"Repair Only Warranty" - No Refund, No Exchange

People on this Canadian Woodworking forum have been bitten by the Repair Only policy, and a bit of Googling led them here yesterday:

Grrrrrr... Learned something about CT today

No other Major Canadian retailer has such terrible policies, and the stores push the "Easy Returns - Keep Your Receipt" myth, so consumers don't even know that Repair Only exists.

Consumers need to know that products that are misrepresented can be returned under the Sale of Goods Act, and the Consumer Protection Act. For instance, if the impact wrench is supposed to work continuously, and not intermittently, then is was misrepresented.

Return policies are nice, if the customer changes their minds. But when the product is defective, used, or otherwise misrepresented, the laws kick in and trump the store's policies.

Here's a suggestion for their next slogan:

"Your merchant of last resort"

CANADIAN TIRE does NOT Stand Behind the Products It Sells!
Watch this gripe

My husband and I inherited a property, so we took the monetary gifts we received for Christmas and for his birthday and purchased a small 14-inch POULAN GAS-POWERED chainsaw from CANADIAN TIRE to do some yard work. Once we got it home, my husband, who is left-handed, couldn't start it, so he called a friend -an experienced woodsman- to help. The friend had great difficulty starting it, too and -once he got it started- in keeping it running. They took it to another friend, who works in chainsaws and small engine repair and he, too, had difficulty starting it. Nor could he adjust the idling to keep the thing running once it was started. They couldn't keep it running long enough to walk across the yard to cut a tree with it, so its blade has never touched wood. Because of the way the thing is constructed, they told my husband he would never be able to start the thing left-handed. So we took the oil and gas out of it, cleaned it up so it wouldn't leak, put it back in its box and brought it back to the CANADIAN TiRE store where we'd bought it just 6 days before. We were told we couldn't return it because it had had gas and oil in it . (I mean, how does one try a GAS-POWERED engine without putting gas and oil in it? )The lady at customer service pointed out that, at the top of the sales receipt, (which you only get once you've purchased the saw, at which time it's too late to change your mind) it was written: "WARRANTY: 1 YEAR REPAIR ONLY." She explained that they could send it to the guy in Mount Uniacke that repairs their chainsaws for them but that if he found nothing physically wrong with the chainsaw, we'd be charged for his service and getting the saw there and back (Can he fix my husband's being left-handed?) And to have that written on the top of the receipt tells me that CANADIAN TIRE was already aware that there might be problems with what it was selling! So we're stuck with a chainsaw in a box which has never cut a tree, and money out in the process.

I wrote the head office of Canadian Tire, but have never received a reply. In the meantime, I've blogged, put our story on FACEBOOK and spoken with others, who have also shared horror stories about trying to return things (lawnmowers that don't start, bench grinders that fall apart, vehicle parts that don't work, televisions, appliances, etc. etc. etc.) to CANADIAN TIRE. And apparently, the TV series MARKETPLACE has actually done a show about it!

I have an idea for a video: a lady with PIPPI LONGSTOCKING braids, chewing bubblegum, wearing a red shirt with a triangle on it, telling one customer that they can't return their GAS-POWERED chainsaw (or lawnmower) because it's had gas and oil in it, telling another customer they can't return a television because (Heaven forbid) they plugged it in, a third customer that they can't return a leaky mop bucket because it's had water in it, etc. etc. I think you get the idea.

I grew up with a CANADIAN TIRE store in my neighborhood. My parents have always shopped there. For the past 43 years, the CANADIAN TIRE store was always the first place I'd look for vehicle, recreation and household parts/goods/accessories.The CANADIAN TIRE store flyer was always the first flyer I'd look at in the bundle that arrives on my doorstep. Now, after my experiences and from what I've heard from others, I'll never buy anything at CANADIAN TIRE again (I toss the flyer in the garbage without even looking at it now). So consumers beware: CANADIAN TIRE does NOT stand behind the products it sells!
Submitted by scamero2000 on February 28, 2012 - 12:34pm.

