I had an order of a few games and the company charged me the correct amount but sent two of each.

I know legally I can keep them and they can't charge me for them.

But what is the consensus here... call and let them know or keep them?

I'd hold onto them for a month. If I didn't hear anything, it instantly becomes a gift or Ebay fodder.

Hell NO I wouldn't return it. Not my problem.

Deb, just from ready what you wrote about NADVD..sounds like you would have a guilty conscience if you kept them.

For some reason when I tell a company they sent me two copies of something, they usually just tell me to keep them. If I didn't tell them though, my conscience would weigh heavily on me....

Im a sleazeball, I would keep them. Only time I would say anything is if something like that happened with a trade or buying from a person.

A short funny story and how a company gets of my list forever.

Once I placed an order with B&N online store, They shipped my items complete. For some reason, mistakenly they ship the second shipment with all same items and not charged my CC the second time.
I called them indicating that I had the second shipment and wanted to return somehow (first option was to bring to store).
They said I could not do so since they are two different units. Next day, a second charge appeared on my CC (Online) only about 100+ USD.

I called them again and told them it was my honesty of calling them about the second shiptment, plus my intention of returning the package, I wanted the charge being credited.

They said NO despite: 1. Their messed up, 2. Honest intention from me, 3. Attempt to find easiest ways to return the package.
They made me wait for the RA to come in the mail, used the RA to return the second shipment package, and would not credit the CC until the package is received in the warehouse (JUST FOR 100+ USD).

They sinced had lost me as a customer (both online and b&m store) for life.

:-)

I called. They're going to be nice and not charge my card and trust me that I will return it I'm thinking, hello, I called you didn't I? They'll pay for the return shipping also. All's well that ends well.

Well I would have told you to keep it.

Question: If you accidently paid too much to the store and didn't notice it, would they contact you to refund your money?

I can't control the actions of others, but I can control mine

I think you made the right decision. Just wondering: Why do you think "legally" you can keep them and they can't charge you? Not sure which law you are referring to.

Throughout the years of being here and other deal sites, I've read that if a company ships you something in the mail and you receive it, it's yours. Maybe other people can point to something written.

This is the second time it's happened (with different companies). The other time I got a $500 digital camera instead of a $300 digital camera. I called and the rep told me to keep it but that she would contact her manager. The manager came on the line and told me to keep it and have a great day. I did

This could be the case, I'm just curious as to what law actually covers this. It's happened to me to and I always send it back. To me it's a matter of integrity and mine's worth more than a video game (but it's great when you call and they say "keep it"!).

I tried with Playcentric when I got two Die Hard sets. They wanted me to pay for shipping to send it back to them. So I kept it, and since I saw how they acted when I was trying to help them out, I've never shopped there again.

Now THAT'S simply ridiculous. They should either say "just keep it" or at the bare minimum send you a prepaid shipping label.

uteotw I heard another here at DVDTalk also how Playcentric told a poster they would reimburse shipping once they got it back and the poster said no, you pay the shipping THEN I send it back - the poster kept the game.

True story: A guy I worked with in the Navy paid off his Sears card but must've miscalculated. A month later he received a check for $0.01

He never cashed it, but kept it to show people how crazy these companies can be.


Back to the question... in all honesty, if it was something small, I would probably keep it.

A professor that I had in college one time told me that someone he knew one time received a bill in the mail from a company for "$0.00" Assuming that the account was paid in full the person did nothing. The next month they received a notice that their payment was late and the company would appreciate payment. After a few calls to the CS department of the company the CSR said that it was taken care of as it was obviously a computer glitch since nothing was owed. The next month the person received a notice that the account was being turned over to a collection agency if the amount was not paid. The person wrote out a check for "$0.00" and the next month received a statement thanking them for the payment and that the account was now up to date.

That's pretty bad for company.

For me it depends on how much of a pain the company is. So many companies make it incredibly difficult to try and be honest and help them out that I feel like they need to compensate me for the hours of my life wasted dealing with their error.

Federal law prohibits the shipment of unordered merchandise. Such a practice may constitute an unfair trade practice. Merchandise mailed in violation of United States Code may be treated as a gift by the recipient without any obligation to the sender. The laws governing this practice are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.

BUREAU OF CONSUMER PROTECTION
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON DC 20580-0001
----

You cannot obligate yourself to pay by a failure to say no or to perform some act - such as returning the discs. A duty to pay arises only when you take some affirmative action to request the item. This same legal rule applies to services that you do not request.

The rule is different for property that is intended for someone else but mistakenly delivered to you. In these cases, you must make reasonable efforts to notify the sender or intended recipient of the error and make the item available to either.

Thank you, that is all.

Hate to say it, but I would have kept them ... and probably traded them off or something... good for you for sending them back though.

Here are a few links that talk about receiving merchandise you didn't order.

Receipt of Unsolicited Merchandise
Consumer’s Guide to Postal Services page 42
39 U.S.C. 3010 Mailing of Unordered Merchandise

A similar thing happened to me with Playcentric once. I ordered a game, it took forever to ship, and it ended up being the wrong one. I e-mailed them and requested an immediate shipment of the correct game before I sent back the wrong game, since it was THEIR error and I wanted the right item immediately since I had already waited long enough. They refused to send me the right game until I sent them the wrong one back. Plus, I had to pay shipping (reimbursed by them once they got the wrong item). Since it was the wrong item, I clenched my teeth and returned it.

Their customer service was quick and friendly, but a bit cluless at times. They ended up telling me that they had no more copies of the right game in stock, so I told them to refund my money - including the shipping fee for sending them back the wrong item.

Well, lo and behold, I eventually got the right game despite them saying that none were left in stock...then another copy...and another. Three copies of the same game.

After the hassle they put me through, needless to say, I kept all three.

Still, GatorDeb, you did the right thing and you should be very proud of yourself. I however have no sympathy for incompetence, especially when the company makes the situation more of a hassle than it needs to be, so if they're dumb enough to screw up, too bad!

I was sent 500.00 worth of CDs one time by an online store I hadn't ordered from for a long time.

I e-mailed them to let them know they billed one person and shipped them to another. They said I need to pay to return them and they would refund me the amount after the items were returned and processed. I refused and over the next few weeks I told them via e-mail many times that they pay for shipping or the CDs stay with me till they do.

They "lost" 500.00 worth of stuff and they can't pay to have me return them.

After a year of hearing nothing I figured they didn't care about their customers and they ran a poor store.

I dont remember which store it was from, but I got a run of three or four discs that doubled up on me. I was nice and contacted them - but would have had to return them on my own dime. To hell with that! Thanks for a hundred bucks of free DVDs, man.

I seem to recall returning them to Best Buy right after X-mas for High Noon and some other stuff I'd been undecided about for a while.