Good job, CompUSA. You sold a guy an empty box for the price of a digital camera, then said it was his fault for not examining the box. What? That’s not how it works. Trust us.

When Terry went to a nearby CompUSA, the manager there told him that, since a liquidation company technically sold him the camera, CompUSA wouldn’t give him a refund. So, Terry wrote a note to Roman Ross, CompUSA president and CEO. Ross passed it along to a staffer who had the nerve to blame Terry: “The return policy for all merchandise, as printed on your receipt and posted throughout the store, clearly stated ALL SALES FINAL…. if the camera you purchased was a clearance item, you should have inspected its content prior to purchase.” And there you have it. Terry is to blame for not inspecting the box to make sure he wasn’t being defrauded. All sales of empty boxes are, apparently, final. It doesn’t matter the technicality – in CompUSA’s name, on a CompUSA receipt, $269 was stolen from Terry and CompUSA won’t give it back. It’s not just “buyer beware,” it’s “don’t be a buyer.”

As Terry has obviously escalated this as far as it will go, we think its time for small claims court. All sales final is one thing, “Ha, ha, ha we tricked you into buying an empty box!” is another. At least, that’s what we think a judge would say.—MEGHANN MARCO

CompUSA sells Heaton empty box, won’t refund [Lost Remote via BoingBoing]
(Photo:Morton Fox)

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