Consumerist
Target doesn't accept returns without receipts to keep criminals at bay, but Chrissy recently discovered that their policy also extends to wedding registry gifts. Chrissy and her husband ended up with several duplicate gifts when Target failed to keep track of her registry. Chrissy didn't want a refund or cash, just store credit, but Target refused to consider any proffer until Chrissy provided receipts. One manager even urged Chrissy to call her wedding guests to ask for their receipts, because in Target's book, that's not extraordinarily rude or anything.
She writes:
As a long time fan of Target, I am absolutely disappointed about their new "return" policy. I couldn't wait for the day to get married, and with regards to this letter, couldn't wait to open a Target wedding registry of my own! Only to find out Target has become completely untrusting of their customers and treat us as if we're thieves! We sent our wedding guests almost exclusively to our Target registry, which malfunctioned, and now we have duplicate sets of gifts that we cannot return.Lesson learned: don't use Target for your wedding registry.When we attempted to return them, and showed how the gift registry malfunctioned, they insisted that it was our guests' responsibility to attach a gift receipt & accepted no fault. Of course, since our guests were purchasing from a wedding registry they trusted, none of the guests attached a receipt. Not to mention it looks pretty tacky to tape on a receipt to an expensive, nicely wrapped gift. So the manager suggested we go back to our guests and ask for a receipt so that we can return their gift. We felt that would be very rude to do to our guests, and just do not feel comfortable disappointing people like that, especially after they spent so much money on a gift they thought we would love. The manager also told us "that's the point of a registry, to get what you want" - Of course! But that doesn't mean we need two croquet sets, two coffee makers or two wine racks! We felt we were being very reasonable, we didn't even want cash back; we would gladly accept store credit.
To top things off, I received a wok in the mail that became damaged during shipment. It came wrapped in target paper, included target shipping paperwork, and all we wanted was to exchange it for a non-damaged wok or receive store credit. They still proceeded to tell us that we needed a gift receipt, and refused to return it for us until we talked to upper management. The whole process took over 30 minutes!
We have received over $1000 in gifts from our Target registry, and if we would have known about this absurd return policy, we would have stayed with Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy's, both of which have no problem with satisfying their registry customers. I do wedding photography for a living and talk with brides on a daily basis, I'm warning everyone to stay clear of Target's wedding registry. I hope Target realizes quick what they are doing to some of their biggest fans.
Target, it's a sad day for you when people feel more welcome at Walmart than your store.
Ex-Customer of Vero Beach Target,
Chrissy
PREVIOUSLY: Target: No Receipt, No Returns. Period.
Target Revises Return And Exchange Policy: Items With No Receipt Worth
(Photo: imasuperhero)
Comments
I'm getting married and I refuse to register at Target because of their ridiculous return policy. If they can't get their registry to prevent duplicates, the couple shouldn't be punished because guests inadvertently buy them duplicate gifts.
Bed Bath and Beyond will actually allow you to return items on your registry for outright cash. I just wish Target would get their act together so we could register for more low-priced items and basics that we can't get at BBB. Too bad registering at Walmart sounds so ghetto.
What a shame. I hope Target gets upset about the bad publicity and fixes this problem for her.
I registered at Target, and their system does not work - gifts that were purchased did not come off. Luckily my local store was a bit more understanding; apparently other brides had the same issue.
same thing happened to my friend...
My best friend is getting married this year. She and her fiancee live in California, but her family is in Texas and her parents wanted to throw a shower for her there. When she explained this to the bridal registrars at Macy's and Target, she was told that she could receive gifts in Texas, return them to the Macy's and Target stores in Texas and them re-buy them in California. Awkward, I know, but it allowed her family and friends to buy real gifts instead of gift cards and saves her from having to ship the gifts across the country.
The shower was beautiful and afterwards I helped her haul the loot to Macy's and Target to get store credits.
The Macy's transaction was effortless and wonderful - they even transported her gifts from the receiving area to the third floor registry desk. Very helpful! The returns went off without a hitch and she had a Macy's gift card in about 15 minutes, along with a printout of the items she returned so she could re-buy them in California. We went to Target with similar expectations.
We entered the store with a printout from the Target website that had a list of the gifts that had been purchased at Target for her. We took this along with the gifts to the customer service desk. The Target experience was a world away from the care we received at Macy's! She didn't have receipts for any of the items as her guests simply forgot to ask for gift receipts. Target flat-out refused to accept the items for in-store credit. When she showed them the exact correlation between the gifts she was returning and the printout from their website, they still wouldn't budge. She called customer service, and they refused. She escalated to a supervisor, and he was rude to her and also refused to help. She called the Club Wedd department, and they were zero help, didn't apologize and basically told her it's her fault for not telling the guests to bring receipts.
