We get a lot of complaints about people buying things from stores like Best Buy and Target and finding that once they get them home — there’s a bunch of bathroom tiles in the box instead of the item, or that the item is used, broken or smashed. When they try to return the thing, the store tells them that they’re out of luck. When you ask why they think they can get away with selling you a paperweight instead of an XBOX, they point to some bullsh*t policy and send you on your way. You don’t have to put up with this. In this post, we’ll tell you a) How to keep this from happening to you in the first place. b) How to equip yourself with tools that will help you in the event that this does happen to you. c) How to take advantage of these tools so that you never get stuck with someone’s old broken PS3.
Part I: Preventing the old switcharoo.
You should always assume that the other customers are criminals and scammers, and the store’s employees are Al Capone. Why should you assume this? Because that’s what the store assumes about you. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.
That’s why you should you always take the following steps when making a major purchase.
1) Pay with a major credit card that offers purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
You may not like credit cards. In fact, you may hate them. In that case, consider a charge card. For the small annual fee, a charge card will offer you many of the same warranty protections that Best Buy and it’s ilk are trying to sell you. If you eventually enter into a dispute with the store, it pays to have someone on your side. Do you think Best Buy is going to argue with itself on your behalf just because you bought a warranty from them?
2) Open the box before you leave the store and inspect the item. If you find old phone books or a severed head instead of your new laptop, it will be easier for everyone if the store knows that there’s no possibility that you were the scammer/decapitator. Otherwise, they will assume that you are the guilty party and no amount of arguing will convince them otherwise.
3) Check to make sure the serial number on the item matches the serial number on your receipt. If it doesn’t, the store will assume that you are the one who switched the item. Again, do this before you leave the store so there can be no question about it.
Part II: Self-Defense Tools
Credit Cards: Buy large purchases with a major credit card or charge card that has “Purchase Assurance,” “Purchase Protection” and “Extended Warranty Protection.” Purchase Protection is usually a 90-day window in which loss from accidental damage and theft are covered by your credit card company, provided that you paid for the item with the card. Extended Warranty Protection extends the manufacturer’s warranty. These are both good things to have.
Paperwork: Keep your receipts. You’re probably saying “duuuuuuh,” but that’s only because you don’t read our tipline. Buy a folder. Get a magic marker and write RECEIPTS on it. Put your receipts in it. Put the folder in a safe place.
Camera: If you have a camera, take pictures of whatever goes wrong. Lots of pictures.
Part III: How to take advantage of these tools so that you never get stuck with a pile of crap.
Now, let’s say that for some reason or other you’ve still managed to get yourself into a pickle. You’ve bought a box full of bathroom tiles from Best Buy and they’re refusing to take it back.
1) Document everything. Take photographs of everything, save all the paperwork.
2) Contact your credit card company and report the fraud. Selling people boxes of bathroom tiles, or used, broken piles of crap instead of the real product is fraud. Fraud, fraud, fraud. It is not OK to sell fake stuff just because you are a multinational corporation and have a policy that says it’s not your fault. “Policies” do not supersede laws.
3) Consider reporting the incident to your state’s attorney general and/or department of consumer affairs. You may also want to inform the local police. It’s possible that whomever put a ringer in your box is committing some sort of systematic retail fraud, and your report may help the police to catch them.
If you’ve followed these steps, your credit card company should be able to issue a chargeback. That’s what happened with the real bathroom tile guy. There’s no reason why you should be any different.
Epilogue:
If all else fails, or you find yourself in a situation not covered here, consider small claims court. Small claims court can help you force a company to uphold a warranty, and they can help you recover damages if you’re unwittingly sold a used, defective, or broken product. Here’s a success story from one of our readers who sued Best Buy over a defective washer. Best Buy said it was their policy that they were not responsible for selling a broken washer because the consumer didn’t pay for their delivery service, but thankfully for our reader, policies aren’t laws.
