Every Friday CTV Consumer Reporter Lynda Steele dips into the CTV mailbag and answers a handful of viewer questions.
The first question comes from Sharon who is applying for a new visa card. She says her credit card company told her there's no way she can opt out of having the wireless Paypass feature on her card. Those cards have an embedded radio frequency chip that lets you pay simply by waving the card at a terminal. Sharon asks: How can I protect myself from having my credit card information stolen?
Recently, CTV's Lynda Steele did a story about radio frequency readers that can skim information off those new Paypass and Paywave credit cards in a matter of seconds. Steele hit the streets of Vancouver with an RFID reader to show consumers just how easy it was to steal credit details.
The good news is there is a way to protect yourself. A simple protective sleeve can stop the radio frequency from being read by thieves. You can buy them online or, for mere pennies, you can make one yourself out of duct tape and tin foil. There are also wallets you can buy that are lined with a protective barrier.
Our next question comes from Siv. Her husband stayed at a Sandman hotel this summer and was told there was a one-dollar charge for long distance phone calls. He made six calls. When he received his bill, he realized he was charged $150 in phone charges. Siv wants to know why?
We called the Sandman Hotel and it says there's a flat fee for a long distance call, plus the per minute charge by Telus. In this case, that charge would be 40-cents a minute. Most hotels we contacted do charge extra fees on top of long distance charges. In some cases, hotels can charge up to two-dollars per minute for long distance calls.
That means it's much cheaper to make a long distance call with a calling card and many hotels will often recommend that to their guests.
Our last question comes from Stephanie who purchased a steam mop at the PNE with a 30-day money back guarantee. When she tried to return it, she was told she would have to mail the item to the company, which would cost more than the item itself.
Stephanie asked "are there not Canadian consumer laws that would protect me in this situation? Shouldn't I have more than 30 days to return a product I have neither opened nor used?"
We contacted Consumer Protection BC to find out. They told us the retail industry is not regulated in B.C. at this time. That means businesses can set their own policies and procedures. There's no law in BC regarding refunds, returns and exchanges.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lynda Steele
