The Deal Empire

The Federal Trade Commission's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule protects consumers who shop by mail, telephone, computer, or fax. According to this regulation, companies must ship your order when promised or within the time stated in its ads. If the company doesn't specify a shipping time, it must send the merchandise within 30 days. The time begins as soon as the company receives your completed order, whether they charge your account at that time or not.

If there will be a delay, the company must contact you immediately and give you the option to either agree to a new shipment date or cancel the order for a full refund. If the merchant cannot meet the revised shipment date, they must again contact you to notify you of the delay and give the option of waiting or cancelling, or cancel the order themselves and provide a prompt refund.

If you decide to cancel your order, and you paid by credit card, the seller must credit the account within one billing cycle. If you paid by cash, check, or money order, the merchant must mail your refund within seven business days.

The rule does not cover subscriptions, such as magazine subscriptions and similar deliveries, except for the initial shipment; orders made by collect-on-delivery or COD; transactions covered by the FTC Negative Option Rule, such as book and music clubs; and services, such as mail order photofinishing.