Gift Receipts - Beware

[cm8]

I'm usually all pro-business and capitalism and all that, but that is baloney! So the store makes money for selling nothing in the end? I can see that when you have NO receipt so they don't know how much you paid, but when you have a gift receipt connected to the original purchase?

I'm going to return something my DD got that didn't fit to Macy's with a gift receipt - we hope to do an exchange, but if we can't, I would be really mad to find out we got less $$ back than my mom paid for the item. I'm going to ask my mom the price before I go do the return.

Talk about theft by deception

 

[QVCshopper]

I didn't read the other posts, but can explain these two stores, as I just had returns to them as well.

1) Kohls - you probably got $10 Kohls cash. They often deduct that from the returned amount, although I agree that they shouldn't provided you get store credit and not an amount back to your card.

2) TRU - UGH, they make me mad! Their gift receipts expire after a certain date from purchase (I think 90 days) even though the gift receipts don't have the date on them. Then, they give you what I suppose is the cheapest price sold. Like I said, they make me mad, though, and I'm not going to be spending too much $$ there anymore.

Hope that helps.

However, I have found a "problem" with TRU. Two times this has happened to me: I got Buy 2, get 1 free socks. I went to return all three pairs for my original purchase amount. They have no way to scan back in the free socks, and tell me I can keep them??? Honestly, it makes no sense to me.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I had no idea this was happening! Whats the point of the gift recipet??? I thought by giving the gift recipet the person would get the full credit of what the person paid. This upsets me and now i'm wondering who has returned an item I gave with a recipet and got a really low price, making me look like a cheapo! Also upset how many times the stores had made money on me that should have been credited. I think this is so wrong!

 

[Becky2005]

Or, heck, to return it - maybe they won't find ANYTHING they want so now they can have the cash. Good to know!

Only if you PAY by cash...if you pay by credit card with the real receipt it's going to automatically go back on whatever card you paid for with it. At least that is how it would be at my store.

I have NEVER heard of the gift receipt being lower, that's crazy! I may have to check it out sometime just to see what happens in our system at work. I thought the only difference would be that with a Gift Receipt you get store credit ONLY.

I wonder if it was past the return date and that is why it went down (although that wouldn't be the case with the on-line purchase). I know for us if it's after the allotted return time, it automatically goes to lowest price ever regular receipt or gift receipt.

The other thing could be something like a group discount. I know if we do a price match, it does it as a group discount so it takes some off each item purchased even though it looks like it's a straight $10 when looking at the register. When you get your receipt it will be broken up into however many items are on the receipt. It's really weird but that is how it is done. I'm thinking the Kohl's cash is probably the same way...it takes $10 off at the end but really deducts a % of each item on the receipt to the $10.

 

[vicki_c]

The other thing could be something like a group discount. I know if we do a price match, it does it as a group discount so it takes some off each item purchased even though it looks like it's a straight $10 when looking at the register. When you get your receipt it will be broken up into however many items are on the receipt. It's really weird but that is how it is done. I'm thinking the Kohl's cash is probably the same way...it takes $10 off at the end but really deducts a % of each item on the receipt to the $10.

I think you are right about this with Kohl's. We returned something to Kohl's last year (I rarely shop there) and there was something odd about the return now that I think about it - it had to do with a small discount on the one item - basically like what you are describing, so we got back less than the original price. But in any case, like I posted above, I would be okay with that because in truth I didn't actually pay the original price, I paid a discounted price because of the Kohl's cash.

 

[ctinct]

Well, my dd just had the opposite happen at Kohl's. I had ordered a bunch of stuff for her new bed online, but it turns out she didn't need it and so wanted to return it. Rather than searching for the receipt, I just went into my email and printed my shipping confirmation. I told dd that the price on the main body of the shipping confirmation would be lower, because down at the bottom they had deducted 20% off the entire order for a coupon I had.

