Complaint Review: Walmart - Richmond Kentucky

The old battery is supposed to be bought in and "exchanged" for the good battery. You however maybe bought a new battery and than wanted a full refund for the old battery. I would have given you the $9 for the core fee. Things are done in a certain order for a reason. Be happy with what you got!

I am a former employee of the wal-mart automotive department in question. I left the company in 2007 and know at the time the receipt explained the warranty in detail. Unless the warranty changed here is how it goes. You have to bring the old battery in to take advantage of the free replacement warranty. You cannot buy a battery then bring in a old one and expect a refund with or without a receipt. I doubt you thought to ask, but if you did any automotive worker would have explained you could not just buy a battery and get a refund on the old one. Also, as I was about to leave the company a copy of the warranty was posted in the automotive area in front of the batteries so customers cannot say that they didn't know. They just chose not to read... Again, that was 2007, so it could be gone now. The reason for this is because many people in the area "loose the new receipt" then bring the the battery during the warranty and just expect to get the purchase price back saying they bought another battery the day before. I personally would deal with people that traded in junk and tried this many times or attempted to use their batteries like we were a pawn shop. I am amazed you received anything, that store in particular usually stands by what is written on your receipt/posted in front of the batteries. People also have faulty charging systems that blow the batteries in the warranty time. If the battery is obviously damaged, it is yours. If the battery is severely swollen from being overcharged, again yours. If you tell anyone you used it in anything other than a car ( than a tractor, riding mower, a auto battery for marine applications) it's yours. If we test it on your vehicle and your alternator is not working correctly, no warranty. I would use a paint pen that could not come off and write on the warranty area sticker BAD CHARGING SYSTEM NO WARRANTY so it could not be pulled from the vehicle and returned later. Read the copy of the warranty posted in automotive (again if it is there) and it will explain. Many people in the area also bring the battery in a the month before the warranty expires and demand a new battery even after the $1,200 tester/charger tells us it is perfectly normal so they always have a new free battery. People also buy a new battery and bring it back us used the next day after they realized the problem was something else.... again we would never give refunds, it is posted on your receipt. One of the few things you buy you keep from that company. Why, we cant restock and reuse these. We loose money on automotive batteries overall if we allow everyone to return them when the battery was not defective, but their charging system or they used it in something it was never meant to be used in....

I bought a battery at Sams club about six years ago, the battery failed within six months. I figured this a fluke and tried again (shame on me) and it lasted fourteen months. I would never buy another battery from them.

When you return any item with out a receipt the policy is that any return over $20 is given back as in store credit. Anything with a warranty you should keep your receipt. You also brought up the fact that Walmart eliminated the convenient warranty / receipt storage pouch that use to be on the side of the battery. The reason is that even with those the receipt still got wet and would fade to the point that you couldn't read them it would look like a blake piece of papper. I would sugest that you store any future battery receipts in your glove box or a safe place of your choosing.