From NJ.com:

State officials said the company will no longer sell non-prescription drugs or infant formula beyond their expiration dates, nor will it sell merchandise for more money than the displayed price. Target also created a new position to monitor the company's compliance with the settlement for the next two years.

The state's Division of Consumer Affairs sued Target, Walmart, and Drug Fair in September 2008, after finding that despite earlier agreements with the state, they were still selling expired products and charging wrong prices. Lawsuits against the other two retailers are still pending.

"Target reaches $375K settlement with N.J. for selling expired baby formula, charging different prices" [NJ.com]
(Photo: j.reed)

The LA Times says:

The price cuts are welcome news for movie studios because it could spur demand in a year of flagging DVD sales. The wholesale price paid by Walmart and its competitors remains unchanged at about $18, meaning studios will make the same profit despite the discounting.

It's normal for retailers like Walmart to price DVDs below their wholesale cost at stores and online to draw customers who often spend more money on other items.

Although discounting is not unusual for Walmart and Target, the new $10 price means the retailers will incur a big loss on each sale.

It comes as the two companies and Amazon engage in a price war over books that has driven down the price of some hardcovers to $9.

Will these new unsustainably low prices get you to skip Redbox or Netflix and actually buy a DVD?

Walmart, Target slash online prices of popular DVDs [LA Times]

Reader Costner says:

Attached are two images taken the same day in the same Target. The two products are literally inches apart from one another, but one is $4.79 for the 80 count Lysol wipes while the other is $4.79 for the 110 count Lysol wipes. Now I'm not real strong at math, but I'm guessing the 110 count just might be a better deal. The sad part was the 110 count appeared to be full while the space holding the 80 count was partially empty.

...I opted to buy the 110 count version which actually rang up at the correct price of $4.79.

Radio Shack owns a company called Kiosk Operations Inc., and last month they opened kiosks in "about 100 Target stores in Minnesota, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and Washington," according to the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Sales have been good enough that now they're expanding to all 1,700 Targets before the end of next year.

A Target spokeswoman told the paper, "This provides added convenience for our guests. They can do their Target shopping trip, grab some groceries and address any cell phone needs they may have." And then she made "woop! woop!" noises and ran off while slapping the top of her head, while a Radio Shack employee asked the paper for its home phone number and address.

"Target taps RadioShack to run cell-phone depts." [Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal via mocoNews]

Cambridge Silversmiths flatware: Plastic inserts can detach; choking hazard
Coby Electronics portable DVD/CD/MP3 player batteries - fire hazard
Haunted House candle holders sold at Yankee candle - fire hazard
Bad Boy Buggy off-road vehicles - has rogue accelerator
Handy Switch Wireless Light Switches - fire hazard (see this post)
Roman shades sold at Bed Bath and Beyond and Whole Space - strangulation hazard
Roller blinds from IKEA - strangulation hazard
Belkin SurgeMaster Surge Protectors - electric shock hazard
Sony VAIO AC adapters - electric shock hazard
Halloween flashlights from Target - burn hazard
Kroger Hazelnut Spread - undeclared peanuts
Agro Sun Dried Fruits and Nuts Tropical Mix - undeclared sulfites
Breyers All Natural ice cream - undeclared wheat
Dove Caramel Pecan Perfection Ice Cream - undeclared peanuts
Mrs. Rios and Pop's Bakery tortillas - undeclared dairy
Accusure Insulin Syringes - needles may detach

The CPSC has also put out a warning about My Baby Soother pacifiers, which apparently pose a choking hazard. However, the manufacturer will not recall the product, which was sold only in the New York metro area.

Readers and loyal Target shoppers Alexander and Gwendolyn were promised this coupon, and patiently waited for its arrival. And when we say "they waited," we mean they've already celebrated their first anniversary.

They finally resorted to contacting Target CEO Gregg "If you squint, I look like Alec Baldwin Tom Bergeron" Steinhafel.

Dear Mr. Steinhafel,

I am very sorry to bother you with what I feel should be a minor issue, however, I want you to know about the complete lack of customer service I have received from your company. I was engaged to be married in August of 2008, and when my now-wife asked where we should register, my first response was Target. I am a loyal Target customer, and have used your stores to buy for many friends who are now married, I have always enjoyed the experience. We registered several months before our wedding, and enjoyed scanning our items in the store, and adding items online. She was also happy about the fact that we would receive coupons to use in the store, and online, to purchase items we did not receive.

