it sure seems like theft.....

What would you call it if Walmart took $199.80 from you but you got nothing in return? Does theft sound right? Or maybe misappropriation of funds? Either way, I received an email from Jan in North Carolina, and by the time I was finished checking out her story, I was angry. Jan went into her local Walmart in North Carolina. She had a small child with her and she was in a hurry. The cashier that rang her up wanted to see some ID because thieves often bog themselves down with hungry newborns while they are checking out. Jan didn't have any ID with her, so the cashier, cancelled the transaction. No harm, no foul, right? Well it turns out that the Walmart went ahead and charged Jan's account almost two hundred dollars! I guess they didn't need any identification to steal her money, did they? And when Jan called Walmart asking for her money back, guess what happened? Why, Walmart wanted a faxed letter from Jan's bank and proof of the transaction! The word you are looking for is chutzpah. When Jan asked to speak to the manager- she was told that the manager was unavailable. Is this taking care of the customer, or satisfaction guaranteed? I can't tell. So finally, after a week(yes, seven days of free interest for Walmart) of constantly haranguing the store, they released the funds back to Jan. All of this because she didn't have the ID that the cashier wanted, but didn't need. How many times has Walmart done this and gotten away with it? How many people are still fighting to get their money back, and are being given the runaround by the biggest company in the United States? That would explain why profits are up, wouldn't it? The worst part is, Walmart could have made this right if they chose to. A simple, I am so sorry, here's a gift card for your trouble could have made this much much better for every one. Instead, there is a customer who hates the thought of ever going back to that Walmart, and who can blame her? Would you shop in a store knowing that there is a chance- a very good chance- that you could have two hundred dollars stolen from you by an incompetent cashier and a greedy corporation? It reminds me of a line from Dan Rather.... if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck... this sure seems like Walmart tried to steal two hundred dollars from Jan. If I get an answer from their corporate headquarters, I'll pass it on and you can thank me later.