From a “do the right thing” standpoint:
Try one more time (them sending you money is a new error, not the original one, it requires a new effort.)
Then set aside the money for a couple of months, to make sure they don’t come to claim it.
Target OP- You tried to do right. They screwed up twice. It’s your money BUT you might watch for a future accounting over the next six months. If they catch it, then you should give it back. If they don’t, I don’t think you need to alert them again. Then do what you want with the money. Maybe you should give half to a charity, but I don’t think you need to give it all to them.
Dread PJ: If I was traveling & accidentally got one thing free from a store, and could not conveniently return it or pay for it, that’s one thing. If it’s from a store in town, I’d keep it handy so the next time I went, I could take care of it.
The University books- those mis-rings would definitely come back on the cashier & could cost her that job. Yeah, she should have been way more attentive, but that was just taking advantage of incompetence.
I agree, to a very short extent. The OP did all he/she is required to do, followed Target’s instructions, and even explained clearly on the return form. I’m getting a little tired of all these “you’re a thief!” replies. How long would you chase after Target to have them fix their error? It’s been my experience that no matter how detailed that letter is, one of a few things is bound to happen-
- The department receiving it won’t bother to confirm the return of the additional loveseat.
- The department receiving it won’t be able to figure out what the OP is talking about, trash the check, and write back with some generic form letter. Do you believe the OP should still chase after Target at this point?
- The department receiving it will forward it on to some other department, who will be unsure of what’s going on. Think of it this way-- accounting gets a note that the OP was charged for one sofa, does research, and sees that the OP was sent and has returned one sofa, and sees that Target issued a refund for one sofa. I don’t even know if they’d be legally allowed to keep any money the OP sends simply because their records indicate that all sofas are accounted for. They could speak to Inventory, but will they?
Look, IMO, the OP has exhausted his/her ethical duty. A call was made to Target, instructions were given by Target, Target screwed up again. The OP has no lifelong duty to chase Target around to fix their error.
But if it were a friend, none of this would have happened. I tried to do the right thing when I returned it, and I am kind of tired of trying to rectify their mistake. I make $100 an hour. I have spent at least an hour on the phone with them or the shipping company trying to get it returned. How much more time should I waste?
On review: what atomicbadgerrace said.
What if the roles were reversed? What if the OP had ordered a loveseat and gotten charged for two? The fact is, the transaction as it stands is not correct and even though it’s a big corporation on the losing side here, it’s still not right.
I would send them a registered letter explaining the situation and keep a copy of it. That gives them one last chance to get it right and if they don’t it’s not your fault and you have a record of that. Then I’d wait until I got a response before donating the money just in case.
IMO, Target screwed up twice (or more likely, two separate individuals at Target each screwed up once), and this most recent screw-up (sending refund money) deserves its own one attempt to put things right. I don’t think the op needs to chase Target, just that she has a responsibility to point out the error and try once to rectify it.
In that case, the OP calls his credit card company to dispute the charge. They have an entire department whose task is to follow up on and correct errors made by others. The OP does not have that obligation.
You know, I’ve thought about retracting my original post. You do what you feel you need to and can live with, and it’s not my place to judge. You’ve already put up with a major hassle to try to fix this. Good on you for that. If it was me, I’d have to try to return the money and then I’d consider the ball in their court and my obligation over.
I’m usually firmly on the side of don’t cheat, don’t lie, don’t steal, but this is kind of nuts. I might make one further call - “I bought and paid for one loveseat. You sent me two. I returned one. You credited me for one. Please invoice me for the one loveseat that I bought and kept. Thank you.” If it gets further muddled after that, I’d walk away. It is not your job as a consumer to make people competent at their jobs.
I think that once you have made a reasonable effort to correct the issue you are in the clear. Right now it still appears that Target is dazed and confused. If I were in your position I would send a detailed letter as other posters have suggested, clarifying the entire situation and indicating that they should reverse the refund.
If they still don’t get it after that then it isn’t reasonable to expect you to keep fighting this. I’d just keep the money at this point, although I’d keep a note of the situation - if they came back in the future and asked for the money I’d happily give it to them, at my convenience of course.
I don’t think their system is programmed for this type of return so they’re unable to accept the return without issuing a credit to your account. (Have you ever been stuck on a website that can’t go beyond certain parameters?)
I have a feeling that if you return the money, you’ll get another chair.
I think a donation to a charity is the solution. (I suggest Kiva)
I’d say donate the money. It may be worth one more try, but after that, donate.
And DPJimbo, I understand not going back to the store if you’re long gone. But if you’re standing right there and knowing you’re not getting charged, that’s a different story.
Simple solution:
Spend all of the money you were refunded at Target. While it won’t balance Target’s books, it will balance the cosmic scales.
While I can certainly see your point (and that of a couple other people who have said much the same thing), to my way of thinking, it is not my responsibility as a customer to ensure that the store does it’s job adequately. If I stand there at the cash register for ten minutes and physically witness the cashier run every single item through the machine and the total cost comes in at less than I expected (or in this case WAAAAAY less), I feel it is my obligation to pay what is demanded of me, not to stop everything and say, “Whoah, hold on here. I think you have made a horrible error. You need to spend another ten minutes rescanning all this stuff and then you need to charge me a butt-load more for it. The fifteen people in line behind me are just going to have to wait until this gets done correctly. Hang on a sec while I grab my pocket calculator so I can count along with you…” Now, if I had presented the cashier with one book while I had 20 books stuffed into my backpack, that’s clearly theft, with willful intent to break the law. In my case, I entered the store with every intention of paying for what I purchased. I paid the full amount asked of me after presenting all the items I had selected. To me, that’s fair ball. YMMV. 
This.
You have met your obligation IMO. Still, I would write one letter and if they want to clear it up they can call you.
I would not try to resolve this further until a month goes by. At that time all the internal processes should be done. When you contact customer services multiple times in a short period, things get extremely messed up as multiple corrections are being done by multiple people.
In one month I’ll bet it takes one call if still needed to correct this. It’s not guaranteed, but the initial confusion will be over.
I wonder if they’ll figure it out in a couple months, say, when they’re doing inventory or when your correspondence falls under the right eyes. IANAL but in the event that they ask you for the money back later, I wouldn’t give it away to charity or otherwise spend it just yet.
This. Target has already been notified of their error twice – once on the phone, once in writing on the return slip. Target pays its employees to manage their inventory and finances – it is therefore their responsibility. Target does not pay you to manage their inventory or finances – it is therefore not your job to do so. You pointed out the error and allowed them the opportunity to correct it, if they chose. I don’t believe you have any further responsibility than that.
As far as I’m concerned, every competent adult is responsible for managing their own finances/important affairs. If you’re overcharged, it’s up to you to chase it down, or not, as you see fit. If Target’s mistake costs them money, it’s up to them to fix it, or not, as they see fit. It’s courteous to point out that sort of mistake to someone. You’re not obligated to fix it for them.
Try as hard to give the money back as you would try to get it if it was they who owed money to you. That’s only fair.