Refund Concerns!

[Save_the_Rhinos]

I bought a Borough back in November at the original $548 price. At the time I was really concerned about DH finding out about buying such an "expensive" bag, so I paid cash for it at a local FP store. DH thinks that anything over $100 is expensive and since Coach is so recognizable as "expensive" (it really isn't that expensive) I didn't want some bloody lecture about money management! (Does anybody else have to "hide" purchases from their SO?). Anyway I opted not to receive any advertising because that might be a red flag and I didn't want mailbox clutter like those stupid Crate and Barrel ads they send 10 times a month. The SA at that store wasn't especially friendly and I was a little paranoid that my furtiveness would cause them to flag me as "suspicious" since this was my first ever Coach purchase at one of their outlets (I've purchased Coach previously at Saks) and didn't have a "history."

Well, I ended up never using the bag and returned it last week after 3 months of it sitting in the closet undisturbed. I took my original receipt and the bag with all tags still attached, dust bag, and original shopping bag to the nearest FP store for a refund. The SA at this store was much nicer, but she told me that they didn't have much cash on hand and she could only give me $50 and the rest would have to be reimbursed as a check mailed from Coach. I told her to just go ahead and have them mail the full amount as a check since I really didn't need it right away. However, it crept into the back of my mind that maybe they did flag me as suspicious in their computer system? Am I just being super paranoid? I just don't understand why they wouldn't have enough cash on hand given the price of their merchandise.

Anyway, I called the CS number today just to make sure that I would receive something and the lady on the phone said it takes 7-10 business days after the bag is shipped to the distribution center for inspection before they cut a check. This freaked me out even more. I bought the bag at the boutique and returned it to the boutique, so why would it need to get sent in to be re-inspected? Now I'm REALLY freaking out that they flagged me as a "handbag terrorist" in their system! And to think, all because I didn't want my husband to find out about spending $548+tax! Aaarrggghhh! Well, I came clean to DH and told him there would be a check coming in and he didn't seem that upset so now it makes me more aggravated thinking I should have just bought with my CC and circumvented this whole stress. Am I just being super paranoid and shouldn't worry because the check will arrive?

 

[pasdedeux1]

Very few people pay cash for a purchase. They probably start their drawers with $200 or $300 for making change, and refunding a $548+ tax purchase would require someone that day to have paid cash for something that price, which might not have happened.

They didn't flag you as a handbag terrorist. It is just extremely difficult to trace and refund purchases in cash, so they are more careful about fraud.

You will get a check but in the future, maybe purchase a VISA gift card or similar if you are trying to hide a purchase with cash?

 

[Save_the_Rhinos]

Very few people pay cash for a purchase. They probably start their drawers with $200 or $300 for making change, and refunding a $548+ tax purchase would require someone that day to have paid cash for something that price, which might not have happened.

They didn't flag you as a handbag terrorist. It is just extremely difficult to trace and refund purchases in cash, so they are more careful about fraud.

You will get a check but in the future, maybe purchase a VISA gift card or similar if you are trying to hide a purchase with cash?

Thanks for responding. Yeah, I'm not really planning on making any future cash purchases. I'll just charge to my credit card. Normally I don't really care, but I was just scared of DH seeing the expense on the CC statement b/c we are being extra observant of finances in preparation of buying a house. I understand that Coach has to be vigilant about fraud, but I just didn't want them to think I was being fraudulent for returning a bag. Especially since I do want to purchases several of the Stuart Vevers clothing pieces and a handbag or two in the fall.

 

[lizmil]

That would have really p***ed me off, frankly. Your money was good enough for them to take. I would be really annoyed about the whole check thing. I can understand they might not keep $500 + in one register but in the whole store? They should have had at least several hundred dollars. And as you said, the extra inspection delay.

I would be furious!

That said, I don't think you really had much choice at the time you were standing there. But thanks for the warning, guess I won't use cash there! (I was thinking cash might be nice to keep the receipts easier.)

It seems Coach really doesn't want our business.

 

[whateve]

They should have had a way to get more cash. The manager could go to the bank. Only $50, really? I can't believe that. What if someone bought something that cost $225 and gave them $300 - would they lose the sale because they couldn't make change?

They are holding your money hostage.

 

[Save_the_Rhinos]

So, an update! Our mailman comes to our building really, really late so I went down to check my mail after dinner and, lo and behold, a check from Coach!

