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walmart
Posts Tagged “
Refunds
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walmart
walmart
Walmart.com Holds $550 Hostage For PS3 Bundle It Won't Ship
Consumerist reader The Unicorn has $550 tied up in some strange Wal-Mart purgatory for a PlayStation 3 bundle that they won't ship to her, even though it clearly states in their online terms that they won't charge you for your order until it's shipped. Her customer service queries are being met with content-free scripted CSR-bot responses. She writes, "Here's the thing: don't ever buy anything from Walmart, ever. I knew this, and ignored it, and now I'm paying the price."
Update - 06/27/08: The Unicorn says Wal-Mart called her today and offered to cancel the order!
More »
travel agents
Travelocity Stole $2,594.55 Of My Honeymoon Money!
James booked two flights for his honeymoon with Travelocity, but when it became obvious that their visas weren't going to come in on time, James asked Travelocity if he could reschedule. They assured him that he could, so James followed their instructions and FedExed his tickets back to Travelocity. He then waited for them to call to complete the transaction. They called 2 days after he was originally scheduled to leave and left a message saying that he could now reschedule. When he called them back, Travelocity said that they'd neglected to inform the airline that he was going to be rescheduling, so they'd been marked as "no shows" and were out of luck... and out of $2,584.55. More »
us airways
U.S. Airways Refunds $2200 Tickets For Recently Unemployed Man
Travel expert Christopher Elliott says US Airways refunded a couple $2200 on a pair of nonrefundable tickets to Ireland after the wife wrote to the COO and explained their situation. They tried Expedia first and were refused, and although they had travel insurance it wouldn't cover unemployment. The wife, Jennifer Bush, says the US Airways rep who responded to their plea "told me that they all felt for my situation and decided to refund the amount of the airfare." More »
back taxes
Tax-Relief Company Agrees To Refund $1.5 Million To Scammed Customers In 18 States
JK Harris & Company is a tax-relief company in South Carolina that promises to help people settle IRS debts for "pennies on the dollar" by helping them file an Offer in Compromise (OIC) on their behalf. What they didn't tell consumers is that "the IRS accepts only a small number of these kinds of cases," writes digtriad. What they also didn't mention is that they'll accept your money even if they know you won't qualify for an OIC, and they won't give refunds. "In many cases, JK Harris did not even apply to the IRS to help consumers as promised. But the company still refused to give those consumers their money back." Now JK Harris has made an agreement with attorneys general in 18 states to change its advertising and pay $1.5 million in restitution. More »
no refund
Target Refuses Return, Says If Computer Doesn't Show Item, It Doesn't Exist
Kirk and his wife spent over $4,000 last year at Target, but we have a feeling that figure is going to drop dramatically for 2008 after Target refused to refund Kirk $24 because they said they didn't have a record of his purchase in the system. In fact, they didn't have any record of the lampshade he was holding in his hands—it wasn't in their computer, and therefore it didn't exist, even after his wife went and brought an identical lampshade from the store shelves to the customer service counter. Said the clerk, "We don't carry this lampshade." More »
settlements
AT&T Agrees To Refund Unauthorized Third-Party Charges On Cellphone Bills
AT&T Mobility has agreed to offer refunds to customers who were charged for third-party services like ringtones, although if you were frequently a victim of this you'll quickly exhaust your refund quota: "Customers will able to claim refunds for spurious charges that appeared on up to three of their monthly bills between Jan. 1, 2004, and May 30, 2008." AT&T should be sending out a notification to its customers "soon," but you can already download a refund request. More »
ghoulish
NYC 'Bodies' Exhibit Must Refund Tickets For Using Undocumented Corpses
If you've seen the "Bodies" exhibit at the South Street Seaport in New York City, you're entitled to a refund (click here for info) according to a new agreement between New York's Attorney General's office and Premier Exhibitions, Inc. When "Bodies" first opened here over two years ago, some opponents questioned whether the Chinese cadavers were legally obtained—or whether they were Chinese political prisoners who hadn't consented to being plastinated, flayed, and displayed by a private for-profit company. At the time, Premier Exhibitions' president said all the bodies were documented: "Although he said he was not allowed to keep copies of documents, officials at Dalian University in northern China showed him papers attesting to the origin of the remains," wrote the New York Times in 2005. Then ABC's news show "20/20" aired an investigative report this past February that showed otherwise. More »
happy endings
UPDATE: IKEA Apologizes For Charging You A $60 Restocking Fee On A Defective Bookcase
