Fashion Retailer Refusing to Take Security Tag off The Item (Without A Receipt)

Thebestdealfinder on 01/07/2018 - 10:46
Last edited 10/07/2018 - 21:03 by 1 other user

I bought a Jeans pant from a retailer at Chadstone shopping centre last week. When I reached home , I realised that they forgot to remove the security tag using the magnet.

I couldn't find the receipt, but I have the bank statement showing the transaction.

I went back this weekend, and they said they can't take it off unless the receipt is provided and they don't have the authority to do it.

I had rung the head office who advised me to take it to the shop to get the tags removed, but the staff were not willing to do it as they don't have any notifications from the head office in this regard. The head office is closed during weekends and they asked me to email them.

I spent half an hour in the store, they were not helpful at all.

Isn't it a bad customer service, hassling customers for their own fault?

Any retailers in this forum - could you please advise on why couldn't they retrieve the receipt from the bank statement or the inventory? Are they lying ?

I could Google to find the ways to remove them, but I don't want to do it.

Just wanted to know Ozbargainers opinion this experience!

UPDATE:

The retailer finally agreed to take off the tag, after I sent an email to the head office with the bank statement. They retrieved the invoice and requested me to visit the store to get them removed! I posted this experience to spread an awareness to the members, as we are all prone to making mistakes! It would have been awesome had they removed it as a once off courtesy without refusing it, so that I don't have to drive all the way back again. But I am relieved that it will be removed soon!

Fashion & Apparel Clothing Jeans

Comments

        • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2018 - 16:52

          @HighAndDry:

          Yes, they do. Just look at how many likes comments got and how few yours got.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/07/2018 - 20:21

          @HighAndDry: it’s easy enough to do accidentally. Most sales people hand you the receipt.

          You see humans are fallible so the world must make accommodations for this.

    • Captainmeows on 03/07/2018 - 09:34
      +2

      Is anyone else remembering that episode from Seinfeld where George insists on saving every single receipt but then he cant close his wallet because it gets too fat…and there's a scene where he's on the street trying to shut it and everything flies out of it on to the road lol

  • Pecan on 01/07/2018 - 13:54

    Go into another store, one that is unrelated to where you bought the jeans from. Tell them you bought them online and they were delivered with the security tags still attached. Apparently it happens a lot.

    • pf2 on 02/07/2018 - 12:10

      You still need to show an invoice/delivery note. Not to mention if you're purchasing online it might have come from the warehouse rather than a shop and they wouldn't have had to put a tag on it, which is for the purpose of anti-theft from customers usually, not staff members.

      • Pecan on 02/07/2018 - 12:28

        YMMV, I'm speaking from actual experience. Did not need to show any documentation. Just depends on the person serving you.

  • ladybug1 on 01/07/2018 - 15:12
    +4

    Which jeans retailer is this? Gives us all a warning to avoid them.

    • havebeerbelywillsumo on 01/07/2018 - 17:28
      +12

      Uncalled for shouting and allegation without proof. You are hereby awarded a neg.

      • chriise on 02/07/2018 - 18:35

        I have a poor sense of humour, and paid for it dearly

        • bobbified on 03/07/2018 - 13:20
          +1

          It's not your sense of humour.. it's the shouting in CAPS :P

  • [Deactivated] on 01/07/2018 - 17:26

    There are three bearings in there that grip the pin harder the more you pull. I’ve opened a few simply by tapping it hard against a hard surface. Consider where the bearings are to figure out the angle/location of the tap. From memory you want to tap it against the underside of your kitchen bench with the big part facing up.
    Hacksaw blade is second best.
    Magnets are easy in theory but fiddly and difficult in practice compared to the above two.

  • Peanut money on 01/07/2018 - 19:03

    You should of accused the shop assistant who sold you the jeans with a tag and not providing a tax invoice with theft.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:05
      +2

      should of

      Stopped reading there.

  • luminousfox on 01/07/2018 - 19:56
    +8

    I think everyone is HUGELY overestimating how CCTV is used, its a deterrent for petty theft, and backup footage if something big happens like armed robbery. There's no security guard sitting in front of 50 screens watching every movement, there's no one sifting through footage at the end of the day and blacklisting anyone from returning.

    Retail workers even if they see someone in the act, can pretty much only watch, maybe call security if they're in a center, And then security can watch. People will blatantly steal things because because literally no one is allowed to do anything to stop it,stopping people in the act is a liability for both the staff and the company. Companies EXPECT it to happen, its called "shrinkage" in retail, and its just another unavoidable factor to take into consideration during stock-take and tax time. Security tags are a deterrent, staff walking around the store is a deterrent, cameras are a deterrent, they are not a cure for people being assholes

    Even if Police somehow find the time to stop laughing and respond to a call of someone stealing jeans the best thing they can do is give an on the spot fine the person if they're after haven't already run away. Unless they're being violent or making off with 1k+ of stock, no one cares.

