Home Depot wont take my return!!!

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 3, 2015

I bought a few Ryobi things last month and have been completely disgusted by the quality and issues I have had. It all started around the beginning of Sept when the Mrs's informed me she need a nice flashlight to clean up after the dogs.

I have owned a ryobi cordless nailer, 1 battery and a charger for over a year and shot quite a few nails through it. Its just for the Mrs's so I am not wanting to spend festool money on it and Milwaukee doesn't make a spot light. I figure the super bright spotlight by ryobi would be kinda cool and she would definitely be able to see with as much light that it puts out. So I buy the light a double battery pack and in one of those since I am here things and this thing is kind of neat I by the AM/FM radio. Get home and after using the light she tells me its to bright it blinds you when you are looking at it close up. So I decide I want to keep the spot light because its kind of cool. We head back to Home depot and we grab the little lantern and she sees this dust buster looking thing and she wants that too since there is no cord and she could use it to do the entry way at the bottom of the stairs and the stairs themselves.

First time using the lantern it dies within 60 seconds, try another battery and nothing. She takes it back and gets an exchange. 2 days ago a battery is diagnosed as faulty by the charger. so we have had a less than desirable fault rate. after getting a new dual battery pack because they make you return both for an exchange we talk and decide we would rather return all of the ryobi items because we don't want to keep dealing with faulty items and what if this happens in 6 months? a year? The success rate of the M12 tools I have and use all the time has been 100% I love every single one of them, even my heated jacket!

We gather up all of our receipts, owners manuals and tools and head back. Explain the situation and that we will take a refund or in store credit because we will use the money towards a M12 or M18 lantern, a M12 dust buster, and a couple of batteries. Basically just like for like. THe manager comes over and is concerned we are "renting tools" or trying to return to come back and buy them at a discount. I kindly tell him I am not interested in these even if they were free, and all in all they are going to get more money because we want the Milwaukee stuff.

the return lady runs all of our stuff and then informs me I cannot return anything because I have been flagged by the system. So we try the Mrs's ID and she is flagged also. This pisses me off to no end so we leave and go home and I go through all of my quicken info and besides the exchanges I have not returned any item to Home Depot since at least May of 2014 and if I remember right that was some extra pieces we got for a ceiling fan install. It was like 11 bucks. The only other thing I have "returned" this year was a deposit I got back on a tool rental from when I rented a sky lift thing for hanging banners.

I looked through all the return stuff on HD.com and cant find much about why I would be denied. I am not satisfied, I have the receipts, and I am not a guy who buys and returns stuff. Any one have any ideas what I can do besides file a dispute and make them go through as many hoops as I can?
Oh and buy all my new Milwaukee from toolnut.com?

The Cobbler · Oct 3, 2015

ask them why you are flagged...

could someone else have used your identity to scam them?

firworks · Oct 3, 2015

I would call HD corporate and explain the situation to them. I dealt with them when an associate accused me of being a thief and a corporate spy from another store because I was using the in-store customer computer. They were very apologetic and helpful.

Also it sounds like another GJer is working over your store out of the HD penny deals thread... They must be getting wise to the buy at one store, return at another store that has it on clearance scam.

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 3, 2015

The Cobbler said:
ask them why you are flagged...

could someone else have used your identity to scam them?

They said they couldnt tell me anything from the store and cant override the return and I have to call a number. Doing some googling, its a 3rd party that makes you write them like its a credit report but wont unflag you.

As far as identity I am not sure, it is home depot after all I think like half the US had their identity compromised by them in the last 2 years. I cant think of anytime I have ever given them my ID before tonight.

firworks said:
I would call HD corporate and explain the situation to them. I dealt with them when an associate accused me of being a thief and a corporate spy from another store because I was using the in-store customer computer. They were very apologetic and helpful.

Also it sounds like another GJer is working over your store out of the HD penny deals thread... They must be getting wise to the buy at one store, return at another store that has it on clearance scam.

