Linda @ The Cents of Money
In today’s world, stretching your dollar further is essential for your budget. While there are countless legal and straightforward methods to save money, some tactics exist in a gray area—they’re not strictly illegal but raise some ethical eyebrows.
1. Buying Products Only to Return Them After Use
This tactic involves temporarily purchasing items and returning them for a full refund. Retailers typically absorb these costs, ultimately leading to higher prices for everyone. It exploits generous return policies and can strain relationships with local businesses. This method, while legal, can be seen as deceitful and unfair to other customers.
2. Switching Price Tags or Exploiting Price-Matching Policies
Some shoppers switch price tags to pay less for more expensive items. Others may exploit price-matching policies by presenting misleading information for a lower price. These practices can lead to significant savings, undermine fair business practices, and lead to legal trouble if caught. It’s a risky approach that relies on deception and can damage a store’s profitability.
3. Exploiting Loopholes in Coupon Systems
Shoppers sometimes find ways to use more coupon codes than intended by combining offers that weren’t meant to be combined. They might also exploit loopholes in online systems to apply discounts repeatedly. This approach can save a lot of money on purchases, but it violates the terms of use for most promotional offers. Such actions can lead to account bans or other penalties.
4. Hiring Services Under False Pretenses
This involves hiring services like cleaning or personal assistance and then asking for more than what was agreed upon without additional pay. For example, someone might hire a cleaner for a primary job but then insist on extra tasks without compensation. This method exploits individuals or small businesses and can harm reputations and relationships.
5. Claiming False Affiliations for Discounts
Some individuals claim to be part of organizations or groups that receive special discounts, such as veterans, students, or company employees, without being affiliated. This deprives genuine members of these benefits and erodes trust with service providers. It’s a form of identity misuse that can have legal and social repercussions.
6. Delaying Payments to Exploit Interest-Free Periods
Some individuals intentionally delay paying their bills to benefit from the float period, essentially using the services or goods without paying for them until the last moment. This tactic can keep money in their bank account longer, earning interest or remaining available for other uses. However, this strategy can strain relationships with service providers and may lead to disrupted services if taken too far. It’s a risky balance that relies on manipulating payment terms for personal gain.
7. Frequent Participation in First-Time Customer Deals
Many businesses offer special discounts to first-time customers. Some people take advantage of this by repeatedly signing up with different email addresses or contact information to continually receive these discounts. While creative, this practice misleads businesses about their actual customer base and can lead to higher costs for these companies, which might be passed on to regular, honest customers.
8. Abusing Referral Programs
Referral programs are meant to attract new customers by rewarding existing customers who bring in new clients. However, some exploit these programs by repeatedly creating multiple fake accounts to claim referral bonuses. This manipulation inflates user numbers and can deplete resources for genuine referrals, potentially leading to the discontinuation of these benefits for others.
9. Squatting at Rental Properties
In some regions, eviction laws heavily favor tenants, and some individuals exploit these protections by squatting beyond their lease terms without paying rent. They might drag out legal proceedings to stay rent-free as long as possible. This causes financial loss for landlords and contributes to a problematic rental market, potentially increasing costs for future tenants.
10. Manipulating Service Claims
For instance, some may falsely claim that a food order was incorrect or unsatisfactory to receive a refund or a free replacement. While saving money on meals, this tactic unfairly shifts costs to the business and can contribute to higher prices for other customers. It undermines trust and can have ripple effects on the business’s ability to serve different customers honestly.