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I was in the market for a mini stepper recently. I went to the local target and liked the one they displayed, but they only had one in stock. I opened the box and could tell it was obviously a return – didn’t even have the plastic wrap the items comes in. I refused to buy it and instead bought one online.
I don’t mind buying a used item – as long as I know I’m buying a used item. On major purchases at the big-box retailers, I always check the box before I buy to make sure I’m not paying the new price for a used item.
It may not get your money back, but contact the manufacturer of the
swapped product (the name/address/phone) on the box. Try and get
someone in Accounts Receivable, Quality or Senior Management of
Customer Service via phone or better mail. Let the know what you
thought you purchased (include UPC code/model number), where you
purchased it, and when you purchased it.
When Target or Best Buy or Wal Mart get the return the first time,
they charge their supplier with a return and then often put it back on
the shelf. They profit from it twice – once from the supplier with
the return charge (at cost) and once from the person who buys it a
second time with junk in the box (at full price).
If nothing else you may trigger an audit by the supplier that will put
pressure on the retailer.
I get my 82 year old granny to return items She loves fighting for an injustice and can out curse and swear the best sailor in the navy. She just gets plan pis*ed at store managers that come across as idiots.Comes down to Don’t Fu*K with an old person as they will rip out your guts and stomp on them and that is before lunch, she could be Dirty Harries side kick God do I love that woman.
@ DarrenO and a few others… While I agree we should all take the steps to protect ourselves, as a consumer I have the right to assume what is on the outside of the box is what’s inside.
Lets not forget the onus is on the company to ensure they have a rock solid return process. The should never put anything out on the floor without confirming the contents, and they should never take a return without examining the contents with the returnee present!
And you thought bricks in boxes was only found on 42nd street in Manhattan. Here tourist.. Here’s a $1000.00 camcorder for $200.00. How many tourists actually fell for it. You are now the proud owner of a $200.00 brick. Apparently sounds like the Best Buy business model.
@fonetek: That is a good one! That is the old “new stereo speakers” in a box being sold out of a white van at the gas station/rest stop by someone desperately needing the money or claiming to have made a five finger deal on the speaker set. This is the best way to spend $50, $100, etc on a couple of concrete blocks.
I do wonder if this is less now that people use debit cards more often and have less cash on them.
Cool. I know now what to do. Thanks Consumerist ( I am not the op just someone who is worried about this)
My friends are sometimes amazed at what I am able to get for free from places like AT&T and Directv by just asking for things. Especially when they screw up. But one thing I have learned and one thing I do every time I call anywhere is write everything they say down. I have a notebook (replace when filled) that I grab when I call anywhere. I write down everything. Who I talked to, how they are going to fix it, what they are going to give me, time, dates…everything. Even things we joke about during the call. If I haven’t gotten what I wanted or I don’t notice a fix on the next bill I have that handy dandy notebook.
You’ll be amazed at the power you have when you say I spoke with so and so at this time and they said this and this and this. They don’t expect people to be prepared or remember who they talked to.
I purchased a hard drive @ Best Buy one time, and even though I had been an employee in good standing w/ the company for years prior to the purchase, the manager called me a thief to my face. I contacted the manufacturer and they took care of it… Including billing Best Buy for their loss.
Just a little FYI about returning video games/DVD’s/CD’s or other software titles that most stores won’t accept once they have been opened. This happened to my roomate in college and we found an easy loop hole that doesn’t screw the consumer or the retailer (this is assuming the consumer isn’t making illegal copies of the media before it’s returned)
Anyway, my roomate purchased a crappy PC game at BB and took it home and tried to install it, but the game wouldn’t work on his computer (may have been a video card issue, i don’t know). He took the game back to BB and tried to return it, but they told him they don’t accept returns on opened media. He tried explaining to them his situation but to no avail. He came home and told me about his problem because he was pretty upset (college students have no money, so every little bit counts).
