Consumers Advised to Check Return Policy Before Buying

Q.      My wife and I recently purchased a patio furniture set for our back deck.  After we got it home, we realized it wasn’t what we really wanted. 

I contacted the store, where we have shopped many times in the past, to see if we could exchange it for a different set or possibly get a refund.  The store representative was adamant when informing me that they don’t take returns of used furniture.

I tried to explain to him that the set was never used, that we had just purchased it and had never even sat on it.  They didn’t seem to care and were not interested in what I had to say.  I would expect that after all of the past business that we have given them, they would reconsider. 

If the product was never used wouldn’t the store have some obligation to take it back?  R.V., Levittown   

A.       No. Unfortunately, since the store has a "No Return Policy," they are under no obligation to take the merchandise back. 

In Pennsylvania retail stores can determine their own return policy by either issuing a store credit, a full refund with receipt or not accepting returns at all. 

Some retail stores will have a sign with the terms of their return policy posted somewhere in the store, while others have it on the back of the receipt. The problem with the details being printed on the back of the receipt is that you won’t see that until after you already purchased the item.

Philadelphia, however, has a regulation in place requiring that all retail stores post their return policy.  Throughout the rest of Pennsylvania, the posting of the return policy is optional.

So, in the future if you don’t see a sign, make a point of asking about their policy before you make any purchases.