Married To The Sea

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By the time the Slaters noticed the racial slur printed on the receipt, the store was already closed for the day.
Hoping to get answers about how the words got on the receipt, the Slaters returned to the store the next day. But they said they never got a full explanation, only that the employee entered a generic code.
"And it pulled up six or seven different choices, and the choice that she (the employee) chose was the very last choice," said Slater's father, Keith.
"I really don't doubt that this is the first time it happened. I'm sure it's happened before, but this is probably the first time that somebody noticed their receipt and came back and asked about it," Linda Slater said.

The store has fired the employee in question and issued the following statement:

"While we are continuing to investigate this incident, it now appears that an employee in one of our stores entered highly inappropriate statements in a form used to process a merchandise return. Needless to say, such an act was not authorized by Journeys, and will not be tolerated. This employee has been terminated.
"At Journeys, we pride ourselves on valuing and respecting every customer. We are shocked and sickened that a former associate could be responsible for an act so out of keeping with our culture and our values. We profoundly regret this incident."

Man Finds Racial Slur Printed On Receipt [KMBC] (Thanks, Taryn!)

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(Thanks to Miss Dona!)

I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas.

Here's Chris' full story:

I had an interesting experience on Friday and a life lesson I think is worth passing onto other readers. On Friday I stopped at a United Dairy Farmers (local Cincinnati convenience store/ice cream parlor) to fill up while gas is relatively cheap. I pulled up to the pump, swiped my card, filled up, and paused before printing the receipt. Usually those things just end up wadding up in my pocket or under the seats of the car, but what the hell, I hit yes anyway. I then went inside to get a soft drink.

"Anything else?" the cashier asked. I said no, paid in change, and went back to my car. I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas. I said that was incorrect, and he said "She said it was a silver car, and she pointed at yours." I do drive a silver car, but I had paid for gas, and wait! I told the officer I had my receipt, and he wrote down the details: Amount, pump number, last 4 of my credit card, and the time. I also pulled out the credit card I paid with and my license, just to verify everything was on the up and up. He was cool about it, apologized, and I was on my way.

Lesson here is to always print that receipt out. I rarely check it against my statements now that I don't fill up as often. But without that 3x1 strip of paper I would have had a totally different story to tell. Needless to say I won't be taking my business to United Dairy Farmers anymore - being falsely accused of theft is a dealbreaker.

(Photo: Getty)

We join Bobby as he drives to his third Best Buy of the day (the first one supposedly had 5 receivers in stock but the employees couldn't find any of them and told him to drive to the second one — where the same thing happened.)

Even though it's a pretty short drive in terms of miles, it took almost an hour due to highway traffic. Finally I got to the Bucktown store, made my purchase, and started to leave.

The security person at the door asked to see my receipt, and I told him no. (My son desperately needed a nap, and I know that while you have the right to ask for my receipt, I have the right to say no.) I kept walking, and the security person followed me out of the store. He kept asking, in more and more urgent tones, to see my receipt. I answered no a couple of times and he asked again, and then I said "you may not" and he called me an asshole. I don't begrudge you asking customers to see their receipts. As long as you recognize that I'm under no obligation to show it, and you take no for an answer when it's given.

I called the store a little later, and spoke to a manager who apologized, agreed that was unacceptable behavior, and said she'd have a conversation with the security guard.

But I don't think that was enough. Best Buy repeatedly failed to do the minimum you'd expect a professional corporation to do....

I unnecessarily wasted at least two hours of my time today, and was called profane names for my trouble.

Oh receipt checkers, when will you learn...?

We're curious, what do you think is fair compensation for being called an asshole? Or is having profanities hurled at you and your child just the price you pay for not following Best Buy's "rules." Tell us in the comments.

(Photo: Ian Muttoo )

I was wondering if you could give some advice or suggestions. My wife (Ashley) and I got married on April 19th. She had a bridal shower in the middle of March in Saratoga, New York (our Hometown). Like every other bridal shower in the history of modern America, she received 2 coffee grinders and 2 blenders. We did not have a registry but knew that they came from [Macy's]. We did not have gift receipts so we received store credit. They did their typical deal of taking Driver's License information and issued a easy exchange gift card. The only thing out of the ordinary was it took her a very long time to do the transaction. It was a card for about $120 when it was done.

Fast forward to this month. We went to use the card to get some sheets that were on sale but was told that the card was "invalid" at the register. Not zero balance but the actual card was invalid. She assured us that it was an easy fix and to call corporate. Between March and July we misplaced the register receipt from the return. Ashley called corporate that following workday and was told that the card was invalid that we could return to the store and register that the return was done and they could fix it even with out the receipt. We then called the Macy's store and a manager confirmed corporate's story about it being an easy fix.

On Sunday July 20th we went to Macy's. We went to the register and they employee was very nice and brought us over to the executive office where we met Nick and Rebecca (actual names). From the moment we were introduced they both were extremely rude.

We explained our situation to them and they once again confirmed that card was invalid and concluded that the card was improperly scanned when we made the return. They said that unless we knew the exact date that we returned the items it would be impossible for them to fix the problem. We said that we are not sure because it was 4 months ago but we knew which employee did the return. Nick said that it wouldn't matter because they don't save employee schedules and it is all online and they don't know them and without the date we were out of luck. I explained it was a weekday in late March and that is only 10 days to look at but he refused to listen.

Ashley asked why did they take all of our info when returned it and they said that the only person that has access to that is in some security office and that would be a dead end. Then we asked if they could do an item returned check since we remembered what they were. Nick said that unless we knew the exact color of the items to get the exact UPC numbers this would also be pointless. We went to look for the items only to find they were not longer stocked at the store. Nick once again said that since the items are no longer here we are once again out of luck and they had NO way to look up UPC numbers. A very helpful Wedding Registry Employee said that she could look up UPC numbers using the bridal registry. We found the coffee grinder and Rebecca called some office and was told that that model of grinder was never returned in March.

