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.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Canadian National Sportcard Expo held twice a year in Mississauga. It's a long and labourious process to haul everything in, set it up and then tear it back down again.

This year, I thought I would be smart enough to buy myself a nice handcart, so I stopped at Canadian Tire on my way to the International Centre on Thursday night (after hitting Home Depot and finding one lousy cart with plastic wheels for $100).

Canadian Tire is very similar to Wal-Mart, but switch clothing and entertainment to automotive and household products. They occasionally have some spectacular bargains, but then, so does everyone else.

CT had the requisite cheapo models for around $20, but they also had a heavy-duty cart rated for 600 pounds on sale half-off for $44.99. It appeared to be repackaged, but that doesn't bother me -- I figure all the parts must be there or it wouldn't be put back out for sale.

Normally I'm a cheapskate, but this time I spent the extra money, figuring I could loan it out to others at the show and not have to worry about it breaking.

On Thursday nights, you're able to drive your vehicle into the building, so I didn't need the cart. I came home pooped and set the alarm for 6 a.m. to assemble my new toy.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the packaging and found one of the pieces which holds the major wheel axle not welded to the cart's frame. This rendered the cart useless, and of course it was too early to return it for another, which added up to me having to rent a cart at the show (actually, I got it for free by trading baked goods, but that's another story).

I finally got around to returning the cart a few days ago. The young girl behind the counter didn't seem too thrilled to see me when I handed her my receipt.

I explained that one of the parts wasn't welded, blah blah. She didn't seem to understand the difficulty, but she also didn't seem to care.

"Do you want another one?" she asked.

"No, I don't," I said. "I think this one was repackaged and it was broken, so I'd prefer just to get my money back."

"Okay," she replied, "but do you have your Canadian Tire money?"

I didn't get what she was asking at first. For those of you who are unfamiliar, CT money is doled out as a percentage of what you spend in the store. It spends the same as regular money in the store, and CT sometimes has special days where you can get double and triple your CT cash.

I never take the stuff. It's unwieldy, inconvenient and I frankly don't like CT enough to shop there enough to save up for anything. I do use a Canadian Tire gas station frequently, but I always tell the clerk to keep it. I believe they save it up and then go to the store to buy something for themselves.

On my $44.99 purchase, I had earned $.40 in CT money -- or less than 1%. So I had refused it. The salesperson simply put it back in the register.

"Oh," my current clerk said. "Well, we have to take that off your refund."

"Why?" I asked. "I didn't take it. I never take it."

"It still has to come off," she replied.

I didn't argue with her, because she doesn't set the policy. So I put it to you, Canadian Tire executives -- are people buying large, cheap (and broken) items from you and then returning them for $.40 in fake money a huge problem? Do you have people purchasing lawn mowers at $1K a crack on triple cash days, then bringing them back for the $30 it nets them?

I hope so, because your theft of my $.40 when you sold me a broken item will keep me out of Canadian Tire stores for a long time to come.