Sunday, May 20, 2012

Consumer Alert: don't use PayPal on Target.com

Thank you to my fellow blogger The Recessionista for the following consumer alert: if you pay for your Target.com online purchase at checkout with PayPal, you won't get cash back if you try to return the item. That's right: if you pay via your PayPal account (which is essentially cash from your checking account) they won't refund you in cash.  Instead, you'll get the amount back on a Target Gift Card (like the one shown) which is essentially store credit. Their exact policy states that "If you pay by PayPal and then return items to a Target store or Target.com your refund will be issued in the form of a Target GiftCard."  Furthermore, when The Recessionista tried to get her money due via a gift card, the gift card then would not work, causing further headaches (and discussions with a store manager before the matter was resolved).

While other retailers may have this same policy, the problem with Target is that they "push PayPal" as a payment option while burying the return policy in the fine print.  I remember during the Missoni madness of last Fall several complaints about this same issue, with buyers engraged that once their Missoni for Target orders finally arrived, the store pushed "Target Gift Cards" as the form of refund if they had returns. And by that time, folks had "had it" with Target, and the last thing they wanted was store credit to buy MORE things from the Bullseye.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for spreading the world! I think this is a bad policy, and I was really annoyed that I had to wait 15 to 20 min in store for them to reload an empty gift card that they had given me!

Target Addict said...

You're welcome! In all honesty, I still try to avoid shopping on Target.com, no matter WHAT the payment type. Their website is still a mess. We're coming up on a year (in August) since they launched their new site, and you'd think they wouldn've gotten the kinks worked out by now (but they haven't...).

AAV said...

Created a petition. https://www.change.org/petitions/target-ve-paypal-to-refund-paypal-purchases-as-cash-or-refund-to-paypal-not-a-target-gift-card-to-force-hand-to-spend-in-target#supporters

Unknown said...

I found this on Targets website.
PayPal Purchases: A refund will be issued in the form of cash if returned to a store. If returned to Target.com, a refund will be issued in the form of an electronic Target GiftCard or a physical Target GiftCard.
This may be newly posted since June, but it is posted!

Joe

AAV said...

The problem with returning the merchandise to store, you cancelled the order in 30 min you bought. It was not shipped. You just do not want to pay $70 shipping cost. It is not shipped yet anyway. And they say, it is cancelled. Bum.. you get the merchandise. You reject delivery for the same reason. So you can not return to store. If you accept and return, there your shipping cost is lost for the order you cancelled at first place.

Unknown said...

I was just in a store in Lake Park Florida and was denied cash on a return with receipts from target.com and PayPAl. They don't know their own policy. Tom

christel said...

I read this too. Unfortunately when my husband returned items today that we'd bought with PayPal, they still refused to give a cash refund. Which is directly in conflict with their started policy!

christel said...

I read this too. Unfortunately when my husband returned items today that we'd bought with PayPal, they still refused to give a cash refund. Which is directly in conflict with their started policy!

Unknown said...

I ordered an IPad air 2 in last November for like $500 on target.com using paypal and received a cash refund this was in ogden utah though