Target: Yes, You Can Return That Camera After The 90 Day Deadline. Oh Wait, Never Mind. You Can't.
Ronald was in a hurry and wondered if he could delay returning a camera to Target until a few days after the 90 day deadline. He called them up and they told him it wouldn't be a problem. Guess what? It was a problem.
Here are the facts:
1) Purchased $200 Canon SLR camera from Target
2) Within the 90 day return period called to ask if I could return the camera shortly after the 90 days because I was leaving town and rushed
3) Supervisor in Target’s return department gave me his name and said it would be okay to return the camera shortly after the 90 day period had expired
4) Within a week of the expiration of the 90 day I went to the Target store in Culver City to return the camera
5) Target returns showed me their 90 day policy and refused to take the camera back
6) Called Target guest relations 800 number and explained that I had been given permission to return the item after the 90 return period but they would not take the item back
7) Target guest relations reiterated Target’s policy
8) I explained to relations that I understood the policy and that is why I called the store to see if I could get an extension of the 90 days. Had I not been given the extension by the returns supervisor I would have made arrangement s to return the item within the 90 days.
9) Target guest relations said that their returns supervisor was not authorized to extend the return deadline.
10) I explained to Target guest relations that I should not be expected to know what their returns supervisors have authority to do.
11) Target guest relations said that a mistake was made but Target still will not be able to accept the item back
12) So put it all together and you get Target employee makes a mistake, but customer must pay for it.
13) I guess that means next time I make a mistake, Target gets to pay for it.
We've been getting more and more complaints about Target and their insanely strict return policy lately. Looks like their customer service has RRoD'd (as the gamers say.)
If you've got any functioning contact information that would help us launch some Target EECBs, we'd love to hear about it. Send it to tips@consumerist.com.
(Photo: blue_j )
This is a test using rich text formatting and html links. It's the generic "company" ad that should appear on all posts with the Company category if they don't have an ad attached to a specific company.
Post a comment
Comments:
Did you go direct to the supervisor whose name you got?
I had issues returning a copy of GH3 four hours after I bought it because i couldn't find the receipt. I had to head back home (found where I had placed it) and come back before I could return the item. They used to be able to pull up the receipt by just giving them the debit/cc you used. I don't go there now unless I absolutely am deperate.
90 days? Wow... I'm sorry I think 90 days is very liberal for returns on electronics (best buy is 14 days right?)... I understand that someone was told they could extend it a bit... and well they couldn't. (I would have gotten a name)... but 3 months???? Sounds like someone was trying to rent a camera to me.
Target changed their policy yesterday. They now accept returns up to $35 without receipt (up from $20). Also you can use the gift registry as a valid receipt now.
As for this issue. 90 Days is 3 months. What the hell were you doing with the camera for 3 months?
I still think their no receipt no exchange thing is stupid, at the very least it should be same item exchange within reason but 90 days...and you wanted to return the camera PAST that. Really wtf were you doing that whole time that you couldnt return it before? Get lost.
Where I live whenever i try to return something they just tell me they dont accept that kind of item, to be honest I'm not really sure what "other kinds of items" there can be at this point
90 days is more then enough to the return that camera. Sounds like he was renting it. Perhaps he used it out of town, pfff. no sympathy here.
Product Renting.
I bet most half wits can figure out in the first hour of ownership the camera doesn't meet their needs. It took me an entire week, but then I have never claimed to be the brightest bulb.
BB does returns in 14 days. Seems quite reasonable.
90 is excessive, and the OP wants even more time.
Yep, sure sounds like product renting.
@GothGirl: I whole heartedly agree. However, that isn't really the issue. The issue stated here is that he was given one piece of information by one person who claimed to have authority (even if not expressly stated) to authorize a return after the 90-day window. The why isn't important except to that supervisor that gave authorization. Personally, having been a retail manager (though it was a much smaller animal than Target), I would have made sure to speak with that specific individual.
Might be a little late now (especially if the people in-store have already spoken to the supervisor and told him/her that this is a no-go no matter what they said), but I would call up and ask to speak with the individual that originally gave the authorization for the late return. Discuss with them if they are willing to follow up on their word (don't use phrasings such as "able to" or "allowed to"). Don't make a scene, and remain calm. Keep the focus off the policy, and on the agreement that the two of you came to. Realize you won't get blood from a stone, and that at some point you may wind up spinning your wheels. It may very well be, that this person spoke out of turn regarding your return, possibly has gotten a severe dressing down for it, and really abusing them further won't help (this is usually obvious by the presence of honest contrition). If that happens, end it politly, but display your dissaproval with the result. At the very least that will make it painful enough from all sides that this individual won't make the mistake again. If you have reached this point, but the person seems to be a brick wall made of policy and no regret for the error, have a field day. Comments like, "Now that I know what your word is worth I feel for whomever accecpts your marriage proposal..." Don't go off the deep-end though and get the cops called. That just makes you the an anecdote of "That crazy person that flipped out that one time..."
