Limit on number of returns?

[Anonymous]

Dont bother calling TRE- they are shady AF.

There is currently a class action lawsuit against them for violating our privacy rights and for being shady AF.

Google it and add your name to the list so that you get paid when Sephora and TRE settle - which they will because violating privacy laws is not cool. Just look at Equifax - they are paying people hundreds/thousands back through the class action lawsuit.

Also don’t call TRE because they will data mine your phone call, log all your info, etc and still say there’s nothing they can do. Then they’ll say to call Sephora and as you can see by this lameeee canned response by some random Sephora not hack employee, Sephora says to call TRE.

so they are just giving you the run around.

sephora- superrrr shady you’re tracking and violating privacy of customers- forget about the returns, what are you DOING with our personal data and beauty insider account info??’ Who are u selling it to? We are disgusted by your actions.

see you in court.

[JaneanBT]

Hi @WilhelminaG,

You should not have any issue returning this set as long as you have the receipt. Please let us know if you need assistance, 

Best Wishes,

Janean

[flamingolegs]

It's not just the quantity of returns but the dollar value versus what was kept.

Why didn't you just look at the lip colors in the store before purchasing?  

[yuline]

The amount returned doesn’t seem excessive to me but there’s always a risk. I’d be surprised if there was an issue but you never know. No one is going to tell you exact numbers or what precisely is the algorithm.  There are posts on social media by people claiming that they hardly returned anything and got flagged or banned.  I’ve received a lot of criticism/insults for daring to share what I went through with TRE but I feel strongly there is something questionable about TRE. For example my own report from TRE had quite a few mistakes on it.  I gave up disputing it with TRE because they are ridiculously unprofessional and there is no way to reason with them in writing or on the phone.  I suppose it’s possible that TRE is being used as the scapegoat and they’re just a figurehead but they did screw up my dispute majorly and sent me a letter with transactions that did not even exist or belonged to me (maybe they confused my dispute with someone else’s). I’m all for companies monitoring excessive or fraudulent returns but I’d rather companies keep it internal or go with another contractor instead of TRE.  I am very alarmed by this rapidly growing trend of companies adopting the TRE way. I think it’s been taken to such an extreme, it is going to drive away business.  For example, yesterday I happened to go by a CVS, a company who uses TRE. I NEVER shop at CVS if I can help it because their prices are so inflated and so CVS has no record of me on anything. However yesterday for the first time in ages I saw an item on sale and decided to make the purchase.  I got carried away chatting with the cashier and didn’t realize until after the transaction went through that the item wasn’t on sale because they forgot to remove an out of date sale sign. When the cashier went to give me a refund obviously with receipt  right after the purchase which wasn’t anything expensive, the system had a hard stop that the cashier couldn’t override asking for a drivers license!  You could not process a simple valid return with receipt without giving them your drivers license!  It was just crazy.  Even the cashier was shocked and agreed that it was ridiculous saying they just got a new software update about 2 days ago and I was the 3rd customer that day that the system prompted for a license and if you didn’t want to use your license, you needed to call their corporate to make a case. Such an extreme. I have no doubt TRE was behind tracking every transaction zealously.  I was deeply disturbed by CVS’s now even stricter return policy that is just getting so extreme, that was it for me. Not going to ever shop at CVS.  I am so fed up, I just want to quit shopping all together haha.

[yuline]

After being blindsided by this whole TRE business and NOT knowing my information was being tracked and stored in a database, I am now reluctant to pull out my license for anything.  It’s just a bit much to keep needing a license for this or that.  I feel like a criminal and it’s all too Big Brother for me.  I just feel like as a consumer we basically sign away our rights the minute we make a purchase.  All the focus seems to be on combatting fraud and abuse and protecting businesses.  There doesn’t seem to be any government regulations in place to protect the consumer?  I do want to add that I’ve been in a few stores recently (not Sephora), I’d see these people trying to return things that the store does not carry WITHOUT receipt, giving the sales lady and manager a hard time arguing and throwing a tantrum, holding up the line FOREVER.  The employees are stressed trying to find the item in their catalogue and telling them they have no way to look the item up.  It really ticked me off that people can be so ridiculous like that and I told the store employees I felt so bad for them that they had to go through that (they said they get it all the time) and I wished those terrible customers would just leave.  Now that’s the kind of customer TRE should monitor but no TRE casts a wide net filled with inaccuracies and doesn’t care if legit customers are inadvertently caught by it.

