[Ger Toshav]

We're huge Ikea fans. We've lived in three countries, two continents, five different houses, and everything we own is Ikea. We met as students, married, had two kids, changed jobs, moved around. Every milestone was celebrated by a trip (OK, make that three or four) to the loca Ikea.

We loved the store because it was green before everyone else, or so it seemed; because we felt we had a hand in building our home (there's nothing like assembling a crib just before a baby is born, and then putting it to sleep there); and because we're orderly people who like good, intuitive design.

Last month we moved to a new house, the first we owned. At the same time I found out I had a disease of the incurable kind. Things were chaotic; but we made our trip to Ikea, as planned, and bought what the children would need to last them through high school (they're 6 and 7). It was happy, and very sad. We got good furniture, including a Karlstad sofa and chair. Because we wanted to pay by debit card, we used two of them and got two receipts.

We put the sofa together. It looks great; but the chair, we realized, will be too big, and won't fit. We looked for the receipt: we had the one for the sofa, but not the one for the chair. We scoured the house. It had to be somewhere. Eventually we came to the conclusion that we'd left it at the store.

I called. Did they find the receipt? No. Would they take the chair back (it's unopened and untouched) and give us store credit? Nope. Absolutely not.

I spent the day today in our Ikea house, feeling a tad bit bitter and betrayed. The relationship we had with the store was more important to me than I realized. The store was a place we relied on, cherished, and, yes, advertised to friends and family. But they're a corporation and we're a wallet. That we spent $50,000 (at least) there and never lost a receipt until this one means little to them.

I hope somebody from Ikea will read this and understand that people have a real relationship with their store. That when you're handling about a hundred items with braces on both arms, pieces of paper can get misplaced. That I'm sad that when I called, the two people I spoke too were reading from scripts. (No return without a receipt - no return without a receipt - no return without a receipt.) My husband had taken the day off to return the chair tomorrow. We were planning on getting new stuff.


This is not about furniture, and it's not only about money. It's about life.

[DesignDiva]

Welcome to the forums, Ger. I am glad you are here. I also want to express my sadness at your medical condition, and also my admiration for your great attitude towards life in general.

I don't know if you realize it or not, but IKEA doesn't run this site. It's purely a labor of love from the owners of the site, along with tons of volunteer labor in the moderator and mentor staff. So we have IKEA as part of our lives, too! And we understand how you feel.

Which store was it that you were shopping at? I am surprised they will not issue store credit, but maybe we can help you with a name to contact at the particular store. Whatever you do, don't open the box until you've exhausted all possibilities. Since you used a debit card, you could possibly have your bank do an inquiry for you?

[Ger Toshav]

Thank you so much for your reply and suggestions, DesignDiva. The shop where we bought the sofa and chair is the one in Paramus, New Jersey. We do have the bank bill, but all it shows is that on that day we spent about $3,000 there... Not that we got a chair, green cover, and a set of feet to match the sofa's!

I am glad you understand the emotional connections people can have to their furniture and home (particularly if like us, they don't have family in this country.)

If you have a name we could contact, we would be very grateful. I wrote to the web site and they replied that it was up to the store manager. When I called the store I didn't have the feeling I was talking to someone who was very high up. If we actually brought the chair to the store, would that make a difference?

Thank you so much for your help. Good luck with the site.

[DesignDiva]

I looked at our info for the Paramus store, there's some good tips there but unfortunately we don't have any people listed to help. It could certainly help to take the chair back, if they see it hasn't been opened they might be more lenient. Speaking with a furniture manager would also help if customer service doesn't want to do it. Be polite but firm.

I'm going to change the title of your post to reflect that you need specific help from Paramus, maybe that will catch the eye of someone who can help!

edited to add: sometimes doing an inquiry with the bank will produce a detailed receipt...they can sometines request that to verify purchases, so it's worth asking!

[torrus]

If you take the chair (unopened) to the store and show them your statement (with the IKEA purchase) they should at least give you a store credit...people lose their receipts all the time.

[Ger Toshav]

OK, so we're leaving for the store in an hour with the bank statement, the chair in its pristine package, the other receipt from the same day (printed a few minutes apart on the same register), lots of good will and patience, and... photos of our house, taken for family, but which happens to show in the background that every single piece of furniture is from their store. We'll give you an update when we come back!
Whether or not we get a store credit I wanted to thank you both (DesignDiva and Torrus) for your help, which really means a lot.

[DesignDiva]

Please let us know how it goes....and get names if possible to report back to us so we can give others better information in the future!

[dalbrough]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you....

[Tigratrus]

Best of luck! Polite but firm... You want to talk to a manager, and you really appreciate their time and willingness to help you . Sometimes just telling people that you appreciate their willingness to help you makes people feel obligated to do so!

We'll be sending good thoughts your way and hoping that it turns out well!

James

[Ger Toshav]

Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes our way. It worked. The lady at the Return/Exchange counter did ask for our bank statement and credit card, and then disappeared for a while; when she came back, she was holding a record of the transaction from their computer files (according to my husband, who's tall enough to read above anybody's shoulder). So contrary to what I'd been told on the phone, they can tell who bought what when, if you bring your credit card and statement. Which makes perfect sense, of course. They're organized, right?


She didn't give us a hard time and was incredibly efficient. Her name was Michelle.

We were refunded the full price of the chair, and promptly spent the money on more fitting furniture.

I don't think things would have gone that smoothly if the good people on this board hadn't advised me to bring the bank statement, and hadn't been so encouraging. So thanks a million. I will always wonder what makes some people give so freely of their time, knowledge or care, without a thought for reward. I feel very lucky to have been on the other side of their kindness.

Thank you.