Nick told us in a very agitated manner that there was nothing else they could do and the ONLY way to fix it was to call my Aunt and get a copy of the purchase receipt and then maybe they could fix it. He said "make up a story" to why you needed it. We explained that that was mildly rude and they basically walked away from us.

My gut feeling was that the transaction was never completed properly when we returned the items. That is why the card was invalid and the UPC search came up empty. If that is the case no amount of searching will find the transaction. We are not even overly concerned about the money as it was only 120$ and a gift. We were much more upset and shocked about the way Nick and Rebecca treated us. They were very rude and condescending the whole time and frequently change their story as to what they were able to do and were caught in several lies and had to backpedal. They never once apologized for the situation or tried to fix the problem without us prompting them on suggestions. I wanted to email someone in Macy's corporate but I was unable to find an email outside of the standard "Contact Us" on the website. We also looked over your website but came up empty handed. Any direction would be great.

We'd love to help you launch an EECB about this issue, but, sadly, we don't have much in the way of Macy's executive customer service info. Of course, you can always follow the instructions located here. We're pretty sure their emaill address format is firstname.lastname@macys.com.

Anyone got better info to share? tips@consumerist.com

(Photo: smcgee )

Long-time reader, first-time writer. Here we go:

Hello. I'm writing to let you and others know about my experience with the jewelry company Zales. I bought both mine and my wife's wedding rings at the store located inside Town Center Mall in Kennesaw, GA. I purchased them from an old acquaintance of mine from middle school; let's call her Jen. Jen and I had not seen each other for at least ten years and it was great having her help us pick out rings that we wanted. She was extremely helpful in the account setup process, enrolling us in the credit program with no interest for twelve months. The total for our rings was $978.36, and allowing us to pay it over a year was very helpful. I could either pay online, or just drop by the store in the mall that I both live close to and frequent, so it was no problem. The only gripe I have is, you cannot pay by debit card in the store, with is my preferred method of payment since I rarely carry much cash on my person; you can only pay in-store by cash or personal checks. I had made three cash payments in the store without any problems.

I went to the mall on June 18th because I was close by to make my payment. I stopped by the Bank of America ATM that you have to pass on the way to Zales to withdraw the cash. I tried to withdraw $150.00 from the ATM and it gave me a message saying that I needed to enter in an amount in multiples of $20.00, so I entered $160.00 and withdrew my money in the form of eight $20 bills, declining a receipt because I am always keeping track of my bank accounts online and I always end up just throwing away the receipts anyway. I walked about twenty steps to the Zales store and paid a woman behind the counter the cash that I had never seen before. I counted the money on the counter and then set it in a pile on her side of the counter while she was pulling up my account information (I didn't have my bill on me). She verified the information and then took the money and placed it in the register and gave me my receipt for $160. Everything seemed fine at the time…

"Jen," my middle school peer, called my house the next day, on June 19th. I was at work at the time, so my mother called me to let me know that she called and gave me the number to call her back on. I got in touch with Jen about an hour after she called and she asked me how much I had paid on the previous day. I pulled out and checked my receipt, just to be sure, and told her $160.00. I asked her why she was wondering because I thought maybe it didn't get put into my account because I didn't have my bill on me. She said that there was just a monetary discrepancy in the store and that everything would be fine. Ok…

I just received a call on June 20th from the store manager, Jari (real name). She said that her and the "loss prevention people" had been reviewing the tape and that I had only paid the cashier $60. WHAT!? I told her how I had just gone to the ATM to withdraw the money, and I was 100% sure that I had paid $160 towards my ring payment. She said that while viewing the tape, the cashier only counted three bills and placed them in the same place in the register. She said that she went through all of the scenarios and that if I had paid her with a $100 bill in the mix, it would have gotten put in a different place than the $20 bills, but that the three bills still didn't add up. I told her that I would check my Bank of America account online, just to make sure that I had withdrawn the correct amount and call her back.

I checked my account online, and of course, there was the $160 withdrawal that I had made. I also checked my Zales account online, and the $160 had been subtracted from my balance, like it should have. Infuriated, but completely under control, I headed up to the Zales to talk to her personally and take care of this, showing her my receipt for the $160 payment I had made just a few days ago. I walked her over to the place I was standing when I made the payment, showed her exactly how I had fanned the cash out on the counter, counted it, put it all together, and set it on the far side of the counter closer to the cashier, for her to take after she was finished pulling up my account.

After listening to me, she said matter-of-factly, "What happened was this. The code to tell our system that you are paying in cash is [1]. You paid her $60 and then she made a mistake by pressing the [1] button twice, which made your total $160." When I brought up again how I had counted the money out on the counter, she said that she never saw me do it in the videos. I was with my wife at the time and she remembers me counting the money on the counter. Jari kept bringing up the fact that her cashier had only counted three bills and I showed her how I could easily count "three" bills by counting out two and then taking the rest of the stack as the last "bill." She said that this wasn't the case. I asked to see the video myself and she said that her loss prevention people had to be present to let me view the tape. I asked her what the next step was. She said "Well, either you will pay us the $100 or we will just add it to your account balance." I told her that nether one of those was going to happen and demanded that I see the tape with my wife. She said that she would call me "later" to set up an appointment.

I called Jari on June 24th, to see the status of the meeting we were supposed to have, and she said, "I have contacted loss prevention, but they didn't give me a response yet. I will call you when I hear from them."

I am so confused by the whole situation! I'm guessing that the cashier could have pocketed the money either after closing the store or sometime during her shift. I am 100% sure that I gave her the correct amount of money because I keep a strict budget for myself and everything adds up. I had no other money in my wallet at the time of the ATM withdrawal, nor did I buy anything with "extra cash" I had in my wallet in the few days in between, and I still have no cash in my wallet. Now, the question is, WHAT CAN I DO!?

