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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5,1990, PAGE 35 Avoid impulse buying Consumers who are Christma shopping should give a thought to stores' refund and exchange policies before they buy. "Many people still believe shops are obliged to take back goods," says Marilyn Gurevsky of Ontario's Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations. "But under provincial legislation they are not required to accept returns." Consumer experts continue to advise that the best way to avoid a return problem is to shop carefully in the first place. "Impulse buying seldom yields the best deal for consumers, even when the price looks good," saysGurevsky. "Comparison shopping is the most effective way of knowing whether youre getting a fair deal." Shoppers continue to find the best value for their money by taking the time to visit several stores to compare. Quality - Examine mer- chandise carefully. Many consumers accept only brand. Eight reasons for delaying the GST By Terry O'Shaughnessy The furious debate over the federal government's proposed Goods and Services lx has, at times, threatened to overtake the bottom-line opposition surrounding this tax. But with the GST implementation date (Jan. 1, 1991) drawing ever closer, this opposition has taken on a new urgency as Canadians, feeling completely alienated from their government, face the daunting prospect of this complex and costly new tax. Catherine Swift, vice president and chief economist of the Canadian Fed- eration of Independent Business, says that the difficulties created by the severely-flawed GST are convincing arguments to delay the fast-approach- ing implementation. "The combination of a bad tax at a bad time," says Swift, "will be so debilitating, the government should quickly realize that a delay is the only course of action." Swift puts forth the following reasons for delaying the GST: 1) There must be further federal/ provincial negotiations towards a joint tax collection and revenue-sharing agreement (similar to that which took place in Quebec) before the complex GST can be considered workable; 2) The economy must be stabilized. As the country enters a recession compounded by high interest rates and a high dollar, the GST will only serve to further dàmpen consumer spending. The federal government must lower both interest rates and the dollar.so that the shock of the GST's iñifroduction can be more easily absorbed; 3) Cash register chaos must be minimized. Thousands of small busi- nesses will be scrambling to obtain new systems or make major modifi- cations to their current systems in order to be able to compute a provin- cial sales tax on top of the federal GST. The cash register industry has already said that there simply isn't enough time for all small businesses to make the necessary modifications before Jan. 1, 1991; 4) The new federal bureaucracy that will be created by the GST will be very difficult to eliminate if other provinces later want to harmonize and collect a new combined tax; 5) There are a number of court challenges regarding the GST which won't reach the Supreme Court until March 1991. Should the challenges go against the GST, the international money market's response to Canada could be extremely negative and certainly not worth the gamble of premature implementation; 6) The introduction of the GST at this time of high instability and surg- ing inflation caused by world oil prices would be further debilitating during this time of recession; 7) With thousands of small firms not registered for the GST and three quarters of small business owners believing that the government has not provided adequate information on the tax, the likelihood of numerous businesses not being ready for Jan. 1, 1991 is very high; 8) Finally, the terrible malaise in the country at the present time is caused in large part by an almost unprecedented disenchantment with politicians and the political process. A delay in the GST would help show Canadians that they have a govern- ment that is willing to respond to the concerns of its public. CFIB Feature Service . .... . . . . . jm: names as an assurance of quality, but less well-known products are often as good. ·Suitability - That guper- spectacular CD playetynày be the hottest thing on the m'arket, but if the person you're buying it for has a collection of 2,000 tapes they won't appreciâte the gift. Make sure the product fits the need. Price - Shopping around will help you recogmize a reasonable price and avoid falling prey to extravagant sales claims. Service - If the item requires set-up or frequent adjustments, it may be best to deal with a supplier who offers an in-house repair shop, or deals with a local servicer. Check out the special conditions of factory-sponsored warranties. Once you find the product you want at the right price, check out the store's policy on refunds and exchanges. "If you're not sure of Aunt Martha's sweater size," Gurevsky says, "the terrific buy in the- discount store that doesn't take returns might not be such a bargain." Many stores provide information on their policies on clearly posted signs or notices, but when they're not in evidence ask that the policy be clearly written on your sales receipt. Whenever you shop you should know: - if the store gives full or partial refunds, exchanges or credit notes; - whether a sales slip, cancelled cheque, account bill or the original packaging are needed as proof of purchase; and, - if there are some articles, such as special-clearance sale or personal-use items excluded from the policy. When buying gifts, says Gurevsky, a couple of additional questions become more important. "Early Christmas shoppers should be wary of time or condition limitations on the return policy," she says. Many retailers will accept returns only on the current season's merchandise, allowing them to resell the goods at the same price as originally offered. As well, stores may stipulate that only unopened or clearly unused merchandise may be returned. • "Many people assume that even though the item's slightly used, any store that accepts returns will take it back. That is, in fact, rarely the case," says Gurevsky. She notes another common misconception -- not all stores will accept returns of articles that haven't lived up to customer expectations. The Business Practices Act protects consumers against cases where the goods have been clearly misrepresented. However, the toy truck that breaks the fist time it's played with may not be accepted back by the store. "A fair refund and exchange policy is one mark of a store dedicated te quality customer service," says Gurevsky. "Prices mlay be a little higher than at the discourit house te support that policy. But the retailer is making a statement: customers who return time after time are worth giving the odd refund and are valued more highly than a quick profit." Brochures on refunds and exchanges, the Business Practices Act, and many other consumer issues are available from the Consumer Information Centre at 555 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2H6, Tel. (416) 326-8555 or at toll free 1-800-268-1142. Ontario residents with an (807) area code only may call the (416) line collect. The TDD line for the hearing impaired is (416) 326-8566. By Sgt. Saridy Ryrie Durham Regional Police Crime Stoppers has now been in operation in the Region of Durham for four years and has been very successful but residents are still reluctant to call as they are unsure of how the program works. Crime Stoppers will take information on any criminal offence. Your call will be treated confidentially. A code number will be given to each caller for further contact. This means you never have to give your name, just refer to your number. If the information leads to an arrest you will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000. This, again, is just between Crime Stoppers and you. Police don't pay the money out, Crime Stoppers does. The system for picking -up the cash will be explained over the phone to those whn qualify, upon approval from the civilian board. As soon as the'arrest is made, you are eligible for the cash reward. If you are in doubt about calling us with information, please don't hesitate. Sometimes information which you may think is insignificant and not worthy of reporting may be the final part of the puzzle. Only the police can tell. If in doubt, call us. The Durham Regional Crime Stoppers hotline 436-8477 is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The phone number can be dialed from most areas in the region, free of charge. However, if you find that it is long distance you can call collect Sor call through your local Durham Regional Police number and ask for Crime Stoppers.