Do this to protect yourself from shady companies - Episode 652 - The Scribble with Jeremy Bradley

Document, document, document. That's Jeremy Bradley's advice when dealing with companies. Having been a consumer columnist and commentator for decades (look up "Winnipeg Cheapskate" in Winnipeg Free Press and SpeakFreewithJB.com), JB said it's one thing to keep emails or screenshots or correspondence, it's another to record and document everything. "I prefer a phone call with people identifying themselves on the recording. That's stronger evidence than saying, 'I talked to someone last week.' Give them the date, the time, tell them you have the audio of it. You'll often be taken more seriously." JB said he has hours of recorded calls from customer service situations that warranted escalation. "If you become unhinged and scream, you won't get anywhere. If you speak professionally and have your notes together and everything documented and present it cleanly, they'll take you seriously. Usually." JB also talks about one company that wanted him to sign an NDA for a hush-money payment. His response definitely put that company in its place.