No Reason for Home Depot's 10-Day Check Hold

HOME "keep your return money to make interest" DEPOT does not only do
this with checks!!!!

I paid with my Debit/Credit card for a $500 item, the money was
immediately removed from my checking account, I returned the product
that was never delivered to my house, and 14-business days later they
have not processed the refund to my bank account!!!!!!!!!!

This has to be illegal!

People have been known to write checks on accounts that don't have
sufficient funds or are even closed, then come back, return something,
and basically get free cash.

Get a debit card and quit complaining. Honestly I think stores should
do us all a favor and not even accept checks anymore. There's nothing
worse than being stuck in line behind someone who takes forever
writing out their check John Hancock style. Home Depot, like many
other stores, has a hold on checks to protect them from customers who
write fraudulent checks not to incrue interest at their customer's
expense.

The refund policy is clearly stated in the store. The Home Depot does
not hold on to money because they do not electronlically withdrawl
funds from your account, like Wal-Mart. The 10 days covers the time
for the check to be deposited, presented to your bank, and potentially
returned. Most retailers have a similar policy regarding checks. If
this policy bothers you, then get a debit card and they will gladly
refund you cash.

Dorothy, I must assume you decided to turn down the "mail check"
refund Home Depot offers as well as other retailers. Although help is
a call away I'm sure all you had to do was ask. You chose to return
the items after the waiting period to get cash.

To turn this back around, in this day and age of check cards, why are
you even writing a check?

Most retail stores have a set amount that if the refund meets or
exceeds this amount, you get a check in the mail. So using cash does
not guarantee an instant cash refund, depending on the amount.

Waiting 10-14 days for a check to clear is pretty standard.

Not immediately processing a refund is understandable - if the check
she wrote was bad/counterfeit, the company does not know for 10-14
days. If they processed a refund the day she went in and the check did
happen to be bad/counterfeit, Home Depot just lost the amount of the
purchase.
I know that by mailing a refund check could potentially safeguard
this, because Home Depot could cancel the check it issued, but it
would be easier to just be sure the purchase check was good before
issuing a refund.

I'm not actually saying that your specific check was bad/counterfeit,
above was just an example.

If you wanted help moving your large item, ask for it.

And using a check is not a part of "this day and age of electronics"
so that doesn't make any sense.

I'm a little surprised that they wouldn't accept the item back. What
I'd expect would be that they'd accept the item back and then have
home office send you a check after the 10 day period. I've seen this
done elsewhere.

"In this day and age of electronics, there is no valid reason for the
10 day hold on check funds."

Checks are still part of the old days. If you want to take advantage
of "this day and age," then you could use a credit card or debit
card.

But, yeah, they should not have made you lug your heavy item back to
the car. They should have taken it back and had a check mailed to
you.

Is there any notice of the check hold on the reciept? If not, that is
should something Home Depot should consider.

This is a very common practice at retail stores, and there is indeed a
very valid reason for it.

Did you ask someone for help? I have to believe that if you asked,
they would have supplied an employee to help you cart whatever "large,
bulky item" you had back to your vehicle.

Actually, yes there is. While check float has shrunk considerably
over the past 10 years (since not as many people writing checks
anymore) there is still a discrepant amount of time between when the
check is written and when the vendor is actually paid. It all has to
do with when they submit it, how long it takes their bank to
communicate with your bank and so on and so forth.

Realistically, if you have been writing checks for any amount of time,
you already know how this works and you also know that it isn't an
instantaneous kind of transaction.

As much as I hate to say it, if you want to get back your purchase
price immediately when you return it, you need to use cash (and keep
your receipt) or use a credit/debit card.

"There is no valid reason for the 10 day hold on check funds"
I think protecting themselves is a valid reason. If somebody purchases
an item with a check and gets a cash refund before the check clears,
then it is a big hit for the store. Would you be willing to pay higher
prices to make up for this?
This policy is a standard one at most retail stores. It was likely on
the back of your receipt or posted somewhere at the register.

I do think that they could have offered assistance, or at least loaded
in on to one of their big flatbed carts for you.

People actually use checks?

This is common practice at my store, but not common. I am not going to
use this practice to return some 4 dollar hair color for example.

Now if it was a 349 patio set I sell at my store I would enforce our
rule more stingently.

Another reason to use cash.


Good Day

Most stores have 10-15 day waiting periods for checks. This is really
nothing new or unusual.

That said they should have offered to help you load it back up.

I wouldn't necessarily agree, but I don't think it's news to anyone
that returns on items paid by check require holding period like this.
The reason is fairly simple - a customer could buy an expensive item
and pay by check, return it before the check has cleared and either
stop payment on the check or not have the funds to cover it anyway.
If the store pays out cash, they have no real recourse. Sure, it
would be illegal for the customer to do this. Criminals don't seem to
respect the law, though.