Heart & Home

Retailer's statement of the problem:When we accept products for return we need the item to be in its original condition. That means the original tags need to be attached. In addition to there being no tags with the item, the problem from the very beginning was that both the mother and her son...

told us that the mother had used the bag and it did not suit her needs. Our employees remembered spending time with his mother and her friend in order to help her choose the appropriate bag for her needs. If there was still doubt after that, I would have thought she would have kept the tags and not used the bag until she was sure. We take back items every day that have not been used,and have their tags and receipts. We do not take back items that have been used.Having already admitted the bag had been used,the son was argumentative with me about what our receipt said about returns, which is: All refunds/exchanges 30 days w/receipt. He maintained that our receipt said if you have a receipt, you can bring it back. I countered that it goes without saying that the item needs to be in new, saleable condition. He countered with that's not what it says. That is when I countered,frustrated by then I admit, with "so I could go buysomething, run over it with a truck and return it for a full refund?"He kept telling me his wife could get the tags I needed because she works at a resale shop where the items are often donated. While I doubted the exact, same, new item would appear at the resale shop,I reminded him that the bag was used so the tags were really of no use anyway at this point.Because of his persistence and his attitude, I agreed to give him astore credit for the amount of the bag, which was against our policy because the bag was used and unsaleable. While I was issuing the credit to him he told me he didn't like my attitude and said,"You know I can ruin you on the internet." I said I didn't appreciate being threatened and my attitude came from his misunderstanding of the basic retail tenet that items sold as new must be in new condition and his item wasn't.I don't understand what he means when he says: "I feel this has been done before there, using a Name Brand policy to over-ride their own policy..." According to my computer records, his mother's first ever visit to our store was the original day she bought the item. So I don't know when this would have "been done before there" to them.From my perspective,I went the extra mile by issuing a store credit and taking back the used item that I could not sell.We have been in business for almost 24 years and pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. I am sorry that I evidently failed to communicate better with this customer and it is distressing that a third party had to be brought in on this matter.

Review: I gave my mother money to purchase herself something nice on November 29, 2014 and she and a friend went to Heart and Home. She purchased a [redacted] purse and found it to be too small to accommodate her inhaler and some other items. On Thursday December 4, 2014, 5 days later, she attempted to return it only to be told she could not without the original tags. We searched for them in our recycle can but could not find them. I stopped at the store on my way to work on December 7, 2014, due to how upset my mother was of their treatment, tone and unprofessionalism, and I was told the same thing once again. I asked for the owners contact information as I was told it was her decision.On December 8, 2014 I returned to speak to the owner. Explaining our situation very calmly and nicely, she advised without the tags she could not resell it as new. I advised he store policy clearly stated on the bottom of the receipt advises an item must be returned within 30 days with original receipt for full refund. She stated, "So I could go buy something, run over it with a truck and return it for a full refund?" I realized now where the attitude was coming from with the clerks also. I was told this was a [redacted] rule. I asked why there were no signs stating this "[redacted] Rule" and no answer was given. I asked her then if I were to continue to look for the tags and find them would she refund the money and she stated "No its a used item now" I asked her why she even bothered to put the refund policy at the bottom of the receipt and she stated "it doesn't matter it is now used."I ended up getting a store credit from persistence only which I feel is very unfair as I explained my mother saw nothing else to her liking. I feel this has been done before there, using a Name Brand policy to over-ride their own policy and after all of the unprofessionalism and attitudes we received we will never spend the store credit or any other money at any of her stores. The owner I spoke to was [redacted].Desired Settlement: Pick up cash refund, as paid for initially, at the same store.

Business

Response:

Retailer's statement of the problem:When we accept products for return we need the item to be in its original condition. That means the original tags need to be attached. In addition to there being no tags with the item, the problem from the very beginning was that both the mother and her son told us that the mother had used the bag and it did not suit her needs. Our employees remembered spending time with his mother and her friend in order to help her choose the appropriate bag for her needs. If there was still doubt after that, I would have thought she would have kept the tags and not used the bag until she was sure. We take back items every day that have not been used,and have their tags and receipts. We do not take back items that have been used.Having already admitted the bag had been used,the son was argumentative with me about what our receipt said about returns, which is: All refunds/exchanges 30 days w/receipt. He maintained that our receipt said if you have a receipt, you can bring it back. I countered that it goes without saying that the item needs to be in new, saleable condition. He countered with that's not what it says. That is when I countered,frustrated by then I admit, with "so I could go buysomething, run over it with a truck and return it for a full refund?"He kept telling me his wife could get the tags I needed because she works at a resale shop where the items are often donated. While I doubted the exact, same, new item would appear at the resale shop,I reminded him that the bag was used so the tags were really of no use anyway at this point.Because of his persistence and his attitude, I agreed to give him astore credit for the amount of the bag, which was against our policy because the bag was used and unsaleable. While I was issuing the credit to him he told me he didn't like my attitude and said,"You know I can ruin you on the internet." I said I didn't appreciate being threatened and my attitude came from his misunderstanding of the basic retail tenet that items sold as new must be in new condition and his item wasn't.I don't understand what he means when he says: "I feel this has been done before there, using a Name Brand policy to over-ride their own policy..." According to my computer records, his mother's first ever visit to our store was the original day she bought the item. So I don't know when this would have "been done before there" to them.From my perspective,I went the extra mile by issuing a store credit and taking back the used item that I could not sell.We have been in business for almost 24 years and pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. I am sorry that I evidently failed to communicate better with this customer and it is distressing that a third party had to be brought in on this matter.