L.L.Bean — noted New England retailer and bizarre entrant into the 2017 political fray — has officially rescinded their vaunted lifetime return policy in response to an increasing number of scammers abusing the policy, according to Racked.
The old policy, which was “kind of legendary in the retail world,” allowed customers to return anything, bought at any time, “so long as the customer could specify their problem with the goods.”
And because of both loose language — an ambiguous “lack of satisfaction” was the only thing required to initiate a return, with or without a receipt — and the general return-happy nature of retail these days, some of the shittiest customers took advantage.
“Increasingly, a small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent,” wrote Shawn O. Gorman, the executive chairman of L.L.Bean, in an email sent to Racked. “Some view it as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales.”
Now, customers will “have one year after purchasing an item to return it, accompanied by proof of purchase. After one year, we will work with our customers to reach a fair solution if a product is defective in any way.”
(Translation: ‘If something outside the realm of standard wear-and-tear befalls your item, we’ll replace it, so calm down.’)
You can read more about it at Racked.
