JB Hi-Fi New Instore Return Policy Warning

Cocochicken on 05/07/2023 - 17:57
Last edited 05/07/2023 - 19:07 by 1 other user

Hi everyone, I recently went to my local JB Hi-Fi to return a faulty cable for my iPhone.

The return process was going great until they asked to see the original card. I used Apple Pay and due to my iPhone acting weird I did a reset which removed all of the cards because they are stored on device. I got an exception, but it is not good for people who has the card they used lost or stolen or Apple Pay users who get a new device or have to reset.

They said if I couldn’t show my original card, I would only be able to get a gift card.

The original purchase was in store.

Electrical & Electronics

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi

Comments

  • HardQuiz on 05/07/2023 - 18:20
    +3

    What happens if you paid using Ultimate/TCN gift cards or other prepaid cards.

    This was posted but without naming the retailer.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/785210

    • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2023 - 18:45
      +4

      It's a slow reveal

    • ATangk on 07/07/2023 - 16:41

      What? You dont keep 200 used TCN/Ultimate/Coles Mastercards for proof of OzBargainer membership?

    • pandawelch on 08/07/2023 - 17:18

      Hope you just keep a copy of the card saved in your email or download history

  • randomusername2017 on 05/07/2023 - 18:30
    +9

    Loophole for Retailers

    JB Hi-Fi customers without common sense need to have the ACCC on speed dial to prevent falling into this massive hole.

    • pjcook on 06/07/2023 - 08:59
      +3

      ACCC have upheld retailers requiring original Card for refunds

      • randomusername2017 on 06/07/2023 - 22:54
        +2

        Which determination?

        • caitsith01 on 08/07/2023 - 15:39
          +4

          The ACCC doesn't "determine" things so these people are basically making stuff up.

      • resisting the urge on 07/07/2023 - 10:27
        -1

        Very common thing at supermarkets, boonoir, etc.

        It's a giant rip, because these days you have to change your credit card number 3 times a year to stay ahead of all the scammers collecting data out of the same tills that are denying a refund to the new card. Perhaps there is no coincidence.

        Should we need to keep our old cards, for refund purposes, now? Even if you do, a refund will likely fail because the PIN won't authenticate, and prevent any refund to your account. The retailer will no doubt refuse to refund you another way, (when it is their choice to insist you present the original card, AND insist you allow its use for the refund to be done), when the issuer may well have blocked the card, preventing any transactions on it.

        Maybe you can sign instead, but again, this is up to the retailer as the terminal prompts for a PIN by default.

        The ACCC needs to make them include a clause in bold at the top of their Terms of sale saying the vendor has been known to snake out at any opportunity, when they have been found to roll out decrees like this across their business, knowing it dead-ends 10-20% of customers seeking refunds.

      • caitsith01 on 08/07/2023 - 15:38
        +4

        You realise the ACCC isn't a court and doesn't decide legal disputes, right? I've seen this claim made several times, but in order to actually enforce your rights you'd end up in an administrative tribunal or minor civil court depending on your state/territory.

        And FWIW it is absolutely not a requirement of the ACL that you have the original credit card you used to pay. That's ridiculous. For example, you could buy a fridge which under the consumer guarantees might be expected to last 5 years minimum, but which suffers a major failure after 4.5 years. The majority of people would not have their original card at this point but would still be entitled to a remedy.

      • dwarves on 09/07/2023 - 07:04

        Nonsense, just utter nonsense. Yer talking outta yer ass. @caitsith01 details the truth in their comment.

  • nubzy on 05/07/2023 - 18:58
    +21

    Yet another reason why cash is king

    • Vanceer on 06/07/2023 - 22:18
      +20

      Show me the original notes you used.

      • Tleyx on 07/07/2023 - 14:25
        +2

        They have the notes

        • DingoBlue on 08/07/2023 - 21:05

          Insist on the same ones back.

    • resisting the urge on 07/07/2023 - 10:28
      +2

      Kesh.

      It's 'Kesh, Kesh is King'

      Kesh = 1000x cash!

    • whatgift on 07/07/2023 - 15:33
      -4

      Cash is more like the bastard son as this point.

