Why can't the local store just hand you $23.30 and be done with it?

Good question, Lindy. I guess the answer is that their computer says the refund was issued. I suggested that they call my bank to confirm what I've been telling them, but they say they can't do that.

I'm wondering the same thing as Lindyluwho. I've never had a problem returning anything to Walmart, including an item ordered from their website. Seems like if it was because of their computer not working, the clerk could have suggested you come back later in the day or in a day or two. She shouldn't have accepted the carrier until the transaction was processed. It almost sounds as if the computer did accept the transaction, but failed to acknowledge it, thus showing up at the corporate headquarters as having been returned. I certainly hope you are able to get this mess straightened out!

Rusty

It sounds like originally the computer looked like it wasn't processing it but did.

Yes, you can save a little at Walmart - as long as you don't value your time!

I would contact my credit card company, if you don't get things worked out soon, maybe that would help get a credit on your card.

Sue

I totally can relate to you and this experience. It becomes the principle of the thing. I have found that persistence pays off - and if (when??) this gets corrected I would still write them and let them know the time frame and how insanely horrible and inefficient the experience was. Thankfully it's $23.30 we 're talking about. :) don't give up

If it is a carrier they also sell in the store, you can return it without a receipt and get store credit?

Very odd, it sounds like a hiccup or misinformation in the computerized records. It's likely the people you've spoken to, as it would be for any of us unfortunately, are functionaries who have limited bands of authority as to what they can and can't do.

After the first hiccup, I would have called the credit card sponsor and cancelled the charge. It may be too late to do that. It should be their problem, not yours, but they are holding your money. Good luck.

I definitely would have called the credit card company and had them handle the charge. I have never had a problem returning to Walmart . In fact it's why I prefer to order from them instead of another source because I don't have to ship it back I just take it to the store with paperwork . You are now in the never ending vortex of the computer glitch !

Log the whole thing, on your computer, of course, with precise details - including your time involved.

Print it out and send it to their headquarters.

Print a copy to deliver by hand to the person you've dealt with at your local outlet and another to the local manager.

If you don't get a satisfactory response, print it out again and send to their corporate headquarters, with an invoice for your time ...

... by registered mail.

Plus a fresh copy given to each of the local contacts, to let them know that you're not letting this die.

If you don't get a satisfactory response, find out which Walton is currently in charge, and send a registered letter with the whole story to him/(her?).

(And tell them, with a bit of humour, that they owe you a pack of paper to replace the sheaf that you've used ... sometimes some humour included in one's story works wonders).

You do have a lot of followers on the internet, don't you?

If you don't get a satisfactory response after all of your efforts, send the story, as detailed on your computer, to your friends there, with as many funny bits as you can think up added to the story ...

... with copy to give to your two local contacts ...

... with another copy to MalWart's headquarters, with note that it's been sent to 344 friends (or whatever number that you have).

If it's funny enough, there's a good possibility that many of your friends will forward it to many of their friends ... and some may think it funny enough to send a copy to MalWart.

If they get enough copies - they'll be looking you up. Make sure that all of your facts are correct, with as many verifiable as you can muster.

When politicians hear from one or two, or half a dozen constituents, often they may pay little attention.

Hearing from a hundred or so gets their notice.

Hearing from a thousand or so often results in some remedial action.

Same with some of the corporate crowd.

ole joyful

You definitely need to contact the credit card company...as in NOW! They will handle it for you.

Try this-post on their FB.. Most companies don't like negative feedback and remedy it quickly. This situation is beyond ridiculous! POST EVERY DAY UNTIL IT IS SOLVED!

I just got off the phone with my insurance company. It seems that the labs that were drawn in May have not been paid by insurance and the lab folks are billing me (almost $200). Wrong! Today, 4 people got involved and it took more than 70 minutes total. I believe that it might be solved.

Ya gotta stick with it.

Good luck, Jim!

o j

Yet another reason not to shop at Walmart.

There's little to no lesson learned with these kind of things is that a) you probably won't see the money and b) be glad it wasn't a huge amount.