I'm just glad this whole debacle is over. I returned the bag last Tuesday, so it took exactly a week to get the check. What I do NOT understand is why the CS rep told me that I would have to wait 7-10 days after the distribution center gets the bag?! I even gave her my name and zip-code so she could look up the transaction activity and she told me to call back next week after they got the bag. Also, when I asked her if they had any pricing for the Vevers collection she said they should but that I would need to give her style numbers, which obviously haven't been made openly public yet, so I'm guessing she did not know what she was talking about.

 

[Tinkershell]

I'm glad you got your check!

I know it seems crazy but working in retail I am inclined to believe they didn't have access to anymore cash in the store. I work in specialty retail (not Coach though) and we only keep $500 on hand in the store. Not in the register, in the store. And if we gave one person a large cash refund we'd need to have the ability to give another person the same amount which wouldn't be possible. I understand the frustration of having to wait on a refund but it's done for a lot of reasons- not the least of which is safety. Criminals know most specialty stores keep very limited amounts of cash on hand so don't target us for violent crimes/armed robberies the way they would if we kept a larger amount on hand. Companies also have this policy as part of an effort to reduce employee theft and odds are the manager couldn't have gone and got more money from the bank or somewhere because large companies transfer deposits from store accounts into the corporate account on a daily basis most of the time and they don't give anyone at the store level authorization to make a withdrawal. It's inconvenient but there probably wasn't anything anyone at the boutique could have done.

 

[Save_the_Rhinos]

I'm glad you got your check!

I know it seems crazy but working in retail I am inclined to believe they didn't have access to anymore cash in the store. I work in specialty retail (not Coach though) and we only keep $500 on hand in the store. Not in the register, in the store. And if we gave one person a large cash refund we'd need to have the ability to give another person the same amount which wouldn't be possible. I understand the frustration of having to wait on a refund but it's done for a lot of reasons- not the least of which is safety. Criminals know most specialty stores keep very limited amounts of cash on hand so don't target us for violent crimes/armed robberies the way they would if we kept a larger amount on hand. Companies also have this policy as part of an effort to reduce employee theft and odds are the manager couldn't have gone and got more money from the bank or somewhere because large companies transfer deposits from store accounts into the corporate account on a daily basis most of the time and they don't give anyone at the store level authorization to make a withdrawal. It's inconvenient but there probably wasn't anything anyone at the boutique could have done.

That certainly sounds reasonable. I wasn't so much upset that they didn't have the cash on hand as I was paranoid that I may have been flagged as "suspicious" for having bought with cash and then returned. I know that retail stores try to cut back on fraudulent activity and I just wasn't sure that their not having the ability to refund me at the store was due to truly low cash availability or if it was just a polite way of dealing with fraud (I wasn't trying to defraud Coach, I just bought the bag and didn't want my husband to see how much it cost, Then I didn't end up liking it as much as I had hoped). I remember reading that stores like Coach and Best Buy are signed up to this service that tracks individual customer returns and flags you if you make too many returns, so I was just being paranoid.

But I'm glad it all worked out! Thanks to PurseForum I had a place to vent my frustration/anxiety lol.

 

[pasdedeux1]

Retailers like this generally track no-receipt returns and short-term returns (like returns same day an item was purchased). They don't generally track receipt returns outside of the general, if you buy constantly and return everything they may have a conversation with you about how they can help you better decide on your purchases.

 

[BonBonz]

I frequently pay cash for my Coach purchases. I've found that it's best to go to FP or outlet late afternoon or evening if I'm returning for a cash refund because they won't have sufficient cash in the morning to refund my money in full. They have offered to refund like $25-$50 and then send a check for the balance and so this not an unusual practice. So I wouldn't worry about any consequences from your return!

 

[fashionplate123]

I bought a Borough back in November at the original $548 price. At the time I was really concerned about DH finding out about buying such an "expensive" bag, so I paid cash for it at a local FP store. DH thinks that anything over $100 is expensive and since Coach is so recognizable as "expensive" (it really isn't that expensive) I didn't want some bloody lecture about money management! (Does anybody else have to "hide" purchases from their SO?). Anyway I opted not to receive any advertising because that might be a red flag and I didn't want mailbox clutter like those stupid Crate and Barrel ads they send 10 times a month. The SA at that store wasn't especially friendly and I was a little paranoid that my furtiveness would cause them to flag me as "suspicious" since this was my first ever Coach purchase at one of their outlets (I've purchased Coach previously at Saks) and didn't have a "history."

