Important Layaway Precautions

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Story Published: Nov 20, 2009 at 7:42 PM PDT

By Ryan Simms

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YAKIMA -- Black Friday is only a week away, and that means many people are taking advantage of layaway programs.

From mattresses, mowers, and movies, shoppers like Yolanda Martinez are in a buying mood this holiday, thanks in part to store layaways.

"You see sales, you put stuff away... It's fantastic, I love it," she tells Action News.

Martinez isn't alone. Sears is currently servicing 300 customers through layaway programs. Employees expect that number to triple by the end of the month.

Meantime, the Better Business Bureau has some recommendations for shoppers to follow.

The most important thing is to find out what happens when you miss a payment. In addition, it's also important to know about any service or storage fees involved with layaway programs. And since payment plans vary from store to store, the Better Business Bureau recommends that you specify the exact dates when your payment is due. You should also ask about possible refunds if you no longer want to purchase an item.

In the middle of the cooking section, Martinez plans to buy on layaway as much as she can.

"Coming up is Black Friday. I'm going to be back here, putting stuff on layaway," Martinez says.

As holiday spirit turns into the usual holiday spending, folks like Martinez are spending a little extra time making sure layaways don't come with any last minute surprises.

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