My worst experience to date with this kind of thing was a bait and switch Centurylink pulled on me. I was promised one package deal for internet, TV, phone on the phone; the first bill did not reflect at all what I was promised. And this was after I had paid for the tech to come out to wire the house, etc. Over the course of 5 months I spoke to at least 9 different people, 4 of whom were (evidently) high level managers. With each I had to start my story all over again. I even had e-mail confirmation of the initial sales call so it wasn't merely a matter my word over theirs--I had written proof. No one cared to see it. Several people were extremely rude and one hung up on me. Several tried to help. In the end they would NOT honor the deal, and the only excuse I received was that the sales employee would be "retrained"( although no one ever asked who the employee was so it was obviously bogus).

I'm not sure about Walmart but CenturyLink sure taught me that customers don't matter at all to them once they've hooked you into their payment web. It is the first time I've ever experienced an absolutely obvious bait and switch.

Walmart will take anything back. It's another advantage to shopping there. I doubt they will not eventually figure it out technically and will refund the money either way. The customer service rep can vouch for having a computer problem at the time and the timestamp on the return should align to straighten everything out. Getting there is another story. No matter what you are doing there, it is a long wait.

Cassandra, I just went through the same thing with Frontier/Dish, trying to get my father's phone and TV service switched, bundled, and billed to me. Since the service was started several months ago, my father's bills have not been bundled (I have the same plan, and told my father he could save money with the plan, so I felt really bad that they weren't bundling the bills). After making three or four calls, and talking to three or four people each time, and starting the story from the beginning each time, I realized they had my name spelled wrong on the phone bill. The phone tech said that might be why the computer wouldn't bundle the bills--the names had to be exactly the same. My name has two different common spellings, which prompts me to spell it without being asked, especially over the phone, so I'm sure I spelled it for them initially (and I was already a customer of both of those companies).

At least no one was rude, and I've been assured that the problem is solved and a discount will be retroactive. We'll see.

Alisande, hang in there--I hope you get your refund!

I had a problem with Sam's Club a few years ago. I paid our membership by mail (and at that time we had DD and SIL on our account as well). She went to the store and they said that the membership wasn't paid so she paid. She didn't tell me thinking it would be a nice "perk" for her parents. So we both paid. The next year the same thing happened. The amount paid by mail never registered and again she paid it. This time she told me. What I went through to get the two double payments refunded was lengthy and time consuming. I did get a couple of years of free membership for their "mistake". I did learn NEVER to pay by mail -- only pay in the store and NEVER pay early (because when you pay that is the next due date). It is amazing to me that a company that has a computer system second only to the Pentagon should have such a mixup over something so simple. And I am sure I was not the only person it happened to and I'm thinking that they make a lot of extra money with two payments for one membership!

I would definitely notify your credit card company and hand the problem over to them -- they should be able to get it straightened out or at least credit your account and take the money away from WM.

I once returned a bag of plastic pot feet to Walmart I'd ordered online. I was told the sales tax could not be refunded unless I filled out a form online and applied for THAT specific refund. I did not persue it.

Your right, it's an uphill battle that won't end well.....a story to be told is what you got out of this. :0)

Its a little late now. The thing to have done was to have contacted your credit card company and entered a stop payment on that item. That's drastic, but it gets attention. You do need to keep documentation on every step when you do this because, you maybe accused of fraud and you'll need a good record.

I don't believe that it's too late. I would call the credit card company and tell them exactly what has happened. I have no doubt that they will take care of it and you will get your money from Walmart once the CC company gets involved. I'm assuming that you have a credit card refund slip given to you by walmart from the day you returned the item. It shouldn't take the CC company long to see that it never made it to your statement. They will then contact Walmart and get it taken care of. Something similar happened to me when I was charged for something that I never got. In minutes, it was taken care of!

I was out most of yesterday so didn't get a chance to respond. This morning I took your advice and called my credit card company (Chase). This is the advice my son gave me much earlier. His advice is almost always good, but I guess I needed the extra KT push. :-)

I forgot to mention that the assistantt manager learned that Walmart had mixed up my order with someone else's. That was weeks ago, though, and it didn't resolve anything.