I will give that a shot tomorrow. I remember reading about that somewhere on a "good deals" thread. It makes me mad they kind of accused me of that tonight, even though I told them I wanted to BUY another brands items that I was more comfortable with as far as quality goes.

slip knot · Oct 3, 2015

Call corporate and ask them WTF. Find out why you've been "flagged"

jask · Oct 4, 2015

The entire situation is bizarre! They have a well known satisfaction and return policy.. It has been less than a month... You have a receipt that shows the store and price... Unless they think you are trying to return old batteries with a new tool, I can not think of a single reason they would be justified in that action. Tell them you want to talk to a district manager, or someone from the HD legal department that can explain.

tymbo · Oct 4, 2015

Shop at Menards

tshetter · Oct 4, 2015

Another good reason to use a credit card for purchases, and then paying the balance in full without carrying a balance. Credit cards have better support in this area but your bank might be of assistance if you used a debit card.

edcantu9 · Oct 4, 2015

Just have a family member or friend return with their id?

If you think they are being sneaky then you do it too!

DirtyJersey · Oct 4, 2015

edcantu9 said:
Just have a family member or friend return with their id?

If you think they are being sneaky then you do it too!

This, but I wouldn't have left without speaking to a supervisor. I could see thier point if you did not have receipts.

Texting while driving

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 4, 2015

UPDATE:

Called the number for the company that HD uses to decide if you are going to be able to return something or not. They told us were flagged for not having a receipt. We told them we did have one though. THey said to go back to the store and if there were any questions have the store call them and gave us a ref #.

Went back to the store told the return gal what happened and she said "ok, no big deal." and processed our return with no issues. I will say though the steps she was going through were way different than the lady did the night before. Never asked for ID or even my credit card. Anyways got all my money back and will get my Milwaukee stuff ordered.

rsanter · Oct 4, 2015

Call cooperate and raise hell big time.
If you paid by credit card then file a complaint and reverse the charge.
File a compliant with the BBB

Bob

LumpyMusic · Oct 4, 2015

rsanter said:
File a compliant with the BBB

The BBB is a private rating company. They are not a regulatory agency or any other kind of "agency". They have no power to do anything except list complaints on their files. Given enough complaints, or enough money (buy a membership), they can/might forward a copy of complaints to the store. The store can respond, ignore, or buy a better rating.

Businesses have an "opportunity" to purchase a "membership" in the BBB which then allows them to post their icon and mention their "rating". It also allows them to remove and/or nullify complaints. In essence, the business, if a paid member, can respond "No we didn't" or "Here is our policy" or "If they'll contact us, we'll discuss it with them". The BBB will then wash the complaint and the business will retain their rating. The BBB may or may not send the businesses reply back to the original complainer. They have no obligation to. Their obligation is to their members, the businesses that pay their rent.

Sgt Lumpy

Trey T · Oct 5, 2015

OP: Can you guess on why you're flagged? I got flagged years back because I do a lot of return w/o receipt.

graffix000 · Oct 5, 2015

LumpyMusic said:
The BBB is a private rating company. They are not a regulatory agency or any other kind of "agency". They have no power to do anything except list complaints on their files. Given enough complaints, or enough money (buy a membership), they can/might forward a copy of complaints to the store. The store can respond, ignore, or buy a better rating.

Businesses have an "opportunity" to purchase a "membership" in the BBB which then allows them to post their icon and mention their "rating". It also allows them to remove and/or nullify complaints. In essence, the business, if a paid member, can respond "No we didn't" or "Here is our policy" or "If they'll contact us, we'll discuss it with them". The BBB will then wash the complaint and the business will retain their rating. The BBB may or may not send the businesses reply back to the original complainer. They have no obligation to. Their obligation is to their members, the businesses that pay their rent.

Sgt Lumpy

From my experiences, BBB complaints to corporate are the only way to get resolution. I have had to go that route several times with sears, comcast and most recently ADT.

You are non existent until you post a negative write up on their corporate BBB page. In all instances, I have had someone back to me in 3 days and work out a resolution.

