Eight Christmas rip-off's to steer clear of in 2011
Tuesday, 20 December 2011 03:14
By Kate Saines
Christmas might be a time for peace, kindness and generosity but if you run a business it’s all about profit.
This means with the general public in festive spirit and more willing to splash the cash than normal, there are plenty of business owners out there ready to exploit this Christmas cheer.
So, if you don’t want to spend January wondering why your modest budget was blown to smithereens in December make sure you avoid some of the most glaring festive rip offs.
Charity Christmas Cards
It’s the season of goodwill and therefore charity Christmas cards are a must for most of us when sending our festive greetings. But beware as many of the stores selling these cards donate just a tiny percentage to the good causes in question.
In fact surveys carried out over the last few years by consumer group Which? found donations of as little as six or even four per cent were being made by some retailers.
The most recent Which? investigation in 2011 found most stores donated between 10 to 25 per cent of the sale price to charities, with WH Smith emerging as the most generous store with its 70 per cent donation.
Avoid this rip off by dealing directly with your charity of choice this Christmas.
Dan Moore, money expert at Which? said: “Shoppers who are keen to donate money this Christmas would benefit charities most by buying their cards direct from charity shops.
“Alternatively, buy cheaper non charity cards and donate the change to your favoured good cause.”
Unplanned purchases
Shops are primed at Christmas to flog you more than you bargained for. And they employ clever, often subtle methods, to ensure they get those all-important spontaneous sales.
Take the queuing areas and store counters at most high street shops. They are bedecked with tempting treats which retailers hope you will snap up in a last-minute collapse of will power while you are waiting to be served.
What’s more the harassed shopper is prime candidate for sales assistants’ hard sell. Classic examples include cashiers offering you another product for half price when you reach the till.
It might sound like a bargain at the time. But when you get home and find you are the proud owner of Robson and Jerome’s Christmas Jamboree DVD and some out of date Rolos you might wish you’d spent your money elsewhere.
Store cards
It’s not just merchandise which you’ll be pressed to buy this Christmas. It’s a safe bet you’ll be asked at some point during your Christmas shopping expedition if you’d like to save money by opening a store card of some description.
Beware if this happens. While picking up a tacky singing santa or snow mountain scene for £3.99 at the till won’t necessarily break the bank, a credit or store card could see you starting 2012 with a debt mountain.
While there are some tempting zero per cent deals or discounts available via these cards, signing up to one when you are stressed and harassed on a last-minute Christmas shopping expedition means you don’t have time to assess the terms and conditions.
Fiona Hoyle, of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said: “Good deals are available on credit cards and in-store when using store cards or store instalment credit.
“But before using credit, think how you’re going to pay it back, and what the best product is for you.”
The operation of store cards is now covered by a voluntary code which means retailers must train their staff on how to sell the cards and are not allowed to pay them commission for bagging a sale.
Extended Warranty
And while we are on the subject of unwanted sales, beware of store assistants attempting to lure you into purchasing extended warranties this Christmas. With so many people purchasing electrical goods as gifts at this time of year, Christmas shoppers are prime targets for this form of insurance.
Useful as the extended warranty might seem, investigations have revealed many extended warranties to be almost as much as the product itself.
And organisations such as Which? suggest you’d be earning yourself better value for money by ditching the warranty and just buying a replacement product if the original broke.
Most items will be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty for the first year anyway.
But if you are determined to buy an extended warranty, you don’t need to purchase the one offered by the retailer. Shop around and find out if you can get a better deal elsewhere.
Some packaged accounts or credit cards come with extended warranty cover, so check you don’t already own this form of protection before signing up to a new deal.
Find out more: Is Domestic appliance insurance worth the cost
Christmas Theme Parks
Winter wonderland or Lapland-style theme parks have become ubiquitous over the last few years. But some have also earned themselves notoriety for the wrong reasons.
‘Lapland’ in the New Forest came under the media spotlight when it opened in 2008 for misleading visitors into believing they were entering a world of snow-covered log cabins and other magical Christmas delights.
This turned out to be a few fairy lights and some polar bear statues. It led to a jail sentence for the owners.
While there are plenty of more authentic seasonal theme parks you can visit to soak up the traditional Christmas atmosphere this year, be prepared to shell out a hefty sum of cash.
Lapland UK in Kent, for example, charges £67 (including booking fee) for adults and children alike. Although those aged one or less are free, you won’t find the normal concessions offered by most theme parks or visitor attractions to the under 3s (or even under 5s) plus OAPs here.
A family of four (where all kids are aged over 12 months) will pay £268 to enjoy what is described as “an exceptional experience” which “cherishes childhood” and includes entry to Father Christmas’s arctic homeland, an elf passport, skating and a “beautiful” gift for each child.
While we don’t doubt the experience is unsurpassed, it might be worth looking around for other options if you are feeling the pinch this Christmas.
With your average Santa’s Grotto costing between £5 and £10 per child only you will probably find this method of creating a magical Christmas for your kids a little less burdensome on your wallet.
To re-create a traditional seasonal atmosphere for free there are also Christmas markets galore at this time of year, not to mention special events at stores, garden centres and other visitor attractions.
Santa’s Grotto
We’ve just mentioned Santa’s Grottos and while they might be a cheaper option to the full-on Lapland experience, are they always value for money?
Your basic Santa’s grotto visit will probably set you back around £5 but some places – think the big London department stores – may well set you back up to £50.
Before booking tickets make sure you know what you are paying for. Are the £50 tickets offering you just as much as the £5 tickets, but with slightly more fairy lights and a more authentic Father Christmas?
Christmas Specials – Bumped up festive prices
Booking a Christmas party or festive meal for your friends, family or colleagues? Check whether the prices are the same at Christmas as they are for a similar event during the rest of the year.
Classic examples of this are restaurants or pubs which offer Christmas party menus for a set price but include only a limited choice of dishes. Sometimes these meals cost more than the normal menu options.
In many cases you might be better off booking a table for dinner, not mentioning the Christmas party, and getting the full menu for a cheaper price.
Postal Charges
This one may sound obvious, but posting your cards and gifts early really can save you money. Second class stamps are obviously cheaper than first. So if you can get organised in time for the slightly earlier second class delivery dates, you’ll be saving yourself some much needed Christmas pennies.
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