Regular readers know I got Dan two long slice toasters for Christmas. But what I didn’t reveal in my post was that we were still waiting for the toasters to arrive. I thought it was a minor detail.
Since the festive red KitchenAid toasters hadn’t arrived, on Christmas morning, I gave him a card announcing his wonderful gift.
Now, I wasn’t late ordering his gift. At least in my book. I had ordered the toasters on December 8th. I know because that’s when my credit card was charged.
The toasters didn’t arrive by Christmas.
The toasters didn’t arrive by the new year.
And the toasters didn’t arrive by January 14th, so I decided enough’s enough. Time to cancel the order.
When I contacted Walmart to cancel, they told me I needed to contact the third party seller. So I did. A day later, the third party seller told me to contact Walmart.
So I contacted Walmart again. They told me to contact the third party seller. This is getting a little frustrating!
I then explained the situation, and after some back and forth, Walmart credited me a refund. Great! Problem resolved.
Not just yet. Because when I checked the refund amount, it was for $117.90. However, I was charged $131.00. That’s a difference of $13.10, including the fifteen cents I had rounded up for The Salvation Army. (Ain’t I great?)
They didn’t refund me the tax? What?
So, back to the online Walmart chat, and I explain the situation. Right away, I am told, “It’s no problem.” They will email me a code for $15 off my next order. That is fine. The email came before we were done chatting. All my money is returned. Plus $2.05 more. Woo hoo!
But here’s what sticks in my craw.
I shouldn’t have had to ask. I should have been given a full refund immediately – including the tax!
So, this post is just a word to the wise. Like my hero Clark Howard does for his following, I am just trying to protect your wallet.
If you purchase from Walmart online and return something, be sure you are refunded the entire amount.
I will also likely avoid third party sellers from Walmart.com going forward. While I am sure most are just fine, the fact that I had a bit of a run around trying to get my money back doesn’t sit well with me.
Secondly, I find the fact that my credit card was charged immediately, even though the item wasn’t shipped, suspect. Normally, a credit card is charged when the item is shipped.
Now, I am not a “Walmart hater.” I like Walmart. I sure do like ordering online and having it come to our home. I just don’t want to be on high alert for routine transactions.
At least the Salvation Army got to keep the fifteen cents.
Chambers on the Road 
I am not sure what shocks me most, the price for the toaster, or the amount of time it took to not get the toaster delivered. USP is slow these days, I have a little etsy store and it has brought me in trouble. Two, three weeks until something got delivered. It’s frustrating, especially around the holidays.
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Well, the price was actually for two toasters. One for our home; one for our travel trailer. I don’t think the item was ever shipped. What is the name of your etsy store?
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Oh, that explains it. The etsy store is only for facemasks at the moment, but will be widened in 2022 to pillows, window seats and perhaps other stuff. It’s too much fun. The name of my little store is ColoresqueFinds
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Okay, I signed into etsy and made your shop a favorite. I’ll be interested to see the additional offerings. Enjoy your Sunday!
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Thank you for the “heads up,” Betty. I’ve had a little trouble with third party sellers on Amazon. Thankfully, Mr. Bezos is good about protecting his customers after the sale. BTW, it’s a bit of surprise that frugal you dropped $131 on a toaster. But like you’ve said, you and Dan watch the pennies so you can spent the dollars for the things you really want.
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Good Morning, David. I think Walmart protected me, too, but it just took some effort on my part. More than I thought it should. Now, the $131 was for two toasters. One for the house; one for the trailer. And something we would use most days. Lastly, it was a gift for Dan. Being frugal allows me to be generous to those I love. 🙂 Enjoy your Sunday!
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Ah! I saw the earlier comment. Two toasters, not one. And it was for Dan, not you. I should read more carefully! Either way, my thoughts about your resourcefulness are meant as compliments.😊
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And it was taken as such. 🙂
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That’s so frustrating. Similar happened to me. I bought a handbag from Coach to carry my iPad in and it never arrived. They took the money before it was sent. However, I never got it. After calling and calling, I called my credit card company to handle it. A good 6 weeks after, they reversed it. Bad business seems to be the thing theses days.
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Not good for repeat business! Good for you for staying on it. My next step was to contact the credit card company and say the charge wasn’t valid. Fortunately, it got resolved before that. I’ve also found several mistakes on grocery store receipts, too. It pays to be a careful consumer! Enjoy your Sunday!