After a minute or so of talking to him, I glanced at the game box and suddenly figured out an easy solution. We went back to BB the next day and walked in. Every time you enter BB or any other big name retailer with a return item, they slap a little return price tag on it. Instead of walking over to the returns counter, we just headed over to the software area and casually switched the return price tag with the new price tag on an unopened copy of the game sitting on the shelf. Then we took the new, unopened game with the return price tag on it over to returns and my roomate got his $40 back just like that.
It’s always interesting to see how consumer laws are different across the world. Though these tips probably apply more or less to all countries in the world. To protect online shoppers of such an experience, there exists a law in Germany, that allows you turn back any item you bought online 14 days after the purchase for any reason you like or for no reason at all. Every online store must take it back. The big controversial subject is who pays the shipping fees for returning the item. The law originally stated that the consumer pays for items below 40 Euro and the store for all items more expensive than 40 Euro.
When you buy things offline in Germany, you can’t automatically turn them back, e.g. in case you don’t like them, though most stores will take them back within 14 days anyway (on a goodwill basis). However, if the product is broken, not as advertised or not the product you wanted to buy, you can always turn it back, the consumer laws demand so and no store policy can do anything about that. It’s up to the store to give you the money back or make sure you get a product that is working, exactly as advertised and exactly the product you wanted to buy (you can’t demand to get the money back – only if they can’t provide you with such an item). Still, good tips, even for German shoppers, as if the store refuses to take it back, you may have to sue them and if you bought offline, the burden of proof is usually at the customer (for online shopping, the burden of proof is usually always at the store).
I am getting the run around right now with Capcom and Fry’s Electronics because the Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition game I bought had no disk in it. The part that is going to screw me over is that I bought the game several months ago (over 90 days) and didn’t actually take the plastic off and open it until last sunday. So naturally they are assuming I am scamming them.
It’s now a $20 game. Why the hell would I risk getting arrested over a $20? They haven’t even taken into consideration the fact that I buy stuff there on almost a weekly basis.
Good times.
So… what does a store do when a customer comes in claiming they purchased a PS3 box full of bathroom tiles when the store knows there’s absolutely, positively no way it happened?
When I sold photo equipment, I used to open up the box so the customer could check out the exact item they were about to purchase (after they played with the demo, of course). I had one guy throw a fit that he didn’t want an item with a broken seal.
Interestingly enough, that particular model didn’t have a seal.
A few months back, I bought UPS for my computer at Staples. Since I had a $25 gift card that I was unable to use (there are no stores within my area, and Staples won’t take the GC online) I waited until I visited friends in a city about 60 minutes away. I bought the UPS from the clearance self, but it looked sealed. Well, a few weeks later, I decided to install it. I opened it up and it was not only not the correct UPS, but it was non-functioning as well. Since some time had elapsed and I couldn’t find my receipt… and I wasn’t going to drive a minimum of 45 minutes one way to the closest store, I figured I was just SOL. I finally found the receipt and plan an EECB to see if I can get my money back…
Many a year ago, I bought a Toad the Wet Sproket CD while I was in Canada. It took 6 weeks to travel back to Aus with a CD that I couldn’t play (my CD walkman decided to crap out that morning), and when I got home, I found out it was a mislabeled Foreigner CD. I wrote WB Music, and lo and behold I got a new CD within a week – not quite a box of rocks, but still proof that speaking up works.
Really great article and information.
One last thing that I’ve found that helps is to compare the shrink wrap on the items on the shelf. If one has different shrink wrap, it’s likely a return at best or “crap in a box” at worst.
It’s still a good idea to check the contents but checking this can reduce the chance that you’ll have to even deal with a “box of crap”. ;^)
btw, attempting to pry open a product in the store BEFORE you purchase it is a great way to meet store security and/or get kickbanned from coming in. Not a great idea.
Well, in the case of a company losing money, it would be cheaper in the long run to just inspect returns when returned and take down personal information (preferably from a driver’s license or I.D.) at the time or return. Also, spot checks are something a lot of companies are supposed to perform, where a stock manager goes and opens a select number of products upon receipt of merchandise from a supplier and insures that the products are in working order. This doesn’t insure that every product received works, but it at least cuts down on fraud by employee’s.
