Sear's and their wacky return policy

[vi edit]

A few weeks before Christmas my in laws gave shipped me a Sear's gift card and a picture of an air compressor on it. So I bought one and unboxed everything and used it a few times.

Not knowing they were doing this, my parents went to Sears and bought a different one and gave it to me on Christmas day. I really have no need for two of them so I got the receipt from my parents and went to the store to return it.

I was just planning on getting instore credit and grabbing some other tools. But no...it couldn't be that easy.

Since I had an original receipt the only choice I had for a return was refunding back to original credit card(didn't even need the card). They wouldn't let me get a gift card.

So I asked what happened if I had a gift a reciept that didn't have the credit card info. The answer - I'd get a gift card for the amount.



So instead of me *wanting* to keep the money in the store they wouldn't work with me and said that's how they had to do it. That just really struck me as odd.

***CLIFFS***
1. Needed to return a gift purchased at Sears
2. Had original receipt paid on someone elses credit card
3. Only option I was given was refund to card. I couldn't get instore credit
4. If I had a gift receipt I could have gotten instore credit.
5. I'm thouroughly confused on the logic there.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

hey, may I see that receipt real quick?
<shreds receipt>
I'll take a gift card please...

 

[buzzsaw13]

Wow, thats sucks. I know Fry's will let you have in store credit instead of having the whole thing credited back to your credit card.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

oh, and try returing something bought off Sears.com. It's akin to cracking the Enigma code.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
oh, and try returing something bought off Sears.com. It's akin to cracking the Enigma code.

Their website is atrocious and selection sucks... sears.ca ar least. I haven't bought anything at Sears in years. Just looking at their idea of boxing day sales just about explained why.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Wow, thats sucks. I know Fry's will let you have in store credit instead of having the whole thing credited back to your credit card.

You know, I'm usually a reasonable guy and really ask for very little from vendors. I understand the reason behind most store policies and I'm not the type to make a scene over things.

But this just really struck a nerve with me as a completely assinine policy. Both from a consumer and business sense. You inconvenience the customer, and you keep less money in the store.

Who wins?

 

[altonb1]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
hey, may I see that receipt real quick?
<shreds receipt>
I'll take a gift card please...

With a shredded receipt, they may not have accepted the return at all.

 

[Jumpem]

Lowes is the same way. My wife returned a mixer that my gramma had got for her. It ended up going back on my gramma's card, and then gramma wrote her a check for that amount.

 

[deadlyapp]

here's the lowdown, technically we're required to return back to original, like you found out. But we do take no receipt returns. You're allowed 2 a year maximum, and we keep strict records. And you get the money back on gift card.

So! you can go back and return it like that, and get a gift card without any issues, they'll just need your drivers license.

-Sears associate.

 

[alkemyst]

I would contact sears corporate. Sounds like someone making their own policy.

The worst that happens usually is you get the lowest credit the item sold for in the last X days (usually 30) even if you know they paid a higher amount for it.

The only solution to that is to get the original reciept.

There should be no reason why Sears/any merchant would need to only credit back the original CC on a gift return by the giftee.

 

[marvdmartian]

Really doesn't surprise me. My local Sears comes up with some of the stupidest policies, seemingly on the spur of the moment sometimes.

Last time they had a %-off shopping bag deal in the tools area, I went in to take advantage of it (had a gift card to spend). I went to grab one, and there was an associate there telling people that it was only good for specific items, but not for x, y or z items. I read the printing on the bag itself, and the only restriction that Sears corporate had placed on it was that it was for hand tools only, no power or air tools. I questioned the associate about it, and he told me that's what his manager had told them......then talked to another associate 5 minutes later, and he told me don't worry about it, as long as it's a hand tool they'll make it work. Yeah, great leadership! :roll:

They're also famous for having displays with tools/tool kits, with a price tag clearly marking the price. Get up to the checkout, it rings up as something else, you mention the price tag on their display (set up by the store associates, and not just one item mistakenly put back in the wrong place by a customer, but 3 or 4 of the same item in that area with the marked price), they go over, look at it, pull the tag off the display, then tell you that price was for a different item, not the one you're trying to buy! Yeah......even went so far one time to argue with an assistant manager that if it's marked that price, they have to give it for that price, and her entire defense was to continually repeat, "No, we don't".

To say the least, Sears gets little to no business from me anymore.

 

[alkemyst]

the sales tags have the sears number on them...if they didn't match the tool you got then you were wrong or the tool was but in the wrong place.

I have never heard this.

 

[vrbaba]

try return without a receipt, or try another sears or another CSR.

 

[StageLeft]

I kind of hate sears a bit, though that's mainly because their appliance salespeople are absolute scum.