Well, I ended up never using the bag and returned it last week after 3 months of it sitting in the closet undisturbed. I took my original receipt and the bag with all tags still attached, dust bag, and original shopping bag to the nearest FP store for a refund. The SA at this store was much nicer, but she told me that they didn't have much cash on hand and she could only give me $50 and the rest would have to be reimbursed as a check mailed from Coach. I told her to just go ahead and have them mail the full amount as a check since I really didn't need it right away. However, it crept into the back of my mind that maybe they did flag me as suspicious in their computer system? Am I just being super paranoid? I just don't understand why they wouldn't have enough cash on hand given the price of their merchandise.

Anyway, I called the CS number today just to make sure that I would receive something and the lady on the phone said it takes 7-10 business days after the bag is shipped to the distribution center for inspection before they cut a check. This freaked me out even more. I bought the bag at the boutique and returned it to the boutique, so why would it need to get sent in to be re-inspected? Now I'm REALLY freaking out that they flagged me as a "handbag terrorist" in their system! And to think, all because I didn't want my husband to find out about spending $548+tax! Aaarrggghhh! Well, I came clean to DH and told him there would be a check coming in and he didn't seem that upset so now it makes me more aggravated thinking I should have just bought with my CC and circumvented this whole stress. Am I just being super paranoid and shouldn't worry because the check will arrive?

It sounds outrageous to me! The idea that they didn't have enough cash means Coach must REALLY not be doing well. Not even any stash in the back? It's so odd for them to just send you on your way and tell you you will be getting a check. Did they give you a written guarantee that you would be receiving it? Maybe I'm just paranoid; I'd worry that they didn't send it or it get lost in the mail. I am so sorry this happened. Re-inspected? That is ridiculous! Coach has some real nerve - no wonder they are losing business.

 

[fashionplate123]

I frequently pay cash for my Coach purchases. I've found that it's best to go to FP or outlet late afternoon or evening if I'm returning for a cash refund because they won't have sufficient cash in the morning to refund my money in full. They have offered to refund like $25-$50 and then send a check for the balance and so this not an unusual practice. So I wouldn't worry about any consequences from your return!

Oh, ok - just saw this - so this isn't that unusual for them to only refund part of it, then, send you the rest. Good to know! Thanks!

 

[BonBonz]

It sounds outrageous to me! The idea that they didn't have enough cash means Coach must REALLY not be doing well. Not even any stash in the back? It's so odd for them to just send you on your way and tell you you will be getting a check. Did they give you a written guarantee that you would be receiving it? Maybe I'm just paranoid; I'd worry that they didn't send it or it get lost in the mail. I am so sorry this happened. Re-inspected? That is ridiculous! Coach has some real nerve - no wonder they are losing business.

Again not an unusual practice. Stores limit the amount of cash on hand in case of robberies. They usually have a certain amount for each cash register till and some petty cash. Anything over that is deposited in their bank account. Doesn't mean they're going broke, lol!

 

[Save_the_Rhinos]

It sounds outrageous to me! The idea that they didn't have enough cash means Coach must REALLY not be doing well. Not even any stash in the back? It's so odd for them to just send you on your way and tell you you will be getting a check. Did they give you a written guarantee that you would be receiving it? Maybe I'm just paranoid; I'd worry that they didn't send it or it get lost in the mail. I am so sorry this happened. Re-inspected? That is ridiculous! Coach has some real nerve - no wonder they are losing business.

They gave me a receipt for the return that showed the money I would be getting back and "Mail Check" written on it. I got the check yesterday, after all, so they did keep their word. As far as the re-inspection thing, I think the CS rep just didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Obviously it was inspected at the store and nothing was wrong with it, since it was completely unused.

 

[Kdisaster]

It sounds outrageous to me! The idea that they didn't have enough cash means Coach must REALLY not be doing well. Not even any stash in the back? It's so odd for them to just send you on your way and tell you you will be getting a check. Did they give you a written guarantee that you would be receiving it? Maybe I'm just paranoid; I'd worry that they didn't send it or it get lost in the mail. I am so sorry this happened. Re-inspected? That is ridiculous! Coach has some real nerve - no wonder they are losing business.

Most retail business practices a check refund over x-amount. As someone who has worked retail, this is common. No place of business keeps any cash they make overnight. Everything gets deposited right away so no one can steal it. Staff or thieves.