We all know Santa checks his list and checks it twice wanting to know who’s naughty or nice. Do you know why Santa does that? Santa knows mistakes can happen. Unlike Santa, we don’t have a team of elves to help us. If you have senior parents and/or friends please help them review these things to ensure they are not getting ripped off.

URGENT!!

• NO business, company or even Revenue Canada NEVER EVER asks for gift cards for past due payments. You will NOT be arrested.  Do not go to the store and buy gift cards. I know they sound convincing but they are SCAMS!!
• Businesses do not send you text messages or emails saying they owe you a refund and to click the link to fill in your bank information to get your refund. If you have overpaid your bill by $40, there will be a credit on your next bill, if you are no longer with the company they will issue you a cheque in the mail. This is a Scam to get your bank information.
• Calls, Microsoft is not going to fix your computer, do not give them your credit card number. Pressing 1 is not going to give you a lower interest rate. These are both scams to get your credit card information.

Here are some things you may not know:

• After 60 days you accept your bills as correct and are responsible for all charges from places like the phone company, credit card companies,  cell company, power company etc. You could be being charged for a year wrong on your bill but you will only be able to get credit back for the last 2 months.
• When you first begin services such as a new cell phone plan etc you are highly likely to get extra charges added to your bill. Many salespeople get a commission for the extras such as adding internet, etc. Most cell bills are pro-rated meaning you pay for part of a month and a month in advance thus by the time you get your next bill you are way into the 90-day mark.
• Many different utilities give you 2 months free, 3 months free and well we forget to remove them.
• Phone companies have the extra features for example 3 for $7.95 or say all of them for $12.95 and they tell you that the $12.95 is a better value. If you are only using voice mail and call display… $12.95 is NOT a better value. Watch these keywords.
• This will be hard to believe but even Revenue Canada makes mistakes. Look over your tax return. Very recently they reassessed my income tax and “claimed” I put down that I paid $250 more in income tax than I did. I only had 3 slips and one didn’t have any deductions. I cashed in investment and paid $250 income tax and when I did my taxes I did send my slips however whoever reassessed me must have missed it. So I sent in a copy with an explanation and the error on their part was corrected.
• If you get paper bills; check and see as many are charging you to get a paper bill.
• With your cable bill, you may only need to pay for one channel instead of an entire package.
• Check your credit cards as many are charging you crazy insurance rates to ensure you have balances that you don’t really need. If you do keep insurance on your card; take the time to find out what it covers to get the most from it as most times it’s extremely hard to get anything out of the insurance company.
• If you have been a loyal customer for a longer period of time, call and ask for a better deal, sometimes you need to say you are thinking of cancelling their services to get them to understand you are serious.

Make a point of checking your bills each month and ensure you don’t have any extra charges and if you do get it resolved as quickly as possible!!