Nordstrom banned from shopping from their online and store

[limom]

I got banned from Nordstrom Rack for no reason (I think it was in late 2018). I had made 4 online purchases (1 or 2 items each time) in that year and kept all of them, so they had no valid reason to ban me. I tried to checkout one day and my order kept getting cancelled.

Contacting CS was infuriating. They said it was a new company policy and my account had been permanently banned at their discretion, without any further explanation. Literally, the payments went through my CC immediately, and my previous orders were all received with no issues, they just randomly blocked me after my 4th order was delivered.

At the time, I was so irritated by the way CS had responded (their tone was far from polite) that I just said I'll gladly take my business elsewhere and left it at that.
I haven't shopped with them since because I'm not going to beg them to take my money , but I just can't understand why they'd ban someone with zero returns or cancellations on their account. I'm sure it was a technical glitch on their system but the fact that CS didn't bother to look into it put me off for good.

I do understand when someone has a 94% rate (and many social media influencers are abusing that return policy), then the company has to protect itself. But I do not fall into that category.

This is so odd.
Yes, some of the CS rep are truly condescending and down right rude...
it is not like there is not one hundred other places to shop at

 

[Bag peace]

There's a thread dedicated to NR bans. Despite the name, Nordstrom and NR are two separate companies. I was also banned without warning and my online NR account was blocked, but I was able to create a new account. My mother was also banned, but she only made one order and randomly couldn't log into her account. The CS rep told her to create a new account with a new e-mail address.

Oh I'm sorry, I had no idea. I'll find that other thread and read on there.
Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in that experience.

This is so odd.
Yes, some of the CS rep are truly condescending and down right rude...
it is not like there is not one hundred other places to shop at

Precisely.

 

[factchecker5]

Do your fact checking before your opinions. He’s a VP of Nordstrom with criminal records.

Sounds as if you have a personal grudge against this person that has nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

 

[Vlad]

Do your fact checking before your opinions. He’s a VP of Nordstrom with criminal records.

Kindly stop spamming Nordstrom-related threads with these claims.

 

[showgratitude]

I read it online
does anyone receive any kinds of letter like this . It sent with certified mail .
View attachment 4421585

This reply might be 11 months too late but just sharing my .02-----
If it’s true that your returns are excessive, I can see why they sent this letter to you. If you are interested to appeal and is able to appeal your case, well and good. If not, consider it as good riddance. Don’t lose sleep over it. Anyway, what they sell there are wants and not needs. Not like they sell N95 masks, ventilators, medicines, or canned goods that are essential to survival of human beings in this pandemic. Save your money and just buy what you and your family truly need. Hopefully you have 12-18 mos worth of living expenses. Remember, the experts say that it will take about that long of a time (at least) to have a vaccine against the virus available---assuming there are no impediments. Keep safe everyone!

 

[Bj9999]

I would like an update on this as well. I have a family member that this happened to after they ordered several formal dresses to try for an event. They don’t have a high stock of any formal dresses in stores in the area. It was a one time incident, not a repeat offender. They were shocked that they wouldn’t be able to shop there anymore. I was wondering if anyone had gotten this letter and had the ban lifted by Nordstrom after an appeal. Thanks!

 

[starrynite_87]

I believe your friend. There’s got to more to this story. I’ve been buying on line and in their store for years and return what doesn’t fit, don’t like, etc. with no repercussions.

I worked at Nordstrom for 2 years; the people I know that received these letters were being watched by loss prevention for a long period of time(to build a case) due to fraudulent returns. It was rare, but during my time I had seen 1 person receive the letter and that was due to her returning stolen merchandise. They had been watching her and her sister for awhile; prior to her receiving the letter she was told she would not be able to return items without a proof of purchase in our department( accessories, sunglasses, and handbags); she would attempt to do returns in other departments and was able to get away with it twice, then it got to a point where she was handed the letter and was escorted out of the store. She attempted to sneak in a few times and the police were called since she was trespassing, so she started sending her sister to do the returns, not realizing she was also being watched.

 

[Bj9999]

I worked at Nordstrom for 2 years; the people I know that received these letters were being watched by loss prevention for a long period of time(to build a case) due to fraudulent returns. It was rare, but during my time I had seen 1 person receive the letter and that was due to her returning stolen merchandise. They had been watching her and her sister for awhile; prior to her receiving the letter she was told she would not be able to return items without a proof of purchase in our department( accessories, sunglasses, and handbags); she would attempt to do returns in other departments and was able to get away with it twice, then it got to a point where she was handed the letter and was escorted out of the store. She attempted to sneak in a few times and the police were called since she was trespassing, so she started sending her sister to do the returns, not realizing she was also being watched.

What about people who are banned for returning things and they have proof of purchase? For instance, everything I’ve ordered is documented in my account online. Never returned anything without a receipt. They usually look it up by credit card which is proof of purchase as well. Nothing fraudulent to see, they really did just ban because of returning too much stuff, particularly formal dresses which are more expensive items. Every single tag attached. When I questioned it they said they looked at my history and I returned 9/10 items, which personally I don’t think is accurate considering I get all my cosmetics there and they have never been returned. So they will ban you even if you aren’t doing anything fraudulent. And if I had a record of returning too much stuff then they could have alerted me a looooong time ago.