A store can't just issue you a receipt and then days later say, "Woops! Do-over!" Hang on to that receipt, it is irrefutable evidence that you paid $160 no matter what the manager's mysterious video may reveal. It is time to escalate this matter over the head of Jari since she doesn't seem to realize the purpose and importance of receipts. If that doesn't work, the next steps would be filing complaints with your state's Attorney General's office and the Better Business Bureau. If all else fails, take it small-claims court, we can't see how Zales would have a legal leg on which to stand.

(Photo: Getty)

My wife-to-be and I had registered at Target for our wedding, knowing that consumers have had a bad experiences returning items off their registry without a receipt. Well, we got ourselves married (yay!) and lo and behold, we had present duplicates, including a set of blenders that lacked a gift receipt.

We went in and exchanged the duplicates that we could, and complained (loudly) about the blender that we couldn't. What we didn't expect was for the rep we were working with to pull us aside and tell us to come back in a few days and we should be able to return it off of the registry.

I went in this morning, and it did! They have re-added the Gift Purchase Log, and you are able to return items off of that without a receipt if you let them scan your ID. The rep I was working with this morning was unaware of the change, but the manager set her straight right away!

Victory for the consumer!

We are pleased to hear that this silly policy has been fixed.

(Photo: crawfishpie )

I was at the Germantown Wal*Mart to buy four bags of sugar because earlier in the day I had been at Butler’s Orchard picking 10 pounds of strawberries to turn into delicious jam. And to make delicious jam, you need lots of sugar. I grabbed four bags and headed to the checkout, where I also decided I could use some refreshment. I grabbed a Mountain Dew from the cooler, but the cashier had already processed my card for the four bags of sugar. He apologized and rang up another transaction for the Mt. Dew. At that point, he crumpled up my receipt for the four bags of sugar and handed me the receipt for the Mountain Dew. I headed for the exit, and was greeted by Wal*Mart security who wanted to check my receipt. I produced the receipt for the Mountain Dew and explained that the cashier had tossed the other receipt for the sugar. I would repeat this explanation 6 more times before this affair ended.

At this point, I attempted to leave, but was told I could not. I immediately asked if I was being detained. I was told “no” but that I wasn’t allowed to leave unless I walked back to the cashier to get a receipt. I said that I was “happy to let the security guard talk to the cashier, but that I was heading home with my sugar.” I attempted to leave again, and the door was blocked. I asked again if I was being detained, and was told “yes.” I asked on what grounds, and the security guard said “Because you stole.”

I informed the guard I had done no such thing, that the sugar was my property, and I was leaving with it. This time I pushed passed him and left the store, with him following me demanding I stop. As I left, he grabbed my bags, ripping them open. As he followed me he attempted to grab my bags, and grab the items inside of my bags. At one point, he told me that he should “kick my ass.” As I reached the end of sidewalk outside the store and headed towards my car in the parking lot, another employee came running and blocked my path. Soon afterwards a manager arrived. I again asked if I was being detained. I was informed by the manager that I was. I again asked for what reason, and was told by the original security guard that it was for stealing. I once again informed them that I hadn’t stolen anything and that I was leaving.

At this point, the manager informed me that Wal*Mart policy did not allow me to leave the store without showing a receipt. I said that I had paid for my merchandise, that it was in fact a store employee that had thrown away my receipt, and that I was not compelled to prove that items that I legally owned belonged to anyone but me. Again I inquired whether I was being detained, and was told my only options were to go back in the store to talk to the cashier or have the police called. I informed the manager that she was welcome to call the police, because I had done nothing wrong. At tht point, she radioed for someone to call the police. Once again, I started to walk to my car as the two security guards again attempted to block my path in the parking lot.

At this point, and off duty police officer came to the scene (he appeared to be heading into Wal*Mart to shop, not the one called by the manager), showed his badge, and asked for an explanation. Everyone was calmed by this, and tensions visibly eased on the faces of the Wal*Mart employees. I explained my side, and Wal*Mart employees explained their side. After the explanations, I asked the police officer if I was being detained, and he said yes. I asked on what grounds, and he said “suspicion of theft.” The officer told me I could give them “their merchandise back” and leave at that point or I could go inside and talk to the cashier. I indicated that since he was detaining me, I was willing to go back into the store and speak with the cashier, but that the merchandise belonged to me. At this point, one of the bags of sugar fell from my ripped bags and split open on the pavement. It was an accident, but I could tell no one believed me when I said so.

On the way into the store, the officer informed me that it was his day off, he had important things to do, and he didn’t want to take me to jail. But I had one last chance to give them their merchandise back and just leave, because if I wasn’t telling the truth, he would personally drive me to the station. I agreed wholeheartedly with him, and told him so. I’m fairly certain he thought I had actually stolen the sugar at this point. He then asked what I needed so much sugar for anyway. At the time, I was literally covered with strawberry juice. It had stained my shorts and shirt red, and I thought it was fairly believable that I was going to make strawberry jam. He still seemed skeptical, asking where I had been picking strawberries, and only seemed to believe me after I was able to name Butler’s Orchard. He then asked if I had ID, what my name was, and how old I was. Upon telling him this, he said “You better not be lying to me,” so perhaps I was too quick to think he didn’t assume I was guilty.

Of course, upon re-entering the store and speaking with the cashier, he informed everyone that I had paid for the sugar and the receipt was found in his trash can. His story differed slightly in that he told them he had given me the receipt but I had thrown it into his trash can. That was impossible based on where his trash can was from the checkout counter, but it didn’t matter. The original security guard was cordial, shook my hand, and apologized. The Wal*Mart manager and police officer lectured about how next time if I just cooperated and gave up my rights at the beginning, it would have been much easier on everyone. Trust me, Wal*Mart, there won’t be a next time.

