PROSOUTH

Transactions made at LOWE's Home Inprovment Center

I purchased an item at Lowe's Home Store on 12/26 and went to return it week later. I was told I could only accept Store Credit as I had paid with a check. Wasn't to happy about it, but the cashier told me I could get a refund after the 15 day period was up. I kinda understood with the way people are about fraud today.

Well I went to their city to do something else today and thought I would go by and get my money. In fact I even purchased and item and while there. I presented my Store Credit Card and paid for it I asked for the balance of MY MONEY to be returned, well guess what? Here is the letter I sent to their home office. See if I am being unreasonable or what? JIM

I purchased an item on 12/26/02 from your Tullahoma Tn 37388 store. It was a wall heater to go in my bathroom. When I got home I learned that it would not work because of being to close to the bath towel rack and I was afraid of a fire.

I never even opened the box. I had purchased the item on 12/26 with a check. I was in Tullahoma on the 3rd of January and attempted to return it. I was told that because of payment by check that the refund could not be made until after a 15 day wait. I really understood this because of the criminal element of today methods of fraud.

I was advised that I could return the item but would have to take it as a merchandise credit card.I finially agreed and was told that after the 15 day period I could cash it in for my refund.This may have been a mistake of the cashier or my misinterpetation of the conversation.

When I returned to the store today I purchased an item for $24 and still had a $50 credit left on the card. My sole intention for going was to reclaim my money.

When asked for my refund I was told NO that it was not per store policy. The young lady at the counter was very nice and explained the situation to me. She asked would I like her to ask the Manager, I said yes. She explained the story to him and he said NO also.

At this time you have my money, I have nothing of yours and my check has long since cleared. If this is how you do business I will only have one more visit to your store and that is to somehow reclaim my money that you have held against my wishes.

This makes no sense to me at all. I have committed no crime and I wanted my money for other uses. There is no basis for you to hold my money and now it has become an issue to me because I think your store policy is against the law. I will seek advise from my counsel. If this is not resolved I will somehow reclaim my money and you have lost at least one customer and maybe more. I have an old saying"If you do me right I will tell the world,If you do me wrong I will also tell the world."

Good Day Jim O'Neal

Smokehouse69

Places are getting real horsey about returned merchandise, right before Christmas I bought my Mom a couple of books from a major chain bookstore, the next day I found out she already had both of the books, so I tried to return them. They took one book back, but they said the other one looked like it had been read already. I told them I picked it right off their shelf and it had been in the shopping bag since then, if it had been read, it was read in their store (where they sell coffee and provide many comfortable chairs for people to sit and read it.) Didn't make a bit of difference, they refused to take it back, then they tried to force me into taking a store credit for the other book. Finally I got them to recredit my credit card rather than take the store credit after I explained to them how I would never step foor into their store again, how was I going to use a store credit? I also told them that I had realized that there was no reason for me to ever buy books from them again, since they did not provide me any customer service, their prices were NOT discounted at all and their parking lot had too many pot holes! :D
Besides, I can order from Amazon or Barnes and Noble without nearly the hassles of dealing with idiot employees with green hair, bad breath and 13 piercings in one eyebrow!

74-Roadster

Jim, Jim, Jim. You should never ask me to edit a letter! :nonod:

No need to bring if's into it or mention council . . . it's $50. I'm betting they refund your balance. Provide them a copy of your original receipt, check number and any number off of your store credit card.

I bet they explained it wrong. I bet you could have got a cash refund after 15 days, once you took the card, you were destined to use the refund for future purchases.

74-Roadster

:lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg:

SOOOOO TRUE!!!!!!!

zwede

Word of warning about amazon. They collect info on you (types of books you read or other products you buy), and then sell this info to mass marketers and anyone else who wants it. So buying from amazon will drastically increase the amount of junk mail you receive.

PROSOUTH

Glenn, read my lips P O'ed.

I see people that use an item to do a job and return it for a full refund with no questions. I take back an unopened item and can't get my money back and even after their 15 day wait I still can't get it back.

Walmart, another of the big chain boys. You can not go into a Super Walmart, unless your Dr. has recently givin you a good going over and deemed you healthy. If you can't walk at least 5 miles, you'll never make it. They spread the items all over the store. If you need Health items they are in the East corner, Garbage bags? they are in Hardware on the South,Groceries on the West.They do this so you might see somethng else that you will buy if they make you go all over the store, Hell it even works :yesnod: but I still don't like it either.

