Here’s Part Two of my report into the return policies at Canadian Tire.
I’m trying to answer the following question of pressure washers and lawn mowers bought at Canadian Tire:
"If I take it home and it doesn't work, how much time do I have to get a refund?"
Last time, I checked the store web site policy for in-store purchases in Ontario. There was no clear answer on refunds or exchanges for defective items; just a cryptic statement about warranties.
In this report, I'll describe my calls to the CT "1-800" customer service number.
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2 – Customer Service Line
The “Customer Service” number is 1-800-387-8803.
I spoke with Janice about the Simoniz 2900 and asked her, “If I take it home and it doesn't work, how much time do I have to get a refund?"
She told me that it was "repair only" and therefore “nonrefundable”, so I would not be able to get a refund, even if I brought it back the same day.
Well, so much for an “A” rating. But maybe there's a chance they can get away with just a "B"?
So, I asked, “How much time do I have to exchange it for one that works?”
Janice said, “There are no exchanges on the Simoniz 2900, or on most gas-powered pressure washers”.
An “F” rating for Canadian Tire. “No Refund, No Exchange” on some items.
Janice volunteered that it could be retuned within 30 days if it was unopened - I guess this is one of the “exceptions” that are not listed on the web site. But if the customer can't find out that it's defective until they open it, then this doesn't really help.
I then went back to the web site, and did some more checking. That’s when I spotted the “warranty” statements for specific items, and some “exchange only warranty” items.
I called the 1-800 number again, and spoke to Brandon (the first male who answered one of these numbers for any store).
I asked him what the refund policy was for products that are listed on the site as having a “repair only warranty” or “exchange only warranty”.
Brandon told me that the “exchange only” items weren’t refundable, and neither were the ones that say, “repair only”.
So, still an “F - No Refund, No Exchange" for the “repair only” items.
Note that all the others retailers I checked have gotten a grade of “A – Refunds Provided" (for all types of pressure washers and lawn mowers). Every. Single. One. Something to keep in mind when you are deciding where to make your next big purchase.
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Next, I’ll report on what I found on Google. The results were very surprising (and not in a good way, if you work for Crappy Tire).
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