In the last few weeks we have had some really bad storms to come Thu here, Well seems EVERY SINGLE time we get a power surge and it will take out our portable phones, Well we broke down and brought a rather costly set over 100.00 and Yep we had a bad storm that took them out. Yesterday while getting gas at the local station when I used my debit card it took a while for the machine to connect and charge it, the girl said, the storm lightening hit the phone lines and its been acting crazy since, I laughed and told her Yep have the same problem only it takes out our phones. I told her the one 3 weeks ago got my new set and we just paid over a 100.00 for them. She said why didn't you take them back. WTH ??WHY WOULD I TAKE THEM BACK ? I said, what ? cant take them back why would I ? she said to get new ones. I said but its not Targets fault the surge got them. She said well them would just send them back and get it replaced so they wont be out any money >? HUH >?, then 2 other workers said Thats what I would do. I said but thats just like stealing to me, If it was defected I would take them back but Target had nothing to do with a storm surge hitting us and taking the phones out, I couldn't do it and live with myself for cheating Target out of the phones. Then a local school coach came in the line and the 1st girl knew him she asked him the same question and if he would take them back, he said YES, WTH ? YES ???????? OMG !!, I asked him the same thing, WHY ? he said Because 100.00 is a lot to lose. I said yeah, but if everyone did this what do you think would happen later on when they started losing money from cheats, He said, I'LL WORRY ABOUT THAT WHEN IT HAPPENS. OMG ! As I walked out the door I said, well I cant do it, And that kind of thinking is what runs prices up for us HONEST PEOPLE !!. They all looked at me like i was the CRAZY one.

OK so here's my question, I don't have to ask if I was right, I KNOW I'M RIGHT for not taking them back, But wanted to know, Does anyone else feel this way also ? Would you take the phones back ? Yes a 100.00 is ALOT to lose, but would you do it ?

I find it hard to believe people would do that, Maybe I'm living under a rock, But wanted to know if you would take them back please explain to me why>>?

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I think it's gonna be crowded under that rock.

I don't understand how people rationalize these things either. It's the same as buying fancy clothes for a special evening and returning them the next day. It's just not right and it's also why our economy is so messed up.

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No it's not right to take it back under the circumstance you described.
The storm messed up the phone, not the store.

OP, have you tried using a surge protector?

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nanci39,
I hope that rock lifts up to be higher than a Mountain at the end with others living under it ,
I guess I'm just floored at this line of thinking. I have another one to add to this.

At the beginning of the summer I broke down and paid over 69.00 for a portable CD player/Radio to carry to the pool and beach with us. with in 1 week the CD player stopped working. I went back to Wal-Mart and asked a Friend of mine I have known for 8 years to tell me what CD player was the cheapest But yet good.. I explained to him about the one I got the week before, You will never believe what he told me.

Why don't you buy the same one and just return the one you got last week. I said because,
I cant say if its the player or something I did, maybe bumped the player and caused it to get off track. He too said, you know we just send it back as defected and will get credit for another one..

OK this was crazy, but i was more shocked because he WORKS for Wal-Mart and handing out tips how to cheat them. I really don't care if Wal-Mart or Target or whom ever gets credit for this " So called Defected items ". I cant do it. Maybe thats why I can return items thats truly defected and walk away knowing I didn't cheat them out of a product I didn't break, or the weather broke..

This is crazy, No wonder stores are hitting us in the pocket, Can ANYONE really say whether or not a store gets credit for a item s1 else broke ?????????Maybe they don't because it was tested and showed the item was abused , so if this happen what happens in the long run, they RAISE the prices to cover their loss..

I really hope we are not alone in this. I cant get over these 2. 1st a silly CD player and then the phones. Unreal to me.

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Just a tip that my brother gave us after we blew out a really good phone... Put a really good surge protector that has phone cord plugs as well as electrical plugs. It has made a huge difference -- we get a lot of lightning here.

I so agree. My friend worked for a big dept store in returns and said after prom, they got back over a hundred dresses that were sweat stained, etc but still had the inside tags on so they had to take the return I can't imagine doing that!!!! Wonder why we pay higher prices? Wonder no more....

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When we got our DSL They said not to put a phone surge protector on the line.It does something to the DSL line, Not really for sure what it is, But was told not to put 1 on the phones...

Since the last phones we have changed them out and just got the cheap O stationary phones now. I don't think we are going to buy any more portables, LOL.. this has happen 3 times in the last 2 years.

BOO HOO, I liked my portables too.. lol... Now I have to sit on the couch or stand in the kitchen to talk..

But at least if we lose them again we are only out 5.00 LOL..

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Awww, well that sucks.