Arkansas Girl, I don't have a credit card refund slip. The computer wouldn't issue it. Jemdandy, I really don't think I'll be accused of fraud. (I hope I'm right.) Nicole, good point. I do appreciate a good story, although this one's a little long. LOL Martha Scott, don't you love how Sam's Club notifies us months in advance about renewing our membership? Nice try, Sam. Carol, I know a lot of people refuse to shop at Walmart, but I hate to think of the financial straits I'd be in if I didn't have that option.

So Chase is on the case. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks to everyone who responded. A good cheering section means a lot.

Good for you. I hope you get this resolved. it would be ridiculous for anyone to think that this is a fraud case for 23.30.

Oh, Walmart. A month ago, I ordered a set of pillows that was not available at the local Walmart store. Had it shipped and only one pillow arrived. I called and asked them to send out the second pillow. Nope, the computer system would not allow them to do this, so we had to return the incorrect order, then they would send out a new set.

The new set arrived a week later, except, again, only one pillow. I called again and was told to hold onto the one pillow and they would send out another set. And a week later, again, only one pillow arrived. Which was fine because now we have the two I originally ordered, but the last order was obviously deliberately packed with only one pillow because the box was only large enough for one, while the two previous boxes were huge. So why could they not let me keep the first pillow and then just send another one, like I originally asked?

To add to the level of incompetence, a few days after the pillow, we received a huge box with various items ordered by someone in Louisiana. The box contained an address label for the person, so when I called to report the wrong delivery, I suggested to attach the label and send it straight to the intended recipient. Nope, they had me print a return label for their headquarters instead. I hope your issue gets resolved, Alisande.

I hate hearing things like this, makes my BP go way up....I had a problem with trying to return one of those pocket hoses and being told, we don't carry them???Well, gee whiz, I got it there...Girl said, they no longer had them in stock but could give me a $5.00 refund..On a $20.00 hose, don't think so...2 gals in the service dept. were very rude so I whipped off a letter to the main office and not too long after, had a call and in turn, they put me on hole and called our local store, got the store manager on the phone and TOLD him, I would get a full refund or exchange the hose for a new one...Next time out, I walked up to the service desk and sure enough, same girl and she started to give me grief until I asked to see the manager...Well, I walked out with an apology and a new hose...And every once in awhile, I will check out the service dept. just to see if "my friends" are still working and haven't seen them since...I don't want anyone to loose their jobs but I also do believe, people should be trained in working with the public, which I've done for more years than I like to think about, lol.....

Normally, Walmart will correct the problem quickly but with this going on so long, I'd be super upset...The amount might be small but darn, that's your money....Sure hope you get good results......

Walmart is a huge company. If even a very small, fractional percentage of their millions and billions of transactions and customer encounters go wrong, that's still a large number even if a mathematically small rate. Anyway, a zero error rate for anything is never achievable.

Walmart seems to do a reasonable job with most things but everyone knows they don't always hire the most competent of employees. Glitches with retailers and others are to be expected, getting angry about such things is unwarranted over affordable amounts.

However frustrating, the payback on hours and hours of time, when divided into $23, produces a per-hour benefit that may suggest further action isn't worth your time.

What a crazy story. I hope it works out soon for your refund.

I wonder what would have happened if you'd just gone to another Walmart. I did something like that at the RMV.

Your saga reminds me of a news item this morning. A fellow was charged $40 by the hospital for HOLDING his newborn. Yep, $40. Guess the hospital had to account for a nurse's time in supervising the paternal holding. The guy thought it was so whacky, he started a Go Fund Me page.

Good thing baby didn't pee on him -- imagine the Haz Mat bill.

Petalique, how nuts is that!?!

Elmer, I'm sure further action isn't worth my time, but I'm not about to swallow their screw-up. If I said, "Oh, well, it's only $23.30," and gave up, I'd very likely waste even more time regretting my decision.

You are not wasting your time. Whenever one person stands up for what is right, the rest of us benefit. Just the standing up is a benefit, standing up and succeeding may very well mean that in this type of situation, a policy may be developed instead of so much cluelessness that a customer might have to deal with.

Alisande -- in the Greater Boston area there is a TV station (or two) that helps consumers who have not had good results over months trying to work things out on their own. I am a firm advocate for consumer action and feedback.