If you defend Wal-Mart for this treatment of an average customer, you are a slave. There are other ways to prevent shoplifting. How about the security guard follows the suspected shoplifter to his car to take down his license plate while radioing someone in the store to confirm whether or not his story is legit? Besides that, Ben had four bags of sugar in Wal-Mart branded plastic bags—the likelihood that he was shoplifting them was low, and the value of the sugar to the store was virtually nonexistent compared to other merchandise that was and is probably being stolen from Wal-Marts all over America this weekend. No matter how belligerent a customer is in this situation, the guard, manager, and officer should remember that if the customer is innocent, he has a right to be belligerent and offended that he's being harrassed to such a degree—especially over something as trivial as four bags of sugar.

Update: Ben wrote back to us, "To their credit, they did replace the bag of sugar."

"Detained by Montgomery County Police For Buying Sugar" [Metblogs] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
(Photo: kaibara87)

So, my wife & I stopped in at Wal-Mart to get a few things. I didn't have long before I had to be at work, but we had enough time to do our shopping. So we get what we need, pay at one of their express lanes, and then went to leave the store. It's at about this point that we notice a line of several carts waiting for the people greeter to search through their bags and check their receipts.

Since I didn't have a lot of time to waste, I simply went around the line and started out the door. At this point the people greeter told me I had to stop and allow her to go through everything I just purchased. I politely told her that she did not in fact need to search my property, and that they lost any right to go through the items in my cart when I paid for them. I proceeded to walk out of the store.

While I was transferring everything from the cart into the car, several Wal-Mart asset protection employees approached me, and asked to see my receipt. I told them no, at which point they stated that the merchandise was stolen. I told them I paid for everything, but did not have any more time to waste with them. I started to back out of the parking spot, when one of them tried to walk behind my car, I told him to move out of the way, that I didn't want to hit him. He said he was getting the license plate, so I waited a few seconds for him to write it down, then proceeded to back up. Another one of their employees called the local police department. I also called to give them my contact information, and let them know what happened.

Then I called the store manager to make a complaint about the way I was treated. He stated that they had just started a policy to check receipts for any unbagged items. I explained that they were going through every bag in every customer's cart, and that the delay this created was unacceptable. He said he had not heard anything from his staff, but he would follow up with them to find out what was going on. I gave him my name and phone number, and he said he would follow up with me. I have not heard anything yet.

About thirty minutes later my wife received a call from an officer of the local police department. He asked for our side of things, and then said he would smooth things over. While I understand that most people would just show the receipt and let them poke through your things, there really is no reason to do so. If you were any where else, and someone accused you of being a thief, and then asked you to let them search through your things to prove your not, would you allow it? I wouldn't, in fact my reaction would be to leave, quickly. Thats what I did in this case, and thats what I plan to do in the future. If enough people were willing to stand up for their rights, this would stop happening.

Other readers have had luck referring their complaints about overzealous receipt checking to the executives at Wal-Mart. Here's some instructions on how to craft an EECB to lauch on Wal-Mart, as well as some contact information.
(Photo: Jeff Holbrook )

I am a current RS manager in standing, so I'll renege on giving out my name, however, the actual reason for requiring names and addresses is very simple. First, it is listed on the back of every reciept. So it is part of official policy. Second, the rest of our return process is very I suppose lax if nothing else, our products may be returned at any of our stores, following simple rules that are spelled out.

Now the reason the N&A are needed is because it prevents a LARGE portion of theft which is both internal (as spelled out from one of your posters in the comments) and external such as a snatch and grab. If an item is taken from our store, a customer may attempt to return it at several locations around the city as there are numerous radioshacks around, but this is a very big issue, since beyond the name and address, we are liable on our end for issuing the customer credit for potentially stolen merchandise.

This of course is not saying that 99.999 % of our customers are abusing our return policy, but without this, because of our ability to go the extra step, and take care of you, we as a corporation must protect our assets. This also prevents smash and grabs from cars in mall parking lots, as thieves have stolen out of vehicles and attempt to return the items in the store.

The biggest misconception seems to be against a corporation protecting it's items against theft. We in no sense require ID for a purchase (barring unsigned CC purchases) but it HAS to be required since we will help you with out a reciept if at all possible. Since we as a company do attempt to resolve returns in many cases without reciepts, we do have to have some basic measure of fraud protection.

That customer more than likely could have gotten cash returned if needed without the reciept, but in common sense, a store just won't hand out money over the counter without a ticket showing why the money is leaving.

On top of that, we also need the information to verify vs the signature on the return slip, since we have dealt with people stealing from relatives it also helps during holidays where a daughter may try and return something their parents bought to the store, and if the parents come in asking, or we have some one else complaining that they were not the person returning the item, we at least have some paper work showing who did.

Oh, and as an FYI, the Name and Address is actually for warranty info since a bunch of our small parts, batteries, and such have a limited 90 warrenty. If you have like a battery blow up, we can look up your purchase and hand you a new pack. We recently started a lifetime guarentee with some of our AV cables. We have in every store on at least one register a giant 8 x 11 sign stating our name and address policy. We specifically mention the only people that have your info is the company and related parties (if you sign up for ATT it goes to ATT, if you sign up for Dish, it goes to Dish, If you sign up for Greendot prepaid, it goes to Greendot).

Once again, very basic items that have been blown out of proportion. I cannot deny that we used to years ago, but when we stopped doing it, traffic dropped due to customers no longer recieving the RS catalog (That was huge for many many parts nuts). It's a juggling act, so now we ask for it, it's not required for most types of purchases (contractual, prepaid, and service plans are examples of required), and the actual info just goes into a system that we can use to look up your old tickets if you have problems with your items. The last thing we want is to not be able to help our customer find a resolution.