When she got to the store there was some sort of problem and they said they could not use the email print-out. I'm not sure if it was the email itself that was the problem or the fact that I paid by credit card, which she obviously didn't have. Anyhow, they finally offered to give her store credit. She said she would consider it if the price difference wasn't too large, rather than having to bring me and my credit card and receipt back to the store.So, the first two things were pillows---they gave her $1 more each than the non-discounted price I paid. Blanket--same thing. $2 more. On the down comforter, they gave her $35 more than the non-discounted price that was clearly marked on the shipping confirmation, and it was more like $50 when you consider I got an additional 20% off at the bottom of the email (also clearly marked, and she had mentioned it to the customer service person.) Makes no sense to me, but she was happy.

 

[mtblujeans]

I had no idea this was happening! Whats the point of the gift recipet??? I thought by giving the gift recipet the person would get the full credit of what the person paid. This upsets me and now i'm wondering who has returned an item I gave with a recipet and got a really low price, making me look like a cheapo! Also upset how many times the stores had made money on me that should have been credited. I think this is so wrong!

This is what I was going to post, too. Learning this makes me very pissy. Locally, Kohl's has been running ads mocking Herbergers for their restrictive return policies....what hypocrites!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I didn't read the other posts, but can explain these two stores, as I just had returns to them as well.

1) Kohls - you probably got $10 Kohls cash. They often deduct that from the returned amount, although I agree that they shouldn't provided you get store credit and not an amount back to your card.

Ordinarily I'd agree - but there's no typical Kohl's discount that accounts for the discrepancy. The OP paid $39.99, and the recipient was refunded/credited $24.99. That's 37.5%. Even if the OP had a % discount combined with a $10 off coupon group discount divided among items as described above, and that was indicated on the gift receipt, there's no way the numbers add up.

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm usually all pro-business and capitalism and all that, but that is baloney! So the store makes money for selling nothing in the end? I can see that when you have NO receipt so they don't know how much you paid, but when you have a gift receipt connected to the original purchase?

I'm going to return something my DD got that didn't fit to Macy's with a gift receipt - we hope to do an exchange, but if we can't, I would be really mad to find out we got less $$ back than my mom paid for the item. I'm going to ask my mom the price before I go do the return.

I have to agree with you on this. That should be a crime! If you have a gift receipt, you should get back what was paid for the item. If you don't have a receipt, then you should get the mark down price.

I completely agree and will remember this for the future - no more gift receipts.

 

[Soon2B4]

If she had used Kohls cash, they wouldn't have given her the full amount back when she went back in. In the OP, it says when she found out about it, she went back and they fixed it. They wouldn't have fixed it if she had truly used Kohls cash or another discount.

 

[tyniknate]

FYI - I did NOT use Kohls cash with my purchase. I just checked the receipt.

 

[spacemountainmom]

I just had an interesting experience with Kohl's as well. I returned a shirt that I bought for $19.99. I paid using my Mastercard and had the receipt. I brought it back and the clerk told me I could get either $9.99 back on my MC or she would give me a Kohls credit for $19.99. I took the Kohl's credit.

This thread got me thinking and I went and looked at my receipt. I assumed that I had used some Kohls cash or had a coupon when I made the purchase. I looked tonight and discovered that I had not used any coupon or Kohls cash. I had earned a pretty good chunk of Kohls cash on that trip, but hadn't used any.

To me.....this is pretty crummy. I made a return with a receipt and you will not refund my money to my credit card??? This is pretty deceptive. I admit fault in that I really didn't pay attention to what I had paid for it, but they are acting pretty dishonestly.

I am thinking I will be going back and discussing this with a manager. Their return policy states that you will get a full refund with a receipt. My mc should have been credited the full amount.

I am also disgusted in light of their commercials about how great their return policies are. I will be rethinking spending any money there once I use my credit up.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

All this aside I assumed (wrongly I now see) that a gift receipt was strictly for TACT and EASE. As in you don't give the receipt that also has your husband's socks and your maxi pads on it.