LB-1911 · Oct 5, 2015

Trey T said:
OP: Can you guess on why you're flagged? I got flagged years back because I do a lot of return w/o receipt.

KGB Pilot125 said:
UPDATE:

Called the number for the company that HD uses to decide if you are going to be able to return something or not.

They told us were flagged for not having a receipt.

We told them we did have one though.

THey said to go back to the store and if there were any questions have the store call them and gave us a ref #.

Went back to the store told the return gal what happened and she said "ok, no big deal." and processed our return with no issues.

I will say though the steps she was going through were way different than the lady did the night before.

Never asked for ID or even my credit card. Anyways got all my money back and will get my Milwaukee stuff ordered.

ScottsGT · Oct 7, 2015

This is strange. I've done a lot of returns to HD and Lowes without a receipt. Just got store credit. I did have some with receipts and it goes straight back on the CC it was charged to. But we just finished up a kitchen remodel and we had all kinds of odds and ends. Even carried a few Lowes items into HD. Lady just scanned them and said, "Oops, this is the other places returns!"

rsanter · Oct 7, 2015

LumpyMusic said:
The BBB is a private rating company. They are not a regulatory agency or any other kind of "agency". They have no power to do anything except list complaints on their files. Given enough complaints, or enough money (buy a membership), they can/might forward a copy of complaints to the store. The store can respond, ignore, or buy a better rating.

Businesses have an "opportunity" to purchase a "membership" in the BBB which then allows them to post their icon and mention their "rating". It also allows them to remove and/or nullify complaints. In essence, the business, if a paid member, can respond "No we didn't" or "Here is our policy" or "If they'll contact us, we'll discuss it with them". The BBB will then wash the complaint and the business will retain their rating. The BBB may or may not send the businesses reply back to the original complainer. They have no obligation to. Their obligation is to their members, the businesses that pay their rent.

Sgt Lumpy

It is listed as third on my list of things to do

Bob

Jamie V · Oct 7, 2015

Ok, so this happened to me today.

I went to return a Milwaukee combo kit today (with receipt). When they went to put it through I had to give my license because $56 out of the $315 was a store credit. When I have my license it popped up on the screen "denied".

They gave me a paper with a transaction ID and a number to call. I called and they said because of the partial store credit payment it gets tracked just like items you return with no receipt. So I called corporate next (first place was an independent place) they took all my info and said they would try and get it changed and would get back to me.

Fast forward an hour and my buddy tries to return it for me. Gets all the way to the license part and denied just like me... Not sure what's going on???

I guess I'm going to have to wait to see if they get back to me???

jask · Oct 8, 2015

The receipt has a unique transaction identifier... They already knew it had been flagged previously.
It is interesting that it flagged with the store credit... How old was the credit?

Jamie V · Oct 8, 2015

Not sure. The receipt was exactly 30 days old and I think the store credit I used wasn't much older.

nadogail · Oct 8, 2015

Venting on Garage Journal might make you feel good, but I don't feel that it is a constructive action to resolve your complaint.

Written communications with copies to your files is my first recommendation. First to the store manager, then step by step up their Chain of Command, allow each level the opportunity to resolve your problem at their level. Carefully craft all of your requests in temperate language, do not criticize the motives of any Home Depot employee.

That way when you write to corporate, you are putting on report everyone who refused to address your complaint to your satisfaction. Be sure to send copies of your correspondence to each successive level of management.

Remember, you did get some use from the Royobi tools, but the quality of the tool belongs to Royobi, not the merchant who sold them.

I once had a problem with kitchen cabinets, when I called the factory they asked if I had tried to resolve the problem with the dealer and would I send copies of my letters. I faxed them copies of the 18 letters to the dealer and his responses, a week later the District Representative was at my house to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution.

If push comes to shove, you will be able to demonstrate by your correspondence you have sought a reasonable solution at the lowest possible level.

Slow and steady wins the race.

rancherbill · Oct 8, 2015

KGB Pilot125 said:
I have owned a ryobi cordless nailer, 1 battery and a charger... So I buy the light a double battery pack ....I by the AM/FM radio....we grab the little lantern .... dust buster

....we talk and decide we would rather return all of the ryobi...The success rate of the

Give me a break.