Certain items like routers can be purchased at any electronics store, and then you run into the potential of having shoplifters hitting up one type of store and returning it at another. If we have the capability of preventing this, all in all, everyone can shop a little safer.

We're not sure how any of this is less complicated than keeping track of store inventory and requiring a receipt for all returns. The refund-without-a-receipt policy is the sort of goodwill gesture that this writer feels mainly benefits the careless consumer at the expense of the rest of us, so by all means, do away with it if it will bring an end to ID requirements for receipt returns, particularly for items paid for with cash.

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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.

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: Man On Trial For Knocking Down Walmart Receipt Checker

(Thanks to Charles!)

Yesterday (2-28-08) late afternoon I bought a $25 shower rack at the Wal-mart in [redacted] New Hampshire, and then tucked the receipt safely inside my wallet so I wouldn't lose it in case I had to return the item. The cashier did not bag the shower rack, so after I was done at the register I picked up my item and headed for the door. As I was approaching the door, the receipt checker Bob said, "Do you have your receipt?" To which I responded, "Yes, it's in my wallet" and I kept walking towards the door. Behind me, I could hear him yell "Sir! Sir! I need to see your receipt!", but being an avid Consumerist reader, I knew I didn't need to stop, so I kept walking. Bob ran up in front of me and stood between the slider doors, blocking my exit and budging me back inside. Appalled that the Wal-mart employee had just touched me, I said "excuse me", but Bob refused to budge, demanding again to see my receipt. I attempted to walk around him, but he kept stepping in front of me, and I would bounce off of him. Now, I was bigger than Bob, but I didn't wish to get physical and blow the situation out of proportion.

At this point however, a random male customer came to Bob's assistance blocking the exit and pushing me back inside. The customer, who was bigger than me, told me to show Bob my receipt. When I refused, the customer responded with "Maybe I'm a cop". So now I have Wal-mart employee Bob and a customer impersonating a police officer physically blocking my exit and budging me back inside when I try to press by them. I was scared. I repeatedly asked the two of them if I was free to go, to which Bob said, "No, you need to show me your receipt." At this point a female employee shows up (I think her name was Cindy) and joins in telling me that I need to show my receipt. The police officer-impersonating customer disappears at this point, but Bob is still physically rebuffing my attempts to exit.

I argue with the female employee for a while, getting nowhere, but for some reason Bob FINALLY stops pushing me back when I try to walk past him, and at this point I consider my illegal detainment to have ended. As I am outside the store and about to walk away, the female employee says something to the extent of "Fine, we'll just write down your license plate number and tell the police you were shoplifting!"

Now, due to the nature of my work, I cannot get in trouble with the police, and any arrest, regardless of my guilt, could cost me my job. So at this point, I responded to her with "Are you kidding!!?? You're going to lie to the police?" She shrugged, and walked back inside. I followed her, demanding to know what her name was, and although she didn't tell me, I think her nametag said "Cindy".

Currently standing back inside Wal-mart near the exit, I whipped out my cell phone and called 1-800-Walmart, and reported what just happened to someone at corporate. At this point there was a lot of onlookers because of the commotion, and I was extremely embarrassed. Anyways, I pulled out my receipt in order to read the person at corporate the store number, and I could see the look of surprise on the other employees' faces. The corporate phone jockey took my name, number, and said someone would get back to me. After I hung up, I switched my phone to camera mode, looked at Bob who was still standing a few feet away from me, said "Smile, Bob", and snapped his picture (attached).

At this point, General Manager David arrived on the scene, and told me that I can't take pictures of his employees, that it's a violation of their privacy (Hah!). I explained to David what just went down, and how it was not acceptable for his employees to lay their hands on me and to threaten me with making a false police report. I was actually surprised with the following discussion I had with David, who was nothing but professional and sympathetic. He understood how completely wrong his employees were, claimed that he'd review the security cameras (yeah right), and that his employees definitely needed some "retraining". I thanked David for understanding, shook his hand, and went home.

I'm still waiting for the call from corporate. Wal-mart needs to understand just how much is at stake when their employees illegally detain customers. Their employees are literally putting their lives on the line. What happens when a customer is carrying for self-defense and fears for his life when a Wal-mart employee illegally detains him? Is it really worth it, Wal-mart?

I'm considering making a police report about the situation, but I'm not sure I want Bob arrested. Sure, I think that what he did was criminal, but he was just a below-average-intelligence, under-paid, and under-trained employee trying to do his job. Should I make the report?

Bob probably will not be arrested if you file a police report about the incident. If you were thinking of filing a lawsuit against Walmart for their behavior, you'd need to file one to use as evidence, but you didn't mention that in your letter.

A formal complaint to Walmart is appropriate. If you file a police report, include it with your complaint. These employees obviously had no idea that what they were doing was wrong and are in need of some guidance. We're surprised to hear a story like this from New Hampshire. Aren't you guys supposed to be all "Live Free or Die?" Did the Walmart employees not get that memo?

Here's his response:

Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, writes:

Mr [redacted]: I apologize for the bad service you've received from us (and for the detention)! But I thank you for taking the time to send this note. We are working hard to try to re-direct our company and deliver the customer service you should expect. - Frank blake

Matt responded:

Mr. Blake,

Thank you for the prompt reply to my e-mail. I wish that my e-mail to you had been more concise and brief, but I was pretty frustrated at the time.

I received a voicemail around lunchtime from Bryan Dennison, the manager of the Washington, DC store. He apologized and invited me to call him back and to come and meet him to discuss the issues.

I did just that; he thanked me for bringing my case to his attention, and told me that he agreed with a lot of the issues I raised. Bryan took over managing the store a few months ago, and has apparently worked to tackle the many problems that have plagued this store for years. I met the various store managers on duty, who all apologized for the store's poor performance. Apparently, Bryan has brought in several new managers to improve the store.