On July 25th we were married, and went off on our honeymoon. On August 5th she received an email indicating our 10% off coupon would soon arrive in her email. She anxiously awaited this email, but it never arrived. As soon as we returned from our honeymoon we searched through our mail, and had not received the expected in-store coupon either. She called our family members, since their addresses were also listed on our registry, and they had not seen anything. Finally in late August she called the Club Wedd help line and explained the situation. Unfortunately they were not helpful at all, and simply said we should wait longer for the coupons to arrive. In the meantime she continued to receive other emails from Club Wedd.

We waited and waited, and finally this weekend she called back to ask again. While waiting for help she was browsing our registry on your website, looking through the items we had hoped to buy from you. Once she spoke with someone they explained that the coupon had shipped in July, and if we had no received it they would do nothing to reissue it, unsatisfied with this answer she requested a supervisor, who repeated this information, then also stated that our registry was now expired. Immediately after saying this my wife switched pages in the browser and found our registry was now deleted. Not only would they not help us, now they were going to punish us!

Having worked in the telephone support industry, I explained to her that she should try again on Monday, since the weekend staff may not be actual Target employees, and maybe they cannot do anything to help us. I explained to her that we had to give Customer Service every chance we could to help us out. She tried again on Monday (10-26-09) at 11am and spoke with Darwin, who again stated he could do nothing about the discount we never received, but did manage to pull up a list of our registered items which he emailed to us. She then spoke with his supervisor Bruce, who also stated he would not reissue the discount, and then as she started to cry he simply hung up on her.

Today (10-27-09) I placed a call to your general support line and spoke with Victor, I explained the situation, and described why I did not want to speak to Club Wedd support, but simply general customer service. Victor was helpful but since he was not in that department he could not do much, so he transferred me to Stephanie in Refunds. I repeated the above to her, and she flatly stated that they would not do anything for me. I explained that I understood she probably could not help since she is in Refunds, and was not the department I requested. I repeated my request for a general customer service department. At the point Stephanie would simply repeat that they could not reissue the registry coupons since they were no longer in the system. I explained to Stephanie that I already had a copy of the registry, and this point all we needed was the discounts we had been promised. She simply repeated herself every time in response to me. At this point I explained to her that I have no interest in shopping in your stores until this issue is resolved, and I do not want you to lose me as a loyal customer over this, so please get me to someone who can help. She again repeated herself, so I told her at this point I would be escalating my story to any executive who will listen.

I am sorry about the length of this email but I wanted to provide you with all of the information I have. I have avoided your competition for almost 10 years now, and do all non-electronics shopping that I can in your stores. I would like to continue my relationship with your company, however, my wife and I are very upset with the way we have been treated. We have tried to follow all of the proper channels laid out by your company, and simply want to get what we were promised.

Thank you very much for your time,
Alexander and Gwendolyn

One day later, Alexander wrote back to Consumerist to tell us that the company had followed up:

I was pleasantly surprised just now to receive a phone call from Greg at Target, who not only arranged for my wife and I to visit a local store and get our 10% off, but thanked me for attempting to use proper channels first. They are also sending me a $25 gift card for our determination in getting this issue resolved.

Beautifully done! Enjoy your hard-earned 10%.

Have any other readers experienced issues getting or using their 10% off remaining registry items coupons?

RELATED:
This Target Coupon Is Made Of Lies
How Can We Determine Who Gave Us This $250 Wedding Present?
Target "Lied To Me, Yelled At Me," And "Treated Me Like Crap"

(Photo: stephen.butler)

Apparently one can now buy new release books for about $5 cheaper than the wholesale price. From the WSJ:

The retailers are losing money on each copy sold because publishers charge them about 50% of a book's hardcover price. The prices for the 10 books involved in the promotion are also lower than the wholesale price independent booksellers pay for the merchandise.

Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer at the Boulder Book Store, in Boulder, Colo., said he had intended to buy as many as 70 copies of Barbara Kingsolver's "The Lacuna" from Walmart.com, Target.com or Amazon, because their prices are "more than $5 cheaper than what we can get it for from the publisher, Harper.

