There's a right way to return a purchase to Wal-Mart
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Shopping
There are right ways and wrong ways to do everything. On Thursday, June 4, 2009, 41-year-old Phillip R. Wright gave us a prime example of how not to act when attempting to return an item to a Wal-Mart store.
According to a story released by Tampa Bay Online, Mr. Wright exercised a poor lack of emotional control when he was not allowed to return some items to his local Wal-Mart store. Apparently, the chagrined customer proceeded to set three racks of clothing ablaze and then left the store.
Luckily, no one was injured in the fire, but the store suffered "significant" damage. Later in the day, Wright entered another Wal-Mart store and was apprehended by deputies soon thereafter. At the time of this writing, no explanation had yet been released regarding exactly why Mr. Wright was not allowed to return the items in question.
The arsonist in this story might have been well advised to avoid playing with fire, and to review Wal-Mart's return policies. Those policies are clear, fair, and quite liberal in their scope. As always, keep the receipts for all your purchases in a safe place until you are certain that you are satisfied with your purchases. For items which have manufacturer's warranties, it is recommended that consumers retain their original purchase receipts for one year or until the term of the manufacturer's warranty expires.
According to a story released by Tampa Bay Online, Mr. Wright exercised a poor lack of emotional control when he was not allowed to return some items to his local Wal-Mart store. Apparently, the chagrined customer proceeded to set three racks of clothing ablaze and then left the store.
Luckily, no one was injured in the fire, but the store suffered "significant" damage. Later in the day, Wright entered another Wal-Mart store and was apprehended by deputies soon thereafter. At the time of this writing, no explanation had yet been released regarding exactly why Mr. Wright was not allowed to return the items in question.
The arsonist in this story might have been well advised to avoid playing with fire, and to review Wal-Mart's return policies. Those policies are clear, fair, and quite liberal in their scope. As always, keep the receipts for all your purchases in a safe place until you are certain that you are satisfied with your purchases. For items which have manufacturer's warranties, it is recommended that consumers retain their original purchase receipts for one year or until the term of the manufacturer's warranty expires.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)
6-05-2009 @ 2:18PM
Millertwin said...
I think this is hilarious! talk about anger management
Reply
6-07-2009 @ 5:41PM
Michael said...
Perhaps he was trying to return defective lighters? Hey, I could be a lawyer!
6-05-2009 @ 2:20PM
CB said...
I myself know what a pain in the ass it is to try and return something back to wal-mart. The line is so darn long it reminds me of Black Friday in November. There are other ways to get the employees attention. Guess fire isn't one of them. He was stupid to go to another one thinking he would'nt get caught. Only had his picture off the security camera.
Reply
6-07-2009 @ 3:00PM
One who has had bad experiences returning to Wally's World said...
Our local upstate NY Walmart and the other ones within a 75 mile radius (I travel for my job so I have stopped in many) refuse to return anything without a receipt ... regardless of the time-frame, item (non-electronic). It has been EXTREMELY frustrating. Finally, one manager at our local Wal-Mart told me that she has difficulty keeping track of every receipt, so if I need to return something to the store and don't have it, just ask for her and she will authorize it because they "also have a policy of customer satisfaction".
6-07-2009 @ 6:43PM
Pat said...
Sometimes the lines may be long but I have seen Wal-Mart take back things they should never have to take back. Their return policy is extremely liberal!
6-07-2009 @ 7:24PM
deb said...
Ok.. people are nuts.. I use to work at a wal-mart in AZ and when we refused a gun sale at our store and another wal-mart store close to us and both stores were set on fire..
The damaged caused to the store was minor, it was lucky that no one was hurt.. I really wish people would stop and think before they act.
6-05-2009 @ 2:33PM
kerry wenrich said...
i don't believe it what were the items and why wouldn't walmart take em back if they sold the items to him to begin with this makes no sense as for how he acted as a result he was probally not one to give up easy and was determined to return the items
Reply
6-05-2009 @ 4:51PM
sandi said...
You are assuming that the articles were sold by walmart. You would be surprised at the number of items people try to return that were not sold by walmart. The store will sometimes give a store credit if it is an item they sell even if the person has no receipt.This is even more prevalent since Target has started to refuse returns. I no longer shop there because they will only allow you to return for a like item! Why return it if you want the same thing??
6-05-2009 @ 5:46PM
Nancy Bentsen said...
I have shopped at wal-Mart since they opened their stores in Florida and nerver had any problems returning anything.
Something doesn't seem right in this case.
6-07-2009 @ 6:09PM
lori said...
I live in Bradenton, and my understanding is he was returning items that were not from Wal Mart. Even if they would not accept the items, they did not warrant the thousands of dollars of damage he did on top of closing down the store resulting in hundreds of employees being off the clock for days or weeks.
6-05-2009 @ 2:36PM
M said...
Wal-mart has a horrible return policy. My husband and I waited in line to return a defective bicycle that caused him bodily harm. The other customers finally realized what was going on, and one woman demanded that a manager be brought over and balled out the manager, and customer service rep. for their horrible customer service.
This was about 6 years ago, we are still waiting for the check from Wal-mart to cover medical bills, and have yet to step foot in one of their stores again...
Reply
6-05-2009 @ 3:05PM
May said...
The injuries that he recieved were not on wal-mart property so wal-marts is not liable for that.
6-05-2009 @ 4:03PM
Matt said...
How about you seek damages and medical costs from the manufacturer of the bicycle instead of Walmart? Another frivolous lawsuit...typical
6-05-2009 @ 3:53PM
Jose said...
Try returning the so called TARP money to obama and see what happens. By the way you will be told NO
6-05-2009 @ 4:21PM
Dina said...
Just curious but why is it the stores fault that someone was injured on a bicycle? sounds more like user error.
6-05-2009 @ 5:00PM
Shannon said...
Matt she didn't sue. Aparently they agreed to pay the medical bills. If she HAD sued and won a judgement, Wal-Mart would be in contempt of court and we would have heard about it by now.
6-05-2009 @ 5:27PM
non of your business said...
Why should Walmart be the one to pay for the medical bill, were they the ones riding the bike, come on seriously!
6-05-2009 @ 7:33PM
lynna said...
Wal Mart has become such a monopoly they think they rule the kingdom of shopping, HELLOOOOOOO, There are other stores out there that would love our bussiness. How about choosing a day and boycotting this monopoly??
6-07-2009 @ 2:06PM
susan said...
Was it a Walmart brand bike? They might not be able to do anything about it if not, you would probably have to go after the bike company to get any reimbursement.
6-08-2009 @ 11:31PM
K said...
Are you kidding me...U cant expect walmart to pay for a defective bike that is NOT PRODUCED OR MADE BY WALMART.
If anything your supposed to call the company who manufactured the equipment.