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Deleted member 93354
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Depends on state law. But if they have a policy posted that says returns in 7/30 days except on software and they don't accept it, they are breaking their agreement. It wouldn't hold up in court.
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Stores Use Database To Track And Decline Returns
Depends on state law. But if they have a policy posted that says returns in 7/30 days except on software and they don't accept it, they are breaking their agreement. It wouldn't hold up in court.
bman212121
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So the issue here is that guess who's eating that cost if you return 2 items? The retailer. They have to buy those items from the manufacturer, and if it's returned they take a hit on them. You'd be surprised at the deals that take place in order for them to get those items in the store.
As an average consumer you'll probably never have to worry about if you return one tv because it's having issues. You're not going to make the list. But if you return half of the items you purchase, then the retailer should have the right to refuse the return. The issue mainly comes down to when you get notified you're no longer allowed to return items. If you go on a shopping spree and buy 50 items, and return 25 of them, at what point would they need to notify you that they aren't going to accept returns anymore?
Again, I edited that post twice, I said twice in the post that it varies by State Law, and more.
Do I need to quote myself?
Besides, you aren't going to court over this and if you did, it would be small claims court or perhaps a class action. In small claims court you really don't know how things will go. My own experience only proved to me that the local business who employs people wins over the little guy, even when it's obvious that the business is lying and you can prove it, so what.
And in a class action, again, so what, you going to get anything out of it?
Gigus Fire
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No.
If someone is identified as someone who abuses their return policy then the store should refuse to sell them anything. Once the purchase is made then the policy should be followed with very few exceptions.
You can bet your ass that when the store policies are posted it becomes an agreement on purchase. Modifying the agreement after the purchase could be considered fraud/breaking of said contract.
Regardless of the cost savings to the company it's their responsibility to figure out who to do business with.
Gigus Fire
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One of the only remaining benefits from brick and mortar stores is their lax return policies. With bad press that will go around with them refusing to follow their own policies, they will lose customers to online retailers who have a much better reputation for returns.
This whole thing is a MBA looking to maximize profits and seeing this (return policy) as a loss that can be prevented. It'll come back around to bite them in the ass as sales are shifted even more to amazon and other retailers who have much better policies.
Sometimes just the news that they denied certain people their returns is enough to dissuade others from shopping there. That's probably the most harm that can be done to them.
heatlesssun
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I think this one is 3000th on the list of pressures facing brick and mortar retail. It's just easier to shop online with better pricing and selection.
You aren't by chance ignoring all the guys who have posted here saying;
#1, that this is old hat and about 15 or 20 years worth of common practice that somehow made it through some clueless news editors scrutiny?
There are a lot of things in life that are not only common as dirt, but somehow escape the average person's awareness.
This story, was never a story. It's not an issue, it's not going to change, it's almost two decades of accepted business practice, someone decided to write about it. Someone who doesn't know what they are writing about.
Now it's got us talking and it's obvious alot of us, myself included had to look things up, check things out, look at our assumptions .... cause it's just one of those things that's been this way for a very long time and we just haven't been noticing it. So someone noticed, it won't change how it's done because odds are, it's not being done illegally.
That is what the whole thing is. I didn't realize it at first, most of us didn't. But if you have been listening to these guys who have worked this business, you would have seen it this way by now I think.
Thank You
Hey it was news to me ..... but yea, we need a new emoji for "Mountain out of Molehill"
Yes... you choose your soda you provide the money you get the soda contract fulfilled.... the machine is under no obligation to take the soda back if you change your mind on it. I'm not sure what you were trying to state.
Maybe its just my local Target but for years it has had a distinct smell to it. Something in the air that just smells wrong or off. Maybe it is the food court and their hotdogs or popcorn.
That contracts go beyond what is explicitly written down.
In other words, the stated return policy is part if the retailer's commitment, even if you didn't sign a paper to that effect. It is implied, as is the soda machine contract.
You will get notified when you go to return the items. I got put on Bestbuys ban list for returning 3 unopened items with receipts. First item no notice, second item no notice, third item they let me return but gave me a printed out receipt that said I cannot return anymore items and to contact retail equation.
I can tell you even if you have valid receipts you will get put on the ban list. I bought a bunch of stuff during november sales like 2 or 3 years ago. I ended up returning an unopened tv with the receipt because costco had a better deal on it. I returned 2 unopened movies with receipts because I had already bought them before and didn't remember. Returning the 3rd movie they gave me a print out and said I was banned from returning anything. Those 3 items were the only things I returned that entire year.
I call bullshit on the dude's story from the OP. BBY and others only check ID for "no receipt" returns. If he brought back three cell phone cases (which are high shrink items), without a receipt, it's not surprising at all that he would get flagged by TRE.
