Accused of Retail Fraud at TKMaxx and can't defend the allegations.

[maxxer]

add bit Ok, for those (and the OP) who want to know how it works:

 

Firstly - OP - I used to work in the Loss Prevention Department as said retailler. I left last year, however, I am 99% sure they haven't changed any processes since then with regard to statements and evidence.

 

So, here goes....

 

 

As mentioned before, TK's are generally targetted for refund fraud. This is usually as simple as people buying one item, and returning it for another one (either something purchased form tk's at a lower price, or something which wasnt even from there in the first place). Because the receipts simply state things like 'handbag', and the ticket code, it would be a simple thing, to go and get another new handbag (even something from a charity shop) and put the ticket onto it, returning it as if it was the bag you purchased.

 

The loss prevention guys are clued up to this, as are the customer service staff. Thats why, you can only go to a few tills in a store for a refund - they are trained staff who are looking for things like this.

 

Where do I start:

 

There will be good quality cctv footage. In every store, there is a camera directly above each till point. Its job, is to record every transaction. They were installed to keep an eye on the customer, as much as the money in the till.

 

There is a team of investigators who solely go round looking at refund fraud. The in store security looks at refunds, and call them to investigate if they think somethings up.

 

 

It is a simple process to see if someone is on the fiddle. You bring something back, say a jumper top. Your receipt says 'ladies jumper'. The cashier gets your original receipt, and scans the barcode. This gives the LP team the date, time, till, and full transaction details of the purchase.

 

They then simply look back on the tores cctv system. If the jumper with the ticket on was a blue jumper when it was purchased, and now its a red jumper, thats a job !.

 

TK rules state that they disregard the first time this happens, as a mistake. No action will be taken. However, your future refunds will be taken at a closer look.

 

Although the receipt only says 'handbag', the ticket has a 6 digit sku number on it. Youve got to ask yourself, how did that ticket manage to detatch itself from the original garment, and re attach itself to the other one ........ 8 times.

 

In your case, there will be 8 bits of purchase cctv, and 8 refunds on camera too. All with you presenting the items for purchase / refund.

 

One is a mistake, 2 maybe ...... but 8 ?. This is what you have to convince a jury of. (as you have said, you will take it to crown trial).

 

Were any of the items alledged to be non tk maxx stock ?. Another issue perhaps to think about.

 

Any of the items stickered price ones ? - there are 'tamper marks' on the stickers to show if its been peeled off or not. You mentioned people peel the red sticker off, to see the original price, but theres no reason to peel the white one off, so stickers should show no tampering.

 

your biggest hurdle will be the cctv aspect. No case would get a statement written (and the police called) without both purchase and refund being on camera. After all, how would they know 'its wrong' if they hadnt seen the original item purchased.

 

And, although there are 8 chosen and exhibited, there may be more. We sometimes used to present up to 20 iems to the investigators, who cherry picked the best examples.

 

Good luck

Edited March 17, 2013 by maxxer
add bit about evidence chain

[maxxer]

edited to add after a re read:

 

after reading some other peoples guesses:

 

there is no 'alert' system on the tills. Loss Prevention will of phoned the cashier after the transaction, and kept the goods behind - or, if the cashier knows you are being checked, they do the same. Look for the blank cupboards behind the cash desk - one of them is for security items to be checked. The cupboard is on camera, and so there is evidence of the same item being collected as being put in.

 

If you were spotted inside the store (which seems likely after the first 'mistake'), then they will of followed you around on camera, seeing what you pick and buy, so it may not just be till footage, but also on the shop floor as well.

 

And to clarify - each item has an individual code on it, a sku number, on the ticket. This is how we know that the first item scanned, actually wasnt the item returned etc.

[maxxer]

I have just thought about my OH who regularly returns 90% of the clothes that she buys because when she gets them home she isn't satisfied with the fit.

 

I have seen on occasions when returning stuff for/with her, the staff sometimes saying that "this is the wrong receipt for that item" by comparing the item no with what was on the receipt. In this case, the item number is printed on the receipt.

 

It occurs to me that maybe TKM aren't playing fair in this if the receipts don't identify what the item is to the customer but do the store. It sounds like a minefield with an obvious likelihood of error. Surely the staff should have told the customer that they had presented the wrong receipt rather than presuming fraud - that effectively they are causing by failing to print proper details on the receipt!