    As much as everyone is chalking it up to shitty Australian customer service or staff being idiots, this kind of thing does happen in the real world,and the sad fact is that proof of purchase is really the only line of defense to stopping that kind of thing happening. And the even sadder thing is if you started kicking and screaming you'd probably get your way too regardless if you stole them or not because that's just the point retail has reached.

    • belongsinforums on 02/07/2018 - 10:13
      +2

      Stopping people in the act is still an option as long as they haven't left the store. I've caught plenty of meat thieves with meat in their pants

      • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:07
        +4

        Look, we all have meat in our pants. I can positively tell you that the meat in my pants is actually mine.
        So hands off my kransky.

      • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 12:48
        -1

        If you witness someone committing a criminal offence you can stop them anywhere.

  • BargainKen on 01/07/2018 - 20:19

    Get them to reprint the receipt, then just return it for a refund citing its "Not fit for purpose" - Its is reasonable to expect a pair of jeans not to have a security tag attached to them after purchase. If they want to be dicks about it, simply reciprocate.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:08

      Get them to reprint the receipt

      No retailer is obliged to do this after they have already given you an invoice.

  • genxevo on 02/07/2018 - 01:22
    +12

    I work at chadstone. Anyone who has gone to chadstone on a weekend/public holiday/vip day can surely appreciate how hectic it gets just to get into the shopping centre. It gets more crazy when you serve people there.

    This may not be a popular opinion, but we're all just human beings, not perfectly programmed websites.

    Most shoppers arent privy to the harrasment, entitlement, assaults, and or abuse most workers there cop. That's not the shoppers fault, but it happens, and we're all human.

    At the ground level workers have a guideline they have to follow, and if they don't they can get reprimanded or in extreme circumstances get fired. If they follow the guidelines, they have no reason to get reprimanded.
    How many shoppers would care if that worker whom went beyond the guidelines got fired?

    Now in this instance, receipts/tax invoices/proof of purchases aren't given away for shits and giggles. You get one, keep it. If you get a chance to get one emailed, take it. If not, at the very least take a legible photo.
    Not all retailers have the tools or authority to look up a receipt just on product and bank statement alone. Add to that chadstone chaos… Its added stress that didn't have to be there.

    Today i had a customer who threw away her receipt, and deleted her digital copy from a week ago for a $500 item and her reason was "i didnt expect it to be faulty".
    She paid cash, the item was on special (usual price $850) and alot of people paid cash for this item. She went into a frenzy when i (management) said i couldn't help today without proof of purchase, but because she had a digital invoice sent to her i can contact H/O during the week and get it sorted. She was not a bogan judging by her empty pram, watch, jewellery, and keys. We had to call security when she started racially abusing me. (G**k)

    Now how many people think thats reasonable or fair?

    And look I'd like to think I'm a reasonable guy, but i would accept:
    A) receipt wasn't given (and in that case i would find out who served and let them know, and if they claimed innocence, when i had the time i would review footage timestamps when allowed to by H/O)
    B) wasn't offered a digital receipt (harder to prove, but y'kno.. Loyalty cards….)
    C) i actually did have one more, but its been a long day/eofy and im tipsy and I'm waiting for my uber and i forgot

    We're. Human. Too. :)

    • ladybug1 on 02/07/2018 - 01:57
      -4

      Sorry this happened to you, but what does it have to do with the OP's case? What happened to him is not ok.

      • whooah1979 on 02/07/2018 - 06:25
        +5

        The part where a person claims to be acustomer but can’t provide a tax invoice as proof of purchase.

        • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 12:38

          In OP's case the item itself is the proof of purchase, items don't just materialise out of thin air.

          If you want money back, exchange, warranty, etc then it's a little different as you need to prove how much you paid and when you paid and to what store you paid - for this the receipt helps.

          But to remove a tag?? Just remove the bloody tag, job done.

      • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 12:35

        What happened to him is not ok.

        Hahahaha. What is this "…. is not ok" BS? You make it sound like OP was assaulted or scammed.

        Shop refused to take an anti-theft tag off an item without proof of purchase, it's literally the most expected and standard thing ever.

        • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 12:42

          There is no evidence at all that the item was stolen.

          Assuming your customer is a thief in the complete absence of any evidence is not the most expected and standard thing ever.

        • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 12:44
          +2

          @trapper: You keep saying "absence of evidence" when the whole issue is the presence of an anti-theft tag. Yes, we believe OP, but I've no idea why people expect the shop people to take OP's word for it.

        • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 13:06
          +2

          @HighAndDry:

          Because there is a very reasonable alternate explanation to explain the presence of the tag - the retailer left it on by accident! This happens every day, has happened to me before and also other people I know.

          You don't assume your customer is a thief.

        • ladybug1 on 03/07/2018 - 21:29

          It is a scam. OP has paid money and can't wear it. If you buy a lot of stuff, you don't often keep receipts unless something's fairly expensive. Not for a $50 pair of jeans.

    • whooah1979 on 02/07/2018 - 06:39
      +1

      She was not a bogan judging by her

      this person sounds like on of those entitled bogans that we sometimes read about. it wouldn't be a surprise if this person changed their infant's nappy on a café table full of customers.

    • ThithLord on 02/07/2018 - 08:59
      +1

      Not all retailers have the tools or authority to look up a receipt just on product and bank statement alone. Add to that chadstone chaos… Its added stress that didn't have to be there.

      This, right here, OP. I have no idea of the Point of Sale capabilities of the store you purchased from, but not all POS have these abilities.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:10
      +3

      Hello I'm Tracy Grimshaw and welcome to A Current Affair

      On tonight's show…

  • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 06:50
    +1

    Buy another jeans. Return the old one with the tag.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:15

      Only if the store allows full refunds (not exchanges, unless you are willing to buy something else from that store with the exchange credit) for change of mind purchases.

  • CtrlAltSpoods on 02/07/2018 - 09:52

    If they use POS Software and don't do everything manually, they can look up the date and time on your statement and see the same amount of money transferred and what it was… Therefore proof that you bought them from that shop when you said you did.

    The manager is probably stuck up and trying to abuse the very little power they have been given. Write a complaint about her and avoid the store

  • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 10:33

    Fashion Retailer Refusing to Take Security Tag off The Item (Without A Receipt)

    This seems for self-evident reasons.

  • Hksmaso69 on 02/07/2018 - 11:12
    +3

    invest in one of these https://www.ebay.com.au/i/292510339909?chn=ps

  • dirtykent on 02/07/2018 - 11:18

    buy the exact same item again and use the receipt to remove the tag. then return the 2nd pair of jeans with the receipt. easy.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:12

      Only if the store allows full refunds (not exchanges, unless you are willing to buy something else from that store with the exchange credit) for change of mind purchases.

  • telljoolz on 02/07/2018 - 11:24

    Why didn't an alarm sound as you left the store? Isn't that what the tags are supposed to do?

    • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 11:24

      It could have, but if you stop a second, look around all confused, and then keep walking, no one stops you. This was a few days ago, so EOFY sales.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:13
      +1

      An alarm is just as good as the response from store staff.
      In most cases from the non-Myer/DJ retailer, there is a very limited response (if any at all).

      • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 12:31

        They can't really do anything anyway.

      • telljoolz on 02/07/2018 - 16:45

        My point was OP would hear the alarm and realise the security tag was still on his item

  • Dio on 02/07/2018 - 11:43

    I had a cloth bought from overseas factory reject outlet. It was beeping every time go in any store. Had a look inside, cut the bastard off. It was a tiny strip.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 12:14

      Must have been a big cloth if that was all you were wearing into any store.

  • pformag on 02/07/2018 - 12:22

    Put it in the freezer, then hammer it.

  • trapper on 02/07/2018 - 12:29
    +5

    Why do they even care about proof of purchase?

    OP is not asking for a refund. It costs the retailer literally nothing to just remove the tag. Why annoy a paying customer for zero benefit at all? Bizarre

    In the absence of any evidence (or even suspicion) of theft, ownership of an item should be assumed by simple possession.

    • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 12:32
      +6

      In the absence of any evidence (or even suspicion) of theft

      You know, like an anti-theft tag?

    • Ughhh on 02/07/2018 - 16:46
      +3

      Are you saying that I could just grab a designer bag off the shelves from David Jones (most likely with security tags on), go to the counter and demand them to remove the tag?

      I'm not asking for a refund, so it cost the retailer nothing to remove the tag and let me take it home. They have no evidence of theft, as I've claimed ownership about 10mins prior to visiting the Register- obviously, they should just assume it's mine.

      Ive always wanted a Fendi bag, now I can have one for free! Thanks for the tip!

      • darken on 03/07/2018 - 16:38
        +1

        Although in OP's case, they still seemed to let them take the goods back home anyway.