D
Deleted member 204526
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Yup, I did my time in retail out of high school. Was a customer service manager at Walmart and I often had to approve returns, which was my most hated part of the job. People are scum.
I worked at a package store after that, and it was a breath of fresh air. We could kick people out of the store with foulmouthed prejudice if they were being assholes, as opposed to having to take the abuse like your typical retail employee.
Post a policy in store.
Gigus Fire
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Yes, but how many post their policy on getting banned from returning goods? None of them? I think that's the problem
It’s been 13+ years since I’ve worked there, so I have no doubt you’re correct.
I got flagged for returning two laptops. One was defective and the replacement had a loose trackpad (Spectre x360). They warned me not to return anything else. I was an 'Elite' customer too. Haven't shopped at Best Buy since. Screw them and The Retail Equation. I called The Retail Equation for my return history and they never sent it. Called again and still didn't get it. I don't return many items anyway, but this really ticked me off. Two freaking laptops after 10-15 purchases I had kept. That's just wrong.
FYI, the poster that said it's all about not having receipts is incorrect. I had a receipt on both occasions.
FYI, the poster that said it's all about not having receipts is incorrect. I had a receipt on both occasions.
BloodyIron
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This is a pretty slippery slope though. If they can't tell the customer why exactly they aren't honouring the return, then that is completely unacceptable.
If they, however, were to say too them "because you fucking ripped us off this many times", that's far more reasonable.
Otherwise, this could easily lead to an abusive situation, favouring the retailer :/
If they, however, were to say too them "because you fucking ripped us off this many times", that's far more reasonable.
Otherwise, this could easily lead to an abusive situation, favouring the retailer :/
sfsuphysics
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I got flagged for some reason at Lowes, I don't shop their a lot and I return things fairly infrequently. But the last time I did, and I had a receipt too, they gave me Lowes Cash card (sure whatever) but it required me to show my ID every time I used it. It was like WTF?! Is this like the kid who's put on the No Fly List? There just is no sane reason as to why.
theBrownLlama
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something American voters should learn from the Europeans
Exactly. People posting that are using their retail experience from decades ago. This is *new* policy regarding returns with receipts. As is the story with Lowe's and also the case with Home Depot.
Just remember to buy all your important stuff on a credit card. I don't even mess with the idiots doing customer service at places like Best Buy. I bought two cooktops because we weren't sure which one would fit in the hole left behind by our Bosch cooktop when we sold our condo, and the return policy explicitly states that cooktops are subject to a 15% restocking fee ***unless returned unopened***. I took it to the store, they wouldn't waive the restock fee, then I returned it online and they refunded me everything except the restocking fee. I read them the policy, they read me the policy, the difference between our "interpretations" was that I read the complete sentence, "cooktops are subject to restocking fee, EXCEPT..." whereas they kept stopping at the comma! I said screw it and contested the charge. Chase called me up and explained to me very politely that it was clear in black and white that the restocking fee wouldn't apply since the item was returned unopened. Then they refunded me a few days later. Seriously, don't even argue with these people. Better yet, don't even shop there
If they won't accept your return, dispute it with your CC company.
I was one of then bastards that abused store polices back when I was a kid. I use to buy games from GameStop/EB and return them for a full refund after I beat them. It beat paying $7 to rent a game at blockbuster! Me and my friends use to swap out our broken console with new ones we brought from a Fry music store cause they didn't even check what we gave them back. It is not something I would do now but back then we were shit head kids that needed our games.
Well at least at EB they encouraged that for a time. So it wasnt exactly abusing policies per se. They did expect you to eventually find something and keep it but hell the employees were telling me all the time to just bring it back after I beat it.
YeuEmMaiMai
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I rarely return things, and when I do, it is because they are
1. not as advertised
2. broken.
1. not as advertised
2. broken.
twzTechman
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Back in the 80's I worked in the paint department at Sears. Sears policy was "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. No questions asked. I remember the regular scam was to buy an Airless Sprayer, go and paint your house with it, and return it, telling us you were not satisfied. Same for the tools (remember Craftsman tools?) While Sears is still around, they no longer sell paint and they have sold their Craftsman tool line to Stanley. All that good will they created with a generous policy was just too expensive in the long run.
collegeboy69us
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Easy - just have one more checkbox you have to check that says "I understand there is a zero return option" for this purchase, as a requirement to complete the sale.
