Store policy might be store policy, and we all know that we have to follow it going in, but that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous sometimes.

Which makes getting around it all that much sweeter.

OP went to the store for his wife. This store has a policy of not giving cash refunds once you’ve left the premises.

This happens in a large store in a European country. When you purchase something from them, and for any reason want to return the item, their policy is that they never give money back.

They only give you a voucher redeemable same day only.

So, even though he returned less than 20 minutes after his purchase, they would only offer him store credit.

I went to the store today and purchased quite a long list of items. I got home, my wife looks at them and says that we don’t need some of them.

I go back to the store, barely 20 minutes pass. The returns manager smiles at me as I tell her I’d just purchased these and would like to return them. She tells me that I stepped out of the store so she can’t refund. Only give me a voucher and I must buy something else.

I’d already bought everything I needed. Then she tells me to take the products home and keep them for the next time I would need to buy something, then I can come and get the voucher and redeem it. Imagine keeping a pair of shoes and a bowl and remember to bring them with you the next time you happen to need something.

I tried to reason, but she was adamant: ‘Those are the rules. You stepped out of the store, you don’t get a refund.’

He thought about it a minute, then had an idea – he bought something worth the same amount of money and returned it before leaving the store.

And then it clicked. I asked ‘so if someone wants to return an item without leaving the store, they get the money back?’.

‘Yes’.

You see where this is heading. Malicious compliance kicking in.

I ask to return the items and get the voucher. I take the voucher, get inside the store, find a product to exactly same amount. Buy it with the voucher. Right after the cashier, there’s the returns manager. Straight from the cashier I go to her.

Hand her that random product I’d just bought and say ‘I would like to return this, I don’t want it. And I never left the store’.

It worked, even though he made an lifelong enemy in the process.

She is looking at me with barely contained rage in her eyes, I kid you not. The awkward pause was getting longer. And then her manager comes along.

Looks at us and I smile at him and say ‘I never left the store and I would like to get a refund for this please’.

He nods. Silent and not looking at me, she proceeds to refund me the money in cash.

Company policy, right?

I bet Reddit is going to pat him on the back!

The top comment is surprised that it actually worked.

While this person reminds us that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

It’s an odd disconnect.

Everyone loves the audacity.

There is usually a way to game the system.

I wonder if this actually worked.

Either way, it’s a pretty good story.