Banned from making too many returns? - Share your experiences!

#76
rags2riches said:
This is what happened where I work. We use to have unlimited time frame for returns but now it is 90 days, after which a store credit is issued for the lowest selling price.

I don't see a problem with banning customers who return a lot especially if there is reason to suspect something fishy. I'll never forget this lady who was returning several handbags and she pulled out a huge stack of receipts. Anyway during the transaction LP intervenes and states that they've been investigating her purchase history and found that she had a 90% return rate:nuts: Anyway she was eventually caught for tag switching.
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What is "tag switching"?
I'm missing something here, I understand it as: she returns all these bags and has receipts for all of them...but switches the tags so the wrong bag matches a wrong receipt????
I must really need some caffeine....
 
#77
I have an acquaintance who has returned every single bag she bought last year. She gets all worked up about a bag, hunts it down, buys it, looks at it for a week and then figures out a reason to return it.

I can see this mental merry-go-round happen from start to finish every time she latches on to a bag. She doesn't use the bags, she just has to possess them for a bit.

Wonder if the retailers will catch on?
 
#78
kerosundae said:
What is "tag switching"?
I'm missing something here, I understand it as: she returns all these bags and has receipts for all of them...but switches the tags so the wrong bag matches a wrong receipt????
I must really need some caffeine....
Click to expand...

Yep. Some of them switch tags in the fittings rooms before they purchase - IE, True Religion jeans with Levi's tags. A lot of associates won't even think twice.

Some of them buy, then switch and return... even going as far as to SEW on the labels of the original clothing to the neckline of the clothes.

It's bonkers what thieves will do.
 
#79
SunglassLove said:
Yep. Some of them switch tags in the fittings rooms before they purchase - IE, True Religion jeans with Levi's tags. A lot of associates won't even think twice.

Some of them buy, then switch and return... even going as far as to SEW on the labels of the original clothing to the neckline of the clothes.

It's bonkers what thieves will do.
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???

Do these thieves go shopping armed with tag switching gear? Seriously, the things some people would do!
 
#81
^She is a huntress! The thrill of the hunt is something wonderful- that sweet moment when you hunt down what you want and make it yours. Then you wake up a few days later and realize you don't want it anymore- returns are like an annullment for your stuff.
 
#82
SunglassLove said:
Yep. Some of them switch tags in the fittings rooms before they purchase - IE, True Religion jeans with Levi's tags. A lot of associates won't even think twice.

Some of them buy, then switch and return... even going as far as to SEW on the labels of the original clothing to the neckline of the clothes.

It's bonkers what thieves will do.
Click to expand...

ooooh! now it makes sense. how would any sales associate not notice the difference?!
 
#83
I don't get it. I can't see why people would do that to themselves. Why buy like crazy & then return?? Personally, I don't like to return anything. They treat me like criminal when I return something. So even if I don't like the item or it doesn't fit, I just keep it. Once every few months, I have some friends & family members over & let them pick whatever they want from stuff I don't want/need. I don't even bother selling it, too much headache & problem.
 
#84
and speaking of tag switching--Loehmann's mistags things all the time, so pay attention when you buy.
I had the most frustrating experience returning at loehmann's today!
I had bought a Phillip Lim and a Marc Jacobs dress for an amazing $170 and $70! They were both too big and I hoped that I could take it to my seamstress and get it taken in, but we decided that it would be too difficult/wouldn't look good. So I brought it back tonight to a Loehmann's near my house, and they wouldn't take them back because:
Phillip Lim tag said "Derek Lam"
Marc Jacobs tag said "size 2" and it was a size 10.
so I now have to bring them back to Beverly Hills where I bought them. I didn't bother me because I plan to go there a lot for restaurant week at the end of the month, but otherwise I would've been really annoyed!
If they aren't competent enough to label the tags correctly, why do they bother to check the label for returns--half of the things in the clearance section was mistagged! all the MJ collection pieces were tagged "Marc by MJ", at least one Missoni was tagged "Moschino". I wonder if that's what they do to prevent people from returning clearance items-- "oops, mismatched tag, you can't return it."
 
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#86
kerosundae said:
What is "tag switching"?
I'm missing something here, I understand it as: she returns all these bags and has receipts for all of them...but switches the tags so the wrong bag matches a wrong receipt????
I must really need some caffeine....
Click to expand...
SunglassLove said:
Yep. Some of them switch tags in the fittings rooms before they purchase - IE, True Religion jeans with Levi's tags. A lot of associates won't even think twice.

Some of them buy, then switch and return... even going as far as to SEW on the labels of the original clothing to the neckline of the clothes.

It's bonkers what thieves will do.
Click to expand...
SunglassLove answered it perfectly. In my case, the customer was caught returning items in which the tags on the merchandise did not match the designer. When LP confronted her,they had several items in which she had returned recently, in which this was the case. Of course she had no explanation for how the mismatch occurred. Anyway she left that night. But a week or two later returned to the store and was finally caught.

As far as associates not knowing about the tag switching, I think it depends on a couple of things. Sometimes thieves work in pairs, that is one is busy playing the role of the distractor asking a bunch of erroneous questions and somtimes complicating the transaction, which throws the associate off. Also it depends on how well the associate knows the merchandise. Sometimes customers bring merchandise from other departments, in which the associate isn't too familiar with.
 
#87
I shop alot and I return alot so I definitely have concerns about being banned. I don't return worn stuff and everything is still NWT. I usually have my receipts too. I definitely don't buy as much stuff at stores with limited return policies like BR, Gap, J Crew, Target. I do return a lot of stuff to TJ Maxx/Marshalls but I would say and DH would agree that overall they are coming out ahead. I am actually going through my stuff to see what I need to return since all the stores are tightening their return policies.

Sams had changed their policy to be more liberal to compete with Costco and their mostly unlimited returns and I just found out today that they are now limiting returns to 90 days again. The person on the phone said you couldn't return something without a receipt but I haven't tried so I don't know if it's true.

I really need to buy less so I don't have to worry about the return policy changing. LOL.
 
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#89
I do the majority of my shopping online (because it's cheaper online and it is way more convenient) so I don't think it would be fair to ban an online shopper from returning items when I don't have the benefit of seeing it in person, feeling the quality and trying it on for fit. Just my 2 cents.
 
#90
Remember gals (and guys) retailers really, really want your business. No one wants to ban a real customer and most any retailer understands if an item is shoddy or doesn't fit or isn't right (especially when you buy online). That's OK.

Like most rules in life, this kind of thing for the most part is the result of that 2% or so that feel the need to abuse any system that exists. Unfortunately, the rare non-abuser gets nailed, but remember, every single one of the consumers of that store are actually being punished even when they're not banned by the cost that gets passed back on in increased pricing because of this type of abuse. Some statistics say that many retailers (esp. jewelry and clothes) have an over 50% rate of returns - with a fair bit of that being used, damaged or otherwise unsellable. The credit card charges both ways also add up. As a small retailer, having someone buy over $10 grand in stuff (because they had "taken an ambien and shouldn't have been shopping" and wants to return all of it hurts. A lot.

Still - the vast majority of consumers are wonderful people who occasionally have something to be returned and pretty much every store out there wants to keep them happy. If you're one of those people, I can't imagine any retailer in their right mind who would ban you. Most of the time, we feel bad that you have to make a return and want to find a way to make things right so you will hopefully come back and shop again!!
 
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