I would imagine this system is fairly reasonable, it's not going to flag you as a potential loss for potential abuse unless you've made some pretty gross set of purchases and returns. If they can see in the past year or two you've returned 70% of the things you've purchased then it's a pretty good bet they are a shitty person abusing the system. A business doesn't need or want that type of customer since all it does is cost them money/time and drive up prices for the rest of us.
collegeboy69us
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Returns are a great policy... but they are not a right. And anyone who abuses that policy should have them taken away. It's not that hard to use metrics data to figure out if a returning customer is a piece of shit who will likely return an item 80% of the time for a bogus reason other than they wanted free use of an item for X days.
If you are a regular joe blow who buys stuff because they actually need/want it, and not because you see it as a free 30 day rental then you have nothing to worry about. You have no "right" to be a cheap/shitty customer who intentionally and consistently abuses store policies for your personal gain.
Same with driving -- it's not a right. You abuse the privilege because you are a consistent selfish dickbag on the road, you get it taken away.
Gigus Fire
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While every business should has the right to decide who they do business with, return policies should be universal. Contract obligations in stores open to the public have been this way since forever.
As a business, they should not have the right to want to do a transaction with a certain person (sell them stuff) yet modify the rules under which they sell the items for an individual.
That's the issue i see. Return policies are afforded for each item sold. Modifying that without telling the customer should be illegal. Doing that on an individual basis could also be a form of discrimination.
The analogy you gave is taking away the person's right to drive, which i fully agree with. That's the same as not doing business (selling them stuff) with them.
kirbyrj
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So the new policy is no return without a receipt. Problem solved.
Gigus Fire
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How does that solve the issue when people have been getting banned from returning items with a receipt? Just read a few posts above for some anecdotal evidence of this happening.
Dr. Righteous
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One thing I like about Amazon Prime is the no hassle return policy. Just last night I was bench testing a 2DIN nav head unit I bought for my truck to find the touch screen was working. Ran the calibration, still didn't work right. Right back in the box to Amazon it goes..........
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Thats not what killed Sears. What killed Sears was a long process of them failing to adjust their business model to changing times. This was a pretty good writeup http://fortune.com/2016/12/09/why-sears-failed/
kirbyrj
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If you worked in retail for a month at the service desk and saw what goes on, you wouldn't have your opinion any more. Here's a few examples from my time:
1). People buy massive amounts of Proctor and Gamble items with $2-5 off coupons and then return them essentially making $2-5 per item. I'm talking about 25-50 items at a clip
2). A lady came with a TV covered in paint with no receipt and told me that she was going to argue with me until I took it back.
3). A lady came in with a half used box of cheap diapers and claimed they were defective. I told her I would exchange them for a new box. She brings the high end Luvs diapers and throws a shit fit when I tell her she has to pay the difference.
4). A lady came in with a used coat and wanted to return it with no receipt. That coat hadn't been sold in the store for 5 years.
5). Young mothers who are on government assistance get baby formula for little or no cost. They purchase it on the government's dime, and then try to exchange it for cash with no receipt.
6). People came in with prepaid phone cards that were scratched off claiming they didn't work. I would call their customer service line and the card was activated on their account.
7). Video game consoles and TV's had good parts swapped for defective ones. I literally had to check the serial number on the unit and compare it to the box of ANY high end item that came in the store.
8). Boxes were resealed with items that weighed the same and returned.
These are just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head from 6 years ago. So you can continue with your high horse argument, but where the rubber hits the road, you're living in a fantasy world where people always do what is right and never take advantage of the system.
Gigus Fire
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I'll still have my opinion. You're picking the worst offenders who come in and abuse the system. I'm pointing at the guy just 6 posts up who returned 3 items and was told he couldn't return anything anymore. Or the guy who returned something to best buy 1 time and was given a warning.
I'm down with no returns without receipts. Hell, you can even put in a clause that the only exception is if you used a credit card and have that credit card and allow transactions to be tied to receipts for convenience. It's not my, your or the guys above who have been banned/warned fault that there exists loopholes in the current return policies of the store you work for that allows them to commit fraud and gain money from doing so. The idea isn't to punish those who aren't doing these activities. You tell me how that makes sense.
Let me ask you what makes more sense? Banning these fraudsters from the store or not allowing them to make returns? Because it seems as if the retail stores want to have their cake and eat it too.
Some stores have little signs that say "All sales final." And then there is Costco that lets you return a half eaten slice of pizza... Returns arent just a pain from an abuse perspective but also an inventory and financial one.
Gigus Fire
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I'm not complaining about stores that don't allow returns. I'm complaining about the stores that have their return policies posted right out in the open (30 days no questions, 15 days unopened, ect) and then based on someone returning stuff normally will tell them they're not allowed to return anything anymore.
I'm sure there's cases in which they don't even tell the customer and then the customer finds out when trying to return something. Again talking about regular stuff, not trying to commit fraud.