Taking Back My Power

Ok, just a small rant and how I took back my power as a consumer.

I currently don't have transportation so was very excited yesterday when my daughter's friend offered to take us to the store. I tried to be quick because I didn't want to put him out. My daughter was gathering things she wanted, to save time, and unfortunately I didn't pay as much attention to what she was putting in the cart. Usually we are together and she points out that x is a good deal because ...  But not yesterday, she just went on a frenzy because my total was over $90 of what I expected. YIKES.

At the checkout I was preoccupied so when I saw the amount I'd already put my visa/debit card into the machine, but hadn't clicked on the final button. I tried to click cancel so we could reverse some of the items. It didn't work. I tried again, it didn't work. I finally had to just click done, and the cashier said I should go to customer service and have it reversed from there.

Again, no problem, as I recognized this was my fault and thought this would be a quick fix. And aside from a few snarky remarks from an old man who was standing near by (Seriously, why do people have to be so snarky?) it was just one of those embarrassing moments that can happen to anyone. BUT, I needed the money to make payments elsewhere so when I checked my bank balance last night and saw that the charge had gone through, but there was no sign of the credit...well, needless to say I was a little vexed.

Today I check again, and still no sign of the credit. So I call the store to inquire about the credit and they say sometimes it takes 3 days for a credit to go through, and that it depends on who you bank with. Well my bank is INSIDE their store. Now I'm rather miffed.

Solution: I decided to exercise my power and fine the store $1000 for bad business practice. If they can take my money immediately, they sure as heck better return it immediately, too. Had they allowed me to cancel the transaction before it was completed, it never would have required a credit to be issued in the first place.

How will I ensure they pay my fine?  I will be spending $1000 in another supermarket before returning to their store. I let them know this is what I'll be doing. Hopefully they will recognize the cost of having poor systems in place. Instead of taking small financial advantage of the "credit" system. (They keep funds in their accounts for a few days before returning them to earn interest. I hope the few cents were worth it)

This is a means that a person of any financial status can use to take back their power from the corporations. It may take longer to "pay the fine" if you have less means, but you can still do it.  The last time I fined a corporation was the phone company. This was in 2002. My phone bill tended not to be very large so I paid it every couple of months when it reached around $50. I had done that for a few years. Suddenly the phone company had a problem with this and when I owed them $12 for more than 30 days they sent me a shut off notice. I called them and said next payday I would pay the past due and even pay ahead on the next bill (iow, I was going to send them $50, like I had done over the previous 2 years) But they wanted the money on the 28th and I was going to send it on the 3rd. Apparently they thought that was horrible of me to expect an additional 5 days for that whopping $12 and so they shut off my phone. I suppose they thought they were going to teach me a lesson, but instead I fined them $1000. I went without a phone for  4 years until the "debt" was paid. And honestly at first I missed it, but after a bit I liked not being bothered by telemarketers, and wrong numbers. I could contact my friends through the internet so it was all good.