‘I kept the full receipt’: Houston customer returns $500 Meta Quest at Walmart. Then a worker looks up the serial number

Have you ever brought home a product from the store, only to realize that something about it isn’t quite right?

It’s more common than you might think. Every day, thousands of Americans accidentally buy counterfeit goods. In fact, in 2019, around a quarter of polled Americans admitted to inadvertently purchasing a fake item. 

One may think that, if they buy from a mainstream retailer, they’ll be immune to all this trickery. However, as one TikTok user recently learned, that isn’t always the case.

In a video with over 124,000 views, TikTok user Jessica Rahm (@365daysofjessica) recounts how she was “scammed” by Walmart.

According to Rahm, she purchased a $500 Meta Quest from Walmart Supercenter #3640 in Houston, Texas. However, when she brought it home, something about it didn’t seem right.

What Went Wrong With This Walmart Purchase?

“Once I started using it, it really couldn’t hold a charge. It power cycled,” she says of her Meta Quest. “I wasn’t even happy with the quality. I felt like it was really grainy and not what I was expecting.”

Noting these issues, she decided to return the item to Walmart. However, when she brought the item to customer service along with her receipt, she was told that the serial numbers on her item and her receipt did not match.

“[They] essentially insinuate[d] that I had switched the item out,” Rahm states.

Eventually, two workers told her that they “often get returns that are not done correctly, and they bring it back with the wrong serial number,” saying that Rahm was likely accidentally resold something. Regardless, they said they could not process the return.

What Happened Next?

Seeing that these employees weren’t going to help with Rahm’s situation, she asked to be escalated to a manager. The manager looked at the security footage and confirmed that Rahm purchased the device from the store at the time she said she did. Despite this, they still refused to process a refund, instead directing her to the general Walmart phone number.

Rahm then asked to see the manager above the people present. She was told the manager was in Colorado.

“I looked on Reddit. This is like a common issue that people see at Walmart,” she says. “How did people resolve this? Because literally, I’m stuck with a product that does not work. It was $500.”

“Walmart, do better,” Rahm continues. “I have the box, the receipt, everything was intact. It was still in new condition. And, I don’t want anyone else to get scammed, because just be wary of purchasing from Walmart, because they’ll scam you.”

She Finally Gets A Resolution

After calling 1-800-WALMART, Rahm was instructed to return to the Walmart location and talk to Juan, who was the general manager. She was also given a reference number.

Soon after, she visited the same Walmart location—an experience she describes as going “horribly.”

According to Rahm, she went into the store and asked to speak to Juan. They informed her that he was not present. Instead, Rahm shared her issue with another employee. The employee worked to try to fix the problem, which involved several fruitless phone calls. Finally, the employee decided to call Juan—who proved to be of little help.

“Juan says he doesn’t want to speak to customers. Juan did not get on the phone—Juan pretty much told me to F off,” Rahm states. “Insane.”

Frustrated, Rahm called Walmart customer relations. Surprisingly, the customer service worker informed her that a manager “called me already at 1 PM today and apologized and solved the issue.”

“Who was it? We don’t know, because I did not get any call,” Rahm answers.

Eventually, after pulling up information about the Meta Quest itself and getting into a few more arguments, Rahm says she was able to resolve the issue.

“This has been the worst customer service,” she summarizes. “If I wasn’t so resilient, I would have been scammed.”

“Everyone needs to be on high alert when buying electronics from Walmart,” she adds. “Do not do it. Go anywhere else.”

What Happened Here?

From Rahm’s story, it appears that she was the victim of return fraud.

There are a few forms of return fraud. Most pertinent to this story is a version where one buys an item from a store, replaces its contents with a different, broken item (or something of similar weight), reseals the product, then returns it to the store for credit.

Unfortunately, return fraud is both incredibly common and difficult to prove. For example, one Target shopper claimed that, after purchasing LEGO from Target, she opened the box and discovered it was filled with dry pasta. Another claimed he bought an expensive console from Best Buy, only to receive an empty box. In both cases, users suspected return fraud could have been a factor.

If one finds themselves in this situation, they can continue to escalate the issue with the store. If this does not work, a customer may want to consider a credit card chargeback. Finally, if all else fails, one can pursue the matter in small claims court.

The TikToker Responds

In a TikTok DM exchange, Rahm said that Walmart never gave her an explanation as to exactly what happened.

“Meta says that the actual console and the wireless controllers can actually have different serial numbers and what’s in the box,” she wrote. “So that was one explanation, and then the other could have been that somebody returned it.”

As for how Walmart could have better handled the situation, she says they could have reached out to her — something she says they still have not done.

“I think that’s the number one way they could’ve resolved, is by actually having someone reach out and try to investigate the situation,” she said. “I literally had to borderline back and throw a fit to get it solved. Just the experience in the store alone should’ve been addressed.”

From now on, she advises Walmart shoppers to be a little more careful with their purchases.

“I would avoid purchasing any type of electronic without checking the serial number on video before you leave the store take a video of yourself, checking everything and verifying,” she stated.

@365daysofjessica I never thought I’d say this but I got scammed at Walmart. Bought an item, got home, and it was either returned incorrectly or doesn’t match their system — and now Walmart is refusing to help or take accountability. ? How is this even allowed? Has this happened to anyone else at @Walmart @Walmart World #WalmartScam #WalmartFail #walmart #metaquest3 #Scammed ♬ original sound – Jessica Rahm

Commenters Are Frustrated

In the comments section, users offered their own similar stories to what Rahm went through.

“My husband bought me a tablet for Christmas last year and thankfully gave it to me the same night instead of waiting because there was no tablet in the sealed box,” recalled a user. “He went back to the store and they discovered 3 other empty boxes and found an employee was taking them out.”

“Walmart scamed me several times and it took a month to get it straightened out,” claimed another. “I don’t purchase expensive items there anymore.”

“I had this happen with a car battery I bought in December! They thankfully let me get a different one! But they treated me like I was a criminal! Even though I had the receipt. The barcode didn’t match the one on the receipt. It was so stressful,” recounted a third.

The Mary Sue reached out to Walmart via media relations contact form and Rahm via TikTok and Instagram direct message.

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