Oh I hear ya. I have a corded phone in the kitchen that I'd like to replace with a cordless. I hate having to stand, stationary, while talking on that phone.
Good thinking.

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We were told the same thing about the DSL, and wound up with stationary phones for the same reason. We've had more storms this summer than the last 3 combined it seems.

Speaking on clothing, I swear this happen.

I met a lady where i use to live back home. We had just moved in there and We became friends rather fast...

Right before Thanksgiving he husband got hurt on the job, (self employed)and of course they didn't have any income coming in at the time. She asked me if I would take her down town to the cath-social services to see if they could help with food and help pay their rent.I say sure no problem.

After she saw a worker there she was given a voucher to get clothing for them. ( Her, Husband and 2 boys )... OK it took a long time for her to pick the clothing out, but i waited and didn't say anything. She FINALLY got their clothing and food, I'm guessing they paid her rent also, but cannot say.

2 days later, she asked if I could run her to Wal-Mart,,,,,,, I found this rather strange since I just took her to the social worker place, but said Ok.... well When we got into the van, I noticed she had a bag of clothing, but didn't question it at the time. I went inside Wal-Mart and she went straight to the service center when she RETURNED THE CLOTHING she got from the social services, I SWEAR TO THIS !!

I walked away from her and went to my van to wait for her to return. I took her back home and never spoke to her again... I was so shocked !!!, I have never had anything like this to happen to me. I was so shocked and disappointed in her, myself ( for not just leaving her there and not saying anything to her about what she did )... My husband told me it probably wouldn't do any good to have said anything, and it wasn't the 1st time she did that you can bet. He's probably right on this, But I felt very guilty in not doing anything...

I swore then if this was to ever happen again with me I would scream to high heaven..

Thank God I got her out of my life, Thank God this has never happen again with me...

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Best Buy mess up--

I bought an i-pod 30 a few months ago with the replacement coverage. After a month a sad face showed up. Took it in, they sent it away. Called and said that Apple autherized a replacement as the other one was pronounced dead. Got my new one.

Last week I got a phone call from the Geek Squad saying that they got authorization to replace my i-pod and I needed to just come in and pick it out. I was stunned for a minute and then I said "I have to tell you. I am a very honest person and this was done and taken care of a month or so ago. You really need to check your records and be careful because if I wasn't honest, I could come in and get ANOTHER i-pod and you wouldn't know the difference."

What shocks me is when I tell people, they were like- you didn't go get it? You could have had another I-pod (since I have 4 kids) and I said that is dishonest. They are not impressed with ME!! I almost felt like I should have called the manager and let him know about this but I didn't. Someone responsible should be in charge of this.

If the phones should have withstood the surge, then I would have returned them. If I wasn't sure, I would have taken them to the store, told them what happened and asked if the phones should have handled it or not. If not, then my problem. If yes, then theirs.

Several months ago, I bought my DD a pair of pants at Target. One day, she's practicing her cartwheels in them and they split -- the fabric, not a seam. I was annoyed, but tossed them and didn't think twice about it. Bought her a second pair -- that also split in the fabric when she sat down. These were NOT too tight on her, either. I brought them back to Target and told them what happened. I was told they had had several pair of these pants come back with the same complaint -- made me mad I hadn't returned the first pair! Did I think I was cheating Target? Not for one second. I was completely honest with them about what happened. I don't think a pair of pants should split when you're just wearing them!

Damn straight I would have carried that CD player back to the store. And I wouldn't have felt I was cheating anyone. If a brand new CD player quits after only one week and I didn't do anything to it, it's defective and the store owes me a new one. And I wouldn't feel one bit guilty about it. If that makes me a horribly dishonest person (as some in this thread seem to think it would), I can live with that.

I'd take it back to the store along with the dated register receipt. I'd tell them right off that you don't expect to be able to return but you want for them to know the truth about what happened so that *they* can make the decision -- based on their store's policies.

The Problem with the CD player when it stopped working was, I had carried it a good bit from the park, beach, pool with in that week time. Plus packing it away and unpacking it. I couldn't say for a fact it didn't get bumped or even dropped by one of the kids loading it. ( KWIM ? ), If it was a case where the player was in 1 place and not moved around, then Yes I would have returned the player., It just felt wrong listening to my friend letting me to buy a new one and pack the old one up and bring it back saying I JUST got it that night... .
But its OK, I got a cheap 20.00 player at the family dollar, the CD play works likea charm,but the battery cover will not stay on LOL...

P. S, now on the pants, yes I too would have taken them back.. Pants shouldn't rip from wear in such a short time frame unless the fabric was defected. So No don't blame you for taken them back...