The books in question are from Stephen King, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and James Patterson among others. The books have list prices of $22 to $35, but can be found at retailers for about $9.

Amid Price War, Three Retailers Begin Rationing Books [WSJ]

Customers who have an unused item in its original packaging, with the receipt, can make as many returns and exchanges as they like. What's different, and where the old return policy became less consumer friendly than competitors, is what happens when you lack a receipt. Consumer Reports Money explains:

Now, you can make as many non-receipt returns as you want, up to $70, in any 12-month period. Target's previous "hidden" return policy allowed customers to make just two non-receipt returns of up to $35 each, over 12 months.

Another new twist: Those who receive gifts through the store's gift registry now can use the registry listing as a de facto receipt. If you're a newlywed who got six identical toasters from Target but no receipts, you can return five of them by printing out a copy of your gift-purchase log. Before, you could to return only two items if each cost $35 or less, and you hadn't already reached your two no-receipt returns limit.

But wait, there's more!

One of the biggest changes affects holiday gifts. Target allows for even exchanges if you've exceeded your $70 return limit. So if Aunt Minnie gave you a shirt in "large" but you're a "medium," you can exchange it without a hassle, even if she tossed the receipt. In the past, if you had reached your non-receipt returns limit, you couldn't exchange the shirt, even with Target tags intact.

If you decide to exchange the returned item for something that costs less, Target will give you a gift card for the difference. But you'll have to use it in the same department.

In all these cases, you'll have to show a driver's license or some other identification so Target can record your non-receipt transgressions.

While this new policy is vastly improved for customers with gift registries, we still agree with Consumer Reports that it's inferior to Walmart's. Keeping fraud down is important, but is there a way to do it without making every customer feel like a criminal?

Target's new return policy: Better, if you can figure it out [Consumer Reports Money]

(Photo: pdxmac)

She writes:

Just a heads up on Target.com's so-called free shipping. Their website readily promotes free shipping on all orders over $50. I ordered a sewing machine for over $50 then looked around the site for anything else I might want to add since I was already getting free shipping on the purchase. I found a $6 dress on clearance to add to my order and proceeded to check out. I checked the box that said to group my items into one shipment. The website totaled the order and applied free shipping to the entire purchase.

A few hours later I had an email from Target saying my dress had shipped by itself and was now showing additional shipping charges of $5. I called Target's customer line and told them I had checked the single shipment box and should not be charged shipping if they chose to break up the shipment. They told me the issue was that my two items qualified for different kinds of free shipping. The sewing machine qualified for "Free Shipping" and the dress qualified for "Free Shipping on Orders of $50 or more". I tried to explain that I spent well over $50 on my order to no avail. Since the sewing machine does not qualify specifically for the fine print "Free Shipping on Orders of $50 or more" (even though the item itself is over $50), the dress did not qualify for free shipping.

If that is how the free shipping was intended to work, shouldn't the online check-out have calculated it this way instead of showing free shipping and then sneaking the extra $5 fee on a subsequent email? I wonder how many people don't think to re-check their shipping receipt and actually pay shipping. Target eventually credited my account the shipping fee after a long battle with customer service. The issue could be easily solved if Target put anything on the item's page that said "This item qualifies for free shipping but cannot be counted towards free shipping on other purchases" but I guess they prefer to be confusing and mislead their customers.

The policy is confusing and should be re-worded to "items over $50" rather than "orders," if that's how Target intends to roll.

(Photo: jking89)

See previous installments in the "Target is Crazy" series here.

I was wondering if your group of detectives had any advice for my problem.

See, my fiance and I set up a Target.com wedding registry. Lo and behold, today on my front porch was an Empire Red Kitchenaid Stand Mixer shipped via FedEx from Target.com. The package was shipped without outside box, so it was just in a box like you'd see in a retail store, and had no packing slip. Now, the person who sent this package did not order through the registry, so, we have no idea who sent it and our registry still says "Received 0" for the mixer. I called Target.com customer support and they really couldn't help me. I figured they would be able to look up an order by the destination address, but, that is not possible. We would really really love to send the person who sent us a $250 mixer a thank-you card (and instructions for using a registry), so, any suggestions anyone has to solve this case would be welcome. Thanks!

Any ideas, apart from a visit from the Stand Mixer Fairy?

