Consumer advocates are advising residents in Hudson Valley to read the fine print on return policies during the holiday season.

NYPIRG says retailers are imposing more restrictions on customers including issuing only store credit for returns or demanding identification. A statewide survey of store policies found that some retailers don?t allow any returns or exchanges at all. Some consumer electronic retailers may have the tightest return restrictions. Best Buy is charging customers a 15 percent restocking fee on some returns.

And while gift cards are popular items around the holidays, there are also some caveats involved. Some stores may charge a fee or the card may expire if the receiver does not use it in a certain amount of time.Related link:NYPIRG