Target Has 79-Year-Old Taken In For Mental Evaluation After She Demanded Cash Refund
79-year-old Christina Brown had a sales receipt and bank records showing that Target had taken cash from her bank account, but the retailer refused to give her a cash refund -- offering a gift certificate instead. Christina refused. She wanted her money, and said she'd stay at the Target all day if she had to, but she wasn't leaving without $30. Target told her she was trespassing and that they would call the police. Christina said that was fine with her and called 9-1-1 herself. When the police arrived, Target had Ms. Brown hauled out of the store on a stretcher and taken via ambulance to a hospital for a mental evaluation. Does wanting a cash refund mean you're potentially mentally ill?
"If they thought I was a cranky old biddy, they should just have given me my money and let me go," Christina told the Star-Tribune. "I paid in good faith, and I wanted my money back. That's all. It's the principle."
"They can put you in jail for this," she says a cop told her. "Well, I've got nothing else to do today," she replied. "Besides, I may meet a better class of people in jail."
The store wouldn't budge. Christina wouldn't bend. A stretcher was brought in.
Christina was strapped to it, and taken by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center. Her physical and mental health was supposed to be evaluated.
Attention shoppers: You won't take a gift certificate? You must be nuts.
"They thought I was loony or something," Christina says, her voice still incredulous. "That's the real crazy thing. I just wanted my money."
In the emergency room, they looked her over and sent her home that day. She seemed to be an elderly lady who was upset. From Christina's account, she also seemed to have a good reason.
Target's Fransen says store employees were concerned for her health.
"It's not anything she did," he said. "Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself."
Perhaps, so. But this could be one case where three $10 bills would have done a lot more -- and done it more cheaply -- than an ambulance ride to a hospital.
Christina Brown wants an apology, she wants her money (including getting her medical bills from the unexpected hospital trip paid), and she wants this: "I want the staff trained in how to treat customers."
Christina won't get to help train them. Target signed a trespassing order against her, meaning she will be arrested if she returns to the Plymouth SuperTarget.
That, friends, won't be a problem.
"I wouldn't go back to that store if everything in it was free," she says. "If they're waiting to see me again, they're waiting for a cold day in hell."
'Cranky' lady tangled with 'Mr. Nasty’ [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: spinadelic )
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Sure they were concerned. The customer is old, so we can say she's senile! What a *cop* out.
This is a first. However, if she was screaming and carrying on then she might have needed to be evaluated.
I am sure there is more behing this story....
Target can take money from your bank account? I'm confused here. Did she pay with a debit card or something?
Now she'll have more people to sue.
Wow. I'm kinda surprised that the woman didn't tell the officer to arrest the cashier for stealing her money.
Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself
Ah yes. They did it for her good. Not theirs. Pricks.
Target employees are the last people who should be questioning the mental competency of others.
Target's stupid check return policy is the reason I don't shop there anymore. I needed to make a legitimate return on a Polaroid mp3 player (what a piece of shiznizz) and they made me what 3 weeks to get my damned money back. It took like 3 or 4 days for my check to clear and they still made me wait so I haven't been back since and that was almost a year ago.
-- Julie A Frates
gc3160 --
Uh, Target can't put anyone on a psych hold. The police must have requested it.
Corporations throwing their customers in jail. Welcome to modern America.
And thanks to the posters above me who blame the consumer first.
After reading the story:
She paid by check.
Target electronically withdrew the funds the next day, but won't refund a check purchase until after 7 days.
Old lady had proof the cash was gone from her account and wanted the cash back.
Target said "suck it."
Corporate Feudal State.
this old woman is awesome.
Yeah I kinda have to say she must have been throwing a shit fit - they wouldn't have taken her away on Target's orders. That being said, if Target refused to refund my money, I'd throw a shit fit too.
Please don't turn this into America sucks, corporations run the world thread. 99 times out of 100, you get your refund. Consumerist posts about the 1 time you don't, for awareness and to help the OP get her money back through making it a public issue.
Lets not get out of control here.
Sadly, calling the police and the ambulance cost taxpayers several hundred dollars. Please send the bill to Target.
Ref: Does wanting a cash refund mean you're potentially mentally ill?
No, shopping at Target does.