  • MeesusEff on 05/07/2023 - 19:09

    Yeah this happened to me with Kmart and Samsung Pay. No idea why at one stage Samsung 'updated information' which meant changed my card numbers a few times when it wasnt even expired. Went with the credit card statement and they refused to refund me and would only 60/90 day credit on the crappy receipt paper lol

    • DvApps on 06/07/2023 - 18:35
      +2

      Afaik all mobile payment apps regularly generate virtual credit card numbers for security.

  • salmon123 on 05/07/2023 - 19:42
    +25

    The policy isn't new it's been there for ages and pretty much all retailers have it but its up to the individual staff to enforce it.

    Just go to another branch or try another day you'll probably have different outcome. Don't make yourself memorable by kicking up a stink.

    • 87percent on 05/07/2023 - 19:50
      +1

      Yep.. if you can’t produce the original form of payment, gift card is given

      • capslock janitor on 07/07/2023 - 19:03

        surely we're entitled to cash back ?

        • Cocochicken on 07/07/2023 - 19:05

          Nope, They were going to only give a gift card luckily they made an exception for me.

    • ColtNoir on 06/07/2023 - 13:42
      +11

      100%. The amount of times they’ve asked and I’ve asked ‘is it visa or mastercard’ and just gave them my updated version of that card. Just pretend to comply and deal in vagueness and they won’t double check.

      Yes I did buy it with this card, 1 year ago, it expired since then. So I got a new one. I leave all that out unless prompted.

      • amsaini15 on 07/07/2023 - 17:09

        Smart!!

      • capslock janitor on 07/07/2023 - 19:04

        wym "deal in vagueness?

        • ColtNoir on 07/07/2023 - 19:41
          +2

          JB: Do you have the card?
          Me: Yes, I’m sure I do. I’ve got it here.
          Me: looking at card number, yup Mastercard (maybe mumbling under my breath)
          JB: cool, yup that cba and Mastercard. processes refund
          Me: walks out happy.

          Don’t give more information than needed, and don’t say this is card number X. Hopefully you’ve got a card from the same bank and type eg CBA Mastercard, or St George Visa.

          I’ve never had someone check the number outside of places like Harvey Norman, and even then they barely check.

    • caitsith01 on 08/07/2023 - 15:39

      Or just insist on your actual consumer rights being honoured instead of allowing JB Hifi to impose an unlawful policy on you.

    • DogGunn on 05/07/2023 - 20:47
      +8

      Where else do you go if you're trying to return an item you purchased from them?

      • randomusername2017 on 05/07/2023 - 21:05

        Start here

        • DogGunn on 05/07/2023 - 21:16

          Well assuming it's a JB policy… how would that help?

          • randomusername2017 on 05/07/2023 - 21:18
            +1

            @DogGunn: Policy applied at the discretion of staff/manager.
            Similar concept to cycling boost chat reps.

      • bobbified on 05/07/2023 - 21:51

        I meant, for future shopping needs….

  • dizzle on 05/07/2023 - 21:03
    +6

    It's standard for a lot of retailers, and can be an instruction/suggestion from the banks they deal with. Partly the reason is to protect against fraud/money laundering. Ie customer purchases on a stolen card and refunds onto.

    Most stores have a way around it such as gift cards or transfering directly into your account (can take longer to do though). While other stores are don't bother or don't care.

    • salmon123 on 05/07/2023 - 21:36
      +2

      Partly the reason is to protect against fraud/money laundering

      Another reason is to minimize bank fees. Banks charge different fees for different cards. If the customer gets a refund to a different card, the retailer is potentially out of pocket for the fee difference.

      Imagine the customer paid with an amex and got a refund on a debit card. They'd be getting cash out on a credit card without the fees!

      Most stores have a way around it such as gift cards or transfering directly into your account (can take longer to do though).

      It's an inferior solution. The correct solution is for the retailer to "void" the transaction with their bank and let the customer chase it up with their bank to get the money back. I've had it happen multiple times with online transactions. There's no reason why retails can't do the same.

    • TightLikeThisx on 06/07/2023 - 17:12

      How does that work out for them if someone pays cash for a high ticket item?

      I can’t imagine they would refund in cash for something like an Apple MacBook Pro.

      • salmon123 on 07/07/2023 - 21:52

        I can’t imagine they would refund in cash for something like an Apple MacBook Pro.

        Why not? Refunding to a bank account would be plain money laundering.

      • dizzle on 07/07/2023 - 22:35

        Generally they will. A store like JB will normally have enough cash to do so. I'm not sure of JBs banking policy, it could be that when tills go over a certain amount they have to move it to a safe. If that's the case, they may not have access to enough money for some refunds.

