An update on the Canadian Tire "money" post from last week. Here's the response I received from CT:

Dear Mr. Frazer,

Thank you for contacting our office regarding your recent experience.

We apologize that this product did not meet your expectations and thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention. It is through the input of customers like yourself that we are best able to monitor such concerns and identify areas of possible improvement.

Please be assured Canadian Tire Corporation and our Associate stores strive to provide both quality products and excellent service to our customers.

Canadian Tire "Money" or Canadian Tire "Money" on the card is earned on all purchases paid for by cash, debit, Canadian Tire Credit Card and Options MasterCard. This program, exclusive to Canadian Tire, rewards our cash paying customers as well as our Canadian Tire cardholders instantly for their purchases.

Canadian Tire "Money" is treated with the same care and can be used in the same fashion as actual money. One dollar in Canadian Tire "Money" is equal to one actual dollar in our stores. Due to this fact, when a product is returned it is expected to have the Canadian Tire "Money" that was earned returned as well. If the Canadian Tire "Money" is not returned the amount will be deducted from the refund. If you do not wish to receive any Canadian Tire "Money", simply inform the cashier at the start of the transaction. Your receipt will then show that no Canadian Tire 'Money' was earned and will not be deducted if you return the item.

Products purchased on the Canadian Tire Credit Card and Options MasterCard, when returned, will automatically have the Canadian Tire "Money" on the card deducted.

In a situation where a customer is using a credit card other than Canadian Tire, Canadian Tire "Money" is not issued for the simple reason that the customer will be benefiting from the reward program issued by that financial institution.

Our success is based on the voice of our customers. We thank you for providing us with the opportunity to respond.

Regards,

Customer Relations Representative
Canadian Tire Corporation Limited
customerservice@canadiantire.ca
1-800-387-8803

So ... a form letter. Thanks for all the personal service, CT. Much obliged.

I also appreciate finding out three years after my first visit to a Canadian Tire that if I ask the cashier not to give me CT "money" (the company's own quotation marks, not mine), it won't appear on the receipt. Someone want to let me know if that's posted anywhere in the store or at the register? I'd think someone would have mentioned it to me during one of the 100 or so transactions where I've declined it.