Beware of purchasing Disney DVDs from Walmart

[PoohsHubby]

Hi All,

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on Walmart's policy on defective DVDs by telling you what happeneded to us.

A few months ago, DH and I purchased about 9 previously viewed DVDs from Walmart, and they were Disney titles for $8.88 - we got Beauty and the Beast, Leroy & Stitch, Lady and the Tramp, Santa Clause 3, The Incredibles, Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, Mulan 2, etc. etc. We were both so happy finding such a great deal that we promised we would have stop by the dvd section every time we went to Walmart to see if they had anything new.

So fast forward a couple months, after watching 9 of those dvds, 4 of them were defective. Stupid us, we didn't have our receipt so we didn't even bother trying to return them.

Three weeks ago, we saw the previously viewed dvd bin at Scarborough Town Centre and spent a good 45 minutes going through it looking for more Disney dvds. We purchased 5 in total this last time - and bought 2 copies of one movie just in case one didn't work. Thankfully I made sure we saved the receipt just in case. This past week we went through all of the dvds we purchased and none of them worked! One even had the wrong dvd in it- it was supposed to be Brother Bear but it had The Game or something like that.

We went to Walmart this afternoon to get a exchange with receipt and packaging in hand. Since the dvds were already open, they told us it was too bad and that they could not accept a return. After a few minutes explaining the absurdity of this (how is the customer to know if a dvd does not work from a sealed package?!?!). In comes the manager, more back and forth arguing, then he tells us to go into the dvd section and find the same titles again. We spend another 30 minutes sifting through their dvd section and find 2 out of the 5. We go back to the customer service desk and they said we can exchange the two, but the remaining 3 are our problem. After a few more minutes of arguing again back and forth, the manager says that he will refund us the money of 3 but in the future they would not do that.

So my response to him was, "that's fine, obviously Walmart will not stand behind the quality of the products they sell, and that consumers should not be purchasing any of the dvds since if they defective, they will not replace it unles you spend 25 minutes arguing."

There are two things that bother me regarding Walmarts position on this:
1) Why would they sell any product and not replace it if it defective? If I buy a microwave and it doesn't work, I return it during their exchange period, I expect them to replace that microwave. They have a duty to the consumer to provide them a working product.

2) The way the manager acted in this situation. I understand that the initial CSR does what he is told to do. But the manger was out right rude. I worked in customer service position for 8 years before I moved on to Human Resources Role, where I now hire about 25 CSR a week among other positions. This man was the example of what bad customer service is, and in the future, he will be the example I use when I discuss bad customer service to my new employees. He talked down to my partner and myself like we were 12 year olds. It was disgusting, and I doubt I will be shopping at Walmart or Sam's Club in the future.


Ok, thats my rant and warnings for my fellow dis'ers. Please be careful purchasing any dvds from walmart (new and previously viewed) because as the manager said to us "once it's opened, you can't return it, only exchange it for the same exact product, and if we're out of that product, too bad for you". We don't need to waste our hard earned dollars on this when it could be going to our Disney Funds.

 

[crash2000]

they do this with dvd's, an cd's, blame the people who record them and then try to return them.. most video stores, etc have an exchange program for the same title only..

may I ask why you tried this a 2nd time, after buying defective dvd's the first time??

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Walmart sells PV DVDs? I didn't know. Ours doesn't. That's crazy that they won't replace/refund defective products, although I understand the opened CDs/DVDs not being replaced if they are not defective.

 

[disney0210]

Even Futureshop, Bestbuy and the like have the same policy or at best, a same-title-only policy with opened DVD's or CD's - again, blame the people who open them, copy, and then return for a refund...

I suggest Blockbuster for next time, I think their PV movies are guaranteed - although I don't necessarily know what that means...

Good luck!

 

[PoohsHubby]

they do this with dvd's, an cd's, blame the people who record them and then try to return them.. most video stores, etc have an exchange program for the same title only..

may I ask why you tried this a 2nd time, after buying defective dvd's the first time??