This is the response I got back from Canadian Tire's Head Office:

Dear Silvana,

Thank you for contacting our office regarding your concern.

For this particular incident the reason the Canadian Tire Store did not accept the Lawn Mower back for a refund is due to the fact the Lawn mower was used and oil and gas was put in the machine. Our corporate policy indicates in order to receive a full refund the item would have to be in original condition.
Original condition means that the product is:

- Clean
- Complete
- Not defective
- Not used
- Not installed
- Not modified (e.g. rope cut to length, paint that has been mixed)

Our Return Policy is available on our website Find Automotive Tools to Sports Gear to Kitchen & Bath Products | Canadian Tire. Click on the tab at the bottom of the home page.

1). It was clearly stated in the complaint that it was a chainsaw, not a lawn mower.
2). It was not used. Although we put gas and oil in it to try it, it was only started twice and never touched or cut a tree or bush. And it was clean because, after dumping the gas and oil out of it, I cleaned it up just like new.
3). It was complete and repacked into its original box with everything that came with it.
4). It was not modified (unless you count trying to adjust its idle to keep it running a modification
5). It may or may not have been defective but, if it was, it was a manufacturer's defect. We couldn't get the thing going or running long enough to find out.

The only thing I can say: watch what you're buying from Canadian Tire. I know I'll never buy anything from them again. I don't even look at their flyers anymore and we needed road sand for our driveway this week, but I won't even buy that from them.

Welcome to the site, scamero.

We feel your pain, having seen this all time and time again.

Many of us grew up in the golden era when the local Canadian Tire was the 'go-to' place for all things hardware and automotive, and because of their great polices for refunds and exchanges.

But those days are now gone - their integrity has been sold off to keep profits high.

To make things worse, Crappy Tire has been keeping these new policies below our radar, and counting on us old-timers to not clue in to their devious tricks.

We plunk down our hard-earned cash expecting that the store is still standing behind their products, with decent return policies.

How wrong we are.

And we find out the hard way, when something expensive doesn't work.

Typically it's snow-blowers in the winter, pressure washers in the spring, and lawn-mowers in the summer.

Sounds like they haven't updated their Form Letter in a while, and are still in 'summer mode'.

You might want to look around on this thread for some arguments you can use, such as the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Protection Act (depending on your province/territory).

They shouldn't be able to get away with these tricks, but they are counting on you not bothering to sue because of the costs.

Sorry to hear you fell for their trap, but thanks for helping spread the word!

It's important to remember what Ellen Roseman wrote, back in September:

"[I]nsist on a refund if the product is defective [or] unsafe."

You can insist on this because, "Under the law, stores have an obligation to sell merchandise that is saleable and suits the intended purpose -- no matter what their return policies may say."

The laws are the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

And it's tru no matter what the letter from Head Office says!

Yes, indeed: refunds are required for defective products, or ones that do not perform as promised.

A recent article on change-of-mind return policies (Sears revamps returns policy amid retail war with Target, Walmart, Marshalls, Dollarama - thestar.com) lead me to the much-quoted Industry Canada site (Common consumer questions - Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)).

The IC site talks mainly about change-of-mind returns, but the Crappy People try to use this as an excuse to ignore the laws for defective products.

But if you look under the "Warranties" heading, you'll see text the Crappy People don't want you to notice:

"Some provincial and territorial legislation states that implied warranties apply to every sales contract (unless the seller and buyer both lawfully agree that the warranty does not apply). The implied warranty normally states that the goods be of "merchantable quality" and fit for the purpose for which they were sold.
For information on warranties, check with your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office for the provisions in your jurisdiction."

Yes, indeed. The policies for change-of-mind returns CANNOT be assumed to apply to defective items!

Always check the laws in your province or territory.

Contact your Consumers Ministry if you have questions.

Don't let the Crappy People just brush you off, or make you settle for a repair or exchange instead of a refund!