This app helps get your money back when packages arrive late

Busiest Day for U.S. Postal Service
Getty Images | William Thomas Cain

If you love to shop online, you are in good company. According to a recent study, 80 percent of Americans have made an online purchase in the past month. If you like your stuff to arrive quickly, you are not alone there, either. Shipping speed is one of the top factors people consider when choosing an online retailer.

When you pay extra for expedited shipping and your package does not arrive when promised, it can be aggravating and even ruin a special event. You can complain to the retailer, who might place blame on the shipper or require that you file a claim. Alternatively, you might opt to let an app do the dirty work for you.

Paribus is an app that helps people save on online purchases, and they’ve released a new service that monitors the shipping of your online orders. If you paid for guaranteed delivery by a certain date and don’t receive your package on time, Paribus will attempt to collect a discount, refund or other compensation on your behalf.

In addition, when you connect Paribus to your email account, it monitors the receipts you receive from certain web-based stores. If there is a price drop of at least $3 and you are eligible for a refund, Paribus will get the money for you.

Paribus

MORE: How to save money shopping online with Honey

Of course, there is some fine print that you should be aware before giving this service a try.

  • You must have a credit or debit card on file with Paribus to cover the fees for successful claims.
  • Paribus only monitors certain retailers for refunds and does not guarantee the tool will catch all potential money back opportunities.
  • For the new shipping-monitoring service, only Amazon and Walmart are supported.
  • While there is no fee for the monitoring service, Paribus will charge you 25 percent of all refunds you receive as a result of the service.
  • In-store pickups of online purchases are not supported.

About the Author

Tricia Goss

Tricia is a professional writer and editor who lives in North Texas with her family and one smelly dog. She is a wannabe problem solver, junk food maven professional coffee practitioner, web guru and general communicator. More.

More to explore