I have found Walmart and TJMaxx and most stores very responsive. That store manager should have straightened that out for you in just a few minutes.

Walmart also has an online Review site, while you're at your computer, maybe enter a review -- people comment on product and service there.

Best wishes for a satisfying result.

PS some years ago I picked up a book on clearance about how to write an effective complaint letter. Anything you want me to look up? Some of these big store can be real bean counters, but they usually like to have good public relations, even so.

OT but file under Crazy - did you hear today's news about a REPLACEMENT Samsung phone smoldering in a passenger's pocket on a Southwest Airlines flight? Uh oh.

Thanks, Petalique. I have a pretty good track record when it comes to putting something in writing. (Much to my oldest daughter's embarrassment when she was growing up and I was a thorn in her school's side. lol)

Funny, I was just thinking about one of our local TV stations today, but they'd probably laugh me out of the place over the $23.30--even in this less-than-affluent area. Also, the hassle of dealing with that and being on TV . . .

We also have local stations that will help in situations such as this...One segment is called, "Get Marty" and Marty will get to the bottom of the problem and get results...They wouldn't laugh at you, I'm sure...This is a legit problem and needs to be corrected....And as far as being seen on TV, lots of times, they honor the request not to be shown on TV and shoot from behind the person.....This has gone on far too long, I'd say, go for it!

Almost 20 years ago we got two bbq's as wedding presents. Same brand, bought at the same store (Walmart, only one in town), but one had a side burner. We decided to return the one without. The sign said we could make a return without a receipt for store credit, which was fine with us as there were some outdoor things we could use (a hose reel, for example. We were such exciting people LOL). If not, we would have asked for a receipt (it was from family, would not have been an issue).

OMG. You would think we were trying to pull the heist of the century! Accused us of getting at another store and trying to return it here for a higher price (um, there was a huge Walmart sticker on it LOLOL, and we never asked for a specific price one way or the other). Wanted us to leave the BBQ AND my drivers license (!) while she checked with her head office. Um, what? Why do you need to KEEP my id???

We did eventually get a refund, but as a cheque (or was it a money order?) and not store credit and it took forever, and we had to sign our lives away LOLOL. I have never seen such a long contract for a refund before!

Walmart was a new game in town then, and I didn't even shop there again for years after. Even now, it is my last last resort.

Dances.

I think they've improved a lot since then, Dances. Around here, Walmart is known for hassle-free returns--as long as you don't count the hassle of waiting (and waiting) in line at Customer Service. I'm pretty sure my situation is the anomaly.

Sunny, I'll see what my bank comes up with before I approach the TV consumer police. :-)

Here's an idea while you're waiting.

Advertise it in CL. Photos. What's wrong with it (not secure latches, in your opinion). "

New in Box. Purchased at W, but could not return it because of snafu with their customer service and database even though I had a recent receipt.

Paid $24 plus tax, but selling for $84 to recoup some of my lost hours in an attempt to help the store rectify their database and customer service goof up. "

You can keep refreshing your ad. Or just show a photo of store label showing W----------. Then you can just say store in ad instead of naming the store.

I was going to do this with a few junky products. Just list them for sale. Only 2 weeks old, doesn't work, but looks great.

When I was in college, I worked at Wal-Mart. They would take anything back (seriously)...like worn out shoes, stuff never sold by Wal-Mart, etc.

Nowdays, they limit you to something like three per quarter, and they won't take back crappy stuff (which I thought they shouldn't have then). However, the world of ridiculous exists on the customer side too (like the original story). Yes, the manager should have been able to cut through the red tape.

That would be a fun ad, Petalique. I can just imagine the responses I'd get. If I still had the cat carrier, I might consider it. But then again, if I still had the carrier, I wouldn't deserve a refund. :-)

Dbarron, I had no idea Walmart was ever so crazy permissive. We got our Walmart a little late in the game.

I hope to read soon that Walmart has listened to Chase. Or that Chase has given you your money back, just 'cuz you put it on their CC.

