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Nov 14, 2007 9:52 pm US/Pacific
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Disappearing Print On Receipts Can Cost Consumers
(CBS 5)
What's in your wallet? Probably, a bunch of receipts. You may have noticed, they tend to fade over time -- and this disappearing act can cost consumers.
Karine Mehr went on a recent trip with her family to Puerto Rico.
"I had kind of a bad feeling, so I made sure to mention it to the stewardess, and I said 'I have this stroller there is that okay?' She reassured me, 'Oh, don't worry about it,'" Mehr said.
But her worries were on the money. Her $300 baby stroller disappeared.
"Now we're pregnant again and in desperate need of our stroller," she said.
The stroller never turned up, so the airline promised to refund her money.
"Then they said they need a receipt," Mehr said. But the receipt from Babies R Us was so faded, the airline denied her claim.
Thermal paper receipts are taking off, and no wonder. Retailers save money, because there's no ink to buy, no ribbons to change. It's easy for the retailers, but disappearing ink on receipts can jeopardize returns, refunds, even warranties.
Here's how thermal receipts work. A chemical coating on the paper turns black when exposed to heat. But the print isn't permanent.
"The chemical wants to come back to the normal state, which is white," said paper producer Tetsuya Isshiki. He says receipts should remain legible for five to seven years, under good conditions. But heat and humidity from your hands, even chemicals used in leather wallets, can make the print disappear.
One trick to try: "I do recommend you to fold the receipt the coating side inside, then put into the wallet," Isshiki said.
That protects the chemical coating from damage. Then when you get home, store your receipts in a cool, dry place.
"If you try to return an item with a faded receipt the retailer's going to go, oh well, we don't know this is from here, we don't know when you bought it or how much it was," said professional organizer Josh Zerkel. He advises taking photocopies of important receipts, or even scanning them into your computer. But you'll still need to keep the originals for three years for the tax man -- in legible condition.
"You have to have legible records so you can prove the expense and also prove that you paid it. For those people that don't keep records, they may lose out if they do get audited," said Jesse Weller of the IRS.
Karine Mehr didn't lose out. After CBS 5 ConsumerWatch got involved, the airline paid for the stroller.
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