When Michael’s son used his Christmas money to buy a copy of Madden 09 from Walmart, he thought he was buying a copy of Madden 09, not a blank disc that said “Redneck Sh*t.”

Michael writes:

I have been a long time reader of The Consumerist and until now never thought I would send anything your way.

Late on On Saturday night we went to our local Walmart to get an xbox360 game for our Son. He wanted Madden 09 and was spending his own money that he got for Christmas. We purchased the game then went on home it was late and he couldn’t the game so he waited until Sunday afternoon.

When he opened the game all I heard was “WHAT IS THIS” and he ran to me and showed me the game and to my surprise this is what I saw see attached photos.
I immediately called Walmart and asked for a manager and explained to her what we found she asked if it was sealed and I told her yes with the security stickers and everything. She wanted me to come in now with the game I had to tell her I was unable to due to not having a vehicle available the then asked that I come in on Monday between 8am and 5pm and ask for her.

This was a positive conversation I am hopeful that we can get his game replaced. I remember reading where people purchased electronics and found tiles in them and stores giving them a difficult time about the products.

After closer inspection of the plastic that was wrapped around the game case I found scotch tape. I can only assume that someone purchased this game swapped the disk then returned it to Walmart.

Michael’s story shows the importance of always opening your purchases in the store to make sure that the product you paid for is the product you received. Although we can’t entirely blame his son for doing anything other than rushing home to enjoy his belated Christmas gift.

Since Michael’s son paid with Christmas money and not a credit card, he can’t file a chargeback or ask his credit card company to help dispute the charge. He can, however, play up the fact that he’s a kid and an unlikely scammer. Michael should return to Walmart, receipts in hand, and let them see the disappointment on his son’s face. If the manager isn’t as helpful as she sounds and insists that the kid is a scammer, well, we wouldn’t stop him from crying or explaining to anyone that Walmart stole his Christmas present.

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