Watch for extra fees when playing the lotto on credit

BC Lottery booth

Beware when using a credit card to buy lottery tickets.

Larry wonders why he was charged an extra $3.50 on his credit card after he used it to buy lottery tickets. It wasn’t a charge from the lottery corporation, it was from his credit card issuer. We’ve learned from the BC Lottery Corporation that some credit card issuers treat lottery ticket purchases like cash advances and not as merchandise. The fees for cash transactions on credit cards are set by the banks and sometimes it’s a percentage or a minimum fee. Another reason why you might want to consider using cash to buy your lottery tickets.

No time limit on warranty repairs 

James’s new car broke down in California. He’s now been back in Canada for four weeks and the electrical problem is still not fixed in the car. He contacted us to ask if there is a time limit on warranty repairs. We looked at the new vehicle warranties for three different auto makers and none specified a time limit on repairs. The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan, which arbitrates disputes between auto makers and owners told us it does not set a time for car repairs.

“The consumer must give the dealer and the manufacturer reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue. This can be from a few days to a long time,” Steve Moody, general manager of CAMVAP told CTV News.

Why are there no expiry dates on butter?

Tanya wants to know why there is no expiry date on butter. We checked around and couldn’t find any creamery butter with expiry dates, and no one in the stores knew why. So we turned to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for the answer. We’ve learned that expiry dates are only mandated on items with a shelf life of 90 days or less. If stored properly, butter is supposed to last six to nine months - so date labelling isn’t required.