As the holiday shopping season approaches, New York State is urging shoppers to carefully review the return and refund policies of stores they purchase items from.
The New York State Department of Consumer Protection emphasized on the 24th, “As the new year approaches, there is an increase in the number of returns of items received as gifts or purchased and left unattended during the holiday shopping season.” However, since refund policies vary by store, reviewing the refund policy beforehand before visiting a store is a crucial way to save time and effort.
New York State requires brick-and-mortar stores to post a notice about their refund policy at the entrance or near the checkout counter. Furthermore, stores with no-return policies are now required to notify consumers of their policy before the sale.
The Department of Consumer Protection advised, “Shoppers should develop the habit of checking the return and refund policy separately when purchasing items, and most importantly, keep their receipts for a certain period of time. If purchasing a gift, it’s a good idea to keep a separate gift receipt.”