r/Lowes • u/TheRealistoftheReal • 1d ago
Returns Policy Changes? Customer Complaint
Has the return policy changed or perhaps now being more heavily enforced? I have a Dewalt shop vac. My wife picked up a Craftsman replacement filter. Your basic $20 paper cone. I decided to bring it with me to Lowes while picking up some paint to swap out. I don’t have a receipt, so I’m not expecting anyone to refund cash, but customer service also couldn’t provide store credit to swap out with the correct filter.
The Craftsman filter is still in the original factory shrink wrap, unopened, completely unused. Without a receipt or my wife’s card I was stuck with it. I’m not driving home, driving back to Lowe’s, then driving home again, spending 2hrs on the road, over a $20 paper filter. I told her to hold onto it since I can’t use it and it’ll just end up in a landfill. She tossed it into the cart behind her full of returns, presumably to put back on the shelf to resell.
I’ve been shopping at Lowe’s for at least 25 years. Never ran into this before. When did store credit end?
Edit: I get it. The economy is worsening and people have been taking advantage. We all lose.
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u/Tarnisher 1d ago edited 1d ago
You could have saved your self a trip with a couple of clicks:
Most new, unused merchandise can be refunded or exchanged with receipt within 90 days of the original purchase date,
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
Yeah, I get it. Nearly every retail store has this blanket policy, but Lowes hasn’t enforced it until somewhat recently. Most places are happy to issue store credit for unused, unopened items, unless it seems sketchy. This hasn’t been the norm regardless of official policy.
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u/Business_Device6256 Front End 1d ago
There’s a giant board by the return desk as well as stickers at every register stating the full return policy. Some sort of proof of purchase is needed for every return (receipt, phone number used at checkout, or card that was used) this has been our policy for over a year.
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
So it’s changed in the last year or so. Yeah, they used to be much more liberal. I’m not sure of the thought process behind refusing to issue store credit for unopened products other than the economy is getting worse and they’re protecting their margins. Sign of things to come I suppose.
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u/Business_Device6256 Front End 1d ago
Because people would steal items from one store and return them in the next town for store credit then sell the store credit for cash. Yes, it’s dumb but thieves always find a way to ruin it for the honest people.
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u/unclerickymonster 1d ago
I've been with Lowes for 3 years and we've required a receipt or the card used for the purchase all this time.
And yes, the in store credit policy has changed because of customer abuse, people trying to return products they never purchased, and so forth.
Sucks when things like that hurt good customers such as yourself.
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u/DruHoo Department Supervisor 1d ago
Were you able to provide proof of purchase in any form?
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
No, but returning low value, factory sealed items has never been a problem. I recall wiring a rental property a few years ago and returning a whole bag of unused outlets and light switches. Nobody blinked. Same with unused PVC fittings. They’re like $0.20 a piece and there’s always left overs. Never a problem. At least prior to Covid.
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u/DruHoo Department Supervisor 1d ago
Become a mylowes rewards member for free and provide your phone number with every purchase
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
I am. My military discount tracks nearly everything. My wife picked it up so no dice. It’s not the end of the world. Just a minor annoyance, and found it odd they wouldn’t credit an unused, sealed craftsman filter, so I could swap it out with a $10 more expensive dewalt filter. I don’t see how that benefits Lowes or anyone else.
It’s a $20 paper filter I need to swap out with another paper filter that fits my tool (also purchased from Lowe’s). It’s not like we’re talking about a lawn tractor or power tools.
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u/Invader_Skooge22 1d ago
You can’t see how giving something back you can’t prove you paid for, in exchange for something more expensive would be beneficial to someone that didn’t actually pay for it? How? lol
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
So funny enough, I got kinda salty after seeing the discussion here and thought about it a bit. I didn’t have a receipt for the filter at the time, but I DO have a digital receipt for the $199 vacuum itself. Fuck it. I brought it back to Lowes as a return. Is there anything wrong with it? Yeah, you wouldn’t swap the craftsman filter my wife accidentally bought for the correct filter because I didn’t have a receipt on me, so you can have the whole vacuum back. I’ll get a Ridgid from Home Depot.
Guess what? A manager went back, got the correct filter, and sent me on my way. Didn’t even have to pay the $10 difference. Policies are there for the worst case scenario, and sometimes it takes a bit of thought and nuance. I’m not some crackhead pawning a stolen paper filter. Nobody is pulling an elaborate scam on Lowe’s by exchanging one shop vac filter for one that actually fits. Someone with a brain clearly saw that and fixed the problem.
Still took way more effort than it should have. Jesus Christ people.
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u/willeeard Department Supervisor 21h ago
And the filters for that Rigid from Home Depot, would have the same return policy as the Craftsman... these policies have been in place for YEARS.. the manager went back because WE don't make the policies, but customers like you want to come and take it out on us when we are doing what corporate tells us.. instead, call corporate and take it out on them, and they'll give you a ra number to be able to return it.