Stories like these make me wonder how much shoplifting is revenge or punishment 'illegally' 'enforced' by customers.
A $200 SLR? What the hell did the OP get? A Canon Rebel that got run over by a forklift?
When ever random people make you a deal, get their name, number, employee id, social security number, and their high school gpa.
I bought a wireless mouse at Target, and it ate batteries like they were Fritos, so I returned it.
"We do not take returns on opened software."
"It's not software - it's a mouse. Hardware. Yes - there is software inside box - mouse driver and utility. Both free DL from Microsoft."
"We do not take returns on opened software."
"IT'S A MOUSE."
And around and around, up the chain to a Supervisor of some sort who finally got me a store credit.
dude, it's a bummer for sure. but you had three months and three months is three months for you to figure out if you dont like something/it breaks. if it broke, try calling up Canon.
I still believe Target is the best "big box retailer" available out of Wal-Mart, etc. but the not having a receipt thing is a bummer.
notice how many of these stories start with "bob was in a hurry". slow down people. you might get better service.
HEY VICTIM, IT IS YOUR FAULT
Thought we could be a little more clear if we were gonna do that.
That out of the way, the point isn't "I demand the ability to return this whenever I want". The point is, he had an opportunity to return it, was told it wasn't necessary, and got screwed over it. It doesn't matter if he had it four years, if that's what their policy was.
Thats why I rarely buy things from target. I always have the feeling that they are going to say something stupid or whatever to make it seem as if I'm at fault for the item in question.
@coren: he also took the word of a part time employee who probably just wanted to get off the phone. sure its a bum deal and believe me when i say i dont enjoy defending a retailer but lets be honest here. both parties made a mistake. the store isnt 100% at fault here.
The store IS 100 PERCENT AT FAULT>>> STOP BLAMING THE OP.
He understood the rules and called the retailer to inquire about a minor variation of policy. The store employee TOLD HIM IT WAS OK.
As a customer. I am now supposed to know WHEN THE EMPLOYEE IS LYING TO ME.
Why don't you blame the OP people just drink the kool aid and get on the cattle cars. You make me sick.
a. Why was OP returning it close to 90 days, defect or buyers remorse, if you are having buyers remorse somewhere along the 85th day I would say you are indecisive or lazy or retail rent or all the three. If it was defective then its OK.
b. did OP go to the super who promised him the extension?
c. a $200 SLR will probably be pretty crappy
I am sorry just dont feel very sympathetic to the the OP, I'd like to know more.
@bilge: I was thinking the same thing. Where the heck can you get an SLR for $200?
Really, why trust someone's word on circumventing store policy? It sucks he was told it would be ok and then it was not, but I almost got burned by Sears and won't trust an employee's word again. In my case, however, I called that individual on what she told me and I ended up getting what I was promised but I still won't accept anything as true unless it's in writing.
Also, it must be said - shame on this guy for keeping a camera 90 days, and then some, and expecting to return it. That's just ridiculous.
@parad0x360: How the hell did the consumer make a mistake. If he wouldn't have been lied to maybe he would have dropped what he was doing and popped into a Target before the 90 days.
@bilge:
"A $200 SLR? What the hell did the OP get? A Canon Rebel that got run over by a forklift? "
35mm Film SLR's go for about that. Canon makes a film and a digital Rebel.
Target is absolutely ridiculous about returns. My wife and I spent hundreds of dollars a month there, on average, but the way they mindlessly follow an anti-customer "policy," to the point of being willfully obtuse... I'm done with them.
The posters that are trying to pick holes in this story are quite unbelievable. The guy had 90 days by policy; that's a given. So don't question why he took 90 days. Regardless, if the guy wasn't lied to to begin with, don't you think he would have returned it?
@bilge: Not a digital.
Bought a camera before a trip and wanted to extend the return policy is 100% retail renting. Target is still jacked up, but you OP, are a douche.
Although apparently,
I tested the "no receipt no refund" policy a last month intentionally. I bought a $35 item (earbuds for my iPhone) and they didn't connect properly. I had the receipt but I wanted to see what would happen. They pulled it up with my credit card and cheerfully put the charge back on my card. I live in Oklahoma.