 

[lakeshow]

I worked at Nordstrom for 2 years; the people I know that received these letters were being watched by loss prevention for a long period of time(to build a case) due to fraudulent returns. It was rare, but during my time I had seen 1 person receive the letter and that was due to her returning stolen merchandise. They had been watching her and her sister for awhile; prior to her receiving the letter she was told she would not be able to return items without a proof of purchase in our department( accessories, sunglasses, and handbags); she would attempt to do returns in other departments and was able to get away with it twice, then it got to a point where she was handed the letter and was escorted out of the store. She attempted to sneak in a few times and the police were called since she was trespassing, so she started sending her sister to do the returns, not realizing she was also being watched.

Thanks for this! I've done a lot of online Nordstrom shopping recently and I'm in between sizes so I almost always buy two sizes and return one. This post had me sweating and nervous that Nordstrom wouldn't take my recent returns that I mailed back.

 

[starrynite_87]

What about people who are banned for returning things and they have proof of purchase? For instance, everything I’ve ordered is documented in my account online. Never returned anything without a receipt. They usually look it up by credit card which is proof of purchase as well. Nothing fraudulent to see, they really did just ban because of returning too much stuff, particularly formal dresses which are more expensive items. Every single tag attached. When I questioned it they said they looked at my history and I returned 9/10 items, which personally I don’t think is accurate considering I get all my cosmetics there and they have never been returned. So they will ban you even if you aren’t doing anything fraudulent. And if I had a record of returning too much stuff then they could have alerted me a looooong time ago.

At our store if there was an issue the department manager or MIC(Manager In Charge) should have pulled you aside and let you know that they would accommodate you that one time and moving forward you would no longer be able to do returns or you were a member if the public who was no longer allowed to step foot into Nordstrom. From what I was told by a friend from LP it was typically a 2 year ban. I worked at Nordstrom from 2014-2016 and they were really starting to crack down on returns due to switching banks for cardholders and the implementation of the chip. Most of the fraud happening was people using stolen credit cards to make large purchases and coming back the next day to return items for cash or on their debit cards. Right before I left, we were told to return items to the card items were purchased on or the customer would have to get it on a gift card.

 

[tchan2022]

Thanks for this! I've done a lot of online Nordstrom shopping recently and I'm in between sizes so I almost always buy two sizes and return one. This post had me sweating and nervous that Nordstrom wouldn't take my recent returns that I mailed back.

Hello, I am also worried as I have had to return items as a result of their being sub par. A pair of shoes showed up very stretched, one bag had a warped handle, and another one was badly scratched to the point where the color was gone. When I order items it is with the intent of keeping them but this cannot be done if they are damaged. I do wish that there would be better quality control so that it would be easier to keep the items. I can't imagine that the expectation is that customers will keep these items.

 

[Michelle1x]

I've been reading this thread for a while- unfortunately I think the concept of returns are being curtailed everywhere. The thin margins in retail just don't allow for all these returns anymore.
All these publicized cases of fraud where people buy a bag and return a fake from China, or they use a false debit card - are clouding the real issue which is that retail can't afford to take return hits anymore.

When I go to Nordstrom Rack I can see returns from the full line store being sold there, typically for 60% off and more. That means if people are buying 2 pair of jeans and returning one for fit, the revenue received my Nordstrom is 70% of the price of those jeans, even if they buy the one item that fits at full price. The other one is written down.

I know when I buy stuff online I don't like to receive any returned items. I usually can tell if something is a return. Anything returned is less desirable, in almost all cases. Some things like makeup are thrown away (I can't believe anybody would try to return makeup anyway).
Even if a return comes back in pristine condition, the time it takes to process the return probably means the season has passed.

My guess is that Nordstrom will implement a policy where only full price items are returnable and only within a brief time period.

 

[PurseUOut]

I think much of this is due to the pandemic. U.S. shoppers do not realize how fortunate they are to have the return policies we do. It's almost unheard of in many parts of the world. Retail cannot afford to take a risk on returned merchandise, especially clothing and shoes which can't be sanitized and are willing to implement cost-cutting measures.

 

[whateve]

I've been reading this thread for a while- unfortunately I think the concept of returns are being curtailed everywhere. The thin margins in retail just don't allow for all these returns anymore.
All these publicized cases of fraud where people buy a bag and return a fake from China, or they use a false debit card - are clouding the real issue which is that retail can't afford to take return hits anymore.

When I go to Nordstrom Rack I can see returns from the full line store being sold there, typically for 60% off and more. That means if people are buying 2 pair of jeans and returning one for fit, the revenue received my Nordstrom is 70% of the price of those jeans, even if they buy the one item that fits at full price. The other one is written down.

I know when I buy stuff online I don't like to receive any returned items. I usually can tell if something is a return. Anything returned is less desirable, in almost all cases. Some things like makeup are thrown away (I can't believe anybody would try to return makeup anyway).
Even if a return comes back in pristine condition, the time it takes to process the return probably means the season has passed.

My guess is that Nordstrom will implement a policy where only full price items are returnable and only within a brief time period.

If I'm buying something online, I would only buy if I knew I could return. I imagine in some cases I wouldn't mind having to pay return shipping but that might deter me from purchasing.

 

[Karen1206]

But a 94% return rate means out of 100 items you order, you might keep 6, that is a lot of admin and postage costs for the company

If Nordstrom is so proud of the fact that they have a ' lifetime return policy' and that is a selling point for them, they should not peinalize shoppers who utilise their policy. I think it is wrong of them.