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Possibility of refund fraud

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  • 07-04-2006, 10:55 AM
    holycrapimsick
    Possibility of refund fraud
    howdy all.

    here's the story: i received items from a friend of mine and returned them at a store without a receipt. i acquired a gift card from that store, and sold it on ebay. however, upon selling it, it turns out that the account has been put on hold.

    i went to talk to the people at the store regarding this, and they told me that they would have to get back in touch with me. they said that my account is currently on hold and cannot be used.

    i am starting to worry that i might be potentially facing return fraud charges; at the time of the initial return, i stated that i had received these items as a gift from my grandmother. their return policy is such that you do not need to have a receipt, and you simply get store credit.

    is there a possibility for me to get charged with refund fraud, or are they just going to say that my account is invalid and for me to drop it? from what i know, there is no proof anywhere in their files that the items i returned were not as i said they were (namely, gifts).

    thanks, in advance!

    (i'm in texas)
  • 07-04-2006, 12:21 PM
    holycrapimsick
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    it should also be noted that this store, whenever someone returns something, requires a name (or at least i'm pretty sure they do; they asked for mine). i have returned items a total of two times, both times using different names. i have never given them my real name, and the store does not use cameras.

    i did, however, give them a number they could reach me at, but am considering simply saying that they've reached the wrong guy and that the person must have given them the wrong number, depending on what the outcome is.
  • 07-04-2006, 05:22 PM
    Guilty Or Not Guilty
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    No one can tell you what is happening yet. But there are many choices. It is a possibility the theif got caught or has been noticed. He is probably pointing the finger at you. If he is not, someone else probably is.
  • 07-04-2006, 08:49 PM
    holycrapimsick
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    thanks (i guess?) for that somewhat cryptic response...

    it turns out the person who purchased the card on ebay sent an email to customer service asking for an explanation of what happened. the email simply said that,

    "The gift card does not have the balance stated by the seller. I am unable to
    assist you further with this Ebay purchase. I suggest you contact the seller."

    with this in mind, i'm beginning to think that perhaps they simply thought the account was being used questionably?

    i'll keep people updated. thanks.
  • 07-05-2006, 02:35 AM
    aaron
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    Is it that you received what you knew to be stolen goods from your friend, returned them while lying about how you got them, and are now concerned that the store has connected the dots?
  • 07-05-2006, 06:05 AM
    holycrapimsick
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    Quote:

    Quoting aaron
    Is it that you received what you knew to be stolen goods from your friend, returned them while lying about how you got them, and are now concerned that the store has connected the dots?

    in a word, yes. i really don't have any justification for doing it, and i don't really plan on doing it again (not that it matters at this point).

    i suppose what i'm really asking is what is the likelihood that the store would actively try to find out who did this, versus simply cancelling the account and having it be done with. after asking my friend, this was a one time deal, and he used fake information when returning the items. given that the items weren't serialized, i can't imagine any method by which they could prove that the items returned were stolen, in which case they would simply be acting on suspicion. the store does not have cameras, so they have no "proof" per se that any items were stolen by a specific person (other than the fact that when they did inventory, some items came up missing). perhaps i'm simply trying to reason away the worry.

    shame, really. i enjoyed shopping at that store.
    and thanks for any further comments.
  • 07-05-2006, 06:13 AM
    aaron
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    How hard will they work to track you down? If it isn't a particularly large dollar figure, you didn't have to give any personally identifying information when you returned the items, they have their merchandise, and they didn't pay out on the gift card, there is a good chance that they will apply the law of diminishing returns and conclude that the cost of further investigation exceeds the likely benefit. As with so many other things in life, though, there are no guarantees.

    The eBay angle complicates things, as if the police become involved in a possible fraud through eBay their investigation could lead them to the underlying return fraud, and that investigation could lead to charges even if the store itself isn't presently investigating or pursuing that case.
  • 07-05-2006, 06:29 AM
    holycrapimsick
    Re: Possibility for refund fraud?
    Quote:

    Quoting aaron
    How hard will they work to track you down? If it isn't a particularly large dollar figure, you didn't have to give any personally identifying information when you returned the items, they have their merchandise, and they didn't pay out on the gift card, there is a good chance that they will apply the law of diminishing returns and conclude that the cost of further investigation exceeds the likely benefit. As with so many other things in life, though, there are no guarantees.

    The eBay angle complicates things, as if the police become involved in a possible fraud through eBay their investigation could lead them to the underlying return fraud, and that investigation could lead to charges even if the store itself isn't presently investigating or pursuing that case.

    Aaron,

    first off, i really do appreciate your responses. i can't imagine how frustrating it must be to constantly deal with persons who are really just hurting themselves by committing these acts. so, for your persistence in offering advice, thanks.

    the figure was approximately 300$. the store regularly deals with 1000$+ bicycles, etc., in addition to having quite expensive clothing (as can be witnessed with the amount of value two jackets has), though i suppose in the end, 300$ is 300$ is 300$.

    as far as eBay is concerned, i'm not particularly concerned about this. the woman has simply asked me to write void on her check (which i haven't received yet) and to send it back to her; i imagine she would only pursue fraud if i were to take her money and not send her a card worth the amount stated (which, while possibly confusing, is something i would never do). as such, i really don't suspect there to be any eBay investigation, as there haven't been grounds to investigate anything yet.

    i think i might simply give them a call later from a different phone number and ask for an update on the situation. i don't like the idea of waiting for them to call the number i gave them.

    thanks again.
  • 07-05-2006, 07:07 AM
    holycrapimsick
    Re: Possibility of refund fraud
    i couldn't stand waiting so i went ahead and called up the store asking what exactly was the news regarding the gift card. i was transferred to a lady who politely said that without the proof of purchase for the items originally returned, i would not be able to receive the gift card back.

    i think i dodged a bullet, and i don't plan on playing with the guns anymore.
    thanks for all the replies, and i hope i never have to come back to this forum again!
  • 07-05-2006, 08:42 AM
    Guilty Or Not Guilty
    Re: Possibility of refund fraud
    Quote:

    Quoting holycrapimsick

    i think i dodged a bullet, and i don't plan on playing with the guns anymore.
    thanks for all the replies, and i hope i never have to come back to this forum again!

    I hope you will come back to help give others advice. Especially those who did not not dodge a bullet. And if you do come back, come back as "Holy God I'm Blessed" instead of holycrapimsick.

    Good Luck
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