In January I bought a set of a dozen acrylic drinking glasses at Costco on Maui. I unpacked eleven perfect glasses. Murphy's Law: The twelfth was cracked. Costco required me to bring in the big box with all the glasses. Then I had to buy another set (checking to make sure all the glasses were perfect). Only then would they accept the defective set for refund. They wouldn't allow me to just bring in the defective glass and switch it of one out of a new box, which they could return to the manufacturer. I'm not sure what that was all about, but it was awkward.

Walmart is my store of last resort. I doubt I've spent a total of $100 there, ever.

I've called the Walmart website number countless times, speaking with Clarence, Justin, Maria, Jessa, John, and others. With each one, I've had to start my story from the beginning. Each one said they would take care of the problem.

This could have been written by me only I am allegedly contacting Social Security. Since March. They must all work from the same office.

watchme, if phone calls haven't allowed you to accomplish what you want, have you had better luck by visiting a SS office?

About 6 months ago I made a purchase at Sam's and then later noticed that they debited my account twice. I took the receipt and my bank statement to Sam's and it took several people to look at them, question me, and then finally call a number that was manned with very limited hours. Walmart's main office kept saying that I was not charged twice, but it was obvious. I took it to my bank and they were able to get the charges reversed, but classified it as a fraud and my debit card was automatically cancelled and I was heading out of town the next day. What a mess it was!

I'm absolutely sure your credit card company will take care of the problem.

First lesson: Whenever a sales person says "no" ALWAYS ask to talk to a manager. I worked retail for what felt like centuries--sales people have very little authority to approve anything outside the ordinary. A manager does and 99% of the time will give a customer ANYTHING they want.

Second lesson: The mix up with another order = you are not the only person who knew this product was sub par.

Third lesson:Pay for everything with a credit card and go to them as soon as anyone messes with you!!

Fourth Lesson: Once something is entered into a computer wrong--it is near IMPOSSIBLE to fix it. When all the paper work does not end up in the exact proper place the first time--you are STUCK every time. We have a "free" band saw due to someone losing the bill out for it. We called the company, the credit card everyone we found to call--no one could prove we had the item so no one cared/new how to bill it. It was delivered, believe me we have a BAND SAW.

A friend orders on line ALL THE TIME from wally world. She received a package that was packed wrong AND she decided she didn't care for the colors. (towels) When she went to return them they were determined to refund her for the extra towel she didn't order and didn't pay for....these people cannot THINK they are drones who follow the path set before them by their managers. I had a transaction I knew would be complicated. I asked the greeter for advise where I should go for optimum success/swiftest service, my first MISTAKE. 45 minutes later, five different employees involved I left without my transaction completed. My boss called his buddy the store manager, she did it over the phone, then my boss went in for a quick pick up. Bottom line WalMart does not hire rocket scientists.

It's nice that you're so receptive to lessons, Arcy, but I think this statement is unfair:

these people cannot THINK they are drones who follow the path set before them by their managers

As I said above, the clerk who tried to process the refund is my hero in this story. Without being asked, she wrote down every detail I would need to follow up with Walmart because she knew (and I did not) that it was unlikely the refund would go through.

As for your bottom line, it's true that most of Walmart's jobs don't require an advanced degree, but that doesn't mean the people they hire are incapable of doing a good job. Walmart is like any other employer: Some of their employees are more responsible, or skilled, or motivated--or more inherently helpful--than others. My bottom line is that they all get up every morning (or evening) and go to work to stand on their feet most of the day and do a job I wouldn't want. I sympathize with them.

I have no quarrel with the employees. The few times I've been in a Walmart it seems to me the employees are working their buns off. (One supervisor barely had time to conceal his cat 'o nine tails before I got a photo of it. LOL)

No, I object to the Waltons' whole business model and their politics.

I've been to Walmart maybe two times in my life and feel as Chisue does. The first time I was looking for some particular dish-washing gloves that I couldn't find anywhere else, (no Amazon,) and the kid who helped me went over and above to find and eventually order me the gloves. He was beyond pleasant and a hard worker. It infuriates me that these employees are not treated well, imo.

And that's why I wouldn't hardly set foot in Wal-Mart for more than fiveteen years. However, living in the Wal-Mart homeland, there's no competition and sometimes you just have to go there.