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👍😊
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So annoying when we have to spend our time following up on these details that should happen correctly the first time. And bummer that now you will not have the toasters. My husband wanted a Vikings football jersey with a certain player number on it, so we searched online. The official NFL shirts are very expensive, but we also did not want to support counterfeit merchants. We found a site that had a “marked down” price, and after googling “is this website a scam” we hit “order”. It all turned out OK in the end, but I was a little surprised when the payment processing kicked directly into paypal without giving me any other options. Then I got a confirmation email from a person’s personal gmail account with an indian sounding name. What??? We discussed that the worst thing that would happen is that we would be out the money and never get the shirt. Or I suppose get hacked. Well, we did get the shirt but it did not have any actual Vikings football logo anywhere. Just a purple shirt with gold details, and the right player number on it. Ecommerce. You gotta love it and hate it.
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I am hoping that once the supply chain issues get resolved, we will be able to get the toasters. Too bad about your husband’s jersey!
You have to be soooo careful when shopping online. It’s impossible to think of all the ways the purchase could turn out not to be what you were expecting. And you are right – those jersies are expensive! I once bought Dan an Albert Pujols jersey. Soon after, Albert got traded! Then I bought Dan a David Freese jersey (a local guy). Soon after, David got traded! I thought, “Enough!” I then asked Dan who was his favorite Cardinal player of all time. The next time I bought Dan a jersey, I bought him a “Bob Gibson” one! Too bad I didn’t think of in the first place! Thanks for your comment, and enjoy your Sunday!
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So Dan is still popping it out and holding the second half in? What a treasure! I hope you find him another long slot toaster soon. Rand found little wooden tongs that he uses with his long slot toaster.
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Yes, he is still doing that. But I’m worth it 🙂 We will have to keep an eye out for wooden tongs. Maybe we can order them online from Walmart! LOL
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I’ve had similar problems with third-party sellers on Amazon. I’m still waiting for a refund on one Christmas order. Buyer beware!
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Yes, Buyer beware indeed! My next step was to dispute the charge on my credit card. Good luck with your refund! Enjoy your Sunday, too!
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What a shame. I’m so impatient that if I order something and I don’t get in within a week I’m on the phone wanting to know why Have a great day/
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Oh well. In the overall scheme of things, it isn’t so bad. I still get my toast! 🙂 Enjoy your Sunday!
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Good for the Salvation Army!
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I am sure they will put it to good use! Enjoy your Sunday!
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I seldom order online unless it’s something I absolutely can’t find in a brick and mortar store. I’ve had both good and bad experiences when I “have” ordered online – mostly good. I’m happy you finally got your situation worked out. So unfortunate that you had to go after them for the refund of the taxes. That definitely should be automatic.
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I think one thing that has changed for us because of the pandemic is the amount of online ordering we do now. We order online a lot – not groceries, but I would say most of everything else. I’m just going to avoid third party sellers, if possible. I do like to buy from local stores but honestly, I don’t shop that much. Hope you have a great week ahead!
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Isn’t it typical, they take the money straight away, but coming to a refund you have to extract every penny painfully! At least you were persistent!
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Yes, you make an excellent point! When making a purchase, the money comes out as fast as a blink of an eye. The refund is a different story! Best to be as careful as possible when purchasing. Hope you have a great day!
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I have an issue with Sam’s Club. I am trying to do a replacement return. I have had to call 3 times. I “think” my replacement is arriving this coming Friday. Sam’s Club says my return has been received and refund granted. The thing is, the item has not been picked up. I have to watch my charge card because the replacement item says CC has been charged. So far no credit or charge on my card.
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Good luck, and I will keep my fingers crossed that your replacement comes this Friday! Have a great day!
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Ugh.What a pain. There are many online stores who will not refund shipping when an item is returned. I make it a point not to do business with them.
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In the case where shipping is not refunded, I wouldn’t do business with them either. I guess these are first world problems. 🙂 Hope you have a good day!
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Wonderful post
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Sorry to hear of all your troubles, but hooray for the Salvation Army.
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Every time Dan passed a Salvation Army bellringer for all the years we’ve been together, he put money in the kettle. I am glad there is another easy way for people to donate to them since bellringers haven’t been out for a couple of years. Hopefully, the rounding up feature helps. Our troubles aren’t the ones to be sorry for. 🙂 Stay safe, and have a good day!
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