On Your Own; Your Legal Right @ Eighteen On Your Own formatted final version | Page 25

of having your personal information used for marketing or shared with
other companies.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Internet Shopping
Shopping on the internet can be a great convenience. More and more
people are doing it, and you can buy almost anything online. But . . .
problems await the unwary.
“But I didn’t order this . . .” If you receive goods in the mail that you did
not order, both state and federal laws allow you to keep them as a gift! You
do not have to pay for them. Of course, if something is delivered to you by
mistake (it has someone else’s name on it, for instance), you cannot keep
it and must return it to the post office or to the proper person.
If any company sends you unsolicited merchandise and then attempts to
make you pay for it, it is breaking the law. If this happens to you, contact the
postmaster in your town, or the Attorney General’s Office in the company’s
state, and let them know. If that doesn’t work, contact the Postal Inspection
Service, 495 Summer Street, Suite, 600, Boston, MA 02205-2217 (1-877-
876-2455).
Delivery Time
If you order something by mail, the law requires the company to ship the
goods within the time promised. The Federal Trade Commission’s Mail
Order Merchandise Rule also states that if the company does not say
when the product will be shipped, then it must be shipped within 30 days.
This rule applies when you order by mail, regardless of whether your
product comes by mail or by a private carrier such as UPS. The rule does
not apply to: magazine subscriptions (except for the first order), photo
developing services, seeds and nursery products, book and record clubs,
and any C.O.D. (cash on delivery) orders.
If the company does not ship your goods within the time required, it
must notify you of the delay and remind you that you have the right to
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