What should I do?

ReaperZER0

ReaperZER0

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I bought myself a new iPod yesterday (10/3), a iPod classic 120GB Silver one. I thought it was time to get one and see what was the big deal was. I got a Zune a while back and everyone said iPod is better, so I thought, what the hey, I need one to hold all of my music, let's see what this is all about...

I go into Wal-Mart and purchase it. I take it home, I open the box and am greeted by a white iPod. I pick it up, it looks scratched. I go, "What the hell?", it doesn't look like the one in the picture, I check the back it says 20GB, ummm... what now?

Everything else (I assume) is there, but instead of what I bought and payed for, there's this piece of crap in it's place. I call Wal-Mart they say, "Has it been within 15 days?" I say, yeah I bought it like an hour ago. They say bring it in. I call Apple before I bring it in, to see what they have to say about it. They say, "return it to them. I would be surprised if they didn't take it back. If they don't, give us a call and we'll fix it." I thought okay, good deal.

Go back to Wal-Mart, attempt to return it. They say, "well, the serial numbers don't match." I'm like, because that's not the right one, that's why I'm returning it. They do a whole song and dance around and I'm like, "Fine, forget it, I'll call Apple, since they said they'd help."

I call Apple the next day (10/4), I tell them the situation, they NOW say, well we can't do anything about that. You bought it from a third-party, that's their responsibility.

So I go back to Wal-Mart. I stand around as they do their whole song and dance again. They get like 4-5 different people to weigh in on it. They say, "We can't take this back, because the serial numbers don't match."

I'm like.... DUHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! That's why I'm bringing it back! If they matched that would mean I had what I BOUGHT and there wouldn't be a problem.

They say, "Well we can't return it. We have very strict security measures to make sure that these cannot be tampered with."

So I say, "Ummm... so I just bought a very expensive piece of crap iPod, or what?" The guy that was in charge (I guess), just shrugs his shoulders and goes, "Sorry."

I was about to press on talking to someone higher up, but they talked to like everyone about it that was in the store I swear, and nothing, so now... I'm at a loss.

What do I do with a $250 very old very scratched used 20GB iPod that I am now apparently stuck with? Thoughts?
 
Assuming you didn't pay in cash, let your credit card company deal with it (In other words, call them and do a chargeback).
 
It was in cash, I dislike credit cards, mostly because of what I'm likely to buy should I have the credit to do so.

Also, could you please link to those posts? I read some on there, but it didn't help me any.
 
I wouldn't put up with that shit man, you go back to the store, and you raise holy fuck until you get what you deserve. Make a scene if you have to, they WILL give you an exchange or a refund eventually.
 
I would request to talk to the store manager, and if he is no help ask for the district manager and a corporate customer service number. Depending on where you live there are also those newscasters that help you solve your problem if you contact them so you could always contact/check if your local news station can help.
 
[quote name='Cmosfm']I wouldn't put up with that shit man, you go back to the store, and you raise holy fuck until you get what you deserve. Make a scene if you have to, they WILL give you an exchange or a refund eventually.[/quote]

...or call the police and have him escorted out. Just saying.

Anyway, I would go with calling district and corporate. I'd also look into getting a credit card for larger purchases in the future. It's nice having another layer of protection for situations like these.
 
I called their 1-800 number, I should expect a phone call in a few days. Probably telling me the same crap and wasting a few of my days waiting.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I just have one question to ask. Did you inspect the package before you left the store with it?[/quote]

Well, I didn't grab out a magnifying glass or anything. I saw it behind the case said that's what I want, they took it out, rang it up, threw it in a bag, and I brought it home in the bag. Didn't know there would be a reason to look at it that closely.
 
yeah you shoulda checked b4 you left the store. I know someone who has a friend that worked at wal-mart and says people who work there do this sometimes. They open the package and take out the new one and put their crappy shit in there. Thats why i never buy any high end electronics their cuz walmart doesnt care as long as they get money, they make money. Thats the walmart philosophy
 
I heard something like this happen at a Costco and the workers got in a lot of trouble.
My advice is just to take this up with the manager and corporate as the workers obviously are no help.
 
[quote name='lanleague']Was the box shrink-wrapped?[/quote]

Yes it was. Someone apparently in more of a position of power or something called me earlier and said she'd see about it and give me a call tomorrow about it. Said something about checking with security. Fingers crossed.
 
Tape the box back up and try it as an unopened return? Just make sure it's not somebody you already dealt with.

Just noticed the shrinkwrap. If you can't do that yourself (and you probably can't), the best you can do is probably go back in and fight it again.
 