 

Your other receipts to prove the volume would be good

 

 

The sku number isn't hidden. Its printed below the description on the receipt, and also its on the top of the ticket.

 

What the store is saying, is that the ticket has been removed from the original garment, and re attached to the garment brought back.

 

There's no legitimate reason for someone to do this, unless they remove all the price tickets from the garments when they get home, then decide that they don't want the garment, and re attach the ticket to the item (guessing incorrectly). Any way, they are causing a loss to the store, because it wasn't the item that was purchased.

 

The cashier wont accept items back if its the incorrect ticket (as in, not on the receipt). However, how is the cashier supposed to know its not the item that was purchased - the customer is presenting an item, and a receipt, with the ticket attached to it. They take the items in good faith. Its only afterwards that they realise, or security check the original purchase.

 

With regard to evidence, and as ive said, its put into evidence bags, kept in camera'd restricted locked area. The police never seemed to have a problem with the way it was handled and stored / presented, neither did the courts.

[maxxer]

2Grumpy - you have hit the nail on the head. All comparable retailers have clear itemisation.TKM choose not to do that , and to spend hours scouring CCTV looking for wrong items etc. Doesn't make commercial sense to me and doesn't endear them to their customers

 

They don't though. The item has a price ticket attached to it. With an individual 'sku' number.

 

Its not rocket science for the customer to decide to bring an item back, and look for that number on their receipts.

 

With regard to the likelyhood of you being done again - its possible.

 

If you visited more than one store, then only this stores case has been dealt with. Many stores end up with cases which a statement is made, evidence gathered, but the person never comes back in for ages. When they get arrested in one store, their picture and details is put on the system, and other stores may then recognise you as 'outstanding' for other jobs.

 

It happens a lot in the london stores.

 

Only you know if you did it in other stores.

[maxxer]

Got to say that the reason given for buying so many items is plausabe but it dosent seem to stack up when looking at the suggestion of labels being taken off and reattached to wrong garments. Whatever you buy it is common knowledge that you dont take any labels off untill you have decided to keep the item. Also i have a MIL who also returns an awful lot of items ( rekon she has shares in a certain shop) but although she can shop for England 200 items!! she couldnt even carry that many out of the store

 

And that's the issue that some posters don't seem to grasp - exactly HOW does a ticket manage to detatch itself from a garment, and re attach itself to another garment, which wasn't the original one ........

 

One falling off, plausable. 2, maybe.

 

8 ?.

 

And every one a different price to the original ?

 

Fair enough if they were buying cheap stuff, and bringing back armarni suits. But I don't think it would be that way.....

 

I remember being told that refund fraud was usually carried out by what they called 'bored housewives'.

Late 50's females, retired usually, professional backgrounds, who would never dream of walking out of a shop with anything. However, thought a little 'swap the garments' was acceptable.

[maxxer]

All good comments and I'm grateful to you all. It is really useful to be able to see things through others' eyes. Yep, I know it looks bad, thats' why, when I found CAG, I asked for CAG help.

Some assumptions are starting to get accepted as truths. I did not buy 200 items in a single transaction. We don't know the price of the 'original', it was probably the same or to within a couple of quid. I did not spot the SKU number. I'm no retail expert . If you have 2 pairs of £7 shoes and don't know about the SKU number you might easily present the wrong receipt.

I didn't know that returning shoes for £7 that cost me £7 is a crime. (post 6). In the eyes of the law that is a gain of £7 but in the eyes of my bank account it isn't.

 

What you keep skimming over, is how the labels managed to get attached to the 'wrong' garments.

 

You purchased items with tickets attached to them.

 

Inbetween the time they left the store, and re entered the store for a refund, they managed to detatch themselves from the correct garment, and re attach themselves to an incorrect one.

 

The point being, they don't do this by themselves.

 

Tk maxx can't re sell the items you bring back - for a start, how do they know they are real branded items, not some fakes from a market stall, dangerous, not fit for sale, etc etc.

 

Its not the retailers fault you decided to do what you did. Compared to others, tk's does make it easier to do, but that doesn't make it right, or legal.

 

Count yourself lucky if no more door knocks happen.