After over an hour of dealing with two in-store employees and three phone representatives, she was in tears and vowed to cancel her Club Wedd registry and stick exclusively with Macy's. As it would be far more expensive to ship the bulky and heavy items than to re-purchase them, she is probably going to donate them to a women's charity and re-buy them in California (but not at Target!).
Bottom line - unless you want to nag every single one of your guests to include a gift receipt with their present, away from Target's Club Wedd!
Target, please. PLEASE don't Wal-Mart yourself!!!! Stop this ridiculousness!
Just wanted to echo how great Macy's is at this sort of thing. We had a number of returns of gifts off our registry (registered for china, didn't get quite enough to justify keeping it, so we returned what we got for other, more useful things). The Macy's workers were great, and we had no problems. They actually went above-and-beyond, allowing us to retroactively add a number of items to the registry after the fact so we could still get the completion discount. They even let us in on the dates of their upcoming sales so we could hold off buying certain items until they were cheaper. All around, just great customer service.
We had also registered at Linens 'n Things -- they were not so great. Let's just say I was happy to see the bankruptcy report on Consumerist this morning.
Geez, you try to register for things keeping in mind your guests' various budgets. You register at an ENORMOUS NATIONAL CHAIN because guests coming from anywhere in the US can go there and shop! And then silly crap like this happens. I recommend Macy's. The folks we dealt with for our October 2005 wedding couldn't have been nicer. Your guests can shop online or in the store. Prices are decent and they have sales all the time. After the wedding, they'll give you 10% off any unpurchased items on your registry. AND a gift card depending on how many things were bought off your registry!
I deleted my entire registry at Target as soon as word got out that they were planning on making receipts mandatory for EVERYTHING, including registry gifts.
I'm now really glad I did, since this is exactly what I figured would happen.
My huge family would have loved to buy all of my stuff there, but I told them why they couldn't, and so now Target lost out on some big money, especially since I'm sure I'm not the only one to wipe their registry.
Way to go Target! You saved money on that $50 scammy return, in exchange for a thousand or so in real sales.
that is why Bed, Bath and Beyond is the best...you get cash for any gift off of your registry
As of late, I have been less and less impressed with my former favorite store...
Yet another nail in the coffin for them.
Not a wedding registry problem, but I once tried to return a boom box as its performance was quite lackluster and not all worth thew price. When I tried to return it, their staff told me that it was considered "music" and not electronics and was subject to their no return if opened policy. I argued, but then went to another store and returned it at a later date. It has since kept me from buying anything of value from Target for years now.
Oh, and I think the real jist of this story is that weddings are more of a pain than their worth...
:)
(Yes, 99.999999999% of men think this very thing! :))
Folloow-up.... I really hate not being able to edit my comments. For the record, it should be they're, not their...
ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!!!!
Follow up, not folloow-up......
ARRRGGGGGGGG!!!!
glad i registered at Bed Bath and Beyond. There even gifts that where not bought there but that they had in stock we where given store credit for. And gifts that where on our registry but we got duplicates or wanted to return we got CASH for.
It's true, Target's gift registry system doesn't work. I was going to my friend's sister's wedding and I ended up buying the same gifts as the bride's mother -- TWICE! All because the gift registry system is BROKEN! I'm normally a great Target fan, but they really need to relax the policy in regards to the registry.
Of course, on the other hand, thieves did probably take advantage of the lax policy in relation to the gift registry, so I suppose that's who we have to thank.
When I got married three years ago, Target was the first place I registered at, but after less than a month of having a registry, I noticed about 1/2 of my items started showing up as "not available online or in store." (And I had plenty of things on my list.) They go through their stock waaaay too fast for a registry, in my opinion. So I switched to Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy's and couldn't have been happier.
Now that we're having a baby, people keep asking me where I'm registering and I'm definitely skipping Target not only because they don't keep anything in stock and don't take things off registries once people buy them for you, but because of this new poorly thought out return policy. NO THANK YOU.
@ahempton: Of course, on the other hand, thieves did probably take advantage of the lax policy in relation to the gift registry, so I suppose that's who we have to thank.
True, but I'm not a thief, and don't want to be treated like one when I go to return something that I received twice because of Target's mistake.
Same story here. Target didn't get our business either because of all this "show your receipt or you're a thief" approach to returns. Guess it's a lose lose situation for everybody really. Target aren't the brain surgeons of retail, I can assure you. I worked there once upon a time.