Since I was planning to go to Lowe's this evening to look at replacement windows Bryan asked me to give his staff a shot to try and win me back. In the end, I was impressed with the service I received tonight, and wished that all the employees I'd met previously were as friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful as Wayne in the windows/millwork department. By far, Wayne was the most helpful person I've ever met at Home Depot. He completely understood what it means to do a project yourself, and related to this being my first time installing replacement windows. After speaking with me and understanding that I'm pretty handy and comfortable with home repairs, he answered all of my questions and explained to me what I needed to do step-by-step. With Wayne, I felt like I was back home in southern Virginia, where people are friendly and the folks at the hardware store are happy to take time to help.

As thanks for me giving his staff another chance, Bryan said that the one window I was going to purchase tonight was on him (I was going to purchase only one tonight, as this is my first time installing windows, and wanted to attempt one first, then buy others if I am successful). Hopefully, I'll install it with few problems, and can come back for the other 2 that I need at a later time, and eventually for windows for the rest of my house.

As I was leaving, I did ask about the policy of checking for receipts, and Bryan said that it's an issued he's raised with his superiors at Home Depot. I told him that I hate being treated like a criminal after buying merchandise, and he seemed to understand. I ask that you seriously consider this policy, as I know personally several people who no longer shop at Home Depot as a result of the receipt checking. In addition, I hope that the staff, security guards, and any Home Depot-paid police officers will be trained to understand that customers cannot be detained for simply not showing a receipt (there must be some suspicion that they have shoplifted), and the checking of receipts is voluntary.

Thank you very much for your time, and I sincerely appreciate your taking these issue into consideration.

Thanks,

Matt

Thank you for your note and for giving us another chance...also thanks for calling attention to Wayne. I'll make sure he gets recognized appropriately. To be honest, I didn't know about the checking of receipts until I received your note. So your note will have a broader impact as I look into our policy and the associated training.- Frank Blake

Sent from my BlackBerry

(Photo:IHP)

I know there's been a glut of "wacky receipt" stories on Consumerist lately, but I've been putting off sending you this until I gave Jack in the Box an opportunity to respond to my question. They didn't, so here it is.

I sent a message through their website asking if they could look into whether it was a chain-wide thing, or just one restaurant's guy-who-programs-the-registers having some fun, but aside from an automated response, I haven't heard back. So now I place it before the you for the amusement of your readers.

Don't get me wrong - I love JitB and will continue to eat there on a weekly basis, but I can't help but feel it's only a matter of time until somebody with a car-full of kids and no sense of humor (I wonder if there's a causal link there?) gets all worked up about this.

(Thanks to Paul!)

 

Update: Rumor has it the receipt sender may actually be the "cock sucking faggot." Someone named Aaron just wrote in,

I hate to stick up for HD, Really I do. But on the self service kiosk, you type in the job name yourself so that if you work for a company you can track by your own purchase order or job name.

This has nothing to do with HD, but rather the person who sent in the receipt.

RELATED
"I'm Sorry, But We Didn't Order The 'Suck My Dick Fuck Face.'"
(Photo: Getty)

It used to be that Barnes & Noble would take back just about any item at any time with or without a receipt. That won't be the case for much longer, a flyer at Barnes & Noble bookstores announces that the store is downgrading its super-friendly return policy on March 3rd to the following: "All returns must be made within 14 days of purchase and accompanied with an original sales receipt. After 14 days or without an original sales receipt, returns will not be permitted (nor permitted to exchange)." First Target, now Barnes & Noble, could this be the start of a trend? Full scan of the flyer, inside...

(Photo: Matt McGee)

I bought a Playstation 3 last November, wooed by the thought of 5 free Blu Ray movies. However, last night when I went to fill out the rebate form, I found my wife had thrown away the sales receipt! Doh! I purchased this from Shop Ko using a credit card, but Shop Ko has told me they cannot look up or reprint my receipt.

Despite having this in my house, along with the Blu Ray remote, I am getting a new entertainment center installed and so my PS3 is brand new, unopened, in box (as is its remote).

I was wondering if you or your readers had suggestions as to what I can do to obtain this rebate. I've thought about returning the unopened PS3 to a store for credit and then using the credit for a PS3 to get a receipt, but I wasn't sure if any of you had a better suggestion.

We know that some of you are all about the rebates. Any ideas?

(Photo:physis3141)

Deciding Which Financial Records to Keep [Real Simple]
(Photo: megan_soh)

(Photo: imasuperhero)

Here's a fun tip for fellow Consumerists who would like to return gifts to Best Buy, but would prefer cash over a gift card (the only refund possible with only a gift receipt)

* Before you do anything else, ensure that the person that bought you the gift paid with cash, debit card, or a check. The amount has to be under something like 150 dollars, otherwise Best Buy corporate will issue a refund check. If they paid with a credit card, you're out of luck, the money will go back on the card.

* Look on your gift receipt and find the "four-part key" - it's just under the "Val #" and just above the text "GIFT RECEIPT", and follows this format: "#### ### #### ##/##/##" The first section is the store number, the second is the register number, the third is the transaction number, and the fourth is the date. Write this number on a piece of scrap paper.

* Bring your item and the scrap paper into Best Buy. Head up to the service counter, and tell the Rep that a friend/relative/whoever bought you the item and gave you the receipt, but you left it at home. Here, you can either actually place a call home or just tell the rep that you know that they would need the "four-part key" and have it written down. Either way, this takes just a tad of social engineering, but you somehow need to convince them that you knew they'd need the "four-part key".

* Give them the scrap paper and the product, and tell them you'd like to return or exchange it, and keep the difference *as cash*. If the person bought the item with the methods listed above, there should be no problem and they will gladly hand over the cash!

