ARKANSAS (KFSM) -- Only two more shopping days until Christmas and folks around the area are heading to stores to either purchase gifts or even return items. However, how do you know you're getting treated fairly in the stores?
One legal expert tells us there aren't any laws that retailers in Arkansas and Oklahoma have to follow for exchanges and returns. A store can control whether you can actually return or exchange an item, and how many days you have to do it.
Below are some helpful things to look at before you purchase an item.
- Ask about store policies - Before you buy, if you don't know a store's policy on returns just ask. The cashier will be able to tell you if you're getting cash back or store credit.
- Hang on to receipts - After you buy, always hang on to your receipts because it contains information on how to return the item.
- Think twice before you buy - Always ask yourself if you'll actually want to keep the item after it's purchased.
If the item is a gift, always ask for or keep the gift receipt. Brinkley Cook-Campbell, Attorney at the Law Offices of Craig L. Cook, said, "If you get a gift receipt for every item, you can just stick the gift receipt in the box and give it to them along with the gift." He adds, "This way it allows them to freely return the gift and it takes pressure off."
According to Cook-Campbell some retailers will give folks an extended amount of time to make returns after the holiday season.
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