Here's an update from Chris:

Hey! Thanks so much! The help from the consumerati lead me to look on the FedEx website for the Reference number and that's the number Target needed to look up the order. All solved now!!

Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on individual Target guest comments/inquiries. At this time, I recommend that you reach out directly to Fisher Price for detailed information on the Rock A Stack as it is a national brand product.

Please know that the safety of our guests has been, and continues to be, our first priority. While currently we do not have plans to remove this toy from our shelves, we continue to work closely with our vendors, industry leaders and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to ensure that we carry the best products – in terms of both safety and quality.

Guests interested in returning the product must present a receipt per the Target return policy. Guests with additional questions are encouraged to contact Target Guest Relations at 1-800-440-0680.

There you have it, folks. Just make sure not to get any blue on your receipt or it might be illegible. Mattel, Fisher-Price's parent company, has not responded to our request for comment.

PREVIOUSLY: Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack Bleeds Blue All Over Babies

This is David. David's mouth started turning blue after he began playing with the Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack toy.

You know the toy, it's that yellow pole with the stackable colored rings. It's a classic from a trusted brand, which is why his uncle Dan picked it off the shelf at Target.

"We gave it to him and it took about maybe 10 minutes before it got to the blue ring. He was playing with all the other ones and eventually he got a hold of the blue one and was spinnin' it like a steering wheel in his hand. And you could just see like it just comin' off on his hands. And then from his mouth. You're seeing blue around his mouth and that's what drew our attention to him. We looked over and we noticed his lips were turning blue. And we were like, "Uh oh." And they started yelling at me, "Oh, what did you give him?" I said, "It's a toy from Fisher Price... I assumed it was fine. I'm sorry." The ring's blue dye seeped onto David's hands, the pole, the other rings, and the rug, pictured at left.

He's not alone. A few one-star Amazon.com reviews concur, and there's similar tales in reviews on other toy sites.

One mother started Rock-a-stackbluering.blogspot.com to document getting a refund from Fisher-Price.

"After scrubbing the blue ring for a couple of minutes there was still blue dye coming off. My hands and arm had blue dye on the that took a couple of days to come off of my skin," Jen wrote. The picture at left was taken a few days after first contact.

Customers say that Fisher-Price has told them the dye is non-toxic, and refunded or replaced the ring when they complained. The online complaints seem to start in Spring '09. Not all the complaints mention where it was bought, but those that do say Target.

However, Dan wasn't satisfied with a refund. He wanted Fisher-Price to pay for the stained rug. After escalating to the executive office, they agreed to pay for it, but also wanted him to sign a gag agreement saying that he will never talk about the incident ever again. He's thinking about it. "I do want the rug replaced and I don't know any other way about going about it," he said.

David's father Joseph said it wasn't about the money or the rug for him. "Our concern is in children safety," he wrote via email. "Even if non-toxic, this dye can not be good in a baby's eyes, which is my son's favorite place to put them when he is tired, or internally when digested. Besides that, the amount that bled off this toy was unreal, I had never seen anything like that, and was horrified to think other parents may have to go through the jolt of this alarming event."

Requests for comment from Fisher-Price haven't been returned. There has been no recall of this annoyingly defective product.

"Target fined over lead paint in toys" [Reuters]
(Photo: j.reed)

Exhibit A:

Alex says:

I've never sent anything in like this before, but I saw this price tag at my local Target in Orlando, FL and it immediately reminded me of the countless Target articles, displaying their screwed up price tags, on the site.

So was it $13.99 before? Or not? The world may never know.

Exhibit B:
Bridget says:

Attached is a picture I took at our favorite place for goofs - Target.

Their "exciting" new Up & Up brand cleaning wipes appear to be on sale for $2.01, but the regular price tag states they are, in fact, $1.74.

And if that wasn't enough, when I purchased them, they rang up at $1.54.

I dunno, guys. Maybe Target just likes being on the site.

Alert readers may notice that we have featured Eclipse curtains before. One of our readers complained that while the curtains promised to block "over 99%" of light, they really seem to "block out more like 2% of the light."

However, since the laws of reality and mathematics do not apply inside Target stores, Eclipse has apparently developed special packaging for Target. This packaging boasts that the curtains now block more than 100% of light. Yes, they block light that isn't even there.