You buy an entry level / value line product and expect the performance of a higher priced brand. You expect HD will take all the tools back because you had a problem with one.

Why don't you take your Chrysler Neon back to dealer because you had a problem and see if they will give you original retail becasue you want to buy a new Audi.

It's time to **** it up buttercup and sell them on Craigslist and go buy what you now want.

You are the guy that spoils it for everybody.

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 8, 2015

nadogail said:
Venting on Garage Journal might make you feel good, but I don't feel that it is a constructive action to resolve your complaint.

Written communications with copies to your files is my first recommendation. First to the store manager, then step by step up their Chain of Command, allow each level the opportunity to resolve your problem at their level. Carefully craft all of your requests in temperate language, do not criticize the motives of any Home Depot employee.

That way when you write to corporate, you are putting on report everyone who refused to address your complaint to your satisfaction. Be sure to send copies of your correspondence to each successive level of management.

Remember, you did get some use from the Royobi tools, but the quality of the tool belongs to Royobi, not the merchant who sold them.

I once had a problem with kitchen cabinets, when I called the factory they asked if I had tried to resolve the problem with the dealer and would I send copies of my letters. I faxed them copies of the 18 letters to the dealer and his responses, a week later the District Representative was at my house to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution.

If push comes to shove, you will be able to demonstrate by your correspondence you have sought a reasonable solution at the lowest possible level.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Turned out that the store employee had just made a mistake during the process. Makes sense though because when I had exchanged the dead battery for the new one the girl who did that was being trained by a supervisor. I think they just have a few new people on the counter and messed it up. There is a flow chart on the wall and step 1 is "is there a receipt?" if no then no return can be done on Ryobi and a list of other tool brands. If yes then question 2 is "does it fall under the satisfaction period or can it be resolved with a new one?" if yes then perform return or exchange.

I think she was hitting no on the receipt part because it was a sheet of paper that had the receipt on it since it was a buy online pick up in store order. It just looked different to her.

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 8, 2015

rancherbill said:
Give me a break.

You buy an entry level / value line product and expect the performance of a higher priced brand. You expect HD will take all the tools back because you had a problem with one.

Why don't you take your Chrysler Neon back to dealer because you had a problem and see if they will give you original retail becasue you want to buy a new Audi.

It's time to **** it up buttercup and sell them on Craigslist and go buy what you now want.

You are the guy that spoils it for everybody.

you are kidding me right? So what you are saying that due to a tool that is less then 1 charge old and less than 60 seconds old when it stops working I am not entitled to getting one that works? And I should sell it on craigslist and stick some **** tool that will fail this month with some other guy? Oh ok that makes perfect sense. I am not sure if you are familiar with ryobi vs millwaukee pricing but its not as drastic as you might think. batteries are about the same and the light we swapped was only a few more dollars and the vac was the same price. BTW if I did ever buy a car and it blew up the engine within 60 seconds of starting it on the lot you better believe I would be backing out of the deal warranty or not, wouldnt matter if it was a Chrysler or even a fine German automobile like an Audi.

By law there is a reasonable expectation of the product working as advertised. And as a consumer I am protected

I guess in Canada things are different.

jpinca · Oct 8, 2015

rancherbill said:
Give me a break.

You buy an entry level / value line product and expect the performance of a higher priced brand. You expect HD will take all the tools back because you had a problem with one.

Why don't you take your Chrysler Neon back to dealer because you had a problem and see if they will give you original retail becasue you want to buy a new Audi.

It's time to **** it up buttercup and sell them on Craigslist and go buy what you now want.

You are the guy that spoils it for everybody.

"Our goal is that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. We take pride in the quality of the products we sell and offering great customer service is our top priority. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please follow the guidelines detailed below and we will be happy to help you to return your purchase. Contact Us

Returns within 90 days of purchase and with a valid sales receipt will be exchanged, refunded in cash, credited to your account or refunded via The Home Depot store credit. "

What part "completely satisfied" of that is hard to understand? English much....?

