Complaint Review: Fry's Electronics

Hello,

I wanted to let you know and maybe you can let others know about an issue with Fry's Electronics.

Most internet orders that I place do not charge sales tax at all. Most of the ones that do collect sales tax do collect the right amount. Some places, such as Dell, may not know the correct amount and will have a new screen or pop up stating that I live in a zip code with multiple tax rates and it will ask me which county that I live in and then collect the correct amount.

Staples used to have a problem collecting the correct amount. I noticed all of this after placing one very large order from Staples and happened to check the sales tax amount that I was charged. After contacting Staples about this they refused to do anything about it. I finally was able to speak to someone from their tax department who was able to confirm that they were collecting the wrong amount. They did fix my account and gave me a credit for that order and I insisted that I receive credit for all my past orders too. I believe they can go back four years. I do not know if Staples corrected this issue for everyone or just my account.

Fry's Electronics collects sales tax in Ohio because they have a location here. I do not know where it is located. I happen to live in a zip code that has multiple tax rates. I purchase many items from the phone and internet. Fry's and OfficeMax are the only two retailers who cannot seem to charge the correct amount for the sales tax at my location. OfficeMax will credit the amount back right away with a phone call or an email.

I have tried communicating with Fry's numerous times about this. Most of the time I am able to get credit after several emails and a phone call. Now they are not even responding to my emails. Phone calls to their customer service result in them telling me that they are charging the correct amount or that a credit has been requested already. I still do not receive the credits.

I know that there are several thousand people in my zip code that are also in the lower sales tax rate. I checked the Ohio zip codes and tax rates and I stopped counting at over 200 different zip codes that have multiple rates. This has to affect quite a few people.

Here is a direct link to the Ohio Department of Taxation. https://thefinder.tax.ohio.gov/StreamlineSalesTaxWeb/Default.aspx You can check to see what the correct rate should be by either the address, zip code 5 or 9 digit, and the latitude/longitude. There is also other useful information.

There is no reason at all that a large internet retailer like Fry's Electronics cannot update their database with the information provided.

This just covers Ohio. I know that Fry's Electronics collects sales tax in other states.

Thank you,

Frank
Fostoria, Ohio
U.S.A.