Action 9 helps woman get full refund from popular online retailer

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — A Mount Holly woman says she had a hard time getting a refund instead of store credit from a popular online retailer.

Elizabeth Owusu bought two rugs on Overstock.com, which is ranked No. 2 on the National Retail Federation’s “Hot 25 Retailers” list this month. A business has to have more than $300 million in sales to be eligible for the list.

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The rugs Owusu purchased turned out to be too small for her needs so she returned them. The company promised to put $245.15, the amount of her purchase, back on her credit card.

“Unfortunately, the money never came,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

Owusu said she called Overstock.com and a representative told her that they were going to issue her a store credit instead of an actual refund.

“With the pandemic, everything was tight. Everybody needs money. I need money for other things,” she said. “I don’t need my money to be sitting in somebody’s store when I don’t know when I’m going to use it or when I’m going to buy something else from them.”

According to Owusu, she complained to the company and was able to get a partial refund of $153.95. She said Overstock.com charged her for shipping, which is company policy. But she said she paid extra to be a “club member,” which she thought included free shipping on returns. Channel 9 checked and was unable to find the rules in the company’s terms and conditions.

Owusu told Stoogenke that she emailed and texted the company but never received any responses.

Action 9 emailed Overstock.com and about two days later, Owusu got the rest of her refund that she’d been waiting 10 months to receive.

“I couldn’t have done this by myself and I appreciate you guys coming in to help me get the money that is due to me,” she told Stoogenke. “I’m very happy for the resolution.”

Stoogenke has these tips for online shoppers:

- Make sure you know the return policy, including who is responsible for paying to ship an item back.

- Be persistent.

- If you can’t get results on your own, contact Action 9.

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