Or should I say "NON-Return Policy"!
KNOW THIS BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR NEXT PURCHASE AT CANADIAN TIRE!

I have been a long time customer at Canadian Tire, 30 plus years, tonnes of money spent...but now they have lost me due to their policies!

06/28/2009 I was on my way 6 hours up north to go on a fishing trip. Before I went to the cabin, I stopped at Canadian Tire and bought a Fish Easy 2 Fish Finder. The service was not exceptional but not that bad. I made my way to the cabin, hopped in the boat, opened and hooked up the fish finder only to find out that it was defective. I had found out from numerous other people that the brand of fish finder has constant problems and is not worth the money, to get a different one. I was too far into the bush to rush back 2 hours to the store so I did buy a new one from a store closer to where I was. I continued on my vacation.
07/05/2009 I returned home and went to the nearest Canadian Tire to get a refund for the defective fish finder, only to be given attitude and told that there is absolutely no refunds or exchanges for this product. I was shocked. I argued and explained that I did not even get to use the product as it did not work but they said that their policy states that they can ONLY send it in for repairs. I was told that the information about the product was clearly stated on the receipt and it was out of their hands. I than contacted the store that I bought the item from, explained everything, and was told the same thing. I pointed out repeatedly that I was NOT informed of this no-return policy when I bought the item, or I would NEVER have bought it. They did not care at all. I was than told after some arguing that I could bring the item back to that store for an in store credit. I explained that I lived 6 hours away and it would cost me more in gas to go there and back than the fish finder is worth but they did not care. I was furious by this point, not just with the policy but that fact that they do not expect their cashiers to explain to the customer the different return policies before you purchase them and made it sound like it was MY fault for not knowing or reading the receipt. I ended up going to a different Canadian Tire store to get the same run around and ended up getting fed up and sending it in for repair, since I had no other choice.

Back of the Receipt States:

Easy return: save your receipt
To return an item for exchange or refund, bring it to any Canadian Tire store within 90 days, in its original condition and packaging, with your receipt and issue of Canadian Tire Money. Returns without the original receipt or packaging will be accepted at Canadian Tire's discretion. If a product is defective, the manufacturer's warranty will apply. Credit to the original method of payment or a store credit will be provided as required. Some exceptions may apply. Your name, residence address and phone number will be required. This information is collected, used and retained to help prevent fraud, and may only be disclosed within Canadian Tire. Valid photo ID may be required to confirm information.

Front of the Receipt States:

NO REFUNDS ON PRODUCTS USED/OPENED
WARRANTY IS REPAIR/EXCH BUT NO REFUND

Sure it is clearly stated on the front of the receipt about this exception to the regular store policy, but I was NOT informed by the cashier about it. Why is it that they can state it on the receipt so that their is nothing that you can do about it...but they do not have to tell you BEFORE you purchase the item??? I would have never bought this fish finder, nor any item, if there is no refund or exchange on it! Who would? Buy an item, it is defective and does NOT work, you have to send it away for repair, wait for it to get returned than see if it works. The whole time you are out the money and do not have the item. This is a HORRIBLE policy!

While I was at the store, I watched as other customers trying to get an exchange or refund on other defective products just purchased and were told the same thing. Repair only! A man just bought a tent the day before to go on a camping trip with his family. They set up the tent to find that it was defective. He came to the store the next day to exchange it, and was refused. He was told that he had to send it in for repairs. He was outraged, especially since he was supposed to leave that day on his trip. How was he to go without a tent? Canadian Tire employees did not even care, simply repeating that this is the manufacturers warranty. He was also not informed at the time of purchase of this policy.

I think that it should be ILLEGAL for them to enforce these kind of policies on items WITHOUT having to tell the customer about it! Sure it is all stated on the receipts, as they repeatedly pointed out to me, but you only get the receipt AFTER you have already purchased the item. It seems to me that they are talking away our rights as Canadians to make an informed decision about a purchase. This is a "shady" way to do business and I will NEVER buy another thing at Canadian Tire!