Because more than half of the initial dvds I bought the first time worked. For under $10 for a Disney DVD is a hot price. I assumed a store like Walmart would stand behind their products if they were defective. I understand the whole piracy issue behind them not wanting to return opened dvds, but the products were defective, they could have put them in a dvd player and see that they wouldn't start up after you get to the menu. I had no issue wanting the same title, I still want them! I can't find Lady and the Tramp anywhere, and that was the first time I saw it. I would have been ecstatic if they had another 'working' copy but they didn't, so I was going to be out $10 for that for each of the DVDs.

My concern from this point is: let say a customer goes to walmart, purchases the last copy of "Peter Pan", they get home, put it in their dvd player and it doesnt work. They go back to walmart, to exchange it for the same product and Walmart is out, that customer would be stuck with the defective DVD. If Walmart offers to order that customer that same title and says it will be in in a few weeks, thats fine, I can understand that. But when the manager says if we don't have it in stock, its your problem, I think that is wrong. They offer no other alternatives.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's fair to blame the customer for having a defective product. If I knew in the first place that they wasn't a policy regarding having their products be free from defects and replacing them, I wouldn't have purchased from Walmart, nor will I purchase any future dvds from them.

 

[bababear_50]

Hugs from someone who is thinking the Canadian marketing,manufacturing,and Service Industry is going down hill.
We are seeing large Companies receiving huge shipments of these products at a bargain price ,,then selling them to us at a mark-up --all the while KNOWING the product is inferior ,damaged, or likely to require repair in a short period of time.
We want to say we are a generation of "Green " but we are such a throw away generation it is extremely sad.

I'd give one last try to Corporate head office (believe their offices are in Meadowvale Mississauga).

HUGS Mel

 

[PoohsHubby]

Hugs from someone who is thinking the Canadian marketing,manufacturing,and Service Industry is going down hill.
We are seeing large Companies receiving huge shipments of these products at a bargain price ,,then selling them to us at a mark-up --all the while KNOWING the product is inferior ,damaged, or likely to require repair in a short period of time.
We want to say we are a generation of "Green " but we are such a throw away generation it is extremely sad.

I'd give one last try to Corporate head office (believe their offices are in Meadowvale Mississauga).

HUGS Mel

Thanks Mel! I appreciate it alot. It's sad to say that yesterdays one hour experience has almost ruined my weekend. I'm going to try to forget it about I think. The way we were treated was so disgusting that it turns my stomach each time I think about it.

Thank you for your kind words.

 

[seashoreCM]

One even had the wrong dvd in it- it was supposed to be Brother Bear but it had The Game or something like .

Open the package before leaving (arriving at?) the cash register.

More: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/openbox.htm

If a store refuses to make good on defective products, regardless of any "same title" rule, that store is fair game for a credit card dispute.

So fast forward a couple months, after watching 9 of those dvds, 4 of them were defective. ... This past week we went through all of the dvds we purchased and none of them worked! .

Did you or the manager try out the DVD's in the store after the fact?

 

[PoohsHubby]

Did you or the manager try out the DVD's in the store after the fact?

No he didn't. I wish he did so he could see what was wrong with them. If he spent 15 minutes going through the dvds, he would see how frustrating it could be for the consumer.

 

[TZMOM]

Sorry to hear of that problem!! How very frustrating - as a general rule, I haven't shopped at Walmart for years due to their corporate practices and the way many of the staff are treated. Seems there's not going to be many places I can shop soon . . . . . .

Hope you're able to find some DVD's that work from another source.

 

[highland3]

If you have a major, serious complaint with Walmart or a manager/CSR...

you should go to the Walmart website and submit an e-mail to the president. The people identified will be held accountable and have to answer questions on how the situation was dealt with.

 

[Disney Brat]

I am sorry you had a problem with the manager/csr at Wal Mart!! We had a similar problem over a computer game...we did spend about 20 mins 'talking' with the manager and then he returned the games....I think that if customers are complaining that the CD, DVD etc isn't working, they should test them and then offer a refund/exchange. It would take a few minutes more, but it would make a better customer service policy. Although with many aspects of Wal Mart, I do question how much some of them really care about customer satistafcation....just my two cents about the Wal Marts around here....lol

 

[SaraMc]

Sorry you had such a problem with your DVD's. I would defiantly email Walmart about how he treated you. However any retailer that sells DVD's, Blue rays, CD's and video games all have this policy. Basically its because of piracy. Back in the day I can remember when I was a CM having to watch the defective vcr tapes at The Disney Store to make sure it really didnt work before we would let them exchange and then they could only get the same title. If they didnt have it we would tell them to call Buena Vista Home Video about it, which I think they change thier name to Walt Disney Studios Home entertainment. They might be able to help you.