PREVIOUSLY: These Light Blocking Curtains Are Surprisingly Easy To Locate In The Daytime

Here are the filters that Rob found on the shelf. The filters without the water bottle cost $13.49, and the filters with the water bottle cost $14.99.

Meanwhile, after reading Rob's email, I made my own trip to Target. There on the shelf were the same two items Rob had photographed, only the prices were different. Yes, the Target in Colonie, NY is charging customers extra for the privilege of not receiving a free water bottle. The package of filters without the water bottle costs $15.39, and the filters with the water bottle cost $14.99.

I'm confused. I guess I just don't understand retail performance art.

UPDATE: Some readers requested the full-size versions of the original photos so they could read the shelf tag text. Here you are. Both were taken with Blackberry cameras, so quality is not great.

When Jeremy saw an external hard drive he wanted was $59.99 in-store only, he overlooked the tiny print that said "Prices, promotions, styles and availability may vary by store and online." And then he got into some trouble that caused him to write this letter to Target customer service:

I went in the Target store located in Charlottesville, Virginia to purchase a Seagate 250GB external hard drive. According to my research on the target.com website before I arrived, the in-store price was $59.99. However, when I arrived to purchase it, the price had gone up to $84.99. I had the electronics clerk take a look to verify pricing. He checked the website and it continued to state that the cost was $59.99. The clerk then requested the store manager 'David' to come to the front. David verified that the website indicated a cost of $59.99, but he pointed out that the fine print said that 'prices may vary'. Unfortunately, the website didn't indicate the range of prices that I may have to pay, much less indicate that the price may be up to 40% more than advertised.

I contacted guest relations and spoke with Kelly. She was very polite and helpful. She called the store in question and informed me that the in-store price was indeed $59.99 and that a mistake had been made. As I needed the item quickly, I had to use another retailer. Not only did I end up having to shop Best Buy, I wasted time going into the
Target store just to find out that I could get it for almost $20 less at Wal-Mart.

As I don't like to give Wal-Mart my money and I simply dislike Best Buy's sales tactics, I was very pleased to have a Target store open in my area. However, needing this item on short notice and doing the proper research to determine price, location and availability, I was under the impression that Target would be able to provide me this unit at the price indicated at the store indicated. I learned that I was mistaken.

Kelly informed me that to know what a price was at a particular store, I would have to call them to find out. I find this method of determining store pricing very unfortunate, especially in 2009. I neither have the time nor inclination to make phone calls to stores and be put on hold until someone can determine what a unit's price is. The entire point of a web presence is information, preferably accurate information.

Prior to the Target store opening in my area, I had to shop Wal-Mart or Best Buy. For all their other, serious issues, they at least had accurate information on their website. I could determine online what the actual cost was as well as availability.

I would request that I'm contacted when this oversight is corrected so that my family can start shopping Target again.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Despite the total ubiquity of these "web price may vary" policies at retailers, we get a lot of angry emails like this one. Customers want to use the website to research prices and availability at a given store, but stores have yet to develop a way for consumers to reliably do so. The dance will likely never end.

(Photo: pdxmac)

Our favorite part of this, of course, is that the $5.99 markup is the sale price that Target concocted in its ongoing quest to offer low prices. Just think, when this sale's over next week, "FREE" is going to be a lot more expensive.

Thanks, Michael!

Joseph in Memphis reserved a game through the program and got his gift card, but feels lucky he got his game the day it was released because his Target didn't set a copy aside for him:

He writes:

I bought my "reserved" copy of Wii Sports Resort last night at Target (the day after it came out), but the staff did not understand the concept of reservations. The reservation card costs a dollar, and when you pick the game up there's a $5 gift certificate that comes with it. I'm supposed to have 7 days to pick it up, however, none were "behind the counter" like the card says. Luckily there were 2 copies left on the shelf, but I'm not sure what options I would've had if they had sold out. They even said I couldn't have bought the reservation card a month ago, because "the game wasn't out yet". Genius.

Since Joseph did get his game, and the internet doesn't show signs of any consumers complaining about not being able to get their games immediately, it seems as though Target's non-reserve reserve policy — if the Memphis location's practices are standard — seems to be working out. Just to be on the safe side, if you reserve a game there, you'd be wise to pick it up quick.

