Target Stores Exchange - Refund policy screws consumers Burlington North Carolina

Target's return policy is perhaps one of the clearest in the retail world, and has been since 1999 when it was implemented. The policy is simply -- NO RECEIPT, NO RETURN. And yes, that means you must have the CORRECT receipt, not just any receipt.

I honestly don't see what you are complaining about. YOU did not have the correct receipt to complete the return. This item was a GIFT which you did not pay for anyway. How are they "screwing"? If this is so important to you, why don't you call your friend and ask for the original receipt showing the item and price? Oh, I bet she doesn't have it anymore, right??

I don't know how much simpler and clearer a return policy can be -- yet it's funny how many people seem to have a problem interpreting it!

Sandi,

I noticed you posted another brand new ripoff report after the rebuttal instead of replying here for some reason. Try to keep it to one posting, it makes it easy to follow.

As for your issue, what the problem is, is that Target has no idea what the item was purchased for. While it scans up $89 now, it may have been purchased on sale or majorly discounted. You say it's not fair for them to ONLY give you $40 for the item, but isn't it just as unfair for you to GET $89 if the person ONLY PAID $25, or $40 or $50? They would be losing money wouldn't they? This was actually a popular scam people would use to get money. Buy it on sale and try to return it for full price later.

Why can't you simply tell the store you'd wait and try to get the real receipt from the gifter?

I do NOT see the injustice you THINK you were done! Your friend should have given you the CORRECT receipt. She should give you a nice card from now on, so as not to cause you such rage. Companies DO have rules & regulations they go by. Employees must follow these rules. TARGET has good buys on lots of items, 9 out of 10 employees are helpful and try to please. Did you ask to exchange instead of return? I LOVE Target! MUCH better shopping and more pleasant employees than (((competitor's name redacted)))!

sorry, …allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company… your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Yes, I only wanted an exchange. I NEVER was after the MONEY, just an even exchange or I was actually looking at something priced higher and I would've paid the difference. I understand that companies have rules. I'm saying that to EXCHANGE an unopened item that originally cost $89.00 for an item that can only be worth UP TO $40.00 is ridiculous!

The cause of the $40 limit is probably due to that being the sale price at some point in time in their system. They were willing to work with you and allow you to exhange without a receipt but only up to the lowest price it was sold for. Let me explain why...

Your friend buys the item on sale for $40.
You return it for something else for $89.

Net Loss to Target = $49

You have no idea what it was purchased for, and you never attempted to get the real receipt from your friend

The $40.00 limit was not due to it being the sale price at some point in their system. Per management, this $40.00 limit applies regardless of any past sales, etc, IF the scanned price at the time of exchange exceeds $40.00. The $89.00 in question WAS the sale price. Regular retail of this particular item was $109.99.

I know that Target has some decent sales once in awhile, but there's no way I will ever be convinced that this particular item sold for $40.00 at one time. I appreciate you assuming that I never attempted to get the real receipt from my friend.

What gave you that impression? It sounds like you have an answer for everything but you're wrong. I did attempt. She was so sure that the gift receipt that she attached was the correct one that other Target receipts were tossed, and since she paid cash the "Target receipt look-up" does no good here.

You've made it abundantly clear that the only ways Target could make the situation fair to you would be for you to get $89.99 cash or the equivalent value in different products. While I understand your frustration, implementing a return policy like that would very quickly hurt a discount retailer like Target.

So severly, in fact, that they would not survive a year. With the huge sales and markdowns, a one time investment of $400 could have you retired from your current occupation (at 50% off, your 400 dollars in sale items are worth 800 dollars. the next day, 1600... by the end of the week, you'd have $26,000.

Not too bad for a week's pay. And another week brings some more deeply-discounted sale items.) YOU may not be attempting to do this, but there are MILLIONS who would, given the opportunity.

Should they make an exception? No. Why? Because if throwing a holy-coniption fit gets you your way, the show that would go on at every customer service desk around the country would be worth the price of admission! Every criminal in the world would be there screaming and crying, and Target would be broke in a matter of hours. We're talking enough negative cash flow to destroy the company and the tens of thousands of people it employs.

As badly as I feel for you, sometimes you just have to accept that a string of unfortunate circumstances helped deal you a crap hand. And sadly, in this case, there's very little to blame on the store. You were given the wrong reciept, could not use the very useful reciept look-up tool, and refused to accept what is most likely a better offer than most stores would make.

Target did not go to unreasonable extremes to make you happy, but they came very far from ripping you off.

And a note about your ability to return at Wal-mart, their system is nearly identical. No reciept, no cash return. The best you get is a gift card woth the lowest price issued in the last 60 days. Target goes back for ninety days, but also allows returns with reciept for 90. Walmart allows reciept returns for 60 days, hence the shorter span.