* Enjoy your cash, and not being locked in to spending your gift money in just one store!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Nick J

(Photo:meghannmarco)

Retailers' Return Policies: The 2007 Fine Print [Mouseprint]
Tips for hassle-free gift returns [All Consuming]
(Photo: stephentrepreneur)

• Exciting Sweepstakes Offer: 4.5 inches
• Essential Purchase Details: 6.5 inches
• Gift Receipt Section: 7.75 inches

Complete Receipt Defeat [An Entirely Other Day]
Image via Aeropause

Our gift registries used to be good, but I've watched Target corrupt them as well. Now, you need a receipt to return any items purchased off the registry, even if you received duplicates caused by our glitchy system. Most stores allow you to use the registry to return items, but Target has crippled that system completely. I'd recommend not using our gift registries at all, and registering at other stores..."

When I started at Target, you used to be able to return any items without a receipt, as long as you presented a drivers license. This could be done twice per year. I've watched the return policy change frequently and have said nothing.

I've been working for Target for over a year, and it's had its ups an downs. I've enjoyed working there, and would like to continue working there, but the return policy is disappointing me.

I recommend going to your local Target, and filling out a comment card telling corporate how you dislike the
direction the return policy is going. You can also call them, at 1.800.440.0680. View http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/?node=3370571for more contact information.

(Photos: smcgee, Maulleigh)

Circuit City shopper, city of Brooklyn resolve dispute over arrest [The Plain Dealer]
Success [Michael Righi]
PREVIOUSLY: Circuit City Customer Arrested After Refusing To Show Receipt

"Did I seem to him like someone who would cheat the store out of $8 and risk this kind of treatment? Unmoved, he told me that he had seen what I did, and "people like you come in here all the time and do this.""

Not anymore. Though Kmart acted within its rights and according to procedure, Landro, along with the hundreds of dollars she usually spends, has vowed to never enter another Kmart again if she can avoid it.

The Accidental Thief [WSJ via BoingBoing]
(Photo: Kim Salomon)

1. Store managers purposely keep employees unaware receipt check's voluntary nature, ensuring that a manager has to be called each and every time. The last thing they want is somebody with 16 CDs in their pants yelling about his civil rights and cowing a $7.50/hr teenager.

2. Major retail store locations get an estimated yearly "shrinkage" budget, is the dollar value of the amount of merchandise they expect to lose to theft. In the our former BBY employee's store's case,the difference between the actual and estimated shrinkage is then distributed evenly to each and every worker in that store.

PREVIOUSLY:
Adventures In Receipt Check Refusals Continue
Circuit City Customer Arrested After Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Apologizes For Unlawfully Detaining Customer For Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Unlawfully Restrains And Verbally Abuses Customer For Not Submitting To Receipt-Showing Demands

Thanks to everyone who helped unearth these. No shoplifting mentioned. Their given reasons for checking the receipts don't make any sense. If all the checker does it glance and the receipt and make a highlighter stroke across it, how is he checking the correct price?

Sam's Club: "To ensure that you are charged correctly for the merchandise you have selected, you will be requested to show your receipt when exiting."

Costco [PDF, pg 14]: "To ensure that all members are correctly charged for the merchandise purchased, all receipts and merchandise will be inspected as you leave the warehouse."

BJ's Wholesale Club: "BJ's inspects all receipts as Members exit the Club to ensure that Members have not been overcharged or undercharged for an item and that all selections appear on the receipt."

PREVIOUSLY:
Adventures In Receipt Check Refusals Continue
Circuit City Customer Arrested After Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Apologizes For Unlawfully Detaining Customer For Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Unlawfully Restrains And Verbally Abuses Customer For Not Submitting To Receipt-Showing Demands

I was detained in a Sams Club receipt-checking line today. When I attempted to steer my cart around the line and out the exit door, an employee with a nametag of 'Linda' stepped in front of my cart and asked me to surrender my receipt. When I asked if I was being detained, she assured me that I was...

At this point, she took the receipt out of my hand, checked it (there were two items in the cart), I left the store. I'm not exactly sure if what went on was legal or ethical, but I damn sure know that it was terrible customer service.

Scavenger hunt: provide us with a copy of a store's, any store's, membership contract that says that by signing it you agree to mandatory receipt checks.

PREVIOUSLY:
Circuit City Customer Arrested After Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Apologizes For Unlawfully Detaining Customer For Refusing To Show Receipt
TigerDirect Unlawfully Restrains And Verbally Abuses Customer For Not Submitting To Receipt-Showing Demands

Under Ohio's "stop and identify" law, citizens are only required to give name, address, and date of birth.

Some people in positions of authority seem to be so unused to people actually exercising their rights that they assume the person is a threat and should be stopped and contained until they can figure out what's going on.

Michael writes, "I've always taken the stance that retail stores shouldn't treat their loyal customers as criminals and that customers shouldn't so willingly give up their rights along with their money."

[michaelrighi via BoingBoing] (Thanks to Tampabackup!)
RELATED: TigerDirect Apologizes For Unlawfully Detaining Customer For Refusing To Show Receipt
(Photo: FastFords)

Earlier, we spoke with Tiger Direct Executive Vice President Richard Wallet, who confirmed the receipt dispute incident did occur, and cast doubts on Shaneal's version of the events.

When asked whether the verbal altercation happened as Shaneal described, Wallet said he couldn't be sure as he wasn't there. He said that he found it unlikely that the security guard would taunt and threaten Shaneal as he had met the guard and he "didn't seem that type of guy."

