Help, I'm being screwed by an online retailer!

[EdT82SC]

No, it's not Pelican Parts. PP has always been good to me. My problem with is Sears.com. I've never had a problem with Sears, and own a lot of tools and other stuff from them. This is a bit long so I hope you'll bear with me.

I had $430 in Sears gift cards saved so I could get a roll-away tool cart. I had one all picked out, and I checked weekly for it to go on sale. In the end of January it went on sale. The two pieces, a cart with a large chest on top, normally sold for $600, but was on sale for $400. But they had a promotion for the web site only where you get 15% off any order of $350 or more. So instead of buying it the store it was a no-brainer to buy it online, and they have an option to pick up in the store. Since I have money left over on my gift cards now I added a few more items for $144 more. So my total after tax was 498.18 - 430 for the gift cards = 68.18.

But then shortly after submitting the order I get an email saying my order was canceled, but no reason why. So I called their customer service, and after talking to a supervisor she figures out that the store I chose to pick up at canceled the order because they were out of stock on all the items. I asked her how I could place the order so I could get the sale price while it was still in effect. She tells me that I can't because the gift cards have been zeroed out from using them on the canceled order, and the money won't get put back on them for five working days. But to make it up to me she offers to give me the sales price with free shipping, but that I would have to wait a week to re-place the order. That sounded good to me. Even though Sear's ordering system is all messed up, customer service is trying to make good.

So the next week I called back into customer service, and tell them what happened. The customer service rep gets approval for doing the order, and then places it herself. She then passes me to a supervisor who tries to adjust the price, but the system won't let her. So she tells me she will have to submit the price adjustment to the refund department, and I should get an email with the refund amount. She verbally tells me over the phone that the discounts are $200 for the tool cart and chest, $81.60 for the 15% off, $65 + $44.95 for shipping, plus a reduction in sales tax since the price is lowered by the sale price.

Since then I received an email which stated:

Credits in the amount of $65.00 and $44.95, have been issued to your account for free delivery. Additionally, credits of $51.31 and $148.69 (Totalling $200) have been issued to match your original order price.

Then I checked my credit card online, and I had credits for 44.95 and 51.31. Then I received in the mail two Sears gift cards for $65 and $136.57. I called customer service again to find out what was up, and I got nothing but grief from the supervisor I spoke with this time.

So what kind of recourse do I have? I don't have anything in writing promising me the sales price or free shipping or anything. I would appreciate any tidbits of wisdom you guys could offer me in this situation.

[EdT82SC]

Hey Wayne, if it were only $30 on an order this big, and the hours of hassle I've spent on the phone I would forget it. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about how my late night post was not all that coherent, and some totals are needed.

I should have been charged 68.18 to my credit card. Instead I was charged 469.44 - 96.26 in credits = 373.18. So it is a lot more then $30. I do have $201.57 on two gift cards that should have been credits to my credit card, but that still leaves me well short. The problem is:

1. The amount of credit they say they will give me in the email is short by 81.60 for the 15% promotion PLUS the reduced sales tax on $281.60.
2. The majority of the credit is in gift cards I don't want!
2. Even if you include the gift cards they shorted me by $12.12 on the amount they said they were going to credit me in the email they sent me.

To be even they need to credit back $305 to my credit card, and I give them back the gift cards.

[deanp]

You mention a credit card... Did they take the original gift card amounts that were zeroed from the original transaction and credit them to a credit card account? A Sears account or other account?

Did you end up buying the set only or did you duplicate your original order?

[EdT82SC]

The $430 gift cards had the money put back on them a week later when I made the second order over the phone so the original gift cards were used for the second order. My credit card was used to cover the balance. I replicated the original order the second time so the price should be the same as the first since they offered me free shipping to make up for their lame online order system that wouldn't let me do in store pickup. Shipping was $65 + $44.95.

[Moses]

Many years ago my parents bought a washer and dryer from Sears. When they applied for a loan to buy property, Sears had issued a bad credit report for non-payment of the appliances. My dad showed them a cancelled check, but they refused to lift the claim. He was told that if he paid a second time they would lift the claim and review his case for a refund. So dad paid for the washer and dryer. Again.

After the dust settled, dad went in to secure his promised refund. No dice. How could they be sure he didn't receive TWO sets of appliances? Dad went ballistic. Got his refund. He won't shop at Sears again.

[sammyg2]

I hate sears!

They tried to screw me over with a sears credit card about 15 years ago, after I got that straightened out I cut up the card and haven't set foot in a sears store since. They'll never get another penny from ne.