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Stop before you throw away those contracts or receipts this holiday seaâ€" son and take the time to read the fine print on extended warranties, service contracts and return/exchange poliâ€" cies. It may end up saving you money. A new Better Business Bureau national survey conducted by U.S. market research firm Kelton Research finds that nearly balf (46 per cent) of consumers admit they do not read service contracts and more than four in 10 (42 per cent) do not look at the extended warranty policies that come with their purchase. When making a purchase in a store or other retail outlet, do you carefully read this information? Answered "no": service contracts â€" 46 per cent, extended warranty â€" 42 per cent, return or exchange policies â€" 29 per cent. Extended warranties and service contracts are popular with the shopâ€" ping public. According to Warranty Week, an online industry newsletter, consumers are expected to purchase approximately $1.6 billion of extended The area known as Canada‘s Techâ€" nology Triangle (CTT) â€" Waterloo Region, Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo â€" today was ranked high among midâ€"sized metropolitan areas in the Conference Board of Canada‘s first report, City Magnets: Benchmarking the Attractiveness of Canada‘s CMAs. The report seeks to measure the attractiveness to people of each of Canada‘s CMAs on the premise that attracting talent and the business investment they encourage is critical to Canada‘s competitiveness in the decades ahead. The Kitchener CMA â€"â€" the Waterloo Region minus Wilmot and Wellesley â€" ranked high among Canada‘s midâ€"sized metropolitan areas and ninth overall out of 27 CMAs. Read the fine print this holiday season | turn or exchange policies â€" 29 per "The number of people who don‘t _ average repairs over the specified time > nt. read return and exchange policies _ of the contract and compare it to the ‘ Extended warranties and service _ carefully is concerning," said Borski. _ total cost of the service contract. & ntracts are popular with the shopâ€" _ "Though they are commonplace, not * Make sure to keep receipts. If givâ€" 3 ng public. According to Warranty _ every retailer has the same policy and _ ing a gift, ask for a gift receipt and eek, an online industry newsletter, _ some establishments even implement _ enclose it. D nsumers are expected to purchase _ separate policies around special sales * Read the retailers policy before proximately $1.6 billion of extended _ and holidays." you purchase products. e CTT ranks well among other metropolises > Mnsd warranties and service contracts on PCs, consumer electronics and major appliances this holiday season. "There‘s an ongoing debate about whether extended warranties and servâ€" ice contracts are worth the upfront cost," said Ric Borski, the CEO of the BBB serving midâ€"western and central Ontario. "The bottom line is that conâ€" sumers need to make sure they comâ€" pletely understand the terms and weigh the value of purchasing one verâ€" sus the potential need for repair or replacement over time." In addition to extended warranties and service contracts, surprisingly, nearly three in 10 (29 per cent) adult consumers don‘t carefully read return and exchange policies when making a purchase in a store or retail outlet. The Kitchener CMA (Waterloo Region) is especially favourable for offering a wide range of employment opportunities within its communities. It is also an area known for being a strategic and competitive location in which to invest. The Waterloo Region ranked in the top five in many individual categories including number of innovations patented, quality of housing stock, Jowâ€" est crime rate based on drug crimes and criminal code violations per 100,000 people, household access to recycling, density of population per square kiloâ€" metre, highest productivity, best employment rate and Gross Domestic Product per capita. The Waterloo Region also has an excellent track record in attracting new Bs w roor | Weraliges o i o en :?;il(])r}i o;/g ?n :1cuh A @Efi;‘fi:&“: omm "g t li l â€"*.1 ® 4s o .\ apaa" T on the survey‘s tri P % 3 ks The Ultimate Gipt. [=32 | THE ULTIMATE SPA > | GFF Lc m | T25 D bay, y ty #4 * y O â€" C Q}’ J i * | .« sA Pik ' % & i ,’ P C Ad) ; N A’. € i 27â€" aat e M ‘-faifflma fi"z C , e e P aÂ¥] P3 m * * ' Cikes ”T(‘(ll{l' (1'l hJ se ". THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WITH A GINAS GiFT CARD [ ~a A | hear ce there‘s a He added, "We encourage conâ€" sumers to carefully read and make sure they understand any and all policies that come with their purchase. In the long run it can save them a lot of time and money." BBB commissioned the survey just prior to the holiday shopping season and is advising consumers to take the following steps to help them shop wisely: * Read the terms of the warranty or contract carefully before purchasing. Many extended warranties and service contracts don‘t have to be purchased at the point of sale and can be purchased at a later date up to a specified period. * Calculate what it would cost for average repairs over the specified time of the contract and compare it to the total cost of the service contract. people and talent. As noted in the report, the Kitchener CMA attracted the sixth strongest flow of new migrants per capita between 2002 and 2006. Also in terms of population growth between 2002 and 2006, Waterloo Region ranked fifth among the 27 CMAs with the Kitchener CMAs population growth at 8.9 per cent versus a national average of 5.4 per cent. The report also acknowledges that the larger CMA‘s â€" especially the ce ® "Big 6" with popuâ€" \~ flms lations over a milâ€" P W ct x meuge lion â€" are much Wncs â€" more likely to % j score highly based on the survey‘s in the Waterloo Chronicle! *« Understand what the policy cov I hear there‘s a great DEAL § REGINA ST. N. WATERLO® i §19.886 2090 | GINASPA.COM A #1 SELLERS!}â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE * Wednesday, December 19, 2007 + 21 =â€" GI NA S SPA + HAIR STUDIO + MED1 SPA