Target - Returns & Exchanges

Shaun of Agoura Hills, CA January 24, 2007

Shaun of Agoura Hills CA (01/24/07)

I purchased an 80 gig iPod on Dec 28th as a Christmas gift for a friend of mine. When she opened the packaging on Dec 29, there was no iPod in the box, rather 8 Panasonic commercial brand AA batteries. I returned to the store where I purchased it and spoke with the manager on duty, who promptly told me it wasn’t Targets responsibility and that I needed to get in touch with the manufacturer, . Apple told me that once the product leaves the warehouse, it becomes the property and responsibility of the retailer.

I called the Woodland Hills police, which advised me to take Target to court if they wouldn’t fix the problem.

Two Target employees informed me that they had seen similar situations, that this store location had been having problems with electronics theft and that store policy is to open all returns but since it was the holiday season and the store was super busy that sometimes employees were unable to open each item and that the ipod I purchased must have slipped thru the policy cracks.

I contacted the corporate office on Jan 2, 2007 where after explaining the circumstances, was told that I would be hearing from them in a few days. After leaving several messages for the supervisor in charge at corporate, Matthew, he returned my call almost 2 weeks after my complaint. He informed me that I would have to send in a notarized letter explaining my story along with a copy of my receipt and the original packaging so they could investigate further. I told him I was leery of sending in the packaging as I would have no proof of anything in the event Target was unwilling to resolve the issue and further legal action was needed. Matthew then informed me the only way target would continue is if I sent him the original packaging.

Jill of St. Petersburg, FL December 23, 2006

Jill of St. Petersburg FL (12/23/06)
I purchased some Legos for my Grandson in Sept. for a Christmas gift. In December, I found out that he has them already and tried to return the unopened, unused toy to the Target store that I bought them from. I have my receipt. I was told that because the purchase was made more than 90 days ago, they would not refund my money...or give me store credit...except a 24 hour credit in the department it was purchased from. Also, they still carry the very same merchandise at 3 more than I paid for it! If I had been given store credit, I would have purchased much more than the original price I paid for the toy...but left the store instead. I have bought and ordered from Target with confidence but not any more. They are NO longer my discount store of choice.

This caused me stress and has wasted a lot of my time. When I tried to file a complaint on Target.com...there is nowhere you can contact the company directly about this sort of thing. Everything is very impersonal and not geared to the consummer. Bah Humbug to Target!

Janey of Arkansas City, KS November 26, 2006

Janey of Arkansas City KS (11/26/06)
I had bought a T-shirt for my niece. It didn't fit and they would not let her take it back. I happened to be back in Texas nov. 26, 2006 and was told if I had my credit card I had used they would take it back. In the mean time from the purchase I was issued a new card - (same company). They said it didn't show up but I could exchange it in the same dept. we did and I told them since they were different prices 9.99 and 8.99 on sale for 7.99 they could keep the change however they wanted more according to the sales person Target charges 7.00 if you don't have a reciept. So a 7.99 T-shirt was costing 14.99. How can they do this legally; without stating it to begin with?

Christa of Garrettsville, OH November 20, 2006

Christa of Garrettsville OH (11/20/06)
My five year old son received a pixter video game from Target for his birthday. The first day we opened it the video game did not work - it just beeped. I went to Target to exchange the video game. When looking up my id they said I have already exchanged twice this year with my id. I asked what items I had exchanged but the clerk was unable to tell me. I explained all I wanted to do was exchange the toy for one that worked. The customer service representive said they couldnot, that was their policy.

I asked to speak with the store manager, when he came over to talk to me he was extremely rude and did not even offer to try and help me with the situation. I was given an 800 number for comsumer products and had to go back into the store to ask for a customer relations number. I than called Targets customer relations who told me that they could not help me, I should call Fisher Price. I explained to the representative the the employees at the store told me that I had to call customer relations, they were the only ones that could authorize an exchange. He said that was not true they were unable to do anything - that was their policy. The representative told me he would send my concerns to the executives.

Now my son has to wait to play with his birthday present. I have to ship the defective toy back to fisher price and wait for a new one.

Mike of Long Beach, CA October 23, 2006

Mike of Long Beach CA (10/23/06)
My wife wanted to return a small handfull of low dollar baby items (clothes, blankets, towels) that she received as a gift from a baby shower. For these items we did not have a receipt or gift receipt. In total I would guess the items were valued at less than 60.

The customer service rep was a bit on the shady side when it came to revealing that they will only allow 2 items per ID per year. The tone in her voice suggested that she had randomly pulled the 2 items out of the air and was very unprofessional. My wife was unhappy with this as we had more than 2 items but on top of this they said her ID was blocked and couldn't be used. They also could not explain to her why that was.

Now we stated from the beginning we were not looking for cash back, nor store credit but rather just wanted to exchange the unwanted items. We respect return policies but feel that there should be room for exceptions and over such a small dollar amount and our willingness to keep the business in the store (on top of suggesting that we would be more than happy to pay for any additional cost for upgrading any of the items). We felt this would be a win/win/win situation for all involved and we would remain happy and loyal customer of target.

Instead we were met with refusal to budge. We politely asked for a store supervisor who equally refused to change from her pre-programmed return statement. Oddly though she gave me the 800 number to their customer resolution without my asking and suggested if I complain to them then maybe their policy would change. I can't believe that everyone at the store level is so impotent when it comes to being able to make spot decisions to save a customer experience in their stores.

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