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I still would have taken the CD player to WalMart and told them that it quit after one week. You bought a portable CD player, not one to sit on your shelf. It ought to be able to handle being hauled around! What I wouldn't do is what your friend seems to suggest, i.e., just return it without saying anything. I would have brought it in, told them it quit working after a week and see what they said.

I would have taken the phones back and told them what happened. They're electrical pieces of equipment and probably should have withstood the storm. Be honest with the company and tell them what happened and then it's up to them to decide whether to replace them or not. But I would have no problem returning them. I don't think that's dishonest at all.

As for the CD player -- portable CD players are called portable for a reason -- they're made to be carried around everywhere. If it stopped working after that short a time period, I'd definitely take it back and get another one. I don't feel that's cheating the company. If it is defective, it's true that they'll just ship it back to the manufacturer and get their money back.

Don't feel guilty about returning items that are defective or have broken that you've bought with your hard-earned money. Why do you think they have a return merchandise department or customer service department in stores?? Manufacturers are cutting costs and making things cheaper, so why do you think your merchandise is breaking so much easier?? If we as consumers let them know their merchandise is crap and return it, then maybe they'll produce better product.

Now as for returning clothes with tags still on them after they've been worn, I think that is totally dishonest. But if there's a defect in the material and it ripped, then I'd have no problem returning it.

DH bought a printer/scanner/coppier a while back and when he got it hooked up he found out that it didn't work. He called the company and they said they'd send another one and also send directions/address to return the first one. They sent a new one but never did tell him how or where to return the first one even after he inquired again. So he kept it and repaired it and gave it to our daughter.
Apparently they didn't want it back. Who knows why! Yes, it did feel a bit like cheating but they didn't seem to care!

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I ended up with two shredders after the first one arrived with a broken basket, and the second was never picked up. I suppose some non-functional items are just discarded by the company.

If I feel an item should have withstood the conditions I placed it under, or the situation it's being sold for, I'll return it. If something breaks because I did something stupid, that's my fault. I'd at least call the phone's manufacturer. $100 phones shouldn't croak at the first storm they see.

I had a neighbor who washed her sons' pants, not knowing his mp3 player was in a pocket. Obviously, it didn't work after that. She still had the receipt & box and returned it to the place of purchase telling them, "It just stopped working." They gave her a brand new one, no questions asked.

It would be amazing if any of us were really shocked, but very few people want to accept the consequences of their own actions anymore. While reading other responses on this thread, I couldn't help but wonder if these returned items are reboxed and put back on the shelf.

OP, I think you've got a lot of people on this board that agree w/ you it isn't right to demand a replacement for something which clearly wasn't the result of a defect on the part of the store or mfr.

My SIL, Peggy, is so notorious for doing this that her family calls the practice "pulling a Peggy". We've distanced ourselves from them for this reason (and many others). What a horrid example to set for your children.

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"We must love them both--those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it."
Saint Thomas Aquinas

That was funny.

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I always read the box of the phones and see if they are built to withstand surges. some of the more expensive ones are. if they were, I would have taken it back. if not, I wouldnt.

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I purchased a dvd player online (a cheap one for a spare room) and it arrived and was defective. Called the company and they said to box it up and they would send a call tag for it. In the meantime they credited me for the original and sent out a new replacement, charging my card. A week after I had received the new unit, and I had not received a call tag to pick up the old one. Called customer service again to let them know I had received the replacement but no call tag. They told me to just throw out the original defective unit. I made sure my credit card had been credited (and then rebilled for replacement) for the defective unit and it had. I still have the defective unit in my garage, boxed. Will see if I run across anyone who might want to take it and see if they can fix and use it. Better than just adding to junkpile.

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I know people do this and I an not sure how they can justify it. Actually they can't, they just have convinced themselves that there is nothing wrong with it. I do think I would have taken the phones back to see if something could be done. It could be there was some sort of warranty that you were not aware for just such a circumstance.

This has nothing to do with your question but I do have a suggestion. There are household surge suppressors that can be put on your house by a licensed electrician. I don't have one and should. I understand they cost between $150 to $400. I suspect that depends on your electric box and whether they install a lightening rod. But all those surges are cumulative and weaken things like TV's, computers, refrigerators, etc. So they are probably doing undiscovered damage to all your plugged in electical appliances.

I would have taken the CD player back also. Not as suggested by the W-M employee. I'd just tell the truth, I'd had the player for a week and it quit working. The player is returned to the company as defective and the store receives credit for it.

WOW, Never heard of this before, Where or Whom could I call to check into this ?

TIA.

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I would just call a few of the electricians listed in your yellow pages and talk to whoever answers the phone. They should be able to tell you how they work, if they work, and what you can expect to pay and what results you can expect to receive. I think the cost varies, depending on many factors. That's why I would call more than a couple.

I swear I don't know how some people sleep nights