I'd personally fight this until something happened. Definitely talk someone higher up at the very least. That's just not right.
 
wow..that sucks..i bought a psp a few weeks ago from walmart and the guy in electronics told me he was required to open it and make sure everything was there....so he opened it and pulled everything out in front of me and made sure I was happy and then put it all back nicely in the box and I went on my way
 
im not saying you did this but if someone came in with your story and didnt get more upset than it sounds like you led on, id think they were full of shit. i worked in retail loss prevention for 4-5 years thats my take.

really though , they should exchange it for the purchased product.
id tell them they can notify apple of the stolen product with that serial number to ensure youre not full of shit. not like that would work, but id tell them that regardless.
good luck.
 
[quote name='Vinny']You know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was some Wal-Mart employee who did this.[/QUOTE]

it would be even more funny if they registered it with apple!
 
[quote name='mastagoalie']it would be even more funny if they registered it with apple![/quote]
If an employee did this they will register with apple. This is a WalMart employee we are talking about.

Also, as for what to do OP, I'd say this would have called for the glitter/magazine rack!
 
[quote name='rmb']If an employee did this they will register with apple. This is a WalMart employee we are talking about.

Also, as for what to do OP, I'd say this would have called for the glitter/magazine rack![/QUOTE]

hahahah ah shit, i forgot about that. man thereve been some great threads here.
 
Years ago when I worked at Target we had a regular fake-game returner. He would return shrink-wrapped N64 games, and then when someone bought them later they would discover Sega Genesis games inside. At first we thought it was a shady customer trying to return a Sega game and get a N64 game, but when it started happening frequently and with different customers we realized that someone was resealing the games and returning them. There wasn't much our customer service people could do but inspect the shrink wrap very closely on returned games.
 
You know, if not for the shrinkwrapping, I'd say this was just a case of a customer who bought a 120gb iPod to replace their old pos one, then returned the 20gb in the 120 gb package.

But the shrinkwrapping points to at least someone with access to a machine to wrap said item. Does Wal*Mart actually have a shrinkwrap machine in their stores? I mean, I worked for them back in the day, but I never noticed any such thing.

Although, all most resealing/shrinkwrapping set-ups that I've seen have entailed a roll of the plastic film and something that looked like an oversized hair dryer, so maybe someone figured out how to do that at home and did that here?

Either way, I'd fight for either a refund or an even exchange for what you thought you were buying, ReaperZERO.

That's the only problem with Wal*Mart, is that they're so lax in taking returns on stuff usually, which is why we have had so many people here suggest return fraud as a legit method of getting what they want without paying full retail for it.
 
Our walmart isn't too lax with returns but they do take pretty much anything back no questions asked as long as you have a receipt. I never tried a non receipt return so I can't comment on that. If you have a receipt the process is like they scan the receipt, the barcode on the item and you get your money back, they usually don't check anything and they are amazingly fast, they can do a return in like 20 seconds.

There have been other problems with walmart selling MP3 players, I am not sure if its repackaging of them or customers, there was a lady who bought a MP3 player that came filled with porn here from walmart, and this was on the news. If you don't get resolution I would take this to the local news, they love stories like this especially when it concerns walmart.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']

But the shrinkwrapping points to at least someone with access to a machine to wrap said item. Does Wal*Mart actually have a shrinkwrap machine in their stores? I mean, I worked for them back in the day, but I never noticed any such thing.

[/quote]


Wal-Mart doesn't have anything in the stores. Everything electronical or sealed comes straight from the manufacturer.

Reaper, you go back there, DEMAND the store manager or the co-manager if the Store Manager isn't there and present your information. Just keep raising a holy hell about it throwing around customer service complaints etc. and if there STILL isn't a resolved action, call the market manager (their number should be posted by the Customer Service Center) and keep complaining. Eventually, they crack. When I worked there we took back everything if the people bitched enough
 
[quote name='NoobHammer']Reaper, you go back there, DEMAND the store manager or the co-manager if the Store Manager isn't there and present your information. Just keep raising a holy hell about it throwing around customer service complaints etc. and if there STILL isn't a resolved action, call the market manager (their number should be posted by the Customer Service Center) and keep complaining.[/quote]

I'm not the kind to lose my temper with people. They're doing their jobs, I understand. I worked retail at a store for a while and people would get furious at me and I'm like, there's nothing I can do about it, rules are rules.

But I am getting a call from someone higher up apparently today, so I will see what she says, then I'm gonna go from there.
 