The only thing Target is good for is hand-made pizza flown in from Italy for <$5... I've been reading that many suppliers would much rather deal with Wal-Mart than Target due to Target's PITA "Reverse-auction" bidding process.
WHY would ANYONE register at Target. They carry junk, their stores are among the WORST run, and the CS is poor. The have well lit aisles of NOTHING. Every time you go to one of their store, bank on a 20 minutes wait or more at the checkout line as they have 1 register open. The clothes they sell there fall apart, and most of what they carry is junk
Is this a new development? I got married in 2004 and was warned by others that Target applied their strict recipt requirements even to gift registries so we did not register at Target.
Also, Target no longer looks up your info with a credit card...if you don't have the receipt, tough-fucking-luck!
That and if you buy an item at, lets say, $35, and it decreases to $25 by the time you return it...you get $25 = yes, within 30 days and with a receipt. It doesn't work the other way around though...
Ironically, when I bought a Zune at Wal-Mart, they said that if I provide my name and phone number, they can log the purchase so that I can return it even if I loose the receipt.
@freejazz38: Because there are people who are very aware of differences in budgets. I know alot of couples who register at Target and then Saks or Nordstroms.
I am going to be sensitive to everyone's budgets. I am not going to register anywhere. I will have a "No gifts, please" policy. Just come and have a great time. If they must do something, then I will tell them I would prefer them to make a donation to Kiva. I respect the process and will use it if I must, but registering for gifts puts a bad taste in my mouth.
I love Target, but this story doesn't bode well for their reputation. Luckily when I got married two years ago, we used Amazon's registry and requested Target and Home Depot Gift Cards through it.
Recent Target return story:
I ordered 4 Comforter sets from target.com (one reason to qualify for free shipping, second reason to see them in person), knowing I could return three of them at my local Target store.
I loaded 3 of the sets into my car and made sure that I had my packing slip in hand.
While waiting in the CS line, I started to read my Target.com packing slip, and just about choked when I read, "THIS PACKING SLIP CANNOT BE USED TO RETURN PRODUCTS TO A TARGET STORE. Please log on to target.com to request a return authorization..."
Luckily, the woman at the counter was an example of the perfect CS employee, and said, "No problem...we can look up the purchase with your credit card". She saved my sanity that day!
I guess we got lucky. My wife and I registered exclusively at Target to be convenient for our guests last Summer, *right* before this draconian return policy was instituted. The registry worked just fine and we received no duplicate items. We did end up having to return/exchanging a couple items for various reasons (damaged, wrong color, etc.) and we had no issues doing so without receipts because we had a printout of the registry to show.
I guess you can't do that anymore, which is a very crappy move by Target. I'm glad we were more fortunate.
My spouse was invited to a baby shower and was told that the Mother to be was registered at Target. We went in, pulled a printout and picked up several items. Not to play "Blame the consumer" here, but it is plainly stated on the printout one can get at the store that in order to process a return, the Bride or Mother to be needs to have the gift receipt. And at our local store, they print that receipt automatically so that you don't even have to ask for it.
The baby registry sucks, too. My friend was stuck with lots of duplicates because of the "no receipt, no return" policy. We tell everyone not to register at Target.
I worked at Target in my teenage years and I am sorry about their return policy, but I am sorry, bad consumers have effed it up. Consumers have shown that when corporations have generous return policies, they get abused, maybe these few rotten apples ruin the bunch, but I am sorry, I don't think its unreasonable to want a receipt. Who doesn't put a receipt with a gift, Target will give you a gift receipt, its easy and not a big deal. Sorry, i think this chicks just a little bit on the whinny side.
@LUV2CattleCall: That info is inaccurate. I just last week returned an item and had them look up the purchase with my credit card.
As for the lowest price, they couldn't get away with that. Unless there is stipulated wording put out specifically on receipts and posted, they have no legal ground to do so.
I've been to more than a dozen weddings in the last three years, so I've gotten quite familiar with the registry process from the guests' side. I usually get a gift receipt and tuck it into the bottom of the box, just in case. I think it's practical -- what if the gift is defective in some way?
That being said, I do think it's ridiculous to require a receipt when the registry obviously indicates that it was a gift bought at Target. Wanting to exchange for store credit is very reasonable.
Sadly, I'm surprised it has taken 3-4 months for this issue to show up. Target has long been known for not correctly updating their registtied - one of many reasons my husband & I did not register there when we were married 5 years ago.
@littlemoose: Actually, you're both right - sort of.
Target will look up a transaction purchased on a credit card, but only once per six month period per customer.
