- Report: #1222661
Complaint Review: BabiesRUs - Nationwide
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Author Confirmed
Why?
BabiesRUs
Nationwide, USA
Phone:
800-ToysRUs
Web:
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BabiesRUs ToysRUs BabiesRUs Uses Fuzzy Math to Rip Off Customers, Rakes in Millions as a Result Nationwide
Report Attachments
I purchased four baby outfits to give as a gift for newborn twins. I had a $5 discount coupon from the Entertainment book to be used for a purchase. Two of the outfits were regular price, but the other two were to be discounted 25% from their 16.99 marked price, as posted above the rack. The coupon was applied, but I didn't check the receipt until after I got home.
I started to package the items as a gift, and wanted to include the gift receipt that I had always gotten in the past. No gift receipt. That means that if the parents want to return the items, they will get credit only for the lowest price the outfits have ever sold for. That could be significantly less than I paid. But further inspection of the receipt shows the following:
Item 1 - 16.99 Discount 25% = 4.25 Net price: 12.74
Item 2 - 16.99 Coupon applied - 5.00 Discount 25% = 3.00 Net Price: 8.99
Subtotal: 41.71
8.100% tax: 3.38TOTAL: 45.09
Below the total is the notation:
Instant Savings: 5.00
25% off item: 7.25
YOU SAVED 12.25!!!
I returned to the store and spoke with the manager, who said there was nothing she could do, since this is the way the system is programmed. Yes, programmed to rip me off and thousands of other customers who are victims of the fuzzy math employed by the company. Imagine the millions they rake in doing business this way. While the amount of money I was cheated out of is minuscule, I do believe that what they are doing is illegal and warrants investigation by the Attorney General of the state of New Jersey, where they are headquartered.
To be absolutely clear, I did read the tiny print on the back of the coupon. It states, after all the items that are excluded: "Coupon prorated among eligible items purchased." If BabiesRUs had followed their own mandate, I would be less inclined to submit this report, even though I would still not be receiving the full value of the coupon. But they did not, and even more money was deducted via their actual method.
To add insult to injury, the manager, who originally said it would be no problem to print out a gift receipt, tried, but couldn't do it, stating that it would only print out same day receipts. This means that if the gift recipient wants to return any of the items, she'll get credit for the lowest price the item has ever sold for. I knew that gift receipts had always been automatic, which is why I didn't ask for it at purchase. Now the manager said that they'd discontinued that policy a few months earlier. I asked why there was no sign informing customers, since there would be no way of knowing that a long-standing policy had changed. Her response? "Oh, there was a sign, but they only kept it up for a few days."
The business methods of BabiesRUs and the parent company, ToysRUs, show complete disdain for the customer. More important, I believe they have ripped me off and continue to rip off customers daily.