Although Walmart used to allow returns without reciept, they now require a drivers liscence and also have a two items per YEAR (not transaction) limit. It's a national database used by both companies and several hundred others to help track criminal return scams. If you return a total of 10 items without reciept (2 per store) ALL stores using this equipment will refuse you a no-reciept return.

Maybe I need to re-word.... Know that I wasn't trying to RETURN this item for cash.... I was trying to EXCHANGE it for an item that I could use. I was NOT trying to get cash for this item. I know better than that. It just seems that if we know the item is a Target exclusive and we know that ON SALE it was $89.99, why can I not exchange the item for one worth $89.99? Target does not lose money that way... But allowing me to exchange an item worth $89.99 for an item UP TO $40.00 .... does that seem fair? Again, the item in question was unopened...brand new....Target has not missed my business. But I've not regretted my decisions to BOYCOTT Target, place this rip-off report , place a bulletin on myspace.com as well as notify all my friends and family that do not have internet access.

You stated that the product came from target cause it rang up on the Target's checklanes and on their computers???

I hate to inform you but the bar codes can be read at any store and aren't store specific. I know as I work in a Target store and sometimes we get boxes of stuff label'd W....M.... (written since the site will probably censor me anyways) and K....M... ..... you get the gist of both stores.

I've been in other stores too and have seen the "only available from Target" logo and I'm talking about major toy chain stores.

The only bar codes that are store specific are the one spot/see spot save portion of the store and the barcodes there feature company logo and a colored dot (The dot is different colors and used mostly by staff to guage which season it belongs to etc...)

Please look at it from Target stores:

We see some person walking in with said item and no reciept. For all we know you could of stole or bought it from a neighbor competitor, if you had bought it from a competitor for lets say $50 while we sell it for $60 one could try and make money.

Plus we also don't know if you had bought it a long while ago during a special sales promotion and bought it for way cheaper and then decided to return it when it was more expensive to buy.

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These statements are my own and are in no way any offical statement from my employer or implied to be such. Any factual errors found there in are mine own and can't be held accountable against the store or it's vendors.

They didn't offer $40 for the exchange to rip you off, they were actually bending the return policy rules when they even did that. The return policy as of April 1, 2007 states that no receipt returns on items over $40 will not be accepted. What they intended to do was scan in the item, and change its price to $40 to cheat the point of sale software into allowing the return.

It is always unfortunate when you're stuck with a product you don't need or want, but Target is following the trend of many retailers in making a stricter return/exchange policy. Because of the people out there that will try to scam retailers for an extra buck, it ruins what could have been a simple exchange. Working at Guest Service leads me to deliver this bad news routinely, but please understand that at the store level, even the store manager cannot override the Point of Sale software to accept the return over $40. Even if they tried to call their refund authorization number and followed the phone prompts, they would be directed in a recorded loop that just says we can't allow it.

I have seen dishonest people (obviously not you) that will steal items and try to go back to the store and get store credit or cash back for it. It really saddens me to see to what extent people will go to make a couple of bucks. It ruins the policies and procedures that help people as much as Target can afford to.

I honestly hope that this doesn't ruin Target for you. They're just not able to help you out here, and that really does suck.

You don't know how each Target store interprets the return policies differently. I have just posted a ripoff report and you can read about my experience. Thing is, I've heard that they'll only offer X amount back as a policy. Or nothing. People with genuine, timely gift receipts are being refused returns.

No explanation. Some guy even told a woman that car seats have to be thrown away for "safety regulations" if they're returned. Even unopened boxes. Customers have been accused of breaking an item and, after much argument, given half the credit that should have been received. The stories go on....

I am a retail manager. I know why policies are made and why they must be adhered to. Thing is, none of the companies that I have worked for, which are all smaller than Target (but still chains), would ever treat a customer in such horrible ways.

Then again, this is the Scroogey company that removed donation buckets from their front doors.....

I am truly amazed by the "Ripoff Reports" I read on this site.
As several other posters have said, Target has a very clear and concise return policy. In fact, they have one of the best return policies. How many other stores have a 90 Day Return Policy (most have 30 days), and are willing to look up your purchase if you used a credit, debit, or gift card or a check? The only way you may not be able to return something is if you paid in cash and did not keep your receipt (or if it is after 90 days).

Also, it is not the store's, nor the team member's, fault if your friend/relative did not give you the correct gift receipt, or did not give one at all. Get over it!!

I believe all of my other opinions have been stated by several of the previous posters. I thank you for letting me know that not EVERYONE is a rude consumer who believes he or she is right not matter what. (This is not directly to the original poster, but to almost ALL of the posters on this site.)