        Smaller stores may opt for a bank transfer if they don't have enough cash on hand.

    • capslock janitor on 07/07/2023 - 19:05

      how does store giftcard meant to be a way around ML ?

      • salmon123 on 07/07/2023 - 21:53
        +1

        how does store giftcard meant to be a way around ML ?

        Money laundering mean exchanging dirty cash for clean cash. If you exchange dirty cash for a store gift card you didn't end up with clean cash. You could always sell the store gift card on ozbargain forums for grey cash.

  • Wiadro on 05/07/2023 - 21:21

    slow news day

  • Nillionaire on 05/07/2023 - 21:35
    +5

    You'd think a tech focused store like JB would have their staff familiar with how Apple Pay works

    • JIMB0 on 05/07/2023 - 22:37
      +5

      You'd most likely get 5 staff members come over with different ideas and confuse the situation beyond belief.

      • capslock janitor on 07/07/2023 - 19:05
        +1

        there'll be 1 geeky staff out of 5 to save the day!

  • hasher22 on 05/07/2023 - 21:58
    +2

    I pay through google wallet and it shows my credit and debit cards in the app but the receipt shows a different card number always ending in the same 4 digits "4263". I just checked 5 receipts of mine.

    I'll be in the same boat if they asked for my card as well……

    There needs to be a new policy cause digital cards will show different on receipts….

    • Cocochicken on 05/07/2023 - 22:30
      +3

      Yeah and more Eftpos systems should be like Square where you don’t need to tap or insert the original card but the refund still goes to the original card used.

    • Loopholio on 06/07/2023 - 09:28

      I had this issue at Kmart a few weeks ago. I paid by beeping my phone, returned as the item didn't fit and the only option I had was to accept a refund voucher (with a short expiration) because I couldn't find the card on my phone.

      I think I've fixed the issue by switching to Google Pay. Before I was using some kind of Commbank phone tap to pay. I need to switch to using cash when buying these things. KiKB

      Cash is King, Baby!

    • KanTakahashi on 06/07/2023 - 09:50
      +5

      you could see the virtual assigned card number on the app (Apple Pay/Google Wallet/Samsung Pay)

      • hasher22 on 06/07/2023 - 13:18
        +1

        Oh thank you! I just went into more details in my card in Google wallet and it shows the virtual last 4 digits. Didn't know I could see it.

        I guess more retailers and people should know how to find this to make returns easier!!

  • kyle on 05/07/2023 - 22:30
    +2

    Is it so bad to get a gift card?

    • Cocochicken on 05/07/2023 - 22:31

      I already got a new cable from a different manufacturer.

      • Cocochicken on 07/07/2023 - 13:20

        @tomfool The cable stopped working and I tried a replacement already so I bought from a different manufacturer.

    • sidesw1pe on 05/07/2023 - 23:02

      naturally a gift card is not a bad thing, but money back is better.

    • Loopholio on 06/07/2023 - 09:32

      It's very bad to choose gift cards. I forgot to use them many times when I agreed to take one instead of a refund at Ikea. I used it eventually.

      I want cash or numbers in my bank account!

  • Sunshines bright on 06/07/2023 - 08:18

    A reason to vote on not using your phone for most purchases use your card and hope it doesn’t get stolen or compromised.

    • stewy on 06/07/2023 - 23:30
      +1

      A true Ozbargainer regularly churns their credit cards though to max out on sign up bonus offers….

  • JoeBogan on 06/07/2023 - 09:00

    This has been a policy for ages, that’s seldom enforced in my experience. Source: Used to work there for almost 10 years.

  • wsqwin on 06/07/2023 - 10:05

    I thought they only ask to see the card for change of mind return

  • Ramrunner on 06/07/2023 - 12:15

    I use Google Pay and when I click on my saved ANZ Visa card in Google Wallet, it shows the CORRECT 4 last digits that are actually on my original card also.

    I've NEVER had an issue getting refunds to any of my phones (new one each year) by tapping. No matter how old the purchase.

    So just curious whether this is an Apple thing, or the ANZ/Google Pay combination works but maybe other banks don't? Other banks give out different card number virtually or something?

    Sorry, I just keep hearing this same story a few times now, but I don't have that issue at all and it might pay to learn why?

