Reminder - gift reciepts will not give you the value of the purchase back when return

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

If I was the person who brought the item and found out the store did this I would be so mad.
They are stealing from people

 

[MyZoeJane]

Okay, I sort of stand corrected! First thing I found was this article:

http://wcco.com/consumer/gift.receipts.price.2.624125.html

I'll keep researching, but I am willing to bet my left armt hat this is NOT LEGAL...

I keep finding this issue with sporting goods store particularly. I have NEVER had a problem with getting the purchase price with a gift receipt, but I must be shopping at stores that track the transactions. It seems like the problem IS more common than I would have EVER imagined. I mean, what the HECK is the point of a gift receipt if it doesn't tell the salesperson HOW MUCH WAS PAID FOR IT? But apparently, in some stores, the only point of the "gift receipt" is to prove it was paid for, and NOT how much!?!?!

Who would have thought this??? There MUST be some sort of legal issue that could be brought to fore regarding this because I have NEVER seen any notification in ANY of the stores I have shopped in that outlines this policy. Where it IS happening, it is deceitful and likely unlawful.

I willc ontinue to research this to see if any legal action has been taken on the issue...

 

[MyZoeJane]

A link to a thread that discusses this issue:

http://www.planetfeedback.com/dicks...receipt+ripoff+at+dicks+sporting+goods/305930


Still researching.... (OP, MANY Thanks for posting this topic. I absolutely love it when someone enlightens me to injustice! I swear I would have never guessed this might be an issue!)

 

[Kteacher]

I can only speak for Penney's, and I have worked for this company for almost 15 years- when a customer returns an item with a gift receipt we ring in the code that is printed on the receipt-and that code is for the purchase price. Without a receipt the customer is given the current selling price of the item. Exceptions are made at the discretion of mgt., but I know in my store that mgt. always tries to please the customer. They would rather lose a few dollars on an item than lose a return customer.

 

[Shelby5514]

Ishy~ Your information is totally WRONG about Macy's return policy with a gift receipt.

With a gift receipt you will recieve an in store credit in the form of an EZ Exchange card for the amount of the original purchase.

Without a gift receipt you will receive an in store credit for the lowest selling price in the last 30 days.

With the original purchase receipt they will return the item to the original form of payment or you can opt for an EZ Exchange card. If the original form of payment was a check you will receive cash if it's been 10 days since the purchase. Less than 10 days you will receive an EZ Exchange card.
Also, if you did not receive a gift receipt, as long as the item has the UPC barcode and the CRL barcode (Customer Return Label) you will receive the original purchase price.

I have been a Customer Service Supervisor at Macy's for 10 years and this has always been our policy. If you run in to a situation that you think is not right, ASK FOR THE FLOOR MANAGER.

 

[GJM]

I have never had this happen to me at all. I have done alot of shopping at Kohls, Macy's & JC Penny's. I have received gift receipts for some gifts that I have returned and never have had a problem.

This is in NJ & SC

 

[CarolA]

I just spoke to a friend of mine who is a manager at a Macy's in Atlanta.

1. If you do an even exchange then generally they don't give you a credit. She said that they will if you ask, but generally its the two days after Christmas and folks just "swap" to get out of there LOL!

2. If you want a store credit then you get the ORIGINAL selling price as a credit. You will not get cash with a gift receipt. However, if the person who bought it for you got in on sale you don't get the retail price you get the sale price. (She has had lots of folks who got upset on that one assuming that Grandma NEVER would have bought that at 40% off)

3. If you don't have a receipt, then you get the current price store credit only.

4. The above rules do NOT apply to Christmas decorations. They got burned ONE too many times. If you bring back your Christmas Decorations on January 2nd you get current price. (In other words don't decorate the house and then take it back LOL!)

 

[PrincessMom98]

The above rules do NOT apply to Christmas decorations. They got burned ONE too many times. If you bring back your Christmas Decorations on January 2nd you get current price. (In other words don't decorate the house and then take it back LOL!)

O my gosh! I was behind a woman in Kmart last January who did this! She drug in an opened Christmas tree box (the tree was obviously used and couldn't get the tree back into the box) and boxes of ornaments and garlands. I couldn't believe it when the cashier gave her back nearly $200 without question!

 

[tinytink]

O my gosh! I was behind a woman in Kmart last January who did this! She drug in an opened Christmas tree box (the tree was obviously used and couldn't get the tree back into the box) and boxes of ornaments and garlands. I couldn't believe it when the cashier gave her back nearly $200 without question!

This is so true back when my youngest was a baby my mom purchased formula from Target for him but I was nursing so I didn't need it. My mom gave me both her original receipt and the gift reciept since she paid with her CC and she wanted me to get store credit for it I used the gift receipt to return it and at the time Similac she purchased was $9.99 per can and when I went to my local Target they tried to give me a refund price of $7.99. I whipped out her original receipt with the price she paid and expected the same refund price and only then did they adjust it to reflect what she actually paid vs. what that store was selling it for. Thanksfully she gave me her original receipt so I was able to get what she actually paid for it. So bottom line beware!!!!