I always thought a gift receipt, without the amount on it, was so that the person getting the gift doesn't know how much you paid unless absolutely necessary (like, when they return it). And so that you can hang on to your own receipt for your own records (AND the tampon reason! )

I just had an interesting experience with Kohl's as well. I returned a shirt that I bought for $19.99. I paid using my Mastercard and had the receipt. I brought it back and the clerk told me I could get either $9.99 back on my MC or she would give me a Kohls credit for $19.99. I took the Kohl's credit.

This thread got me thinking and I went and looked at my receipt. I assumed that I had used some Kohls cash or had a coupon when I made the purchase. I looked tonight and discovered that I had not used any coupon or Kohls cash. I had earned a pretty good chunk of Kohls cash on that trip, but hadn't used any.

If you earned Kohls cash with that purchase, then they would reduce the refund by the amount of the Kohls cash earned. It's a pain, and I try to only do exchanges rather than returns if possible.

I did have an annoying experience with Kohls on Friday. I had $60 in Kohls cash to spend by Saturday, so I went to buy a Magic Bullet, despite the $70 price tag. (Another thing about Kohls...their "regular" prices are often much higher than other stores, and their sale prices are often other stores' regular prices.) Stood in a long New Year's Eve day line, and it rang up $49.99. So I got out of line, and went to look for something else for $10, to get it over with in one shopping trip. Found a shirt, got in another long line. Chatted with some people, and they showed me a 20% off coupon they had gotten online. KILLED ME...but I put both things back (I live somewhat near Kohls, and had to head back to that mall later in the day anyway ) and went home and printed out the 20% off coupon. Back to Kohls, I chose a set of steak knives ($30, on sale for $25) and the Magic Bullet, for a total of $75, thinking I'd get 20% off, bringing it down to $60...voila! to be paid for with my $60 Kohls cash. Only what they do is take the Kohls cash off, and THEN do the discount. So my purchase came down to $15, and I got $3 off with the coupon...yes, I went home for a coupon to get $3. And it probably says that it would be done this way SOMEWHERE on that coupon and on the Kohls cash, and obviously, that IS the way it's done. But what irks me is...when do you use "CASH"? At the end of the transaction, after coupons are deducted and you come up with the final price. If they're going to call it "CASH" then treat it like cash.

I'm a little disenchanted with Kohls right now. The only reason why I earned $60 in Kohls cash this year was because I had a 30% off coupon before Christmas, and with that discount, it brought the items I purchased below other stores.

 

[Keli]

Wow, I never thought about that happening with a gift receipt! That really irks me and I can see how easily it could happen because even if I know someone is returning a gift I bought them with the gift receipt I provided I wouldn't think to ask them later how much they got for it.
Although I don't usually bother with gift receipts when buying for close family members, I just give them the original receipt with, as someone else pointed out, my tampons and whatever else on there, I do use them for weddings, baby showers and the like.
I knew they would only get store credit for the item since I often use a credit/debit card to pay for it but I figured if they were registered at that store then I'm sure there's lots of other stuff they could use the credit on. I guess from now on I'm going to make a habit of getting seperate, regular receipts for each item. What a hassel but better than your friends and family getting ripped off by the stores.

 

[skw444]

I just had an interesting experience with Kohl's as well. I returned a shirt that I bought for $19.99. I paid using my Mastercard and had the receipt. I brought it back and the clerk told me I could get either $9.99 back on my MC or she would give me a Kohls credit for $19.99. I took the Kohl's credit.

This thread got me thinking and I went and looked at my receipt. I assumed that I had used some Kohls cash or had a coupon when I made the purchase. I looked tonight and discovered that I had not used any coupon or Kohls cash. I had earned a pretty good chunk of Kohls cash on that trip, but hadn't used any.

When returning items at Kohls where you earned Kohls cash, you will be refunded the money minus the $10 kohls cash if you choose to return it to a credit card. If you choose store credit, you'll get back the full amount you paid.