    • md333 on 06/07/2023 - 12:53

      I've added cards to google pay from the bank's app, and they come up with a different number. Possibly if you add manually from an existing card it uses the original card number. Also possible the last 4 digits it displays on screen are just to identify the linked card and not what it actually uses for the transaction.

      • Ramrunner on 06/07/2023 - 13:50

        True - I'll have to pay attention to a receipt next time.

        So far I've had zero issues in tapping my phone to get a refund but yeah I'll have a look.

        • Miss B on 06/07/2023 - 17:48

          My HSBC card shows a different last 4 digits in Google Wallet to the physical card. Receipt shows the same 4 digits as Google Wallet.

          • Ramrunner on 07/07/2023 - 07:43

            @Miss B: Just had a look on yesterday's shopping trip.

            The number on receipts IS DIFFERENT to my "REAL" card number. The real card number shows in Google Wallet, the number on the receipts is different.

            The number on each receipt from each shop is the same, however…..

            • Miss B on 07/07/2023 - 08:01

              @Ramrunner: If you click on the card and click details you should see the last 4 digits of the virtual card number, which should match the receipts.

              • Ramrunner on 07/07/2023 - 08:07

                @Miss B: Shows me my real card number, however, further down it has a Virtual Account Number which matches the receipts.

                So guessing that virtual number may change as I change phones? Like I said never had a issue refunding to the phone even on old purchases and I change phones yearly.

                Either way sounds like a ridiculous loophole retailers can take advantage of that needs to be squashed.

    • rover100 on 06/07/2023 - 16:35

      Typically last four digits won't align if you pay with Google pay for a credit card. Google pay and apple pay use a virtual number, you can check the last four digits with your app that should align to receipts.

  • ColtNoir on 06/07/2023 - 13:47

    From ACCC website

    “Refunds should be provided in the same form as the original payment, unless the business and consumer agree otherwise.”

    Same form to me does not indicate exact same card.

    I’d take others advice and just go to another store and do not reference your previous experience.

    • Ughhh on 06/07/2023 - 14:06

      Refunds should be provided in the same form as the original payment, unless the business and consumer agree otherwise.”

      I assume this is for a specific purpose, maybe to reduce money laundering, fraud etc.
      Does refunding into a different card achieve the purpose?

      • rover100 on 06/07/2023 - 16:41
        +1

        Correct, merchants are told to refund to same card cause of fraud.

        • Tleyx on 07/07/2023 - 14:28

          People refund to a different card as well as raising a chargeback on the original transaction.

          Merchant would lose that

          • ColtNoir on 07/07/2023 - 15:09

            @Tleyx: Makes sense but surely there must be a way to prove cards have expired or been marked as lost/stolen to get around this.

    • rover100 on 06/07/2023 - 16:37

      Has to be same card, otherwise it's too easy for a customer to commit fraud or dispute the transaction afterward for that specific card. On a chargeback, MasterCard and visa check that the card linked has been refunded, sometimes they will ask the merchant for more details

      • Nebargains on 07/07/2023 - 21:06

        Most retail fraud happens on purchase, with stolen credit cards, not refund.

  • jno on 06/07/2023 - 16:33
    -1

    Im confused, my apple wallet cards are just digital copies of my physical cards, the numbers never change unless my physical one does?

    • squaredonut on 06/07/2023 - 16:47

      The card in your apple wallet, has a Apple Pay number as well, when you pay with Apple Pay by taping using paywave, that number gets printed on the receipt as opposed to your credit card's number, that is the xxxx and the last 4 digits.

      That number is unique to your device and also changes when you remove and re-add the card.

      If you're curious, open the Apple Wallet app, go to one of your cards, tap on the 3 dots, and tap on Card Number, you will see two groups, one would say Apple Pay and the other is Physical Card.

      • jno on 06/07/2023 - 18:09

        Oh damn never realised lol why is this even a thing? Couldn’t they just have a digital copy of your original card?

        • Cocochicken on 06/07/2023 - 18:21

          The reason that device specific card numbers exist is so the merchant doesn’t see your original card information in case of a data breach with the Point of Sale system or EFTPOS Terminal. I think more EFTPOS providers should be like Square or Tyro where the card doesn’t need to be present and the refund can be done in the pos system. All banks still accept refunds to cancelled cards because the card is tied to the specific bank that issued it and they would have a record of what account had the card.

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