My response after being linked by the CBC's web site:

I’m the fellow whose blog is linked above.

I’d hardly classify my exchange with CT as a “fight”. I sent a note to their customer service department discussing my displeasure with selling with the defective product the company sold me and to question why I lost out on $.40 from a rewards program. The company chose to send what appeared to a form letter, which I posted.

Reading through the comments here and some of the nasty notes I’ve received at my blog, it’s nice to immediately be labeled as dishonest or an idiot because I raised the question of why CT doesn’t simply post something at the registers about mentioning before the transaction that CT “money” can be kept off a receipt by request. I’ve also received some pretty vile stuff and one assumedly empty threat, but that’s what comes with having a blog, I suppose.

I’m also a little shocked to see the number of people who seem to think Canadian Tire is giving out “money” out of the goodness of its heart. Handing out what are in essence coupons is just a marketing trick to get consumers back into the store – a good one and a nice one, but a marketing ploy nonetheless. If CT was really nice, they’d just lower the price on everything in the store by 1-2%, wouldn’t they, and save consumers the hassle of redeeming the cash?

As for donating the money, in the future I’ll make clear to the cashier that’s what I’d like done. I hadn’t thought about it before because I hadn’t had to return a defective product, and didn’t really care about the $.25 or whatever I might be pitching out – and frankly, I kind of thought the company might be doing it on its own anyhow. However, the money I turned down that day went right back into the register.