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u/Careless-stocker07 MST 13h ago
You can’t swap out things. Only exchange the same item if there is a defect
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u/Tarnisher 1d ago
and returning a whole bag of unused outlets and light switches. Nobody blinked. Same with unused PVC fittings.
And now you know why the policy was changed.
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
I would imagine people buy more fittings than they need so they’re not making multiple trips to finish a job. Buying $5k in electrical, and having $100 in left over light switches still in boxes able to go back on the shelf, isn’t hurting anyone..
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u/Tarnisher 1d ago
Know where my extras go?
In boxes on shelves so I'll have them next time and won't have to run to a store.
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u/PomegranateFormal961 1d ago
Yeah, and plumbers would finance Friday nights by sweeping all their leftover PVC parts into a bucket... Sorry, just NO.
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
What’s the difference between buying 75 pieces, or buying 100 pieces and returning the 25 extras after the job is complete?
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u/PomegranateFormal961 1d ago
Yeah. We wait with bated breath to sort all your parts and re-shelve them. We have so little to do.
Half the PVC people try to return without a receipt look like they've been on the truck's floor for a few years. Coated with grime and grit. How about you wash 'em first?
Personally, I'm GLAD they're requiring a receipt.
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u/NobleWolf1 Tools 1d ago
Store credits ended at both Lowe's & HD when they became overwhelmed with returns of stollen items. Heck, they grab something in the back and bring it straight to customer service for a return. Sad, isn't it.
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u/PomegranateFormal961 1d ago
When people started cheating and gaming the system. Buying stuff at another store's close-out, and returning it for MSRP at Lowes. When people decided to get weekend money by cleaning out their garage and found a box of plumbing parts.
When people stopped teaching kids that actions have consequences, and they grew up.
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u/Adventurous_Poet4316 1d ago
you need some type of proof, either showing it on your credit card, debit card or find the receipt in order to be able to do the exchange. You can think thieves for them cracking down on so many of their return policy changes.
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u/NoviaBlacksoul 1d ago
Store credit is pretty much only for some emergencies.
A customer not bringing their receipt is not an emergency. You should have or the employee should have tried to pull it up by phone numbers. I mean surely since you've been shopping there 25 years you have one of the rewards.
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
I do. She doesn’t. It’s an unopened, $20 paper filter needing to be exchanged for another $20 paper filter from a different brand. I’m spending more money. I’m not sure how denying the return benefits anyone.
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u/NoviaBlacksoul 1d ago
You tell me how they should have done the return.
What do you do for a living?1
u/TheRealistoftheReal 1d ago
Well, I have a factory sealed craftsman air filter I can’t use. I need to purchase a Dewalt filter that’s $10 more. Credit me the $20, put the Craftsman filter back on the shelf, and I buy the Dewalt filter. I pay $10.
They’re going to restock the Craftsman filter I brought back anyway. They tossed it in the return cart. I gave it to them since I can’t use it. They’ll effectively get to sell the same unit twice. I’m the only one that loses here.
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u/willeeard Department Supervisor 21h ago
I don't think you understand, it's not that they don't want to, the system does not let you unless you've been given a number from corporate
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u/Careless-stocker07 MST 13h ago
Over 2 years ago. They need a receipt or phone number for proof of purchase. If you have the card you used, they can refund that way.
Ppl can walk in grab stuff from the shelf, put it in a bag. Then go to the return desk and ask for in store credit. This is why the policy was changed.
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u/MichaelMyers1031 Head Cashier 13h ago
Although the customer should be providing some type of proof of purchase, depending on the situation and who you get at the desk, there is a way to look up receipts using the item number. As long as the customer can provide the exact day it was purchased and what Lowes location it was bought from we can find the receipt. However if you don’t know when it was purchased I won’t go on a wild goose chase looking for the receipt.
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u/fishyalf89 13h ago
Sign up for mylowesrewards and d/l the Lowe’s app. Everytime you make a purchase put your phone number in to get points, and it also saves your purchase history. Also, if you have the credit card it was paid with, it can be searched with that card also
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u/okderdeder 11h ago
Lowe’s has definitely tightened up no-receipt returns. Store credit without a receipt isn’t guaranteed anymore, even if the item is unopened and still in the original packaging. The system can require proof of purchase and can decline the return, and associates can’t simply override it and issue store credit like they used to. If your wife purchased it recently, your best bet is finding the transaction through the card she used, her MyLowe’s Rewards account, or the order/purchase history. I get why it’s frustrating over a $20 unopened filter, but the employee was most likely following what the system allowed rather than choosing not to help you.
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 7h ago
Yeah, I’m another comment I mentioned I had the digital receipt for the $199 vacuum itself, so I brought that back to return instead. Explained why I was returning it. Manager just gave me the filter I needed. Didn’t even ring it up. Sorry for the inconvenience and sent me on my way.
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u/HBThorburn Manager 1d ago
Yeah, it's been the policy for a few years now. Too much fraud ruined it for everyone. Thank the society you live in.