Pawn Way

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/10/21) */
Our general company policy (signs are posted and the policy is printed on all receipts) is that no refunds are given on any pre-owned items unless expressly statedIn this instance, the customer who purchased the phone came back to our
store with a complaint that the phone that he purchased did not workAs he had his receipt and, upon examination by our staff, the phone was working properly it was decided to replace his phone with another that we had in our inventoryHis original transaction was refunded, the new one was run through our system, and he was given his new receipt (which had the serial number for his replacement phone)Our staff then encouraged his to test it before he left (he had a friend with him who also encouraged him to test try his SIM card in it)He refused to do so and leftThen after a week passed the purchasing customer came back to say that this phone also did not workWe were not contacted in any manner before his return a week laterOur manager asked to see the phone and his receipt (while we don't generally give refunds or exchanges for this type of merchandise, we absolutely require the receipt for any consideration to be made)The customer said he couldn't find itOur manager contacted me (the Supervisor) for guidanceI told her that if he could find the receipt so that we could verify the item, transaction time, and the condition that we'd consider giving a full or partial refundHowever, with no receipt and given the amount of time that had passed since the transaction and considering that the customer didn't contact at any time during this time to notify us that there was any problem he was told we would not be able to do anything at this timeHe was further told to come back if he found his receiptLater when his mother (we assume) called she was informed of the same thing
To address a couple of things that she statedYes, he may have his statement but that reports only the original transaction and not the replacement oneSince law doesn't require people to be in order to purchase items that are not age restricted, we will only consider retail warnings for those people under when other retailers such as Walmart, Sheetz, or Food Lion do as wellThe phone purchased was not under contractThe person on the account is
That being said, should the original purchaser find his receipt we are willing (if the ID numbers and condition match properly) to offer a refundWe have had no problem with these phones and sold his original phone shortly after he returned it with no problemsIt seems apparent that their is a problem with his card, account, or use of one of the other
We regret this situation, but stand by our policy and procedures in this case...especially when we showed a desire to go outside of these standards at least once to accommodate him
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2014/10/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There was only one financial transaction on my son's account which was for the original purchaseAccording to my son, he was not provided with a new receipt because they stated they was just doing a transfer of purchaseThey have taken a photo of the only receipt that was provided to themThe reason why the Pawn Shop had not heard anything from my son in a week because during that time his phone company *** ** was attempting to switch his service to the new phoneThis was how we found out the phone was blocked because the original owner, did not pay the back bill
If this is a matter of ID and serial numbers matching, they can verify that information from their receipt and the physical phone my son hasThis should be enough verification that they had sold the phone to himThis company should not be selling phones to any customers that they have not verified with the carrier that the phone is free and clear to be usedTheir practice of testing the phone is not conducive to the laws of this state
The stated that the phone was not under contract that the person who owned the phone is, but if the person who owned the phone owes money to the company, the company, then blocks the phone from being used until the owner pays the billWe will be happy to bring the phone into the store and have them call both *** *** and *** to verify to them that the phone can not be used because of a past due balance from the previous owner*** is the a business in greenboro that unlock cell phonesThey were unable to have the phone unlocked because it was blocked due to a past due bill
What we are left with is a $phone that can not be used by anyopne.I would be willing to settle this matter if they:
Would allow my son to bring his phone to their store, verify that the serial number on the phone matches their receipts
Verify through *** and *** that the phone is locked and blocked and that the phone is unable to be used by anyone
Only then at that time be issued a refundregardless of their no refund or exchange policies, under consumer protection law, it is illegal to sell items in which they have no legal means to sell itIf this matter can not be settled, I will be forced to take them to court
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2014/11/07) */
We gave him an exchange when he came the first time despite our express policy to test items before they leave if the customer wishes, our posted signs indicating the no refund policy for used items, and our receipts which state this same policyHe was encouraged and directed to test the phone with his sim card prior to leavingHe flatly refusedThis alone puts the burden of responsibility on himFurther, the MOMENT he felt that something was wrong he should have brought the receipt (which he was given) back to the storeHis CHOICE to go back to his old phone had nothing to do with his ability to bring the phone back to us in a timely mannerConsumer law prohibitions for selling "defective" items does not apply here given that the customer did not do his own due diligence and fulfill his own responsibility in this mannerGiven that we have our return policy posted, we tried to go beyond our policy to fulfill his needs for the first purchase, and the fact that he was unable to bring the receipt and phone back (or even contact the store) in a timely manner we conclude that our responsibility in this matter has been concludedAt this point the best alternative that we can offer is to have someone (must be or older) bring the phone to us and we'll buy it for whatever our current value is for that particular product if it is in the same condition that it was when purchasedOtherwise, court for this situation may, unfortunately, be the only alternative