Jamie V · Oct 8, 2015

That's what bothered me about my return denial. I had my receipt but because I used a store credit to pay 18% of the total bill it gets classified as the same as a return with no receipt at all.

rancherbill · Oct 9, 2015

KGB Pilot125 said:
you are kidding me right? So what you are saying that due to a tool that is less then 1 charge old and less than 60 seconds old when it stops working I am not entitled to getting one that works?

Why did you return ALL your tools? Please explain why you think you are entitled to be able to return used stuff for a refund?

In Canada, seeing you bring it up, I would be so embarrassed that I would not post in a public forum this kind of shady behavior.

When I had my business, I would have flagged you with a boot print on your *** as you were going out the door.

The rest of you guys make me shake my head. Write a letter, protest, call 800 number blabla. You are condoning this shady behavior. That is why they have started this flagging procedure. Customer service is just that, not some sort of take advantage program. HD Depot, Sears etc have huge costs because of this 'I'm entitled" behavior. It is customer service for the rest of us.

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 9, 2015

rancherbill said:
Why did you return ALL your tools? Please explain why you think you are entitled to be able to return used stuff for a refund?

In Canada, seeing you bring it up, I would be so embarrassed that I would not post in a public forum this kind of shady behavior.

When I had my business, I would have flagged you with a boot print on your *** as you were going out the door.

The rest of you guys make me shake my head. Write a letter, protest, call 800 number blabla. You are condoning this shady behavior. That is why they have started this flagging procedure. Customer service is just that, not some sort of take advantage program. HD Depot, Sears etc have huge costs because of this 'I'm entitled" behavior. It is customer service for the rest of us.

What part of 100% satisfaction guarantee don't you get? With a failure rate if 50% within 1 charge I wasn't satisfied. Now I am not sure if you have had good luck in running cordless tools without the battery but in my experience it doesn't work out very well. The light failed within seconds of turning it on, again lights don't work well when they don't turn on,I know because I tried using it... Returning faulty products doesn't cost HD a dime, returning products that a customer is not satisfied with doesn't cost HD a dime.

The fact that you posted that you would assault a customer who wasnt happy with buying products with an unacceptable failure rate and how you think it's a good idea to sell items you know will fail on craigslist makes it clear why you say owned a business rather than own a business.

This has nothing to do with an entitlement culture or anything else, this has to do with a company selling products of another company that didn't meet expectations and were returned. No harm no foul happens every day millions of times in all sorts of industries.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

rancherbill · Oct 9, 2015

It is still going over your head. If there was a problem you had exchange or warranty as an option. How exactly does returning tools that had no problems fall into the '100% satisfaction guarantee'?

Did you return some nails because during use some of them bent?

There's a system to address real situations that occur within the retail environment. You were trying to take advantage of the system to the extreme. You took a simple pledge of satisfaction and totally twisted it to get

You now appear to be flagged within HD and other companies if they share data. Perhaps that will continue to bite you in the ***.

You really do need a kick in the ***. It's what adults do to people that are acting like little babies. Your Mother obviously did not give you a spanking when you were having some sort of tantrum when you were younger when they don't get their way.

I really don't want to continue this discussion. We greatly differ in our ethics and morals.

KGB Pilot125 · Oct 9, 2015

rancherbill said:
It is still going over your head. If there was a problem you had exchange or warranty as an option. How exactly does returning tools that had no problems fall into the '100% satisfaction guarantee'?

Did you return some nails because during use some of them bent?

There's a system to address real situations that occur within the retail environment. You were trying to take advantage of the system to the extreme. You took a simple pledge of satisfaction and totally twisted it to get

You now appear to be flagged within HD and other companies if they share data. Perhaps that will continue to bite you in the ***.

You really do need a kick in the ***. It's what adults do to people that are acting like little babies. Your Mother obviously did not give you a spanking when you were having some sort of tantrum when you were younger when they don't get their way.

