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Old Rebate Couple (long, might wanna grab a beer!)

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  • Old Rebate Couple (long, might wanna grab a beer!)

    Hope you've enjoyed reading my stories..........here's a gem from my days at office max

    We had this elderly couple come in from time to time, usually in to make a return on something. Back then, they would return 1 or 2 small items at a time, nothing big, and there was no big deals made. For awhile, the guy would come in alone, and buy things, usually stuff on rebates.

    (For the record, OfficeMax then had a MaxRebates thing where if you purchased an item or items on rebate, the register spit out a second receipt that would serve as the rebate receipt that would be sent in with the forms, yada yada yada. I believe one had to send in the bar codes but that apparently wasn't necessary as I will discuss in the story)

    One day both of them came in and were spending a lot of time at the register. Apparently they were in need of a second receipt and our registers weren't capable of doing so, and they pleaded that they needed the receipt. My MOD told them he'd take care of it, and off they went.

    Over the next few months, mainly the guy came in, buying and returning stuff, all of which was rebated. We began refusing returns on rebate stuff from him, and eventually we finally warned him each time that he wasn't allowed to return anything else period, and he just shrugged and agreed. We began putting "no returns" on his receipts. Anytime his wife came in, we had to match prices for them, as they'd bring in ads from Office Depot or Staples.

    About a month later, both he and his wife came in. I was their cashier, and as per my manager's orders, I told them they weren't allowed to make any returns.
    His wife flipped out on us - started yelling at us saying "that sign says 100% satisfaction guaranteed!", and "how dare you accuse us of stealing?" and the wife yelling and yelling, that they have every right to return whatever they want, etc. The wife began yelling about how good it was that the manager got transferred because supposedly he caught on to a scheme of their daughter's and how it traumatized her. They also said this was their last visit since the rebate company rejected their last rebates, and upon asking why, it was because the UPC was missing! DINGDINGDING! We found out what we were thinking - sending in rebate stuff and returning the stuff, getting a double refund. Thankfully we never did see them (i did leave 3 months after) but I also heard they pulled this at other places and even had a file tote in their trunk. Was this rebate fraud or what? Who knows - but this was a couple in their 70s doing this - so weird

  • #2
    I's sad that people waste their lives by scamming rebate offers, is all the trouble really worth a few bucks?

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    • #3
      Oddly enough, I'm doing some research for a class project on receipt scams... and this one wasn't even listed in the article found here. Check it out. Really interesting stuff. And of course, you gave me another thing to talk about in my research project.
      Jim: Fact: Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Gallactica.
      Dwight: Bears don't eat bee... Hey! What are you doing?
      The Office

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      • #4
        How dare you stop them from stealing?!
        Labor boards have info on local laws for free
        HR believes the first person in the door
        Learn how to go over whackamole bosses' heads safely
        Document everything
        CS proves Dunning-Kruger effect

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        • #5
          At my store, on what few items we have left with mail-in rebates, if someone wants to return the item, we'll return it minus the rebate amount unless the UPC is still attached and they return the rebate receipt(s) as well. It's all over the return policy declarations. Has been for years.
          I suspect that... inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way.
          - Bill Watterson

          My co-workers: They're there when they need me.
          - IPF

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          • #6
            So she admits her daughter was scamming the store, but blames the manager for "traumatizing" her by catching her? If you're "daughter" is so delicate, maybe she should find honest work... y' know, if obeying the law doesn't traumatize her too much.
            The icon is a bunny with a spiked collar from some carpet ad.

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            • #7
              That article about scams reminded me of my days at Circuit City. My co workers in the video dept. were always telling stories about people who would flat out tell them they're buying a camcorder for vacation and would return it when they came back. They wouldn't care about a restocking fee, they'd just see it as a rental charge.

              Until stores stop worrying about lawsuits from people plotting to rip them off and start refusing service, this kind of stuff will keep going on.
              "You know, there are times when it's a source of personal pride not to be human." - Hobbes

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              • #8
                And this is one of the many reasons I love the phrase "All sales final."

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