It's not that Target is dangerously insane. It just has a bit of a reality problem. Here is more evidence, sent in by alert Consumerist readers and Target shoppers from across our great nation.

Thanks to Jill in Illinois, Geoff, joyosity, shakerdesigns, FAIL Blog, Scott in Rochester (NY), Mike, and Adam.

Previous installments in the "Target Is Crazy" series:
Target Saves You Money In Ways You Can Only Imagine
Do Not Fall Into Target's Evil Sunscreen Trap!
Target's Continuing Descent Into Madness Affects Courtesy Phones, TVs
Target Is Losing Its Mind
Target Shelf Tag: This Is Not A Sign

Tell us, is there anything actually raunchy on that Family Guy box, or are they just teasing?

From Fortune:

Former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and his successor Mike Duke are both frequent visitors, according to Target store manager Chuck Simmons, who jokes that he has become so friendly with Wal-Mart's district manager that "he's like my second boss."

Apparently, running a Target in Walmartville can be somewhat stressful. Why? Everyone has the CEO's cellphone number.

"There are people who come in here who have my CEO's cell phone number," he says, alluding to the dozens of vendors who have set up camp in Northwest Arkansas. The last thing he wants, he says, is to get a call from Target chief Greg Steinhafel wondering why he is not doing things the Target way.

Well, yay.

Target thrives in Wal-Mart country [Fortune]
(Photo:Flickr Avatar)

Do not fall for this.

It is a trap.

"For once some advertising I actually like," Joshua noted. "Makes finding places easier." Especially if you shop in a helicopter.

Target, Alexandria, Virginia [Google Maps]

Robbie says:

I was watching 30 rock on nbc.com this weekend. During this online viewing they show the same commercial about 6 times throughout the program. The commercial featured was for Target. In it, they advertise a blue gym ball for $11.88. I had been looking for a new gym ball and found them to be over $20 – nothing near that price on the ad. I looked on target.com and found no ball in that price. I called customer services to get the item number and the pain began.

The first person I contacted continued to ask me for the item number or barcode number. I explained that this is what I was looking for. After about 20 minutes of her telling me she couldn't find it and trying to sign me up for a Target Red credit card, I asked to get bumped up to her supervisor.

Her supervisor, was about as helpful. She started off by asking me for the barcode number. Then tried to sign me up for another Target Red credit card. Finally, she exclaimed that she found it –my Gum Ball machine. I explained nicely that I was looking for a Gym ball not a gum ball machine. She finally transferred my call to Guest Relations.

I spoke with a nice young woman at Guest Relations, who tried very hard to find me that item. She found A gym ball for $9 only available in stores. I finally gave up and said that was fine. Where can I find these magic deals listed on TV?

Has anyone out there bought this $11.98 gym ball at Target? Does it exist? Is it the $9 ball?

It's not nearly as bad as it looks, since the clock was also packed in a much-too-large box with plenty of packing material. John explained:

My Fiancee and I are registered at Target for our upcoming wedding, and some friends of ours were kind enough to get us a clock from Target online, and have it shipped to our house. We were quite perplexed by the gigantic box that showed up at our doorstep, since it was much too light to be any of the larger items we had registered for.

Opening the large outer box (with a magazine on top for a sense of size), we see the gift box that was included. (there were air packets inside the big box, around the gift box)

And inside the gift box (with a TON of tissue paper), was our clock.

I understand that the 'Gift Wrapping' added to the size of the packaging, but seriously, my Fiancee fit in the box, and still had room left for the clock! :)

Eric found the sign at left at his local Target store. "Looks like someone was already helped today," he wrote. "Have to try again some other time."

In the meantime, Geoff found that his nearby Target store is using their own measuring system:

Previously:
Reading Comprehension Among Target Employees At All Time High
Target Shelf Tag: This Is Not A Sign
Target Is Losing Its Mind

Jonas Jacobson, of the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management, said his office got an anonymous complaint at the end of March.

"We went out and found a much larger mouse infestation problem through the store," he said.

Jacobson said rodent carcasses and feces were strewn throughout the store. He said pet food bags and human food containers were also chewed open.

"Rodent Infestation Closes Pikesville Target" [WBALTV]
(Rodent drawing: Violentz)

Shawn H., of Charlotte, NC purchases a pair of shoes from his local Target store. Having worn the shoes for only two days, the stitching in the RIGHT shoe becomes defective and begins to unravel. Mr. Harris does what any self sufficient individual would do and pulls the leather parts together with a tie from a loaf of bread to hold the shoe together until he can return the defective shoe(s).