I bought a truck off a guy that had 1700 dollars worth of brake work done three months ago. Now the back shoes are spliting theres air in the system and the brake fluid is black. When I went in to get the shoes replaced they told me that the waranty doesnt aply to me because I not on the receipt. This is the most outrageous thing Ive ever heard the waranty is good for 1 year or 20, 000 kms nethier of which have even come close too, now I have too replace shoes that are brand new out my own pocket canadian tire what a joke town dont ever go to them.

Last night l took a Generator back to the store l bought it at with receipt and packaging because it didn't work and l wanted to be refunded my money. The store manger came to deal with my complaint. He first of all questioned why l was returning this product when it was purchased in Feb. Why if it didn't work l didn't return it sooner. l purchased the unit when it was on sell. l put it in my basement till racing season started. My husband took it to the race track last weekend. He started it and it ran for a second. That was it we couldn't get it started again. The next day he tried again. It would not start. He emptied all the gas out of it so it could safely be returned to the store. This store manager had his mind made up he was not going to refund my money. He told me l voided my warrenty by putting gas in it. l asked him how he expected we find out if it worked or not. This manager was arrogant. He persisted in stating l was not getting my money back. He told me he would have it repaired. l told him l wasn't interested in repairing a brand new product that l just wanted my money back. He had me so upset. l regret to say l will never step foot in that store to buy another product again. We are in the construction business and racing circuit, my husband goes almost weekly to the store to buy products, We will purchase elsewhere, and l will be sure to share my story with everyone l can.

I will never EVER shop at Canadian Tire again. They are absolutely horrible. I purchased a bike there on April 8 (before the Easter long weekend). I rode it once around my block and discovered that it shifted very badly. This was not really a huge surprise considering that it's a $100 bike (Supercycle 1800). So today (April 13), I went back to the store with the intention of exchanging the bike for a better one (I was willing to upgrade to a more expensive brand). I was told there are no refunds or exchanges on bikes!!! The cashier and the supervisor were absolutely rude and unsympathetic so I asked to speak to the General Manager. The supervisor called him saying, "the customer wants to go over my head. Can you come deal with her?". Lovely. Anyway, so the manager came out and like the supervisor before him, told me, "you should've ridden the bike around the store if you wanted to get a feel for it." I asked him if he thought it was reasonable to ride a bike up and down store aisles and if he thought that would really give me a good idea of what a bike was like. He just shrugged and started to walk away. So I said, "this is how you stand behind your products?" To which he responded, "we have warranty service". As if any kind of service will turn a crappy gear system into a good one. So I'm stuck with a $100 piece of junk. I will never shop at Canadian Tire again - I wouldn't care if it were a life or death situation, that store will never receive another dime from me.

We brought my Dad's van in to Canadian Tire at Rylander in Scarborough 4 weeks ago...

Problem: No heat from the heater.

Immediate Problems after it was "repaired" and we paid $300 for a replacement thermostat and a flush n' fill of the radiator:
No radiator fluid (van overheating!!!)
No heat.

We brought it back twice, the first time they just topped up the fluid. The second time, they said the heater core was plugged and that they had fixed it.
Still, no heat, now the engine is still overheating and possibly leaking fluid, because its all pooling in the van under the floor mats.

We brought it back again today.
"Foreman" said that repairs will cost upwards of $2500 and it would be easier to replace the engine entirely.

I complained further, we've been told we will get a refund of what we paid originally.

"Foreman" says that they aren't responsible for the engine block damage and that it likely had already happened before we brought the van in.
I disagree- I asked point blank, "don't you think it is reasonable to assume that a licenced mechanic would be able to spot that sort of damage easily?" He said "yes, they should have".

Of course the damage is recent... my Dad was driving around for nearly two weeks without radiator fluid.
They obviously drained it and didn't replace it when we went for the initial "flush n' fill" and this caused the engine problems.

I called their Complaints number and was given a Ref # and a promise of a callback with 2 days. We'll see what happens.

I'm furious, because this van was bought used less than a year ago, fully certified and we had it inspected.