Complaint Review: Wal-Mart

A few weeks ago my son purchased GUITAR HERO for his Wii, which came with the guitar. I noticed in the store that the box looked like it had been opened. I brought this to the attention of one of the people that worked in the electronics department. They assured me that the item was brand new and never been used. I felt uneasy so I asked if they had another one in the back, to which they said no. Needless to say my son bought the game and guitar and when we got home he hooked it up to play. It was at this time that we noticed that the whammy bar and the blue button did not work. I immediately called the store and was told that as long as I had the receipt they would take it back.

When I arrived at the store, we went to the customer service department as directed. I showed them the receipt and the woman then told me they would not take it back. This began to aggravate me, but I remained polite and asked to speak to the manager. The manager finally showed up (after 10 minutes) only to tell me that they would not take it back, even though I had the receipt showing I had purchased it no more than 40 minutes ago. His words were "It is not THIS store's policy to take back electronics" and walked away feeling that his statement was enough.

The girl behind the counter looked at the box intently and spoke with the customer service woman. She then told me that the game my son had purchased was returned the day before for being broken, and that the manager had the item put back on the shelf. She also informed me that if I didnt mind the drive to Clinton, that their store would refund my money.

I drove the game out to Clinton, which was the complete opposite of my experience from Oak Ridge. The manager was very polite and had no problem refunding my money. I asked if policies varied store to store and he said no. He also gave me the District Manager's number to lodge my complaint against the Oak Ridge store. Unfortunately, I had to speak to an answering machine and have not received a call back.

Be wary of purchasing Wii,PSP,PS3 and Xbox games and accessories from the Oak Ridge Walmart. They place returned/broken items back on the shelf for resale (even though broken) and WILL NOT refund your money even if you HAVE a receipt.