        Either they stole the item and the shop takes it back from them, or the OP is genuine and they shop takes off the tag in by book.

        • Ughhh on 03/07/2018 - 16:49

          If the staff takes the item back, then they're definately accusing the op of theft. I'd imagine only dumb untrained staff would do this. This action would cause more trouble, possibly inviting law suits etc. If they leave it as is, until the shop is provide with a proof of purchase (that the store has every right to request), they're safe.

          Ifaik, staffs are usually told not to be vigilantes, it's not their job.

        • trapper on 09/07/2018 - 15:34

          Although in OP's case, they still seemed to let them take the goods back home anyway.

          Exactly lol

        • trapper on 09/07/2018 - 15:36
          -1

          @Ughhh: If the staff took the item back, then they would be committing the theft. It would not be law suits to worry about, but criminal conviction!

        • Ughhh on 09/07/2018 - 18:45
          -1

          @trapper:

          Yes… Thanks for proving my point. What the staff did in ops case was the safest option at that time.

  • stemcell on 02/07/2018 - 12:39
    +3

    All the shop assistant had to do was take your money and remove tag, how hard can it be to do two things correctly?

    • Munki on 02/07/2018 - 13:10
      +5

      Cause like, you know like how busy shops can get? Like, literally hundreds of like, people? Like, I don't need that kind of stress, OK? Like, my boyfriend didn't txt me last night when he said he would, cause he went out with the boys, but like I waited until 3am and still nothing? Like, he's totally cheating on me with that slut BrittNee, but whatevs, she's such a skank.

    • skullster704 on 02/07/2018 - 19:24
      +1

      All OP had to do was retain the receipt, how hard can it be to do one thing correctly?

  • OzzyOzbourne on 02/07/2018 - 13:22

    Had a similar issue and only noticed once I got overseas. Use a pair of wire snips to cut away the plastic, then the pin comes out

  • Spending2Much on 02/07/2018 - 15:57
    +1

    I bought some stuff from mountain designs, came with the ink/magnet tag still attached.
    I emailed head office, since all stores we enow closed and their rpsosne was 'just take it some other store, get them to do it'
    If I was working in a ship, no way I'd do it for someone walking in off the street.
    Took a wgwilet, but eventually they said they'd let me return them….and they'd pay the freight.
    They wanted me to pay to send them back.

    • misterpotatomato on 03/07/2018 - 13:49
      +1

      Working in a ship and you took a wgwilet. Sounds fun.

  • pf2 on 02/07/2018 - 16:09
    +10

    Yes the shop should have removed the tag at purchase, and you should not have had to go through the hassle of going to the shop multiple times.

    However, assuming that they can't look up purchase information up on their POS system (which is not unusual), I am baffled why people think it's ok that the shop should just get the tag off without what they deem acceptable proof of purchase, which in this case, an invoice, instead of a bank statement.
    If shops are ok with just relying on customers word then anybody can just grab a pair of jeans off the table and take it up to the desk demanding the tag be removed. Your bank statement may have proven you bought SOMETHING there, not WHAT you bought, especially if you bought more than one item the statement would not match the cost of the product. It doesn't stop someone from buying a jumper and a t-shirt and then claiming they bought the pair of jeans too. Some sales assistants depending on store policy may be nice if your bank statement matches the price of the jeans but they certainly don't have to, without authority from their managers/HO.

    If you were the sales assistant would you risk being fired just because of a strangers word?

    • HighAndDry on 02/07/2018 - 16:27
      +2

      Sanity!

    • bobbified on 02/07/2018 - 18:40
      +1

      I don't get why people don't understand this!!
      The employee who takes the tag off for a random person coming into the store can lose their job!

    • urzu on 02/07/2018 - 21:42
      +2

      Finally a reasonable explanation tailored for those fortunate enough not to work in a retail environment.

      Keep your receipts people! It's easier for all of us and you won't feel like you're being given bad service. Be appreciative of retailers who can browse past invoices and do you a solid favour by reprinting your receipt, if it's even possible in the first place based on the information you provided.

      A bank statement shows something was purchased from a specific store, on a specific date. It doesn't say what so don't be surprised if you're told that the information on your statement isn't sufficient to act as a proof of purchase for an item.

    • darken on 03/07/2018 - 16:24
      +1

      While I mostly agree with this, sometimes I think the retailer needs to take responsibility.

      I would imagine in most cases the person returning the item for tag removal is innocent. What if the buyer no longer has the receipt? Not everybody wears clothes they buy right away and its not like buying a TV where it could be faulty when you try to use it.

