Walmart Class Action Lawsuit Over Unfair COVID-19 Return Policy
A California woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Walmart, accusing it of changing its return policy during the coronavirus crisis. Danielle Hubmer says the company changed their normal return policy without posting any signage or otherwise informing customers know about it.
Hubmer says she purchased items, including clothing, at a California Walmart store on April 25. Dressing rooms at the store were closed when she was shopping, so she was not able to try on any of the clothing items. She made her purchases and left the store. On April 27, Hubmer says she returned to the store to return some of the items she had purchased. However, Walmart refused to take back the items and “refused to provide Plaintiff with a cash refund, store credit, or an equal exchange for the full price of the purchase of her goods.” The store manager told Hubmer the store was not accepting returns.
As of June 17, an article on Walmart’s help page says: “As part of our COVID-19 response, we will temporarily not allow store returns on certain items. For the most up-to-date information, please visit Walmart’s Policies and Guidelines website.” The Polices and Guidelines website’s most up-to-date information, dated June 15, says the retailer “paused processing returns and and exchanges” for several categories of items, including clothing for “a number of weeks.” However, no information was available on when the alleged “pause” began. No notices were posted either in the store when Hubmer made her purchases.
According to the site, as of June 15, the retailer is once again accepting returns “in most states” in accordance with its normal policy, and “any items that were temporarily not permitted for return and were purchased between April 20 and June 15 can now be returned though Sept. 15 with a receipt.”
But still the Walmart class action lawsuit alleges the company is in violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the California Business and Professions Code and California civil code. The complaint also accuses Walmart of breach of contract.