 

[pumpkinfish]

Like I said previously I worked retail...
When we would do an exchange, we had to run everything through the system unless someone was exchanging the item/size/color for the same item/size/color (like if there was a defect). We werent able to "exchange out" due to that messing with inventory results. When we rang in the return the register would prompt us if there was a gift receipt or original receipt or no receipt. Now it is quite possible that some of these stores' employees are ringing up the item and selecting no receipt (or the equivalent) so that the customer is getting back what the value is at that point. It is absolutely outlandish that a store would issue a gift receipt and NOT give back the value that the buyer paid. I appreciate the OP bringing this to light but unless I've heard from corporate that their policy is to give the person returning/exchanging a new value for the item bought I will still doubt this information.
Of course I am not speaking about getting cash back in the above scenario...just getting a store credit or credit towards their current purchase. If the OP is discussing cash back that might be a different story.

*and it's quite sad that after 5 years not working in retail I still remember all the information provide above

 

[Darsa]

*and it's quite sad that after 5 years not working in retail I still remember all the information provide above

I've been out of retail for going on 14 years now, and I could probably still quote the Ames Customer Service return policies! This thread has brought those things right up to the front of my brain again!

 

[MyZoeJane]

Well, fromw hat I was able to find, this issue seems to happen mostly at Dick's Sporting Goods Stores. They, and maybe other stores, too, do not have their register systems set up to TRACK purchases. With their gift receipts, they have no way of knowing what was paid for the item, they can only use the gift receipt to verify that the item WAS paid for.

I still stand by my original shock and disbelief that this is common store policy, though. I truly think that 99% of the time people will get what was paid by using a gift receipt.

But thanks again to the OP for raising the issue, which is certainly worthy of scrutiny and caution!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Yeah, I'm sorry but that information is not correct and I used to work retail.

Your gift receipt is coded so that the person receiving the gift doesn't know what the cost is but has the store credit in hand if they ever need to return. The store credit is coded for the exact amount given.

Now...What DOES happen is going to a store without any receipts and returning/exchanging. At that point you will be given the value for what the product is at that point (no matter if the value increased or decreased).

I agree with everything you said but the bolded part. If you have no receipt, you will receive the lowest price the item has ever been. They will not give you MORE than what was paid for it, just because the current price is higher. So if the item was purchased at full retail price, but was on sale two weeks ago for 50% off, w/o a receipt you will receive the sale price. Otherwise people could buy stuff on sale, then return it for full price and make money.

 

[MyZoeJane]

I agree with everything you said but the bolded part. If you have no receipt, you will receive the lowest price the item has ever been. They will not give you MORE than what was paid for it, just because the current price is higher. So if the item was purchased at full retail price, but was on sale two weeks ago for 50% off, w/o a receipt you will receive the sale price. Otherwise people could buy stuff on sale, then return it for full price and make money.

I think this depends on the store. Kohl's gives the current price, NOT the lowest price "ever." But their prices go up and down and all over the place so much because they are always having sales!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I think this depends on the store. Kohl's gives the current price, NOT the lowest price "ever." But their prices go up and down and all over the place so much because they are always having sales!

You could actually profit from a return? That seems odd, but we don't have Kohl's around here.

 

[pumpkinfish]

I think this depends on the store. Kohl's gives the current price, NOT the lowest price "ever." But their prices go up and down and all over the place so much because they are always having sales!

You could actually profit from a return? That seems odd, but we don't have Kohl's around here.

I'm sure it might vary from store to store but where I worked (and the surrounding stores) you would be given the price at that point in time. And yeah, we'd get scammers coming in that would benefit from the returns . Right before I left that job they were installing a system to track returns and to "cut off" those that abused the return policy. But that's a whole nother can of worms .

 

[maxiesmom]

2. If you want a store credit then you get the ORIGINAL selling price as a credit. You will not get cash with a gift receipt. However, if the person who bought it for you got in on sale you don't get the retail price you get the sale price. (She has had lots of folks who got upset on that one assuming that Grandma NEVER would have bought that at 40% off)
/QUOTE]

We get that all the time!!! People give you the gift receipt, and when you tell them they are only getting $5 back, they look at you like you are crazed! "But I know Grandma paid full price!" Umm, no she didn't. Grandma is a bargin shopper honey.

 

[Vijoge]

Like I said previously I worked retail...

Of course I am not speaking about getting cash back in the above scenario...just getting a store credit or credit towards their current purchase. If the OP is discussing cash back that might be a different story.

That could be. DH recently returned some items at Kohl's. They told him if he wanted his CC credited they could only give him the most recent price but if he wanted a Gift Card they would give him the full amount.

 

[luvtogo12]

I think this depends on the store. Kohl's gives the current price, NOT the lowest price "ever." But their prices go up and down and all over the place so much because they are always having sales!

My Kohls gives the "lowest price of the Season" when an item is returned without a receipt. Last week I returned something and they gave me something like $4.00 back. I went out to the floor and found the exact item for $12.99. I was furious but it was my fault for not having the receipt.

 

[Scornelius]

I used to work at Sears, and I know that it not their policy. I would raise holy heck if any store tried that with me. I'm currently an assistant manager at a clothing store, and we use the code system that a PP mentioned. CUUU=19.99, etc.

I have GOT to know what state you guys live in so I can research this. I SWEAR you just got a moron for a salesperson. It simply is NOT legal to refund less than the purchase price with proof of purchase!

If this is happening, then it is happening because stores are defrauding customers, NOT because it is a LEGAL policy!

I totally read this as 'I SWEAR you're just a moron' and my eyes nearly fell out of my head. And I agree, it's fraud. If you contact head office, I'm almost positive you would get the full value back as a store credit. (We issue gift certificates for the value at my store.)