Before pulling out a debit card at a furniture store, one prominent money expert wants shoppers to think twice.

Clark Howard is an American consumer expert, podcast host, and TV reporter who offers guidance on a wide range of personal finance topics, from debt management to retirement. In May 2026, Howard addressed a new subject on his blog, Clark.com: the use of debit cards at furniture stores.

His advice? Just say no. Here's why.

The Problem

With the housing market stalled, the furniture market is struggling. Furniture is a big-ticket, discretionary purchase closely tied to home sales and moving activity, so a slowdown in housing tends to hit furniture retailers hard. As a result, it has become increasingly common for furniture stores to lock customers into sales on merchandise they may never actually deliver. Paying by debit card gives consumers zero protection if the store goes out of business or the item never arrives — and because debit purchases draw directly from a checking account, the money is gone from the outset rather than being floated on a line of credit while a dispute plays out.

Howard cautioned shoppers to steer clear of offers along the lines of: "we're out of that right now, but it's on back order. If you pay now, we can lock in this sale price for you."

News station WBST 22 recently reported that consumers in Indiana fell victim to precisely this situation when Value City Furniture's parent company, American Signature, filed for bankruptcy in November 2025. Many customers paid for items they will never receive — the kind of outcome that becomes more common when a retailer fails mid-transaction, leaving unsecured customers near the back of the line of creditors.

The Solution

Howard advised paying for back-ordered items only with a credit card, because credit cards carry federal protections should something go wrong.

Mendy Perlman, web hosting expert and SEO strategist at Web Hosting Services, who has professional experience with electronic payments, agreed with that assessment.

"The Fair Credit Billing Act provides legal rights to credit card holders to dispute a charge if the goods were not delivered as promised," he said. "Debit card holders fall under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, which covers fraud and unauthorized transactions, but does not give you the same right to dispute a merchant over a bad purchase."

The difference stems from a decades-old legal split: the Fair Credit Billing Act, passed in 1974, governs credit card billing disputes, while the Electronic Funds Transfer Act of 1978 covers debit transactions — and its protections center on unauthorized use rather than undelivered goods.

Howard noted that credit card charges can only be disputed within 60 days. After that window, there is no recourse. So if the two-month mark is approaching and the retailer is still saying that leather sofa is on back order, consumers can protect themselves by disputing the charge with their credit card company. If the sofa ultimately arrives, the dispute can always be removed.

What If You Don't Like Charging Items on a Credit Card?

Many people avoid credit cards because they don't want debt — a reasonable position. For those shoppers, Howard recommended one major rule: don't buy anything you can't physically take home that day. Your wallet may thank you later.

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.