"The Retail Equation" Raymond Kelly (The unemployed bum that registered the domain ) 6430 Oak Canyon Snakes-in-the-grass. Boycott retail stores that subscibe to "The Retail Equation," like Best Buy. Irvine, California

Here's the truth about "The Retail Equation."

This is a nothing "Company" that was started by some fortune-seeker named Raymond Kelly with a few bucks for a domain name.

The purpose of this so-called "Company" is to "monitor" how many returns you make at a retail store that chooses to "utilize" their snake-in-the-grass "Service."

If "The Retail Equation" "determines" that you have made "too many" returns, they in turn tell the retail store to not allow you to make any RETURNS or EXCHANGES for 90 days, as a start!

I discovered this when I bought an iPod at Best Buy in Mankato, Minnesota. Actually, what happened was this: I had purchased an iPod and it was defective. So, I exchanged it, and got another one. Then, that iPod turned out to be one that someone else had owned, and it was put back on the shelf to be sold again. It would not hold a charge for more than two hours. So, I exchanged it again, and got another one. This time was different, however. I got this receipt from the register:

     Future Returns Will Be Declined for 90 Days

     Dear Customer,
     This return has been approved, however, a warning code was returned and you  will not be able to make further returns or exchanges for a period of 90 days.
     Below is a toll free number you can call for more information.
     Our decision is based on information provided by The Retail Equation (TRE).
     If you have questions, please call The Retail Equation's Customer Service Office at 1-888-223-1920 (Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm PST). Or, if yo prefer, you can write to The Retail Equation at P.O. Box 51373, Irvine, CA 92619-1373. You may request a free copy of your Return Activity Report held in TRE's files for a period of 90 days. You may dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in you Return Activity Report.

So, I read this BS and simply tell the Best Buy manager that I will not buy anything in their store for the next 90 days. Then, he responds by giving me his best "We value you as a customer" routine, and I listen for a minute and reply, "There's no need to finish you bologna story. If Best Buy, or any other retail store feels they have to be a part of a snake-in-the-grass 'company' like 'The Retail Equation,' I'll just turn-in my credit card, (which I did), and never shop here again."

We, as consumers, have the right to our privacy, especially when we have a receipt to go along with our returns or exchanges. (I'm not talking about the people that steal items, then try to return those items for cash).

In addition, I WILL NOT concede to giving my driver's license to any store clerk, again, especially if I have a receipt. If I have a problem with a purchase I've made, and I have the receipt, and the minimum-wage employee demands to see my license, I simply ask for the manager, and I will argue the privacy rights of my driver's license until he/she concedes that they in fact, do not have that right to force me to hand-over my license. If they still persist, I take my purchase, leave the store, and send it to the company, and demand my refund. Also, I never shop at that store again.

Here's the bottom line:

As retail consumers we have rights. If we buy shoddy, defective merchandise, we have the moral right to return or exchange it. If the store, like Best Buy, utilizes a scumbag "Company" like "The Retail Equation" as their way of doing business, we, again, as consumers, need to stop shopping at that particular store, and add their name to a list of stores that do in fact utilize scumbag "services" like the snake-in-the-grass outfit called "The Retail Equation." 

Together, consumers can band-together and stop retail stores from violating our rights to privacy!
We can also put them out of business. We can put no-account scumbags like "The Retail Equation" out of business also!