That is messed up. I would also be interested to know if there was more to this story though.
As a paramedic Im curious as to why that ambulance crew actually transported her. To me she appears to be awake and alert to herself and not acting crazy. Once I heard her story and she said I dont want to go I would have said sign this refusal and good luck getting your money.
There is some bad repercussions for taking someone against their will;it's considered kidnapping.
Interesting story, but it's misleading. Target can't have anyone mentally evaluated. They call the police; the police decide what to do. The lady came into Target, didn't get what she wanted, and refused to leave. What else is Target to do but to call the police? This article mislead people into thinking Target was trying to hush up the little people when all it did was provide a safe and peaceable shopping environment for its paying customers.
@Bladefist: It is more that corporations do whatever they want with little repercussion. America just happens to facilitate such an atmosphere.
@Bladefist: Bladefist, I am as patriotic as you are, but there's really something fishy going on these days.
Just the other day, my flight was cancelled and I went to baggage claim to get my luggage back. While on line, I was having a private conversation with my girlfriend who was standing next to me. Next thing I know, the baggage agent (this was Continental Airlines by the way) leaned over the counter and informed me if I continued to use "curse words" (I was not cursing, besides it was a private conversation not intended to be overheard by a third party) she would call the TSA Police on me.
Now, keep in mind, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in one case that airport terminals are public places. The Supreme Court has also ruled in another case that "curse words" are protected speech under the 1st Amendment.
So here we have a minimum wage earning corporate employee determining what rights I have and do not have under the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court be damned.
I spoke with Continental "customer care" and they told me that this employee was not following company protocol. I sure hope that is true.
Smithers: Sir! I'm so sorry my grocer committed you. We'll never shop there again!
Next time she shows up she'll be given a free water-boarding class.
Let's can the political rants, folks.
Ugh. People, at least click and read the full story on the Star-Tribune's website before making stupid comments.
She paid by check. Target wanted to make sure her check cleared the bank before it gave her money back. That much is reasonable.
I used to work the return desk at Target for two years in college and we had plenty of unreasonable "guests" demand things. The computer undoubtedly told the employee she couldn't have a refund because the seven days hadn't elapsed yet. Fine. Employees can't just can't out cash.
BUT, I agree that once she produced the bank statement showing the money had been taken out of her account, a manager (Guest Service Team Leader or "GSTL" in Targetspeak) should have made an exception to keep the guest happy. That's just good business--even at Target. And, really, what's your alternative in most cities? Wal-Mart? God help us all.
Nice. There has to be a little more to this than is being told, because my partner is a licensed paramedic... anyone who is not in a life-threatening state and who is alert and oriented can refuse transport and treatment. Target certainly cannot compel anyone to accept transport to the ER, and if the police did so without due cause they're open to a lawsuit.
I'm thinking there is more to this story than what is told. But piecing together what is told, she paid with a check. She couldn't get her money back due to policies that Target set. These policies were set by the company for a reason. There probably was no way to override the system. Now she could have waited, or she can throw a shit fit, make a scene and think that rules don't apply to her.
Honestly, I'm tired of stories like this when we only hear one side of the story. The customer claims they were "angelic" and nothing was wrong with them, when in some cases, you know the opposite is true.
@baristabrawl: Right- I've never seen younger people screaming and hollering at the Target customer service representatives.
This is completely ridiculous. Target has a published return policy for checks. It doesn't matter that the money had been removed from her bank already, it's not up to Targets employees to inspect and evaluate her bank statements. Unless the stated period for check returns had passed, she had absolutely no right to go in making demands and refusing to leave. Beyond that, the headline is very deceptive because, as stated above, Target doesn't get to have people "mentally evaluated". They call the police, they make that decision. It's just like the fact that people don't get to "file criminal charges" against another. They can file a police report, but the DA/Prosecutor actually makes the decision whether or not to file criminal charges.
This return policy doesn't seem unreasonable (after all, they're not obligated to even have a return policy).
It was probably also clearly posted at the customer service desk near the store entrance, as it is at every Target I've ever visited.
Do you know how many scams are centered around the float period of checks? Sounds like they offered her a gift card as an alternative to waiting the 7 days. If someone paid me with a check and then wanted cash for a return before I saw the money in my account, I don't care what documents they were waiving at me. They'd be waiting until I saw the money in MY account.