The mighty EECB (executive email carpet bomb) has brought justice to West Chester, Ohio, says reader Drew. Drew was mistakenly charged a $60 restocking fee on a defective bookcase. He wrote to us and launched an EECB on IKEA. The results? A very nice apology letter, a full refund and a $25 gift card. Looks like it's Swedish meatballs for dinner tonight. More »
refunds
A Radio Shack Manager Explains Why They Ask For Personal Info On Cash Returns
Last week, we pointed out that even with a receipt and the product in hand, and even though you purchased it with cash the day before at the same store, Radio Shack won't give a refund unless you give them your home address first. We got a lot of insider tips from former employees in the comments section, and the next day we received the following perspective from a Radio Shack store manager. We think his explanation still doesn't explain why you need personal ID to refund a cash transaction when you've got the item and the receipt in front of you, but read on if you want an unverified store manager's point of view. More »
success stories
EECB Scores Direct Hit On Delta's $25 Extra Bag Fee
Reader Justin got hit with Delta's new $25 extra bag fee on the way home from his vacation to West Palm Beach. He turned to the dreaded EECB (Executive Email Carpet Bomb) to get his $25 refund. Let's listen in: More »
refunds
ProFlowers Screws Up Order But Refunds Entire Purchase
This Mother's Day story is a bit of a mixed-bag—ProFlowers clearly failed to deliver the arrangement they sold to M., but they refunded him the entire amount of his purchase when he contacted them about the issue. It's a "fail" for execution, but a perfect example of how to own up to and correct a wrong for your customer. More »
technical problems
Xbox Live Won't Refund Points For Game They Can't Deliver
How long can a company continue to "investigate" what's obviously a failed download before they credit your account? For Xbox Live Marketplace, the answer is 2 months, 2 weeks, and counting. Every attempt Joe makes at resolving the issue lands him in a customer service purgatory from which no solution can ever escape. Joe writes, "The problem is that there is no recourse for the customer in a situation where this actually does happen. Microsoft took my money before my product was transferred to me. The transfer then failed to take place. It is no fault of my own and there is nothing I can do about it." Read Joe's full account below. More »
chargebacks
Chargebacks Have Geographical Limitations
Longtime Consumerist reader TBT read the fine print for a credit card she recently opened with Bank of America, and discovered that buried in pages 13 and 14 is a section that limits your right to request a chargeback to your home state or within 100 miles of your home address, and only for purchases over $50. He found this shocking, but, actually, this is a limitation provided by the Fair Credit Billing Act. If you dislike it, here's a great post of ours on writing effective letters to Congress.
privacy
RadioShack Won't Give Refund On Cash Purchase Unless You Show Your Papers
RadioShack's whole collecting-your-personal-data nonsense is old news, but it's not just for purchases anymore. When Pete tried to take back some potentiometers he'd paid for the day before with cash, the clerk refused to give him any sort of refund—even a store credit—without Pete's physical address. More »
unexplained fees
Expedia Freezes $964, Says "Don't Worry, It Will Be Released Within 72 Hours"
Expedia thinks it's okay to place a total of $964 on hold on Nicholas' and his girlfriend's credit cards, even though they've already paid for their $3,000 trip in full. When he contacted Expedia to ask them what gives, they told him it would be released within 72 hours. Maybe this is Expedia's way of combatting travel inflation by creating a make-believe rebate-y feeling when you buy an expensive vacation package. More »
terms and conditions
Merchant Tries To Forbid Chargebacks
A reader wrote in to ask us if we've ever seen anything like the "Chargeback Abuse Policy" that Luxury Car Tuning in Las Vegas includes in their terms—"You agree not to file a credit card or debit card chargeback with regard to any purchase," and if you do anyway, you have to pay any fees that normally the merchant must pay when dealing with a chargeback. The reader wants to know, "Is this allowed by any merchant agreement that you know of? Sounds pretty ridiculous to me. How likely would it be that they could get away with this?" More »
errors
CVS Stole My $11.78, And Refuses To Give It Back!
Reader Julie ran into some trouble at the CVS when a cash register rebooted while processing her transaction and the employee, rather than voiding the messed up transaction, simply charged her twice. Julie writes:
More »Yes, I know it sounds improbable, but CVS stole $11.78 from me and refuses to give it back.
I went to CVS today, the one on Pleasant Ridge in Arlington, Texas. I purchased two items, decongestant spray for my nose and a pseudophedrine cold product. The pharmacy tech rang me up, then I ran my debit card like usual. The debit card went through, the card reader said $0 due, and then all of a sudden the computer decided to reboot before the receipt printed.