Guess I'm not a follower of the new ways, When I go to buy something I want to get in and out ASAP. Times they are a changin'. JIM :nopity

Solidlifters

Smoke, I'm glad that somebody else besides me is sick of employees who look like freaks. I've gotten where I ask to see a manager and complain loudly, with a threat of no future business when they put these people in my face. A prime example is the baggy britches crowd. We eat in a fast food type grille/bar every Sunday night and go to the movie next door. The buss boys have gotten where they wear their pants down beloww their *ss, with their underwear showing about 6 or 8 inches worth when they bend to grab dishes across the table. I complained 2 weeks in a row to the manager, then after that got a number of the franchise owner out of town and made a phone call to the owner who had 25+ stores. I talked with him personally and voiced my concern about the attire in front of the women, and the fact that 2 complaints to the same manager had apparently been ignored. I told him that I was not taking my wife & daughter to a resturant and spending money to look at an employee's buttcrack. The next week when we went in, we were told that this manager was no longer with the company. Surprisingly, all the employees were wearing their pants up to their waist, and 6 most later, with trips almost every week, we've yet to see baggy britches.

There's nothing in labor laws that prevents employees from requiring decent appearance and behaviour from employees.

bamavettes

Jim,
To answer your question. You were not unreasonable.

Your letter does not need to be edited. No changes needed. It was a very good explanation of what happened and what you expected.

Don't let up on them, and let us know how the home office responds.

71DropTop

This is one of the reasons why I don't shop the big boxes yet I see thousands of people every day in their parking lots. Lowes and Home Depot are not the cheapest people in town and they carry a 40% overall Gross profit margin and yet people seem to think they are getting a bargain. DONT SHOP BIG BOXES :mad :mad :mad

Smokehouse69

It's too late for most places, my town has about 65,000 people and about 120,000 in a 25 mile radius, so it has become the defacto shopping center for all those people. 25 years ago the population was half of what it is now, and we had at least 15 neighborhood supermarkets. Many of these were not major chain stores but family owned supermarkets. Just about anybody in town could walk 15 minutes and be at a place where you could buy all the groceries your family needed.
Now there are 3 SUPER-Supermarkets to serve 125,000 people. A Super Wal-Mart and two major Texas only chain grocery super stores. There is one lonely hold out a neighborhood grocery owned by a local family. They used to have 4 other stores, but over the years they shut them down one by one.
The past summer the Super K-Mart was shutdown and a few weeks ago Albertson's closed their doors. As a results of this the prices of ever item in the 3 Super Centers went up 10% to 15% and it now takes 20 minutes to get through any checkout line.
It is too late, we are trapped and we can't go back. So unless you live in a very rural area, you have to shop at the boxes! Mom and Pop have folded and Jr. is working a cash register in Wal-Mart.

71DropTop

There are still plenty of family owned businesses in the country, we just need to research a little bit more before picking up the keys and driving..
I don't claim to be an expert on this but running my 100 year old family owned building supply/hardware business I have seen small businesses come and go. and I'm talking 30,40,50 year old companies... :rant:


[Modified by 71DropTop, 10:19 PM 1/13/2003]

MikeC

I am dealing with problems with the future shop..... I will NEVER shop there again. THey were rude and inconsiderate. I emailed them and my wife wrote a letter to them... They actually responded to me on Friday asking for names, dates and more information.
I am finding that these big chains are nothing but a hassle like you say. I am starting to shop at smaller places just to avoid the hasles and like you said the time it takes to shop there.

The only exception I'll make is for Canadian Tire..... Its like an institution up here. I go there at least once a week whether I need something or not.

Larry B.

I bought a $160 part at Pep Boys that was listed for my car it wasn't correct so I returned it. They couldn't give me the correct part because that was the one the book listed. I had paid by check and they told me basicly the same thing (10-15 days for a refund.) I did not have another $160 to go to another store. I was furious.... :rant: :rant: :cuss

CharlieF

I can understand your frustration at not getting your money back. But if you pay by check, the store has to make sure your check clears.

As a small business owner I have to deal with this every day. Instead of paying by check, pay with a debit card. Its like an electronic check.

My store policy states that if you pay by check and want a cash refund.......you'll have to wait 10 days until your check clears....no exceptions. Credit/debit/cash sales are done right on the spot.

PROSOUTH

Charlie that's the reason I took the Store Card was that I understood that the check had not cleared their period of time fo return. The check had cleared my bank when the Card was issued. But still I understood that the 15 days had not passed and was willing to wait until it had to retrieve my money. After the 15 days had passed, they still will not return my money.

I have not yet had a repy, maybe today, maybe not. I guess we will see just how good their Customer Service really is.

The issue now is that they have my money and I have nothing. I should ask if maybe they will let me hold their money and see how that goes over..................Jim