Return Fraud at Lord & Taylor

I was purchasing 5 sweaters at Lord and Taylor. I told the cashier that I wanted to purchase three sweaters and then the other two separately. I asked her if I needed a receipt to return the three sweaters. She had a THICK heavy German accent. She said "you have no receipt" ? I said no these are late Chrsitmas presents, do I need a receipt? Then she said I needed gift receipts. Then she spent 7 minutes trying to make the sale go through. She called two people on the phone. After 5 minutes I said can we call a manager. Then she said no, it went through. She made me sign a receipt (which I thought was the sales receipt), but it WASN"T it was a CREDIT RECEIPT. Then she went on and did the other two sweaters. I NEVER left the counter, I NEVER put any receipts in my pocketbook and I NEVER received any of the merchandise when a woman with a badge flashed me and said come with me. She grabbed all of the receipts from my hand. I said what did I do. And she said just come with me. I was SHAKING. They got me in a little room. One of the girls looked like she was 20. The other girl said you are Lord and Taylor most wanted. I told her that the woman made a mistake and I am being wrongly accused. She said YEAH,YEAH,YEAH that's what they all say and no matter what I said she kept saying I hate a liar. She then asked me what is this other charge of $92.07 for? I said that was for the other 2 sweaters that I purchased. She said I'll be right back, I have to void this out. She showed me a record of my returns and purchases within the last year. I DID have 14 returns in one month. That was Christmas presents from my family including gifts for my children. I could go into this story forever, but I will make it brief. Here's the deal: I shop at Lord and Taylor once a week. I do not shop at any other stores because I LOVE this store. Do I buy and return frequently? Yes, absolutely. Does that make me a criminal?DEFINATELY NOT. I never received any letter stating that I return too much. AND MOSTLY ALL of the returns have receipts. AGAIN, MOSTLY ALL of the returns are accompanied by receipts, UNLESS they truly are gifts that I didn't have a receipt for.

An officer came in and told me I have to get fingerprinted and appear in court. I am terrifed. I signed a civil dmand form and a no tresspass form but I REFUSED to sign the form that stated I fraudulently returned three sweaters. AGAIN, I WAS AWAKE ALL NIGHT THINKING ABOUT THIS. PLEASE ADVISE.

This case sounds tricky. If I were you I'd DEFINATELY get a lawyer. Keep us updated.

Those were all gifts that you bought for your family and later returned? Or is it that your friends and relatives are also big fans of Lord & Taylor? If it is the former, you should have the original sales receipts. If it is the latter, your personal feelings toward Lord & Taylor aren't relevant, as it wasn't you who did the shopping.

nipnap7, have you ever been arrested for theft before? If so, how many times and how long ago? Second, (please don't be offended, just asking questions), if you shop at this store so much, how could you not know you were singing a return receipt for three sweaters when you intended to purchase them. You also stated the sales associate asked you in a heavy German accent, "you have no receipt"? It was clear you understood what the associate was asking, yet you didn't make sure she understood you correctly and you wanted to purchase the sweaters, not return them. It sounds like the LP department was keeping track of you. They don't just do that for kicks. 14 returns in one month is a lot, even for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you. Just wondering if we're getting the whole story.

No, I never have been arrested. After the cashier said"you have no receipt", I knew she was confused and replied that they are late Christmas presents, and then she said you need a gift receipt, and spent the next 7 minutes on and off the phone trying to make the transaction go through.

Yes, I do shop in the store ALOT, mostly to buy clothes for me and my family. Throughout the year I might buy 4 suits for work try them on in the dressing room and then bring them home and try them on for my husband and keep only ONE of them. Again, this is not a crime. My daughter is a size 14 which is hard to fit her. I might spend $300.00 on clothes for her and only one pair of pants will fit her. I then would return the other merchandise. Again, I have all my receipts. So I guess when you look at my track record on returns, I DO return alot. But I also like the convenience of trying it on at home as well. The LP department most definately was tracking me. But why didn't I ever receive a letter about making too many returns? Please advise.

Not too sure why no letter. Not every company has that policy for many returns, especially if they all or most have receipts. It all sounds like a misunderstanding. I think you should call an attorney.

It could also be that with a lot of returns LP thinks you're 'up to something' but they can't figure it out. I had an old boss that was like that and gave some customers a ton of crap for excessive returns, even when they had receipts.

I saw an attorney today and I go to court on February 16th.

I just got a civil demand letter stating that I owe this attorney for Lord and Taylor $500. I have a court date in February, shouldn't I wait to go to court?

The civil demand and the court proceedings are independent of each other. If you are represented by a lawyer, you may wish to discuss the civil demand with your lawyer before paying. There is unlikely to be any problem from waiting to respond to the civil demand until after your court hearing.