Upon arriving at the original store where the purchase was made, Mr. Harris wearing the funny looking shoe(s), finds out that the store did not a replacement pair of shoes in his size. He inquires as to what other Target stores in the area might have his size in stock. A pair is located by looking at the inventories of the local stores and off he goes approximately 15 miles to exchange the shoe(s).

Upon arrival at the second Target store, Mr. Harris can only locate one of the shoes (the other shoe apparently has been stolen) that would make up the pair. Surprisingly enough, it is the RIGHT shoe…..the same shoe that is needed to be replaced. Mr. Harris asks a store associate about getting approval to simply exchange shoe for shoe and he will continue on with his daily routines. This apparently is "not permitted" because Target would not get credit for the defective shoe(s) unless they received a complete pair in return. Mr. Harris asks to see the store manager to pursue the matter further. The manager repeats the story about Target not getting its credit, regardless of the customer's happiness. Mr. Harris then is asked to wait while the matter is elevated to the corporate level. Shockingly, the same story is repeated…..Target will not get its credit if a complete pair of shoes is not returned in exchange for the one and only shoe that is needed. (How does Target expect to sell one shoe is now quickly becoming the question.)

The store manager, admittedly joking, remarks that everyone else probably would of walked back to the shoe department, slipped of the defective shoe, (the one being held together with a tie from a loaf of bread) and put on a new replacement and walked out the store. Mr. Harris, disagreeing with that solution, is then told he is welcomed to drive to any of the other Target stores in the local area to seek a replacement pair of shoes. For his trouble, Mr. Harris is given a $3.00 gift certificate, just about what it cost him in gas to drive the store in the first place.

So the question is………What would you do, if you were in his ……ahem…shoe(s)?

Cool, Target, you'll get your shoe credit and lose a customer, who may have, perhaps, purchased multiple shoes throughout his life at your store.

(Photo: Scurzuzu)

#1 AIG takes on #32 Target in a battle of retail vs. insurance.

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers, and seeded according to number of nominations. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america. Download the bracket here.

The trouble started as soon as Erica didn't behave like a good little consumer and do what she was told by the don't-make-me-think cashier.

The total came to $383.95 $383.90. When I asked her to split the cost down the middle so could each charge half she snottily said, "I don't know what half is." I was annoyed by her flip reaction, but pulled out my cell phone to calculate the cost. We'd each pay $191.95, I told her.

I slipped my Visa debit card into the automated machine and pressed the requisite buttons. When the total came up, it read "$383.95." The cashier instructed me to sign my name and click "Pay another way," which I did. My receipt printed and the cashier said, "You paid for it all. He can just get you back."

When Erica grew angry at what happened, another Target employee came over and replaced the awful one, who said "This girl is freaking out" and walked away. The second employee ran the transaction again, had Erica swipe her card again, and charged her the full amount again.

Erica and her boyfriend then had to pull all the scanned items out of the bags and place them on the belt for re-scanning so her boyfriend could pay for everything, just to put an end to it all. Only now on Monday, Erica has discovered that her account is running on fumes, and Target can do nothing to help. In fact, the first customer service person she spoke with told her she'd have to drive down to Target and bring her void receipts to prove she wasn't lying. Apparently Target shreds all of their records every Sunday night, and their electronic records are lost when the lights are shut off for the night.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping hard that "72 hours" is a padded estimation and that I'll actually have my money back sooner. I'm lucky that my rent isn't due, that I didn't write any checks recently. I'm fortunate enough that my boyfriend will lend me the cash to get through till my bank account in unfrozen. But what if I wasn't so lucky? Eight hundred dollars is a significant amount of money... [it's] almost two full months of rent for my apartment, it's practically an entire paycheck, it's more money than I'd ever spend at Target.

The one bright side to this: Target apparently gave her some sort of discount for her troubles the third time they rang up the bill, which basically worked out to a free deep fryer. Now let's hope she doesn't end up paying for that with overdraft fees.

"Target Is Holding My $800 Hostage" [PW Style]
(Photo: j.reed)

(Photo:shakerdesigns)