Retailer Did not Deactivate Gift Card After Return

[sirhc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Ohio

I returned gift cards to a retail store and the manager who helped me with the return said that they would remotely deactivate the gift cards and refund my money. I had the gift cards with me when I tried to return them but the retailer insisted that I keep them since they assured me that they'd be deactivated as soon as I got my refund.

The money was refunded to my account but the gift cards are still activated and it's been almost 2 months since the refund money was posted to my account. My question is whether I am allowed to use/sell the gift cards that I have or if they're technically the retailer's property since they processed the refund? I've read that if a retailer accidentally gives you extra products that you didn't pay for, those products are legally yours, does that law apply here when it was a product that I paid for and then returned? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide on this issue.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Ohio

I returned gift cards to a retail store and the manager who helped me with the return said that they would remotely deactivate the gift cards and refund my money. I had the gift cards with me when I tried to return them but the retailer insisted that I keep them since they assured me that they'd be deactivated as soon as I got my refund.

The money was refunded to my account but the gift cards are still activated and it's been almost 2 months since the refund money was posted to my account. My question is whether I am allowed to use/sell the gift cards that I have or if they're technically the retailer's property since they processed the refund? I've read that if a retailer accidentally gives you extra products that you didn't pay for, those products are legally yours, does that law apply here when it was a product that I paid for and then returned? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide on this issue.

Destroy the cards...problem solved.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

They are just waiting to see if you commit theft so they can have you arrested.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Ohio

I returned gift cards to a retail store and the manager who helped me with the return said that they would remotely deactivate the gift cards and refund my money. I had the gift cards with me when I tried to return them but the retailer insisted that I keep them since they assured me that they'd be deactivated as soon as I got my refund.

The money was refunded to my account but the gift cards are still activated and it's been almost 2 months since the refund money was posted to my account. My question is whether I am allowed to use/sell the gift cards that I have or if they're technically the retailer's property since they processed the refund? I've read that if a retailer accidentally gives you extra products that you didn't pay for, those products are legally yours, does that law apply here when it was a product that I paid for and then returned? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide on this issue.

No Chris, you don't get to profit from their error.

 

[sirhc]

No Chris, you don't get to profit from their error.

Thanks for the reply Proserpina! What's the name of the law that addresses this? I'd like to research it and educate myself because all I could find was return fraud laws which don't seem to address this issue.

 

[Proserpina]

Thanks for the reply Proserpina! What's the name of the law that addresses this? I'd like to research it and educate myself because all I could find was return fraud laws which don't seem to address this issue.

It's basic common law and the concept is very, very old. Google "unjust enrichment".

 

[Zigner]

Thanks for the reply Proserpina! What's the name of the law that addresses this? I'd like to research it and educate myself because all I could find was return fraud laws which don't seem to address this issue.

Already answered:

They are just waiting to see if you commit theft so they can have you arrested.

 

[sirhc]

It's basic common law and the concept is very, very old. Google "unjust enrichment".

Thanks for that lead. I've been reading up on unjust enrichment and frankly it's hard to understand and I'd like some help understanding how unjust enrichment applies here.

There's a law that says you own products that a retailer accidentally gave you. For example, say you ordered 1 laptop on Amazon and received 2 laptops in the mail. Is it stealing if you don't give back the second? The law says it's not, it says that it's your property to keep because of the company's mistake.

Doesn't this fly in the face of unjust enrichment? All of the examples of unjust enrichment that I've found address unpaid contracts or work that was never completed but paid for so I'm having trouble seeing how it applies to this situation when the FTC's rule seems to be more relevant and may contradict unjust enrichment.

 

[justalayman]

Thanks for that lead. I've been reading up on unjust enrichment and frankly it's hard to understand and I'd like some help understanding how unjust enrichment applies here.

There's a law that says you own products that a retailer accidentally gave you. For example, say you ordered 1 laptop on Amazon and received 2 laptops in the mail. Is it stealing if you don't give back the second? The law says it's not, it says that it's your property to keep because of the company's mistake.