I know somebody that bought a HD DVD add-on from WalMart. Got home, and it had obviously been used before, and King Kong was missing from the box. After he realized that, he noticed that somebody had actually taken the "Free HD-DVD of King Kong" sticker off the box itself and there was even some adhesive residue still present. He took it back, and they gave him a full refund.

Quite honestly, the consumer shouldn't have to inspect something when they make a purchase. It's WM's (or any other B&M store) that should be more aware of the returns they accept and teach the person working at the counter to know what to look for.

Even then, there is no perfect fix for it.
 
She wasn't in today, so she apparently lied to me yesterday when she said she'd call today. This whole situation is seriously stressing me out. What can I do now but wait though, I suppose?
 
You might file a complaint with your state's Attorney General office as well as the Better Business Bureau. Also, if any of your local news stations have a Consumer Advocacy division, you should consider contacting them as well.

Just threatening Wal-Mart with all of the above might get some results as well.
 
you need to go in and say youre not going to accept anything less than the product you purchased.
its not a "rules are rules" situation im sure any floor manager can make that happen.

you dont need to be a dick or get out of control. just plain and simple they need to fix it and stick to that.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']Our walmart isn't too lax with returns but they do take pretty much anything back no questions asked as long as you have a receipt. I never tried a non receipt return so I can't comment on that. If you have a receipt the process is like they scan the receipt, the barcode on the item and you get your money back, they usually don't check anything and they are amazingly fast, they can do a return in like 20 seconds.

There have been other problems with walmart selling MP3 players, I am not sure if its repackaging of them or customers, there was a lady who bought a MP3 player that came filled with porn here from walmart, and this was on the news. If you don't get resolution I would take this to the local news, they love stories like this especially when it concerns walmart.[/quote]

I would agree with SaraAB, if a resolution cannot be reached with the manager, tell the media. Especially with Walmart, a store that millions of people shop at, a story of your situation could raise up the question of validity of all their electronics products, and the corporate higher ups will definetly have to scramble then.
 
[email protected], spam complaints to Wal-Mart's corporate officers (ie executive email carpet bomb), contact any and all local media outlets dealing with consumer affairs, go to Wal-Mart every day and make them realize they WILL have to deal with you, file a police report for fraud against that Wal-Mart, sue them in small claims court.
 
Credit cards are not only useful in disputes like this they also are another method of returning something just in case you lose or misplace the receipt. Hope this all works out in the end but I can understand how the store employees would question your story since return fraud is most likely a common occurrence at Walmart.
 
[quote name='lanleague']Also important is, are you trying to exchange for another 120GB or get your money back?[/quote]

Either/or, I'm not being picky.

I'm beginning to wonder if I had purchased the stupid extra warranty they tried to sell me if this could have been avoided. Pffft...
 
[quote name='YoshiFan1']Why don't they look up the serial # of who bought it originally and go after them?[/QUOTE]


Can the Ipod reveal info of who used it on which PC etc? Can he find out whos Ipod it is by ghosting it or something?

Not to play devils advocate, but whos to say your not looking at your new 120gb and trying to return you 20gb one with out help? Thats walmarts point.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer'].Although, all most resealing/shrinkwrapping set-ups that I've seen have entailed a roll of the plastic film and something that looked like an oversized hair dryer, so maybe someone figured out how to do that at home and did that here?[/QUOTE]

Thats not to hard grab a freezer wrap machine (walmart used to even sell them) and a blow dryer. The key is to get the shrinkwrap that works correctly.
 
Can't the local authorities get fingerprints off the iPod? I wouldn't be surprised if they belonged to an employee considering they have access to the shrinkwrap machines.
 
[quote name='Kendro']Can't the local authorities get fingerprints off the iPod? I wouldn't be surprised if they belonged to an employee considering they have access to the shrinkwrap machines.[/quote]


What shrinkwrap machines?

Maybe at Apple corporate manufacturing but not the employee's of Wal-Mart. There are none there.
 
[quote name='NoobHammer']What shrinkwrap machines?

Maybe at Apple corporate manufacturing but not the employee's of Wal-Mart. There are none there.[/quote]

Since the box was shrinkwrapped when he purchased the iPod, I was under the assumption that it might have been an employee who switched the iPods and re-shrinkwrapped the box. I used to work for Staples back in the day and the employees used to watch VHS movies in the lunch room and re-shrink wrap the tapes.
 
Don't give up ReaperZero! I commend you for not being rude to customer service, but its ok to be firm and unyielding.
 
[quote name='ReaperZER0']2 days they've said they'd get in touch with me, and 2 days I haven't heard a peep out of them. What kinda shit is this?[/quote]

"The wheels of justice may grind slowly, but they're moving!"
 
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