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Srom Slashdot - Retail Fraud on the Rise

Re:This is unethical (Score:5, Insightful)
by rossifer (581396) on Friday August 05, @10:29PM (#13255689)
(Last Journal: Thursday January 06, @03:26PM)

the answer: there is NO moral compass anymore. People just do what they want.

That sounds like a Christian analysis of secular culture. But like most quips, it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. The article about videogame violence talks about the decline in violent crime (FBI Uniform Crime Reports) that has occured at the same time as increasing realism in video games, including violent games. The article about piracy is actually discussing how businesses have taken a highly nuanced topic (copyright) and are successfully selling their very one-sided interpretation to governments in Europe.

The problem with thieves is that they have learned not to value long-term goals or to put weight on medium to long term consequences. As a result, their moral decision making is skewed towards what they can get away with right now, while simultaneously discounting the effects their actions might have on themselves and the people around them.

As to how and why this happens, some see their parents or others in the community around them growing old and miserable, having worked hard for a long time and getting very little for it. Some are taught that morals are a set of rules without any explanation of the why’s behind the rules. When “because I said so” doesn’t answer the question any more, but no other answer is given, people will successfully learn to ignore their perfectly functioning conscience in favor of what they’ve learned (rationalization).

Sadly, I’ll now have to explain that understanding why thieves behave the way they do does not excuse or justify their behavior. Oh and I most definitely am asserting that fear-based Christian morals are worse than useless in teaching morality and are part of the problem.

But you may have reached different conclusions on all of my points…

Regards,
Ross

Re:This is unethical (Score:5, Insightful)
by roseblood (631824) on Friday August 05, @10:55PM (#13255830)

a: a lot of consumer electronics stores have very limited return policies. compusa in particular charges 15% restocking on non-defective opened items.

I got frelled by this same policy at Circuit City.

Got my brother a scanner for xmas, turns out my mom got him a digital camera, so I went to exchange the scanner for camera go-alongs (bag, batteries, flash-cards, tripod, etc.)

When I went to return the item (unopened mind you) the guy opened the box, removed the scanner, cable, and software, inspected it for missing parts, then THREW THE BOX IN THE TRASH and only returned 85% of the price of the scanner to me on a gift card.

He explained that there is a 15% restocking fee on anything that’s been opened. I stated that it had not been opened until he had done so (he had to undo a sticker over the flap of the box and tore off a few layers of the box in the process.)

When continued refusing to give me 100% credit then asked for a manager. He claimed he was “in charge.” He didn’t say he was a manager. I called his bluff, pulled out my cellphone, dialed 411, called the store, and asked for the manager. The guy promptly discovered a manager was available and summoned her.

She asked the kid of the box had been opened. He said yes. I said the kid opened it. She said he had to open it to make sure everything was being returned. She also refused to credit my sale 100%.

Out comes the cell phone again.

“411, city and state please.”

“Sacramento California”

“What listing please.”

“Attorney General’s office, the department in charge of business practices.” (GOD, I LOVE MY CELL PHONE AND ITS *SPEAKER PHONE* MODE.)

Before I got past the first layer of automated push button hell the manager agreed to give me a 100% credit to a gift card.

I folded my phone. I then told her that I no longer wished to do business with Circuit City and would like to have my credit card credited for the full refund and would buy camera-do-dads elsewhere.

When the first words out of her mouth were “Our policy is…” I unfolded the phone and hit redial.

She didn’t finish the sentence and instead asked me for the card used to pay for the original transaction so she could credit the full price to me.

I hate to think how many people out there innocently get screwed by these places because they aren’t the obnoxious stubborn bitch that I am.

She didn’t agree to this until I

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