Doesn't this fly in the face of unjust enrichment? All of the examples of unjust enrichment that I've found address unpaid contracts or work that was never completed but paid for so I'm having trouble seeing how it applies to this situation when the FTC's rule seems to be more relevant and may contradict unjust enrichment.

just go use the card if you think you have a right to it. I am sure the courts will have no problem telling you which law you broke once you are standing in front of a judge.

There's a law that says you own products that a retailer accidentally gave you. For example, say you ordered 1 laptop on Amazon and received 2 laptops in the mail. Is it stealing if you don't give back the second? The law says it's not, it says that it's your property to keep because of the company's mistake.

please show me that law as you are either misunderstanding it or there is a brand new law on the books

 

[sirhc]

just go use the card if you think you have a right to it. I am sure the courts will have no problem telling you which law you broke once you are standing in front of a judge.


please show me that law as you are either misunderstanding it or there is a brand new law on the books

Straight from the FTC's website:

www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0181-unordered-merchandise

 

[justalayman]

Straight from the FTC's website:

www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0181-unordered-merchandise

Oh, so you are misunderstanding the current law. Gotcha.

regarding the computer. this applies:

Q. What should I do if the unordered merchandise I received was the result of an honest shipping error?

A. Write the seller and offer to return the merchandise, provided the seller pays for postage and handling. Give the seller a specific and reasonable amount of time (say 30 days) to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to you. Tell the seller that you reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after the specified time has passed.

 

[sirhc]

Oh, so you are misunderstanding the current law. Gotcha.

regarding the computer. this applies:

I kind of understand the difference. So if you ordered something and got more because of a shipping error, you might be required to notify the retailer but if you randomly received a package in the mail from a company you didn't order from, it's considered a gift that you don't have to give back. Is that right?

So in my case, I could notify the company with a letter including this line:

You have 30 days to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to me. I reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after 30 days have passed.

And the gift cards would be my property if the 30 days passed without a response from them, is that correct?

 

[Indiana Filer]

I kind of understand the difference. So if you ordered something and got more because of a shipping error, you might be required to notify the retailer but if you randomly received a package in the mail from a company you didn't order from, it's considered a gift that you don't have to give back. Is that right?

So in my case, I could notify the company with a letter including this line:

You have 30 days to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to me. I reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after 30 days have passed.

And the gift cards would be my property if the 30 days passed without a response from them, is that correct?

Nope. Still theft if you use the cards. You got your money back. Why are you so determined to commit a crime?

 

[sirhc]

Nope. Still theft if you use the cards. You got your money back. Why are you so determined to commit a crime?

I don't think it's as black and white as that, there's no law that I can find which addresses this specific situation. I didn't steal the cards, their manager willfully allowed me to keep them. Therefore, I would be benefitting from their mistake. As was pointed out, that could possibly be considered unjust enrichment, but I don't see how it could be rationalized as theft when I didn't steal them and they were willfully given back to me after the return.

If the unjust enrichment law applies to this, everything I've read about unjust enrichment says that the beneficiary of the unjust enrichment has no obligation to notify the other party and there's no financial penalty for being a beneficiary of unjust enrichment other than paying the "reasonable value of services rendered upon another when a benefit has been conferred without an exchange of compensation". The way I read that, it means that the retailer could always come back and ask me to pay back the face value of the gift cards, but that's it. Calling it theft is pretty extreme, the retailer made a mistake which I'm able to benefit from. If they ask for the amount back, I will gladly pay it back to them, so which law would I be breaking exactly?

 

[justalayman]

I kind of understand the difference. So if you ordered something and got more because of a shipping error, you might be required to notify the retailer but if you randomly received a package in the mail from a company you didn't order from, it's considered a gift that you don't have to give back. Is that right?

So in my case, I could notify the company with a letter including this line:

You have 30 days to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to me. I reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after 30 days have passed.

And the gift cards would be my property if the 30 days passed without a response from them, is that correct?

that law has absolutely nothing to do with your situation.

steal the money- go to jail

it's that simple