I really don't want to continue this discussion. We greatly differ in our ethics and morals.

Bill you are an absolute *****, I wasn't flagged in the system, the cashier made a mistake. Any tool return without a receipt is auto flagged. Reading and comprehending are important skills.

What part of I was not satisfied with the tools don't you get? Again a failure rate of that magnitude is not something any consumer should deal with. Home depot still gets money, they sell Milwaukee, I bought Milwaukee.

You wish violence on people you don't even know and then judge based on an assumption because you can't read. I truly hope you get what is coming to you.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Jamie V · Oct 9, 2015

I'm the one flagged but the weird part is I really don't return much stuff to Home Depot so it's kinda surprising.

CJM8515 · Oct 9, 2015

100% SATISFACTION. That means if you are unhappy with it in the United States and they have that policy at the store or whatever you can return it PERIOD.

The cashier made a mistake, the supervisor who originally dealt with you is an idiot. Ive returned countless things to home depot, tools, lumber, you name it. I dont always have a receipt and never ever got flagged. Why? Cause they flag you if you buy expensive power tools and try and return them, thats why. Why do they do this? Cause you could then re-buy them at a discount because they toss them back on the floor as used. OR because you stole them. Thats why they do it.

Regardless, if the policy states 100% satisfaction then thats what they have to do.

Wanna Ride · Oct 9, 2015

rancherbill, it's this simple;
He bought a line of tools that incorporate ONE type of battery and charger. If any of those tools fail nearly as soon as he gets home and has to return them, why in the hell should he be stuck with tools that he's not confident will last past the period he can return them? Why should he not be permitted to buy a different line that is more reliable? And all of those use one type of battery and charger? Who the hell would want several different tool lines that don't have interchangeable batteries and chargers? It's not like he's trying to return stuff that he bought a year ago.

I'm pretty certain that if you polled 100 consumers (regardless of geographic location) this, they would all feel as he does, and go back to buy something MORE reliable. And if you wouldn't, then you deserve to buy junk that doesn't work on day one... AND be stuck with it.

Aside from all of this... shame on him for buying Ryobi junk. That stuff's worthless as far as I'm concerned.

2jz4me · Oct 10, 2015

Rancherbill, common logic really escapes you. Satisfaction guarantee means you are satisfied with the product. Period. The item could have worked without failure and still if he wasnt satisfied with the performance he is well within the return policy. Its almost difficult to dissect something so simple. How do you not understand 100% satisfaction guarantee? I dont know how you could not understand what that statement means. What does that statement mean to you?

Empty Pockets · Oct 10, 2015

Although I have only had to do this once, a post on the HD Facebook page might shame them into doing the right thing.

It worked with another large company that I had an issue with, the one time I did it.

Jamie V · Oct 11, 2015

I don't have facebook.... But that's a great idea

Jamie V · Oct 14, 2015

I got a call back from HD today and they lifted my return restriction so I could return the drill set. I went back to my local store and the return went right through.

justtools · Oct 14, 2015

Not to pick sides here but things do go overboard. I guy I know buys pallets of returns from stores like HD and sears. Parts them out to make a buck. The Satisfaction Guaranty is great but can be really abused. I work in customer service and the stories and entitlement are endless. The average consumer today will buy a pair of shoes. Wear them for 12 months. Come in with no receipt and start by saying they are only 30 days old and already worn out. The will then demand a new pair and proceed to request a different show size. I love to rock the boat. I can say NO in such a nice way that you will feel really stupid to have asked in the first place. I have had people tell me I am confusing them. I inform them they were confused when they came in. I never get tired of the look on some of these peoples faces when You say No to them. It is like this has never happened before.

Billtheeng · Oct 15, 2015

The same thing happened to me at wallmart, because I reached the limit of three items without a receipt. I was told that in the past few years the rate of theft and return has increased considerabally. A person steals an item, and bring it back, and gets a store credit, then sells the store credit at a discount. We are now all paying the price for this.

Home Depot wont take my return!!!

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