[Tarabotti]

It seems that what I thought is true -TRE tracks your returns from all stores which a person shops at. Whether it is the actual store (say Sephora) banning you from making any more returns at the store or TRE doing the banning, I don't know. Maybe other stores have a higher return threshold than Sephora. 

It's nice that other stores have a more lenient return policy than Sephora but if the stores find people are abusing their policies, they could become restrictive as well.

[yuline]

@Tarabotti I know I thought of that also but it had nothing to do my standing with Sephora. I didn’t use a membership account when I made the cvs purchase referenced above so they have no way of knowing who I was. Cvs is using an even stricter system now than before. Cvs has never been more lenient than Sephora to begin with. My guess because this is all new even to cvs store manager himself, we theorized it may have to do with returning a purchase immediately after buying it or same day. Not sure. The whole thing was weird. I am being totally truthful when I say I’ve never banned from any other store. I think previously Sephora was most lenient with returns so I didn’t return too much at other stores which aren’t has lenient so I have no bad record with those stores. I shop according to stores return policies/leniency. If I understood the rules better I’d have done things differently. Oh well.

[makeitup305]

@yuline i don't know if it's too "big brother” but is it possible TRE is tracking a person's total spending/returns, not necessarily separated by store?

[yuline]

@makeitup305 I was told by TRE that it is company specific which would make sense to me since it would be really invasive to do that (but keep in mind the info is coming from TRE who I don't find to be an accurate source).  I was deeply disturbed when I found out my purchase history was being tracked extensively going back so many years without my knowledge and EVEN WORSE it wasn't even all being tracked accurately.  I think the reason why there hasn't been a lawsuit is that companies have the right to do whatever they please because it's their company, they make the rules (I just wish I knew them ahead of time) and if they want to kick you out, they can.  To share data across companies would be a real violation in my opinion.  With how widespread (I'm sorry but almost insidious) TRE is, maybe the US is headed the way of some European or Asian countries where you can't return ever period.  I may be in the minority but I think consumers should be able to return as long the privilege is not abused.  I know if I couldn't return anything ever anywhere, I'd probably cut down shopping by a lot.  I'm not a business expert, but I think if everyone closes their wallets, that's when we're in danger of a recession.  I just wish certain companies could be clearer about their return policy restrictions.  I was thinking that Victoria Secret which uses TRE has a really good return system in place.  They allow like 7 returns per 2 month period or something (I forget exact specifics) and once you hit that quota, you can't return anything until enough time has passed.  Once the deadline passes, your return privileges are restored and it's business as usual.  I find VS's system a better way of doing things if you are going to limit returns.  At least you know the rules and can manage your purchases better.  You don't get banned for a year or permanently with VS's way and feel like a bad customer (unless you do something clearly fraudulent or abusive I'm sure).  With cosmetics, I wonder if setting up a limit on dollar amount returned per time period that is stated explicitly in a company's return policy would be less abrasive and provide better transparency.  

[makeitup305]

@Michelleqw Sephora uses a service called TRE (The Retail Equation) that tracks your returns and determines whether you are breaking company policy with your returns or you are being fraudulent. Since you've only returned a few items this year you should be in the clear. 

Here is an excerpt from their FAQ on the TRE site.

[yuline]

@makeitup305 just wanted to mention I read about the information that you pulled from the TRE website a long time ago and I’ve done a great amount of research at this point.  What is posted by TRE as their policy has not necessarily been the case in reality based on actual reports by consumers.  Honestly I would not be comfortable taking a firm stand on whether to tell another fellow customer if it’s ok to return or not. I would leave it to Sephora moderators or someone who is officially approved by Sephora to answer these questions. One may not know everything about another beauty insider’s history so it’s risky to strongly guide them one way or another in case something backfired and there is a lot of controversy with what TRE says is their policy versus how their rules are being enforced in actual practice.

[makeitup305]

@yuline that's why I said should. I've heard from other posts that TRE has flagged/banned them with few returns. From what I've seen posted, Sephora mods and admins have not been able to solve the issue. It's definitely confusing and misleading for TRE to be so unclear about what causes a flag. I think what companies are trying to do with TRE is get rid of the "let me try this and see if I like it” shopping culture. It's not the best for the consumer (especially people with allergies or sensitive skin when it comes to makeup) but companies are interested in their bottom line and too many net returns can definitely affect that.