be true for certain consumers who use credit cards but they’re not the case for everyone.
A lot of people are able to use credit cards while staying in their financial limits. Furthermore, the option of paying with credit cards has numerous benefits among which one is especially important.
The most important reason to always Pay using Credit Card
The main reason to use a credit card to pay is the protection against purchase. I witnessed this happen recently when I was with my mom as well as a treadmill that she bought in the in the fall.
Credit Card Purchase
My mom is working hard to get fitter which is why last September she bought a treadmill through Amazon. It was not perfect, but she complained about how difficult for her to move on. When I was visiting her last week I tried it out and it felt very heavy, and I felt it was slow. Within a couple of days of my visit the treadmill would switch off and on however you could not make the tread move.
Client support Was a Failure
We found out that the treadmill manufacturer is located in China and the sole support phone number was an Chinese number. I contacted support via email and told them what was wrong. The company took 2 days to reply to me and demanded a video showing the issue. I submitted it and I waited for two more days to receive an answer. Then, they instructed me to take apart a portion of the treadmill, and to provide me with more videos of the issue. I did this, but I didn’t hear back for many days.
Reaching Amazon Didn’t Help
In the meantime, I contacted Amazon to request a refund. Amazon stated that they could not assist me as the return window was closed in December. When I told them that the treadmill came with the one-year guarantee, Amazon advised me to negotiate with the manufacturer.
Customer Service Still Refused to Help
In the meantime, I’d been in contact with the treadmill’s customer service for about 10 days. Finally, I informed them that I wanted to get a refund because the treadmill was in warranty and shouldn’t fail after 5 months of owning it. The company instructed me to call Amazon to make sure the warranty was activated, which I’d done before, but to nothing.
Reaching the Credit Card Company Made the Effect
I then called the credit company to explain what happened. After jotting note of all the information and contacting the credit card company, they gave my mom a complete refund. The ability to contact the company that issued your credit card to request an amount back if everything other options fail is the most important reason to always make payments using credit cards.
Final Thoughts
My advice to always make purchases using credit card, especially when making major purchases, was confirmed by this incident. Additionally, I discovered that when buying something from Amazon reading reviews isn’t enough. I also need to confirm the location of the company. If the company is based in China might be difficult to deal with and get assistance.
My mom used her credit card refund to buy an expensive treadmill from a business based in Arkansas. If she experiences problems later on, I’m certain communication with that company is a lot easier.