 

[Duckyiam71]

Dont get me wrong, I think the practice as described above is totally wrong. The only thing I think might be happening in several of the incidents described above where the store fixed it is...the cashier is processing the return as a normal return and just scanning the item which would give the sale price in the system. I have worked retail and for gift receipts, we had to hit another button and we inputted the price. I would not totally rule out gift receipts but the cashiers need to be trained properly how to ring with them. I hope this makes sense.

 

[pianogirl73]

Well, my dd just had the opposite happen at Kohl's. I had ordered a bunch of stuff for her new bed online, but it turns out she didn't need it and so wanted to return it. Rather than searching for the receipt, I just went into my email and printed my shipping confirmation. I told dd that the price on the main body of the shipping confirmation would be lower, because down at the bottom they had deducted 20% off the entire order for a coupon I had.

When she got to the store there was some sort of problem and they said they could not use the email print-out. I'm not sure if it was the email itself that was the problem or the fact that I paid by credit card, which she obviously didn't have. Anyhow, they finally offered to give her store credit. She said she would consider it if the price difference wasn't too large, rather than having to bring me and my credit card and receipt back to the store.So, the first two things were pillows---they gave her $1 more each than the non-discounted price I paid. Blanket--same thing. $2 more. On the down comforter, they gave her $35 more than the non-discounted price that was clearly marked on the shipping confirmation, and it was more like $50 when you consider I got an additional 20% off at the bottom of the email (also clearly marked, and she had mentioned it to the customer service person.) Makes no sense to me, but she was happy.

The same thing happened to me. I bought a sweater dress for my daughter and it ripped at the seams the second time she wore it. I had thrown the receipt away because she liked it asnd it fit well. When I went to return it the lady explained to me that I would have to get a refund for the price in the computer. The price ended up being ten dollars more than I paid and she gave me the money on a Kohls card. I was thrilled!

 

[dvcdenise]

This is not standard practice. I work in the retail industry, programing computor for big retail companys. The purpose of a gift receipt is so that the person gets back what the person who purchased it paid. If it was on sale when purchased then the gift receipt should give back the sale price. If they paid full price then they should get back full price. I think the person who said that they probable had a 20 or 30% off or they got back Khol's cash back which would make the price paid less than the full price. I think it was probaly what they paid if you think about it. The only time you should get back less is when the customer return without a receipt because they do not know what you paid so they give you the lowest price over a period , usually 60 days.

 

[spacemountainmom]

When returning items at Kohls where you earned Kohls cash, you will be refunded the money minus the $10 kohls cash if you choose to return it to a credit card. If you choose store credit, you'll get back the full amount you paid.

I still find this crummy. I spent well over $300 and earned $40 in Kohls cash. I return a $19.99 shirt and they want to deduct $10??? I think I still would have earned the $40 even if I hadn't bought the shirt.

I like how JCP is doing their receipts now. If you use a coupon, it shows on the receipt how the discount was applied to each and every item purchased and how much you would get if you returned the item. At least they're honest.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I still find this crummy. I spent well over $300 and earned $40 in Kohls cash. I return a $19.99 shirt and they want to deduct $10??? I think I still would have earned the $40 even if I hadn't bought the shirt.

I like how JCP is doing their receipts now. If you use a coupon, it shows on the receipt how the discount was applied to each and every item purchased and how much you would get if you returned the item. At least they're honest.

If you spent $300 at Kohls (not including tax) then you should have gotten $60 in Kohls cash. If returning that $20 shirt brought you under the $300, then they would deduct one $10 Kohls cash because you no longer earned it. They would do that instead of taking back $10 of your Kohls cash, altho I supposed you could give back $10 in Kohls cash and get the full $20 refund.

If you spent $320 (not including tax) and got $60 in Kohls cash, and returned a $20 shirt, you should get the whole $20 back.