Wallet accused Shaneal of trying to bait the store after being detained a week prior for also refusing to show a receipt. Shaneal said that on that occasion, he declined to show a receipt because he had already waited over an hour for a part to be pulled from the back, some more time at the register, and didn't feel like waiting in a line for a security guard to check his receipt when he was under no legal obligation to show the receipt. On that date, cops were called to intervene, which is store policy whenever there's a possibility of a confrontation with a customer, Wallet told us. He also said the cop told Shaneal to not return if he wasn't going to follow store policy. Shaneal says that that didn't happen.

Wallet also told us that on the date of the most recent incident, Shaneal purchased three items in two separate transactions and stuffed one of the receipts in his pocket and began to walk out of the store with his items. Wallet said the head cashier only saw one of the transactions and that gave her cause to tell the security guard to stop Shaneal. Shaneal told The Consumerist that he was buying items for a friend who wanted his own receipt for record-keeping purposes.

By law, shopkeepers are only allowed to detain customers under suspicion of shoplifting if they actually see the customer hide the item on their person.

Wallet encouraged any customer with a TigerDirect complaint to call him directly at 305-415-2441.

Shaneal told us that he is satisfied with how the situation got resolved and thanked us for posting his story as he felt it otherwise wouldn't have been paid as much attention by TigerDirect. Wallet said he had been fielding phone calls and emails about the issue all morning.

I was visiting a Tigerdirect (Large Electronic Retail Store) in Naperville, IL today (8/23/07)(8/22/07). All was going well until after I had paid for my merchandise and tried to leave.

A security guard demanded that I show him my receipt, which I respectfully declined with a "No Thanks" and continued walking out the door. At that point the Guard physically placed himself between me and the door and said "I can't let you leave until you show me your receipt." I attempted to walk around him, explaining I didn't have to show him anything, and he continued to block my path and called several other employees to block my retreat.

I understand the "Shopkeeper's Privilege", but under no possible interpretation of the law would refusing a voluntary receipt check constitute grounds for reasonable suspicion of shoplifting. At this point, I warned them that I was being unlawfully restrained, and unless they immediately allowed me to leave, I would call the police and press criminal charges for unlawful restraint, and also file a civil suit for false imprisonment (fortunately, I knew my rights).

None of them budged, and the store manager began verbally abusing and slandering me...

He called me a thief, and said he would have me arrested for "attempted shoplifting". Both the manager and security guard said it was corporate policy to detain customers unless they submitted to a receipt check.

At this point, I pull out my cell phone, call 911, and inform the operator I'm being illegally detained and not allowed to leave the store. The operator said an officer was on the way and would be there in a few minutes. In the meantime, the manager continued screaming at me, telling me I was banned from the store (fine by me, I've spent easily over $10,000 in the last few years at Tigerdirect and planned to take my business elsewhere if this was the kind of treatment I could expect) and so on.

Fortunately, an officer arrived within 5 minutes. The manager and security guard began to tell the officer I was trying to steal something. After they were done I calmly explained the situation to the officer. The officer agreed that they couldn't hold me unless they had seen me shoplifting, which they obviously had not. I then asked the officer to arrest the security guard for unlawful restraint, which she refused to do; she instead suggested I talk the the state's attorney if I wanted to press charges (which I plan to do). I got the security guard's name, and the officer's name and badge number. I then left, and was again verbally informed me I was banned from returning. As I was leaving, the security guard continued to taunt me, and dared me to press charges.

As soon as I got home (approximately 4 hours later, I had errands to run), I called the company the security guard was from (Securitas), explained the situation, and asked if their corporate policy was to forcibly detain customers who refuse to show their receipt. I was escalated three times, until a "supervisor" there said he didn't feel comfortable answering the question, but he would have his boss call me back shortly. I waited 2 hours, with no more response. I called back again, and after reaching the same supervisor asked why my call hadn't been returned. He informed me that they had my contact information, and if they had anything to say to me they would call. I demanded to speak to his boss, and was told that the boss was busy now, but would call me within an hour. Again, after 4 hours, no call.

Nowhere in any of this did anyone apologize to me or tell me they were mistaken. I probably would have been satisfied with an apology and a guarantee that the security staff would be properly retrained at any point after I left. But, after the shoddy treatment I received, even after they realized they had made a mistake, I want to fight this thing to the end.

How do you recommend I go about contacting the State's Attorney? I understand that the prosecutor has some discretion on filing charges, and that they have many other cases on the table. There is no dispute of the facts, there were security cameras everywhere, and the guard agreed with my version of the events when speaking with the officer. Also, I would like to file a civil suit against them, but must admit that money is an issue for me. How do you suggest I find a lawyer/firm that would take this case on a contingent fee?

Thanks for the time,
Shaneal

Thanks for the support,

The store is located at
175 Ambassador Drive
Naperville, IL 60540
(630) 548-2000

The security guard's name is "Malcom Melton," and the corporate office he works out of has a number (630)963-9456.

I called the States Attorney's office for my county and spoke to a prosecutor who "said charges would not be forthcoming." Basically, his explanation was that I wasn't detained long enough for him to bother. The police report is filed with the Naperville Police Department, report number [redacted].

I also contacted the bar, and was told that no lawyer would take this case on a contingency because there weren't enough damages, but I was welcome to hire a lawyer on an hourly basis. However, they informed me that in all likelihood the attorney's fees would be ten to twenty thousand, which I can't afford.

Thanks for your quick response. No one else seemed bothered by this. All I really want is for them to change their policy and/or retrain the guards. Hopefully, with your support they will at least be shamed into doing that much.

I did not get the manager's name unfortunately; by the time I was leaving and got around to taking names the manager had already disappeared. I emailed corporate with the story too, but have yet to receive a response.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I doubt the local media would be very receptive to my claims. When the whole warrantless wiretapping scandal was taking place the little coverage it got was all in favor of government (e.g., "If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about"). I'm fairly certain they'd just tell me I should have showed the guard the receipt and been done with it.