Finding cheaper printer cartridges is this week’s best consumer experience, while a credit union error disappoints
February 12, 2012
By Rita R. Robison
Doing price comparisons on printer cartridges paid off this week. However, I found an error made by one of the credit unions I belong to.
My best consumer experience: Paying less for printer cartridges at Costco
While I was at Costco shopping, I checked out the price for the Canon ink jet cartridges I use. The warehouse store offers a package of three – two black ink and one colored – for about $50, around $17 each.
I usually buy my ink cartridges from Office Depot. I wait until I get coupons: $10 off is you spend more than $50 or $20 off if you spend $75. That cuts the price of the cartridges, about $25 each, but not as much as the Costco price. I’ve also purchased the cartridges at Target, also priced about $25 each.
My worse consumer experience: A credit union mistake
When I received my latest credit union statement, I didn’t see a reduction in my home equity loan for my January payment.
I called the credit union to see what happened. I thought the mail department might have made another mistake and send the payment to the wrong place again.
However, I remembered that I’d gone into the credit union to make the payment. The customer representative who helped me said the teller had placed the payment in my money market account instead of applying to my home equity loan.
This experience shows that it’s always a good idea to review your financial statements for errors.
Later, I was pleased to receive a note from a credit union employee, written on a yellow sticky, apologizing for the error. She’s attached it to my receipt.
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