Spot checks should be performed more than once, but trying to get a company like Best Buy or Target who get’s such large orders to do that is kind of hard, especially considering that mos t of them are connected to warehouses where they store things, and merchandise is moved around by fork-lift.
I want to point out, I have never stolen anything from a store in my life, and it’s rather insulting to be called a thief for returning something that I did not tamper with/break. I’ve had a couple of companies (Creative comes to mind) who wanted me to pay a replacement fee, even though the product I bought from Walmart was faulty, and had a mass recall because it was defective. I’ve since then decided that if I buy something and it’s faulty, I’ll take it to a repair shop and have someone certified verify that it’s the companies mistake, not mine. Also very good advice when buying electronics.
And as far as UPS, FedEx, and DHL are concerned, I’d always make them wait while I open what i bought. I’ve known some people who worked for these companies and admit to stealing merchandise, so if something valuable is being delivered, you had better check it out before you sign.
As for Customer Service at Circuit City, I bought a laptop from them, and purchased the extended four year warranty. The laptop crapped out after a year. I sent it in, they couldn’t fix it, or replace the parts that failed, so they sent me a return of the full price of the laptop on a gift card. I went to the store, and the card they sent me through the mail didn’t work. They refused to call customer service at the store. They claimed it was too late in the day. I called on my cell. I spoke to an English speaking person of the Hindu persuasion, who basically told me the card had the full amount, and either their reader was broken, or they were completely BSing because they could enter the digits on the back of the card, and charge the card that way. They told me they couldn’t. I asked to speak to a manager. Turned out I was already speaking to him. I complained. I called customer service again, and spoke to a corporate service representative. I’m absolutely positive the guy got fired, ’cause I’ve been back and he has never even shown his face again. I went to another Circuit City and bought my new computer without any problems. I only wish they’d reimburse me for gas.
I’ve also had F.Y.E. tell me to my face that I must have stolen a PSP game because I made the mistake of not checking, and they didn’t put the game in the box. I didn’t ever get it resolved, mainly because the game was used, and I didn’t feel like arguing over 15 bucks. I argued as long as I did because I was being accused of a crime I hadn’t committed.
And in all actuality, they can’t arrest or ban you for opening a product to inspect the contents, so long as it’s not a perishable product. So, opening a CD, or electronics box is alright so long as you don’t steal anything. The best thing to do in any case is find the nearest video camera, stand in front of it, and open what you plan to purchase. Then they can’t say you were stealing.
“Besides, that is why stores ask for addresses and phone at POS and ID on returns.”
One problem I do not give my address or phone number ever for normal purchases and I will not even give my name (none of there business)
I also NEVER carry and will NEVER show “ID” in any form. I do not even have any form of ID. While I do have a Driver’s License thats not ID. thats a License to drive and it is used ONLY for that purpose and banking purposes and its LEFT in the car where it belongs. I never ever carry it on me.
I always buy anything I am not willing to eat on a credit card and if I have a problem I just dispute the charge. Its that simple. I will win. Period.
@Nerys: What happens when you get murdered and dumped in a ditch? How are they even going to know who you are? Don’t you watch CSI, or Law & Order, or… anything?
This happens mostly by people working in the Distribution Center I have apprehend people doing this type of thing, they switch the merchandise out and take home the goods and when it gets to the store no one checks. I have also found a person in our undercover security doing the same thing in the stores.
The Stores usually know that it happened in the store but don’t want to take the loss.
A million years ago, I bought a tape (you know…music before CDs…) at a place in Canada. When I got out to my car to listen to it, there was no ‘tape’ in the cassette. The casing was there, but no ‘musical tape’ inside the casing. I took it back in, and what a hastle! Did they really think in 5 minutes I took the tape apart, put it in another casing, put it back together again, and retured it? Needless to say, this music chain no longer exists.
