What should I do when a store does not want to refund my money back?

Question

(Saturday)

Few weeks ago, I bought 2 bottles of Transmission Oil from Auto-Zone. After I went back home, I checked my receipt. I saw an item named The Original California Car Duster. I immediately went back to the store and ask for refund since I did not purchase that item. The guy who ring me up checked their computer system and went to check their inventory. What they told me was, because there is one Duster missing, they have to look at the video to confirm this purchase. The guy asked for my phone number and said he will call me back tomorrow if they find out what was going on.

(Sunday)

The next day, I did not receive any phone call from them, so I called them. Another guy answered the phone and said I can go to their store and they will check it. However, he told me with a clear voice "but I cannot promise anything". When I drive all the way to their store, the answer they gave me was, they can only check the video for one hour because they do not have the permission to access it. They will have to ask the people in the office and check the whole video. So, I waited again.

(Saturday)

One week after, I was passing by their store, so i went in there and ask if they come up with any answer yet. A lady who works there said, they did not receive any answer from the office yet. They've leave several messages to the guy who's in charge of the videos. However, they still did not receive any phone calls from him. The lady said, they will probably receive the answer from office on Monday.

And now, it is already Friday again. No phone calls no messages contact me. What is going on with this company? Yes, I understand that the store will loose fame if they do refunds. But does that means I will have to pay for that amount without purchasing that order? How does this work?

If anyone has faced this kind of problems before, please help me.

Answer 1

Because the burden of proof is on you, you're in a difficult spot once you leave the register.  It's similar to insisting that you were given the wrong change after you leave and come back in.

The time to deal with it is AT the register.  Always look at your receipt, and count your change, when you're right there at the time of purchase.  Once you leave, and then come back, even if it's a few minutes later - you're sort of at the mercy of the store whether they believe you or not.

legally, there's nothing you can do - since you can't show that what happened is true - it's just your word, and the law doesn't really have a way of dealing with that.

Your only recourse is to do what you are doing - continue to bug them.  Go down there if you have to, and ask WHEN whatever it is that they're looking at will happen.  Ask for the Manager's name.  Write a letter to the corporate office - cover all bases.  The only thing on your side right now, is the fact that it would be really strange for a customer to be SO persistent about a small purchase they claim they didn't make, if it wasn't true.

Answer 2

You could complain to their corporate office.

Yes, they are dragging their feet on this. BUT they are also going an extra step to accomodate you. Checking a security film to help a customer is above and beyond what a store has to do. Yes, it was their mistake initially, but you should have realized something was wrong when they asked for several dollars more than what your two bottles of oil should have cost.

If they are able to verify the mistake and refund your money, great. If not, let the money lost be a lesson to check your receipt before leaving the store - or at least pay attention when the cashier tells you the total.

Answer 3

Has anything been done in writing to the store manager?

Document everything, send a letter in writing to the store manager, corporate office.

That way they know this is a matter you are taking seriously.  

Continue to document any phone calls or follow-ups, in case you need to get the local Better Business Bureau (BBB) involved.

Answer 4

FIle a compaint with the Attorney Generals office in your state. DOnt file with BBB as anyone can join that all they gotta do is pay fees .... File a compaint with the Attorney General if you say you bought what you bought but reciept said differently then the tapes as you said can verify your purchase however they could of given you the persons reciept before you  anything could of happeend I would file a compaint with the Attorney Generals office in your state. Its free its  done online and Guarnteed you will get your money abck and resolved. They do the investigatin and since no company wants a claim against them  with the attorney generals office  i bet u can get the results i did plenty of times... thats what the attorney general is there for  for unjustice.. Believe me a claim with the AG does not go away and is public information and can hurt business

Answer 5

I'm confused.  You bought two bottles of oil and were charged for the Duster?  How did the two compare in price?  If it was a big difference, did you not notice at the time?

Did you acually PAY for the Duster, or did you actually pay for the oil?  The reason I ask this is that it's possible the person ahead of you in line got the duster, and you just have the wrong receipt.

I can uderstand the store being reluctant. Quite frankly, they are going out of their way to accomodate you.  Most stores would just refuse, since they have no idea what you bought.  You should have brought the issue up immediately, not after leaving the store.

If they find the video in question, that's great, but otherwise, they are perfectly in their right to just leave it as is.

Answer 6

You didn't realize that you were paying a WHOLE lot for two bottles of transmission oil when you purchased them?  If you had a huge order, I'd maybe not blame you- but only two bottles of that stuff... you should've realized the total was incorrect.  I wouldn't give you a refund either.  Take a lesson in paying attention when you pay for things at the register.  

This happens all the time at the grocery store.  You'll get a vine ripened tomato and they'll ring it up as an organic roma tomato.  Sometimes thats a $2-$3 difference.

I'd forget it and put it in your life lessons book.

Answer 7

Well, I took it to mean you paid for the duster in addition to the oil, not instead of it.  It pays to check your receipt before leaving the counter.

What does "the store will loose fame if they do refunds" mean.  

I understand that you would want your money back if you paid for an item you didn't get.  I can also understand that anyone could say that, and the store could refund money under false circumstances.  And, sad to say, I can understand that the people actually in the store have to wait for someone in charge to give them permission to refund your money after viewing the tape.  

I guess the bottom line is this:  is the price of the item you didn't get worth the trouble you're going through to get a refund?  I think I paid about $8 for those a few years ago when I bought them for Father's Day gifts.  If you're willing to go through this for $8, keep calling them, writing down the name of the person, the time and date of each call.  Don't get nasty, but be firm and persistent.  Call every day, more than once a day.  At 9am, say, "Do you think you'll have an answer by 3pm?"  then no matter what they answer, say, "I'll call back at 3pm."  Then do it.  Over and over.  They may get so tired of you that the manager will cough up the $8 (or whatever) out of his own pocket just to get rid of you.  But always be nice about it.  No yelling.