Can't return? Don't care. Cancel payment with credit card processor. Problem solved.
It seems like a store saying that the purchase was made with a clearly stated return policy would be hard to argue against to your bank.
I've found that when you come in to your bank to close out all your accounts, especially with an ATM card/freshly filled out paperwork for another bank they usually ask if there is anyway they can keep your business. At such times they've been known to recall that the #1 policy is making money, and they don't make very much money when your accounts are at another institution.
It's good to move your accounts around every now and then someone's always got a free iPod or whatever.
Either way, switching banks regularly in order to steal electronics from stores doesn't sound like very ethical advice.
Now he can't return it to get the device he really wanted to buy and reasonably assumed he would be buying. I don't know whether it's ethical, perhaps a philosopher can weigh in on that, in the meantime I think the author wants his cash back and the device returned.
About the iPod I meant the offers the banks make when you open accounts and move a bill or two and deposit a couple hundred bucks for a month or two.
What are the ethics around the myriad of fees surrounding VISA/MasterCard? What's the ethics around cutting off wikileaks from funding? What are the ethics around selling cables at 800% markup using illogical arguments about digital cables being 'better'?
The world isn't an ethical place my friend.
99% of the time, people play by the rules and play fair by each other. If those things you listed were excuses for lying and cheating your way out of paying anything you wanted, there would be no modern society; it'd be chaos.
People that act as you described (who at any little upset, immediately turn to threatening the business with everything under the sun.. and in this case, are threatening a business that has nothing to do with the kiosk the purchase was made at) really grind my gears. Luckily, I've only encountered a few of the type out of tens of thousands of customers.
How much do you think someone should have to actually have some leverage?
The customer service has been outstanding. I've never spent a minute on hold, and of the three disputes I've had (one identity theft, one double charge, one true merchant dispute) they've canceled the charge in seconds without question. I received a confirmation letter in the mail about a week later and that was the end of it each time. It's been a completely different experience than when I had a "free pizza" card.
export devilsadvocate="1"
Trying to return something to a store is not fraud. This guy in particular always intended to pay for a case like his wife's. If he didn't get what he expected, then returning the product for a refund is reasonable and legal. If he sends them a note saying, "I am returning the product and canceling my payment; where should I send it?" then no fraud has been committed.
I'd fully expect to be sued for fraud and lose if I attempted what's being described here.
Also, the stuff printed on a dot-matrix receipt does not have the force of law. A store's policies describe what they normally do. That's just where you begin the negotiation.
Turn it around a bit. Let's say you buy something from your average big box store, like a piece of software. You are informed both by signs in the store, on your reciept, and let's say you're extra cautious and ask the checker what the return policy is.
That policy is always some variation on "Opened software will not be accepted for refund, only exchange of the same item".
You buy the item anyways.
Later, you decide you don't like it - not because it's defective, because that's an entirely separate category of law (and you could always do an exchange anyways), but that you simply decide you don't want it anymore.
You take it to the front counter and attempt to do a refund. Denied - the clerk and manager both point at the sign on the wall and the text on your reciept with the same refund policy text from earlier.
You go home, call your card company, and attempt to do a chargeback.
How is what you did not fraudulent? Did you not accept the terms by purchasing something from a company that said they won't take $item back? You are basically forcing the company to give you money against their will - all while you still have the item. There's no obligation in law that entitles you to a refund.
I don't mean this to be offensive, but people like you are what scare me in the business world. If you don't like a retailer's posted policies, you should shop elsewhere.
If you'd like to carry on getting screwed just because somebody put some lawyerese on a sign, feel free. That's what consumers do, I guess. But negotiation is a fundamental part of business. I'm starting business #5 now, and I've always been happy to make things right for a customer. If Best Buy is smart they'll do that here just like they do in the stores.
Problem is I disagree with your premise, namely that an "attempt" to return something is good enough in the face of a policy that says "no returns". And then you come back and take my money anyways. WTF dude?
I'd love to see something that backs that up.
You're beyond negotiation at that point anyways - Money has changed hands and the transaction is complete.
The transaction is definitely not complete just because you've given somebody your credit card number. Credit cards aren't cash; they serve an escrow function. Thus, the chargeback. And even if cash were paid, you still have recourse to the courts and the ocean of consumer protection law out there.
You're never beyond negotiation. Especially in a case like this, where there's not only the credit card company and small claims court, but an ongoing business relationship and a brand that the company would like to protect. You may decide not to negotiate, but that's a choice.
The item wasn't defective, but you also were unable to get any use out of it.
Punishing the store is still wrong.
OTOH, as I said in another post, if you purchased something and it was not as expected and the vendor won't take a return, the chargeback will almost certainly go through. There are exceptions, but not many.
I ordered an expensive (at the time) PC that wasn't shipped within weeks of when the vendor said. After I got tired of the runaround from them, I cancelled the order and bought from someone else. A day later the original PC shows up.
Talking to the vendor sales people got me nowhere (the owner even called me to bitch about me wanting to return it and how he absolutely refused to return my money!), I called the bank/Visa to do a chargeback, explaining that I had waited two weeks after the promised date and bought another PC but the vendor didn't want to take my cancelled order back.
Without any argument, the customer service told me to package it up and ship it back with proof of shipment and immediately credited me the full amount. I never heard a thing about it after that.
I have never had a chargeback request refused. Granted, I only do it as a last resort, but still.