Goodluck.

 

[trivial]

In Canada, it is 100% legal (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to download movies which you already own. For the defective DVDs that you don't have the receipts for, you could always go that route.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Open the package before leaving (arriving at?) the cash register.

Most stores don't like when you open boxes or sealed packages on items before purchasing them. In any case, even if you opened a DVD, you usually can't tell it's defective just by looking at it.

Sorry to hear of that problem!! How very frustrating - as a general rule, I haven't shopped at Walmart for years due to their corporate practices and the way many of the staff are treated. Seems there's not going to be many places I can shop soon . . . . . .

I'm in the same boat. Every time I see a thread complaining about Wal-Mart, I wonder why people are surprised at receiving bad service there. In my circles, that's common knowledge and it's why the majority of my friends and family no longer shop there.

If you have a major, serious complaint with Walmart or a manager/CSR...

you should go to the Walmart website and submit an e-mail to the president. The people identified will be held accountable and have to answer questions on how the situation was dealt with.

In my experience, the Wal-mart president does not respond to complaints. In fact, I have yet to receive a response of any sort from anyone at Wal-Mart.

However any retailer that sells DVD's, Blue rays, CD's and video games all have this policy. Basically its because of piracy.

That's not actually true. They won't allow you to exchange/return an opened DVD/CD for no reason but if it a retailer sells you defective or damaged goods and you weren't made aware of the damages pre-sale, they are actually legally responsible for replacing it or compensating you so long as you have proof of purchase.

In Canada, it is 100% legal (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to download movies which you already own.

I believe it is legal to make copies of DVDs you already own for personal use only. I don't think that includes downloading.

 

[trivial]

I believe it is legal to make copies of DVDs you already own for personal use only. I don't think that includes downloading.

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding something conclusive about this, but what I found out is that downloading pirated material in Canada for personal use is completely legal. I don't condone doing so, but if it is legal to download pirated material in Canada, it is no doubt perfectly legal and acceptable to download material which you already legally own.

 

[cpbjgc]

Just to chime in on the copyright debate...

Downloading pirated material in Canada is illegal. It's contrary to the Copyright Act on several counts(producer rights, artists rights and reproduction rights). People think it is legal because it is difficult and costly to enforce rights, except where people are blatant abusers.

Likewise, the "personal use" exemption is not the free for all that people like to think it is. That was meant to allow people to make copies of a few pages from a book, not the whole book.

 

[trivial]

Downloading pirated material in Canada is illegal.

Not so. I misspoke earlier about downloading copyright material being legal in Canada (although for a short time a few years ago, a judge ruled that it was), but it is not illegal. The Canadian recording industry is lobbying to have legislation passed that would make it illegal, but that has yet to come to pass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_sharing_in_Canada

In the OP's case, not only would downloading movies to replace their defective DVDs not be illegal, but would be perfectly reasonable in my opinion.

 

[cpbjgc]

Reasonable, maybe so, but still illegal. The article you linked to has to do with the filesharing cases brought by various record companies where they wanted to hold file sharing software providers and persons who parked files in a shared directory of a P2P network responsible for infringement. Just because you park it there doesn't mean its illegal. But when I access your file and copy it for myself - that it illegal. I have made a copy without the authourization of the copyright holder.

As noted in the article, these cases don't usually proceed because it is hard to gather the evidence - when did the infringement occur, which computer was accessed by whom, etc. It's beacuse of the lack of enforcement that people believe it is legal.

 

[PoohsHubby]

Thanks for everyone's input. I wanted people to be careful when purchasing DVDs from Walmart. We all work hard for our money, and I find it a shame to waste money on defective products.

I will be taking the advise of my fellow diser and I will be sending a letter to Walmart. I wouldn't be surpsied if I don't get a response, but just in case they care, they'll get my opinion.

Thanks All! And hope everyone's enjoying the warmer weather while we have it.