I worked at Ritz Camera for over 5 years… and I totally agree with everything here.
1.) If you are buying a camera and are not familiar with cameras, have the sales person open the box and set the camera up for you. That way you know what is in the box and what it all does. And the salesman knows that you won’t be coming back saying that something is missing or not working.
2.) Check the serial numbers. I agree with this so much. When a customer returns a camera (or anything else) the salesman is supposed to check the serial just to protect the store from fraud. They rarely do this, especially at busy stores. Check the serial for yourself just in case no one else did. Otherwise you may end up with a damaged or DOA device.
3.) USE A CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD!!!!! Look, I prefer to use cash. I can keep up with the money I spend better and I don’t owe anyone anything. The problem is that stores often don’t give cash refunds. They may not even have that much cash in the store. You may get stuck with a gift card or having to wait for a corporate refund check to come in the mail. If you pay with plastic, your money refunded right then or that night when the computers post. Same thing goes with paying by check. (Who the hell still uses checks?)
4.) Protect yourself first. Ask a ton of questions about the return policy. Know what you may come up against in the case of a problem.
5.) Trust your gut. If you don’t trust the guy, don’t buy from him.
I bought a spiffy new Sony CyberShot at Best Buy a few years ago the night before I left on a week-long trip to Yellowstone. I also purchased an SD card so I could store lots and lots of pictures of deer and bison on it. Much to my chagrin, I got home and realized that someone had very carefully cut open the blister pack, taken the chip, and put it back on the rack. Since the store was closed, and my flight was at 6am, I decided to return it when I got home.
Well, the people at customer service told me point blank that since I had waited a week after my purchase to come in, there was no way they could prove it was their fault and nothing they could do. I had to pitch a huge fit and point out to the manager that since I had been hundreds of miles from a Best Buy the entire time, there was no way I could have attempted to fix the situation sooner. I hate being *that* customer, since I worked as a cashier/customer service rep all through college, but I know managers can do whatever they want, despite what they may tell you. Eventually, a more sympathetic manager came by and gave me my money back.
I purchased an electric heated blanket from walmart (howell mill rd, Atlanta, ga). I bought a King size mattress.
went home, opened the transparent zippered bag to find a Twin sized used, dirty blanket.
took it back to the store the next day and asked for a replacement. Not return, i just wanted a blanket i had paid for.
the cashier called a manager (Billy) who informed me that Walmart does not return blankets (LIE). then went on to say that I had replaced the balnket and hence accusing me of theft and fraud. I asked to see his superior. he went into his “office” and didnt come out again.
Another manager came and when she heard my story, asked the cashier to give me the cash refund. and politely asked me to go and select another item. I told her that i didint wish to shop at the store any more until Billy apologized to me for humiliating me and calling me a thief in front of other employees and customers waiting in line at the Cust. Serv. center. He never came out but did peek out so check if i had left already… I jotted down the name and phone number of the store manager with full intent of reporting him. I even called the store later to check if the store manager and billy were both present, but i didn’t do it. I figured he may have just had a bad day, and didnt want to get him fired over this. I work in a large retail store, and such an offense would have resulted in immediate termination of the said Billy.
My understanding of my store’s policy is that even if I am a 101% sure that he/she is a thief, I may not call him that.
This is where stores get screwed by having lazy customer service employees. All high end merchandise returns should opened and checked-I can’t tell you how many times I opened a box and saw a beat up old game system in a brand new box. And I’ll never understand why stores prefer to sacrifice store security just so a customer can walk up and grab a product that costs hundreds of dollars. It’s ridiculous.
get it fingerprinted
While I was unemployed, I would hit flea markets, garage sales and craigslist for items that were sold at Costco. It was better if they were broken as they would be cheaper and much easier to return. I was making an extra $2K a month doing this.
How about this one, don’t purchase items in retail stores! Best buy sucks! Anything you can find in a retail store for “cheap” can be found online for the same price or even cheaper.