      I cant imagine too many people keep receipts for all the clothes/consumables they buy.

      • MeesusEff on 03/07/2018 - 20:40

        my hubby isn't able to hold onto receipts either for nuts! If he tries it on in store and it fits, receipt is thrown out/lost by the time he gets home after work. So I understand where OP is coming from.

  • Lumens on 03/07/2018 - 12:27

    Come back and buy the same pants for the same price. You have your very own invoice for the tagged one. Return said pants with the same invoice.

  • DiscoJango on 03/07/2018 - 12:36

    I once bought an electrical item, got home the beeping thing was still on it. Cbf driving all the way back to the shopping center to get it removed so i just snapped it off. It then started beeping like crazy, pretty loud too, so out comes the hammer, smash smash smash problem solved.

  • darken on 03/07/2018 - 16:17

    Similar thing happened to me. Bought a suit from a major retailer in Melbourne. Went to Sydney for a wedding about 3 weeks later only to realise they left the security tag on.

    Now, as you would probably imagine, i did not have my receipt with me. Went into one of the Sydney stores between the Ceremony and Reception and luckily, the third person i approached removed the tag.

    In OP's case, i would like to think the store would remove it out of good faith. Bank statement confirms the story and at the end of the day, it was a mistake from the Retailer which caused the problem.

  • tinyorca on 03/07/2018 - 20:09

    Same thing happened to me. I bought a jumper from Target, they left the tag on and I lost the receipt. I couldn't be bothered going back to the store so I got some pliers, cut into it and removed the pin with the ball bearings in it.
    But try other stores - someone told me to go to KMart coz they'll do it. Not sure if that's true though.

  • Justtip on 03/07/2018 - 21:14

    A few years back I had been on a trip to Europe with my parents. My mum had bought a nice leather jacket from Florence and it wasn't until we got home that we realised the security tag was still on it! We ended up taking it in store to target/bigw (I forget exactly) and they removed it for us after we told them the story. They were really nice about it from memory.

  • Fier2 on 04/07/2018 - 09:12

    Happened to me with purchases at myer. Walk through the door and heard the bip but didn t bother to wonder why. Then the beep was in every single stores i went. So walk back to myer to realise that 1) tag wasn t remove 2) she didn t even put the receipt in the bag. Ended up losing 30 min of my time because of course have to get the manager and check in their POS if it was what i bought. But because i was so upset and annoyed, they end up offering me 50$ store credit.

  • EdenKai on 05/07/2018 - 18:41

    Okay, you could personally remove the tag yourself, its not hard. Just youtube it, theres probably tons of guides out there.

    Whats annoying me the most though is that youre giving flack to a person who's just doing their job. To them it looks like you just rocked up with jeans, still with the tag and are demanding it to be removed. As far as they are aware, youre trying to steal jeans. Youre probably not that type of person, and I believe you in that you bought them, but it just makes sense theyd want a receipt. I just don't understand what there isn't to understand. They want proof that you in fact bought said jeans. The receipt is pretty much the best way to find that out. Your bank statement doesn't dictate what you bought, it just says where, how much and when. But having said that, that's not really hard proof either. Hypothetically it could be that you bought jeans on the day of your bank statement and are coming back to nab another pair with a five finger discount. Again I believe you and I sincerely think you bought those jeans, but give them some slack. The employees are getting paid poorly, doing their job and are following guidelines.

    I understand that their H/O said its cool, but if they haven't heard anything then you cant expect them to believe you. Its just, I don't quite understand what the argument here is anymore.

    • Thebestdealfinder on 10/07/2018 - 21:11

      I agree with your comment on why they might want a receipt. But in this digital age, everything is turning to be paperless and invoices are emailed, or stored internally and retrieved easily.
      Also, I was hit by the poor customer service, as they didn't follow up with the head office and were not helpful at all! I will never visit the store again! I`ve plenty of other stores to shop from! It is a competitive market were buyers have many choices including online retailers. But sellers have only once choice, sell it to the people who visit the store!

  • rompastompa on 06/07/2018 - 20:28

    No update from OP? Maybe a trigger post.. :O

    • Thebestdealfinder on 10/07/2018 - 20:59
      +1

      Thanks for the overwhelming responses! The retailer finally agreed to take off the tag, after I sent an email to the head office with the bank statement. They retrieved the invoice and requested me to visit the store to get them removed! I posted this experience to spread an awareness to the members, as we are all prone to making mistakes! It would have been awesome had they removed it as a once off courtesy, so that I don't have to drive all the way back again. But I am relieved that it will be removed soon!

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