Gold Elements The Woodlands Ambiguous return/refund policy The Woodlands Texas

While walking through the Woodlands Mall, I was invited into the vendor's store to receive a demonstration of their products. Unfortunately, I was foolish enough to accept the invitation. The sales associate was very aggressive, and I allowed myself to talked into a purchase of skin care products.

I made the purchase on December 29, 2016, and attempted to return all merchandise to the vendor on January 3, 2017. I was informed that the store employees were not able to initiate a refund, but that if I contacted the corporate customer service department, that they would issue an authorization that allowed the store to issue a refund. I called that same day, but my message was not returned, and I did not receive any response until I called again on January 6.

The customer service representative asked me to send in a copy of the credit card receipt so that she could investigate the issue. I complied with this request, and after about one hour, the representative called back to say that they would not issue any refund. It was repeatedly stated that the return policy printed on the receipt was very clear. I argued that it was not at all clear, but rather extremely ambiguous.

The actual policy printed on the receipt reads as follows:

"No refunds on discounted items. Exchange only within 14 days with original receipt and in original unopened packaging. A 20% restocking fee will be applied on all returns within 24 hours."

I told the representative that I was seeking a refund on non-discounted items, and that I failed to see where these were addressed in the policy. She was adamant that the second and third sentences referred to all items, which is the focal point of this dispute. My claim is that a clear policy would explicitly define these terms. In addition, she told me that the third sentence makes it clear that returns will only be accepted within 24 hours, which I also dispute. I fail to see how anyone could reasonably understand the last sentence to exclude all returns after 24 hours.

I accept that companies have every right to employ a restrictive return policy. In this case, however, I feel that I was misled by the employee who told me that a refund would be issued after obtaining an authorization, and that the printed policy itself does not clearly state the conditions for returning products.

I will happily return all of the merchandise in its original, unopened packaging, but I am not interested in exchanging the products. I desire a full refund of the charges made to my credit card.