Re: REFUND OR STORE CREDIT

[Jim Stuyck]

i got a belt/disc sander as a b-day gift, bought from harbor freight. i put it

> together (not difficult) and clicked it on. smelled electric and melting > plastic. turned it off and decided that this was not a *safe unit*, so > diassembled it, put it back in the original container and took it back to > harbor freight. > the store manager said he could not give me a store credit, because he *did not > have the capabilities of giving credit*, but rather i would have to buy an > equal amount of merchandise in exchange. would not give me a cash refund > because i did not have a receipt, (but i could have given him a date and time > it was bought) would not give me a *gift certificate* to the amount. > > suffice to say i was pissed, but not unpleasant. asked for his name and > position, the store number. > i wrote the president, vp and vp of marketing.....including his name and > response to my request. > i have bought stuff there before, and returned stuff without hassles.... > have no idea if anyone else has had similar problems...............

Did you consider a replacement, thinking the particular unit you were given was defective? I doubt if EVERY unit gets manufactured with a builtin defect.

Jim Stuyck

[Doug Kanter]

Is it really that much trouble to hang onto a receipt?

[tnfkajs]

This is pretty much the norm at MOST major stores these days. Smart stores now issue a "Gift Card Receipt" in case you need to return something. Store credit, in lieu of a receipt, is pretty much expected. Cash refunds are very, very rare.

The thinking would be:

- You got the gift.

- You opened it and tried to use it - so you must've decided to KEEP it.

- It was defective

- Chances are pretty good that you'd want a REPLACEMENT

[Mike]

If it was bought with a credit card, dispute it. Otherwise with no tickee, no laundry fella, pays to keep receipts.

[Mark & Shauna]

With no receipt how is the store to know it was stolen, stolen from another store and being returned there, etc.. It amazes me how many people walk into a store and say "well I bought it a month ago on XYZ date, cant you look it up". These are retail stores, items are sold as cash, not to an individual with an account that can be readily accessed. Additionally many stores weekly or monthy sales are downloaded to a main database and are no longer accessible to the "Cash register". Like the other post said, no tickee no laundry. Call your gift giver and ask for the receipt. If it no longer exists get an identical replacement. Or was it that you wanted the cash to go and buy something else? You could tell that to the gift giver too....

Mark

WARRENRN1 wrote:

[Jack-of-all-trades - JOAT]

Mon, Sep 8, 2003, 11:19pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (WARRENRN1) claims: i got a belt/disc sander as a b-day gift, i did not have a receipt, i wrote the president, vp and vp of marketing.....including his name and response to my request. i have bought stuff there before, and returned stuff without hassles.

So, you didn't have the receipt, but could tell the day and time it was bought, eh? I might be able to say the day I bought something, but probably not the time, not without the receipt.

Sounds like a extreme reaction, for someone with no receipt.

JOAT Failure is not an option. But it is definitely a possibility.

Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT Web Page Update 8 Sep 2003. Some tunes I like.

[Jack Kerouac]

Rare if you don't have a receipt. Not so rare if you do.

[Gfretwell]

A gift card at the Borg IS cash to me. It is just a question of how many days it will be until I spend it. BTW they have always refunded the "change" in cash when I used one.

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

At the retail level, fraud is an unbelieveable problem.

It's something Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc, don't want to talk about.

Probably something approaching 20% of the selling price of a retail item is destined to recover the cost of fraud.

"Fraud" is also a code word for internal theft.

If you don't have a receipt, consider yourself lucky if you get any considerastion at all from the retail merchant.

A "gift certificate" of equal value is a bonus, IMHO.

As a reference, if you want to return something to one of my principles, there is a minimum of a 25% restocking charge, IF they will even consider accepting a return in the first place.

You should have had your act together when you bought the item in the first place, IMHO.

Give me a break, quit your bloody complaining.

If you bought quality merchandise in the first place, you probably wouldn't have to be concerned about returning it in the first place.

IMHO, Harbor Freight doesn't sell quality merchandise, and yes, I do buy some disposable items from them, but never expect any consideration when it comes to a return policy.

If I buy it, it's mine. Period, end of report.

Off the Rant stand.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

My local Woodcraft dosen't need a receipt, as long as you gave them your name when you bought the item. The bicycle shop I work in has the same policy.

I recently returned an item with no receipt, fully expecting store credit only. The employee whipped up my sales history, found the item and handed me cash.

Of course, if you bought the item with a credit card, or a check, there may be other rules that apply. Some states require returns that were purchased with a credit card be credited back to the same card.

Barry

[Charlie Self]

Speaks volumes about their parents.

I recall yelling at a friend about similar behavior some years ago, with a recip saw. What made it worse was that I had several on hand, any of which he could have borrowed.

Charlie Self

"Men willingly believe what they wish." Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

FWIW, many of these folks were in there 40's, 50's and maybe even

60's. So I guess the problem goes way back.

Barry

[Charlie Self]

Barry Burke responds:

Usually we rely on parents for our moral compasses. AFAIK, that's been the case for many hundreds of years, so it's either a parental or developmental failing. I'd be afraid my mother would come back to life and slap me silly if I did something like that.

Charlie Self

"Men willingly believe what they wish." Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico

[BurlaT3]