I also rave about their pharmacy. I fill a lot of prescriptions, and for every ten prescriptions I put on my Target Visa, they send me a 10% off card for a day of shopping. Some of my prescriptions were very expensive, and I used my 10% off card to fill those. For every $1,000 you spend on the card (one of my prescriptions was more than that) you also get a 10% off card. Essentially I made money on those prescriptions, because I paid less than the insurance copay. I have mad love for Target.
Target guest relations reiterated Target's policy
I love that line.
I had a problem with them once, and the clerk said, "Would you like to talk to a supervisor?" The supervisor listens, and then reiterates, word-for-word, what the clerk said. Robots would be cheaper.
Damn they gave you 90 days and this was a problem for you? We should be applauding target for giving people 90 days to return goods. Most stores are 30 days and some have 14 days on certain items. Target is definitely not in the wrong when they gave you 90 days.
I don't get it. Why is everyone so upset that he is returning it near the 90 mark. He didn't make the return time frame so long, THEY did. He is not doing anything inherently dishonest by trying to follow rules that Target set up.
I am hovering right around day 84 of a chair I need to return to IKEA (it broke). I just have not had time to make the trip out to the store. If they said 60 days, I would have returned it a while ago. Am I doing anything wrong?
Also, the person he spoke to was an agent for target, and thus Target should be bound by what he promised.
To the people who belly-ache about commenters pointing out that hey, maybe in this case or that the customer wasn't right, I have a newsflash: The world isn't black and white. There's such a thing as nuance; circumstance and ulterior motives are a fact of life. Companies may like to screw customers, but there are plenty of customers who cynically take advantage of loopholes (or just plain commit fraud) to get what they want.
This isn't a Comcast installer showing up drunk, a Verizon technician setting a house on fire, billing shenanigans from Sprint or a JetBlue stewardess refusing someone a bottle of water. This is a guy who allegedly had a camera so fundamentally flawed that it needed to be returned, but it somehow took him 90 days to come to that conclusion.
Something stinks, and yes, this time it may be "the victim."
Keeping a camera for more than 90 days before returning it doesn't bother me too much. Thinking he could get special treatment despite the well publicized return policy is what gets me. I don't care that he called and 'got permission.' What kind of fool would think a 20 second phone conversation with someone who may or may not be a supervisor would trump the company-wide policy?
I had a better experience with WalMart. My computer hung and bricked my Creative Zen. Walmart exchanged it even though it was past its exchance policy (just because we called the electronics department and someone agreed to exchange it anyways). So, here it is nearly two years later, and my second MP3 player is work great.
So was the broken light in the sign intentional? LOL
An employee may be an agent, HOWEVER, there is no proof of the offer by the employee.
There are a lot of these unsubstantiated claims made on the Consumerists. I am sure many are correct, but I must wonder about some of the claims, especially complaints such as this one.
This does feel like OP tried to rent a camera and failed. Like how can you not be able to return an item when they gave you 90 days, not to mention you know you are going to leave town. Being "busy" is just an excuse.
#4 is your problem... you were in Culver City! haha I used to live there. those Targets suck so bad and are so dirty and the people are really rude... its worth it to drive to a different location.
I have to side with Target on this one. Why would you think that they would extend this policy? Why? Why would you put your trust in an employee at the store level? Why would you think that they would even remotely have the power to circumvent a corporate policy?
Why would you keep a camera for 90 days and then return it? If it was obviously not to your satisfaction, then you shouldn't have kept it.
Did you just need it for a vacation or something?
I don't see Target as being the problem here. I see the problem being the employee who claimed to have the authority to change company policy by saying the item could be returned after the 90 return period.
The only mistake the OP made was believing the person he spoke with on the phone.
If this happened to me, I would spend some time tracking down the "Supervisor" I spoke with.
90 days? It's technology and loses its value VERY quickly. A new model is always around the corner.
Most stores have 30 days policy for electronics.
Target did screw up, but why would you hold on a camera you didn't want for TREE month. Unless you were ''renting'' it.
Question : does he has PROOF that he got authorization?
I've met a lot of customers that would bullshit reps with idiotic reasons.
''I've bought it here yesterday!'' when the store never sold the merchandise in the first place.
''I know the director here! He would do for me!'' screaming at director ;)
''But I have a warranty'' showing a mp3 dripping with water.
So if no proof is available, I'm with the store.
It's really not about proof, or the 90-day return policy itself. The article is about consumers calling up, asking about the policy, being told something somewhat specific, and having a different experience after they get off the phone.
Sure, knock our OP for his over-90-day-silliness. But he called. He should expect that the response he gets over the phone matches his experience in the store.
Come on folks, we're consumerists! Not conglomerists!
Well after all of the Wal-mart Coverage on here, Target wanted in some Publicity.