On Your Side: Paribus –- price checking app earns cash back

There's nothing worse than buying an item only to see the price drop shortly after you buy it. But there’s a new app that can help put get cash back from recent purchases without the hassle.

Ryan Good is constantly scouring the internet for the best products. When it comes to the best price, he's got a ‘digital detective’ to do the dirty work.

Paribus is an app that more than 700,000 smart shoppers have added to their smart phones. The app tracks what you buy and then automatically digs for a better deal.

When a better deal is detected, the app files a claim on your behalf, and you get your money back without having to lift a finger. Good has gotten cash back on seven different transactions since he signed up.

Just how much cash can you claim? The average is about $200 a year.

When Consumer Reporter Steve Noviello signed up himself, the cash came back almost instantly.

From $10 back on a toothbrush Noviello bought on Amazon to $226 back on a suit that went on sale after he clicked the buy button, his savings on about $1,300 in online purchases netted more than $420 back.

“Just a week ago, we refunded someone $1500 on one single purchase,” said Marc Atiyeh with Paribus.

The app charges a 25 percent commission on the cash you get back. But if you're willing to spread the word and get friends to sign up, the commission decreases.

Paribus gets your money refunded to your original form of payment instantly. Any commission is collected at the end of each month. As for returns, you get back the last price you paid.

Retailers report a successful price adjustment actually cuts down on returns.

As for granting Paribus read permission to scour your email and pull your purchases, the bots are trained to pick specific emails from specific merchants. Anything else doesn't make it to their servers. Passwords are tokenized, data is encrypted and the system is audited weekly.

Noviello said he waited three months after getting his cash back before airing the story to make sure there were no security issues. So far there have been none.

For more information on the app, click here.