Q&A: can i get my money back for an infant product on recall instead of repairing it?

product recall
by Public Citizen

Question by ctlm1024: can i get my money back for an infant product on recall instead of repairing it?

baby car seats, cribs, playpens

Best answer:

Answer by JB
Generally no. I don’t know of any that do. My car seat was recalled & the “fix” was ridiculous – it took my carrier style seat that pops in & out & made it completely stationary & there was no option for refund. All those crib recalls now – their fix is to make it so the rail won’t drop at all on the side (which is a BIG deal for short people because it can mean NOT being able to put a sleeping baby over the rail…) and again no refund available. They are not required to refund or exchange if they can make a fix of basically ANY kind to make it safe for use, even if it makes it less functional.

I wish it were different. It stinks when you get stuck with something that doesn’t operate the way it is supposed to, especially if it disables a feature that was KEY to why you bought it.

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Comments

One Response to “Q&A: can i get my money back for an infant product on recall instead of repairing it?”
  1. Courage says:

    It’s at the discretion of the company. And the place you purchased it from.

    For instance, Toys R Us has a history of taking recalled items back if you have a receipt proving you got it there, even if the recall is just a repair. But call your local Toys R Us because it’s dependent on the manager and their policy. Wal-mart doesn’t require a receipt, but does require that it’s recalled or you get an instore credit (and the original packaging.) Target requires a receipt even for items they have in store and in the matter of recalls has a history of saying “Well, you paid 200, but we sold it at the lowest for $59, so you only get $59 back.” Ridiculous.

    The cribs, at least my daughter’s, was a recall, not a repair. The first time was a repair and that was to fix the bracket if you put it in wrong (we didn’t.) The second time they told us to return it to a store. She’s a toddler now. The danger is the drop side… well, what’s the point? She’s in a toddler bed now, that side isn’t even UP anymore. So we opted to keep it since most of the places would have exchanged for something not worth the same amount rather than giving the money back.

    Now, the recent cloth book recall that happened (it’s a book of dinosaurs that we have… we’re just lucky like that, one of the spots is lead coated… ugh) the company said to mail it to them and they’ll send the price of the book (something like $8) and the cost of the shipping ($3) to replace the book. Some of the play pens, because of the dangers they’ve had, have had people get their money back. The handles on the car seats, not usually. Those just have a repair kit.

    It all depends. You have to contact the company and find out, if you have the receipt you can typically have more options, and just find out.

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