@MARTHA__JONES:
At least in North Texas Target stores, this also isn't the case. They will use credit, debit, gift cards or check information (basically anything that's not cash) to find a receipt, and will do this as many times as you need. We've returned several things using nothing more than our debit card(s) without a problem.
I shop at Target at least once a week for household items, casual clothes, etc.... and never ONCE have I had an issue with them looking up a receipt for me when I need to return or exchange, even on purchases where I've used a split payment method of part cash, part Visa-check-card. I end up returning/exchanging at least once a month and have experienced zero issues.
Target is one of my favorite places to shop, and I feel like their merchandise is well-designed and well-priced. And their customer service people are usually EXTREMELY helpful at my local stores.
That said, i was married March 8th and my fiance and I chose NOT to register at Target even though we love the store, simply because of their lousy registry return policies. Target lost out on thousands of dollars from our families and friends. Bed Bath and Beyond and Home Depot are our favored registry vendors and we've had no problems thus far.
Looks like it's time to use those Linens'n'Things gift cards, though! Thanks, Consumerist, for the tip-off!
@wesmills:
I should add that I'm in North Texas (Dallas) too.
This exact thing happened to me, but with a baby registry in the fall. I will never register with Target again and I urge all my many, many pregnant or engaged friends to steer clear. I very much loved Targer prior to this. Even after emailing corporate, the only answer I ever got was "ask people for the receipts." I didn't want to do that because it's rude and tacky. Nice job, Target!
My wife and I registered at Target for our wedding in March and we had the same horrific experience. We received a $110 comforter off of our registry and we did not receive a receipt AND the registry was not checked off. The manager told us we needed to contact the gift giver and get a receipt as well, absolutely ridiculous. I tell everyone I know to NOT register at Target for their wedding.
@rellog: @MARTHA__JONES:
I was going by this
[consumerist.com]
Costco needs to start a gift registry service. Target's return policy is bullshit. There's no reason in the world why they shouldn't give this customer store credit.
As a soon to be bride, this definetely affects my decision to not register there. The last thing I need is family and friends purchasing things that I cant return or wont use. Amazon will be getting our primary registry and then maybe Bed, Bath, and Beyond if we decide we need a second one.
@LUV2CattleCall: Yeah, I kinda figured that. I asked a couple of weeks after the New Year and of the three stores I visited, none refused to look up using a CC.
I think that either they decided not to shoot themselves in the foot, or the policy was overblown...
I also think emails to execs from people such as those posting in this thread would be smart. It's never too late to change the policy to a more customer friendly one...
I had this same problem two years ago... I love Target but I know that I won't be using them for my baby registry and whenever I buy a wedding gift there, I always add the gift receipt.
Consumerist: I sent an email via the Target website expressing my disappointment with their policies and that I will NOT be registering there because of them. But who knows if that will be read by anyone important.
Do you have any contact information for some head honchos so we can EECB?
This is good to know...I have several friends getting married or having babies in the next few months. I'll be telling them about this policy so they can make informed choices about registries, and will be shopping elsewhere for gifts.
The return discrepancies mentioned above show that ,obviously, enforcement of the return policy is not standard. If you have trouble returning something with one employee, wait a while and try again with another. Eventually, you'll find someone who will do it. This technique has often worked for me with phone reps. If someone is giving you a hard time, hang up and play CSR roulette again - you might get lucky!
@Imaginary_Friend: I highly recommend both Crate & Barrel and Williams Sonoma for gift registries. We used both and especially WS was absolutely wonderful about the few returns we did have.
@MMD: You are so right - and a good friend. Spread the word! Everyone should, and everyone should take a minute to tell Target exactly how they feel about the policy. I did back in January when it was announced, although this is all I got in response:
Dear Martha__Jones,
Please accept our apologies for any disappointment you experienced with our return policy. I'm also sorry to hear about the frustration you experienced during recent visits to various Target stores and with our registries.
If you want to return an item and don't have a receipt, we still have a few options for you:
- Your local store will accommodate two no receipt returns a year for you on small gifts under $20.
- We have the ability to look up a receipt's information for the gift giver, so they can make a return on most purchases,
provided they purchased your item with a check, Target GiftCard, credit or debit card within the past 90 days.
- If the gift giver still has the original receipt for the item, they have the ability to reprint a gift receipt at the Guest Service desk
next time they visit Target.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments with us. Your feedback is helpful in our continual review of our return policy.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Target Guest Relations
www.target.com
@b612markt: Go back to the forums, you posted the same thing there and I still don't believe you.