So apparently Target was following their policy to ensure that they didn't get stiffed and have to pass on that charge to other customers. Just because the money had been taken from the customers account does not mean that Target has / will have the money. Besides, how does the wage slave at Target know that's a legit statement? I could easily doctor up a bank statement and try the same thing - if I still used cheques for anything.
As for having the woman removed, that is indeed a Police matter and Target does have the right to ask the woman to leave their property, for Paramedics to take her indicates an actual situation where she was in distress (mental or physical). I sense there is more to this story.
Seriously, Target's return policies are there to protect them (and their customers, by extension) from fraud. It's too bad that the average employee or manager can't override company policies, but they want to keep their jobs as well.
It's not about consumers' rights to whatever they want, but consumer's rights to be treated well and you get what you give.
@Bladefist: Are you high? There's so much wrong with your comment that, if you're not a shill, I'd suggest a psychiatric evaluation, because your brain is ba-roken.
That said, this women is totally awesome and, from everything I see, handled the situation perfectly. If I were her, I'd be wondering who to sue first -- Target or the police, since neither had the slightest reason for imprisoning her, publicly humiliating her, and forcing her to rack up medical bills with no cause.
As to the principle? She's dead on. They don't have a problem *taking* your money on the spot, so they'd better not have a problem giving it back on the spot either. I won't take check or gift-card refunds either (gift card refunds! Refunds you can only spend at that store! That is the most INSULTING thing I think I've ever heard of), and moreover, I can't imagine why ANYONE would patronize a store that they knew wouldn't give a fair refund. That's, like, the backbone of fair dealing!
The "involuntary commitment" standard is incredibly high, being transported somewhere against your will only slightly less so. I kinda doubt she was strapped on kicking and screaming to a gurney. But clearly there's more to this story than has been told. Where's that security footage when you need it?
Honestly. I've had MANY customers that needed to be thrown into a paddy wagon. But this woman doesn't sound like one of them.
...Target did not act right, and they persecuted her for wearing an eyepatch and a leg brace. Decent people wouldn't pay much mind to that, since it's not polite to stare. But these stupid employees went ahead and decided to hurt her. All they had to do was ask a few questions, you know simple customer service crap and that's that.
@: "These policies were set by the company for a reason."
It makes me BLUE WITH RAGE when people use that as some kind of justification for bad behavior on the part of a business. So, what? Anything they SAY they do, it's okay for them to do? Do you remember the "no coloreds" policy? Was that okay? I mean, surely that policy "was set by the company for a reason".
The reason, and the validity of it, MATTERS, and it's not up to a company to make up whatever rules benefit them most and then force their customers to abide by them as though it's absolute law. It's not law, it IS subject to law, and moreover your "policies" mean exactly as much as MY policies, or those of anyone else. A corporation is nothing more than people, and it has no more rights over others than people do.
So Target has a "policy". Big deal. So does this lady -- she has a policy that she will not accept check or, gods forbid, gift card refunds for money she's already given them. Your statement that Target's policy is somehow more legitimate than hers is complete sheep-minded turd-jerky.
"ZERO POLICY TOLERANCE"
@Mary Marsala with Fries: Are you out of your mind? Sue for what. "She wanted her money, and said she'd stay at the Target all day if she had to, but she wasn't leaving without $30." In the words of Maddox, civil disobedience is still disobedience. She may have been standing up for what she believes in, but just because her cause is noble, doesn't mean she wasn't breaking the law by refusing to leave. Therein lies the problem. I sympathize with her ordeal, but they have every right to ask a customer to leave and call the police when they don't.
In Consumerist's defense it does read like Target employees asked that she be evaluated:
"It's not anything she did," he said. "Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself."If taking her to the hospital was the cop's idea, why it Target taking credit for it?
@Rectilinear Propagation: Fair enough, but until I see footage of exactly what happened I won't make a judgment on whether that was justified
@The Count of Monte Fisto: Yes it's reasonable but if you still want cash for the check I accepted and you won't leave my property, what do I do? Give you milk and cookies and a blankie until your check clears?
information on why she was demanding money would be helpful I think.