Home Depot return policy

[Ole Anderson]

Returned a can of stain yesterday, I needed to have them scan my driver's license because part of the purchase was with a gift card. Then when I used the new gift card for a purchase, I had to scan my drivers license with their ray gun just to check out. New to me.

[Doug Garson]

Just returned a shop vac hose yesterday to my local HD, no ID required just my credit card which was used to buy it and a signature on the screen. Thought the signature was odd as when I bought the hose I used my pin. Can't remember last time I signed for a credit card transaction.

[Jay Runde]

Was it a gift card or store credit? If it's store credit, they have required using a driver's license that for at least a couple of years.

[Jim Becker]

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?292581-Home-depot-retun-policy-changing-August-1

[Ole Anderson]

Was it a gift card or store credit? If it's store credit, they have required using a driver's license that for at least a couple of years. Original purchase was with a CC and gift card, the refund was with a combination of my CC and store credit card. Just thought it was interesting I had to scan my own driver's license, not just show it to someone.

[Jim Becker]

Fraud is rampant so retailers more and more are having to take measures to be able to curtail it. I suspect that the trigger for wanting ID on file was the gift card being one of the payment methods on the original purchase. While they are tightening up return policies, as noted in that other recent long thread I linked to, they were pretty liberal with gift cards for returns without receipts for a long time and that's been biting them. They do need do a return to original payment method regardless...that's nothing new. But I'm guessing they are applying an ID requirement for gift card returns universally to be fair. This is speculation on my part, but it certainly would be something I'd consider doing as a business owner these days for sure. Thieves will think twice about things if they have to present ID to do such a return. THe rest of us, well...nothing is really secret anyway.

[Brian Elfert]

Original purchase was with a CC and gift card, the refund was with a combination of my CC and store credit card. Just thought it was interesting I had to scan my own driver's license, not just show it to someone.

They used to have you show your license to a cashier, but I suspect in order to get you out the door faster they just have you scan your own license now. The whole reason for the license deal is because people were stealing goods and returning without receipt (of course no receipt) for a store credit. They would then sell the store credit, perhaps at a discount. The whole ID thing is supposed to stop sales of store credits.

[Bill Dufour]

California licenses for years have had a magnetic stripe so a card reader machine can just input the info quicker then the cashier can type.
At school now visitors present their drivers license and get it scanned. The machine prints out a visitor pass with their photo. The id photo is embedded in the license.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

California licenses for years have had a magnetic stripe so a card reader machine can just input the info quicker then the cashier can type.
At school now visitors present their drivers license and get it scanned. The machine prints out a visitor pass with their photo. The id photo is embedded in the license.
Bill D
Barcodes/similar are what many/most states use now for electronically reading license/ID information, especially with RealID. Mag strips are considered insecure these days.

[Brian Elfert]

Minnesota driver licenses have two barcodes and a mag stripe on the back. Mine is the RealID version. I sometimes scan the wrong barcode at Home Depot when I use a store credit. I tend to get a number of store credits because I get a lot of Home Depot gift cards for the Menards 11% match. (They send a separate gift card for each receipt.)

[Jim Becker]

PA no longer has the mag strip...for at least three+ years since that's how old mine is...renewal next spring. There are two types of bar/optical codes on the back

[Allen Mattsen]

ID required when a gift card or store credit card makes sense. These types of cards have been counterfeited for many years and I'd speculate are much easier to 'create' than cards linked with bank level security systems or actual credit card corporations. I can recall someone offering to sell me one (or more) $100 JC Penny gift cards for $50 some years ago. I'm sure it wasn't from someone accidentally buying too many $100 gift cards...😅

[Brian Elfert]

I haven't heard of Home Depot gift cards or store credits being counterfeited. What would you do with a counterfeit card since you would still need to get a value into Home Depot's computer? I have heard of people taking pictures of the numbers on gift cards in the store and then periodically checking to see if anybody loaded money on them.

The reason HD gives for the ID requirement is people stealing goods and then returning for store credit. The thieves would then sell the store credits at a discount.