Calling Mr Lee...
 

Mr Lee, shall we form a club? I've just stormed out of Canadian Tire, they wouldn't give me a refund without my disclosing to them my phone number :blink: I made one up but it was too late in the discussion by then and they didn't believe me. I left the goods and receipt on the counter and told them to shove it :thumbsup:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

This happened to me also. I didn't give them my phone # and told them it was unlisted for a reason (although it's not), and that they didn't need my number to make the purchase.

I received a full refund after about ten minutes of arguing my case.

What is that all about anyway?

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I've argued it successfully in Superstore (well, if 10min, 2 managers, 2 refusals and then finally they agreed counts as a success!) but no luck in Canadian Tire today. I should have given a fake one off the bat, but it annoys me so I always decline so that it at least goes on record that X number of customers are refusing to give their personal info. If we didn't get 20 junk calls a day I might not have been as reluctant also...

I have no idea about consumer rights/privacy laws here, so I couldn't argue any better than I did. I'd have shuffled off home with my goods and made a written complaint if the 2 staffers hadn't been so utterly rude. Still, cut my nose off to spite my own face by leaving the goods and receipts there, didn't I?! :eek: I expect they've put them aside in anticipation of a complaint though ;)

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Don't suppose you could tell them that you dont have a phone?

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I always get asked here when paying by cheque for my phone number in case it bounces. I am ex-directory for a reason so I have been giving out a false number for years now!! No one checks just a thank you.

Can you send someone else in for you to sort it out? Maybe they could pretend to be a lawyer:rofl:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I always start with "ooh, sorry, don't know it off by heart yet" - and everywhere except Superstore and Canadian Tire today have taken that without batting an eyelid. I guess it's a convincing line with the foreign accent. Valid point though, not everyone even has a phone... They should make it clear you need to be a phone-owner and willing to share your number before you shop there :eek:

I shop in the US at least once a week and they're always happy to make up a phone number or stick in a blank zipcode for me... not sure why these 2 twerps at CT were so hung up on "store policy" today. For a whopping 12.99 item I might add ;) Perhaps because it's 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and they were at work :thumbsup:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

On occasion we give out our fax number, which is unlisted (so no reverse lookup), if they do call they just get the fax tone. One time I gave them their own number and they put it in the system and did not even notice :D

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

That's brilliant!!

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Aha - that's a good idea.

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

A knowledgeable Brit sent me this link - http://www.privcom.gc.ca/cf-dc/2006/361_20061114_e.asp - seems it's my tough, they can store my phone number if they want and they tell you about this on the back of every receipt now (since the complaint in the link was received I suppose).

The gits! Mr Lee, let's march :thumbup:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Is it displayed in the store though? I had a recent heated discussion with someone at Boots about there policy and was told it was clearly displayed. When I asked where I was told on the back of my receipt never looked there and told them what idiot puts it in a place no one looks!!:curse:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

You need the Rejection Hotline

Local numbers for Canada:

403-775-9982 Calgary
780-669-5270 Edmonton
905-963-0318 Hamilton
519-488-2355 London
514-667-0361 Montreal
613-686-3620 Ottawa
647-476-4910 Toronto
778-786-8557 Vancouver
250-984-0686 Victoria
204-272-3976 Winnipeg

;)
Rob.

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

That's karma-worthy, thanks Rob, I'm memorising mine now!!! :lol:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Ooo that's great! They have other numbers too, like "bad breath notification" number!!

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Yep, it's on the back of the receipt - I checked another one, I've never looked there before either. It's not on the back of my Mark's Work Wearhouse receipt though and obviously they have the same policy.

But it seems I've got no complaint, the smarmy twits can insist on it, it's my tough luck. I'm not a big customer there anyway but I won't buy from them again. I'm still amazed that a phone number isn't considered personal data (ex-directory so patients can't bother Mr B at home) and can be stored for spurious reasons like that. But now we all know :thumbdown:

Funny that none of us willingly give them our real number though... is that a sceptical Brit thing or are Canadians giving them made-up ones too? If so, in what way does it stop fraud?

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I just don't see the need for it. What do they use it for marketing and telesales so you end up with calls about double glazing etc. No thanks

When we were in the US they asked us for zip code and phone number and that confused them when I said not only are we from out of state but out of country!! Goodness knows what they put in the computer then.

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Umm , I think for our next lunch date , some explanantion as to how and why you came across this number is in order!!! :rofl:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

below is quoted from the link provide by your knowledgeable Brit.

Not everyone is a honest and upstanding a person as you or I. ;)

I'm not going to try to defend the practice because I don't necessarily agree with it, but that being said I have never received a phone call from any company that I have provided my phone number in order to return an item.

I think this whole thread is much ado about nothing. :p

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I have no idea where all my junk phonecalls originate from. I can track my junk emails as I use <[email protected]> (not really that!) and you've be surprised at which "reputable" companies have flogged my details/had my data stolen from them.

It was all about the phone number, I was never asked for name and address - perhaps I would have been if the conversation had got past phone number, I don't know. I was saying to the person who gave me the excellent link that if they'd wanted to look at my ID, I'd have shown it. And of course I'd have handed over the card I paid with as added proof of who I was. It was the fact that a phone number that is not available publicly was going to be stored on a computer indefinitely under conditions I know nothing about that riled me.

I also still fail to see how giving a telephone number stops fraudulent returns, which is CT's claim. Do fraudsters give only their real home number? Tel. numbers don't appear on driving licenses so what could really be checked by CT's policy? Our number isn't listed, it can't be verified under reverse look-up - so what's the benefit? I paid by Visa - where is the potential for fraud when no funds change hands and the money is simply credited back to my Visa card? I see a potential problem with debit, but I don't know how a telephone number stops it - not sure why debit is refunded as cash in Canada anyway, it's inconvenient and unwelcome, why can't it be credited back to my account as in other countries?

Maybe it's a British thing, if this thread is representative we're all dodging the phone number except Steve ;) I just won't hand out my number for no good reason, and I don't see that their reason is anywhere near good enough. Still, I know the fix - no more CT shopping, simple :thumbup:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Sure, call me to make a date - my number is 647-476-4910
:p

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Hi Rob,
Thanks, that was brilliant !!:thumbup::thumbup:
Yoong

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

:cry_smile::cry_smile:<cries>

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

When I still lived in the UK I had need to use a website operated by Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade (DFAIT). Access to the site required registration and you had to be in Canada to register. It required address, telephone number...

I registered using the address of the Lester B. Pearson building (DFAIT HQ in Ottawa) and the phone number of its front desk.

The system didn't notice.

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Hey there Biiiiink!

Glad to hear I now have a cohort in my fight against the evil that is crappy tire! There are loads of complaints on the net about them asking for people's addresses and phone numbers when making returns and the legality of it. I know this because when I had my run in with them, I looked for similar complaints before letting go with my rant.

To be fair (and this is by no means a defence for the b*st*rds), I work in retail and we have to ask for customer's phone numbers when they make a return, for audit purposes only. If someone refused to give me theirs though, I certainly wouldn't refuse to give them a refund because I believe it's not good customer service.

Sadly, crappy tire's customer service is practically non-existent.


And people still shop there.
Pssscheww! :mad:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

Legally I doubt that conditions of contract put on the back of a receipt that you only receive at the conclusion of the transaction (you have paid already) would hold up in Court. :thumbdown:

Re: Calling Mr Lee...
 

I'm sure they must also have these terms on display in the store... I'm not going back to find out though ;) Maybe a CT shopper can confirm?

I wrote a letter, no reply as yet (I didn't give my number for the manager to call me ;) ).