PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. Is running some very organized scams at their corporate level to ripoff their best customers. Their PALS program which purports to reward loyal customers with discounts has at least 4 different scams going. At least that's how many I've been subject to.
Free Food Program, Scam 1 - You buy 10 bags of food and get one free. Sounds easy, right? What happens here is they don't give you credit for all the bags you purchase, hoping you'll not get to 10 bags before the year is up (you only have 12 months to purchase your 10 bags). I caught them doing this to me twice this year. They did give me credit but I had to call both times. If you don't get your free bag, you're paying more since they're priced higher than the competition.
Free Food Program, Scam 2 - They don't send you the coupon after you've earned one. The store emplyees tell you they send it in 2 weeks, PETCO's website says they send it within one month. My PETCO PALS account says I earned a bag back on 10/24. It's 01/09 and they still haven't sent it. Their hope here is that you'll never call to complain and get your coupon, thus causing you to pay more than if you bought from the competition.
Sale Prices Don't Ring Up Scam - You can read about this in another complaint on here. I can assure you that it's not an isolated incident. Sale items constantly ring up at the original prices. I'm surprised an Attorney General in some state hasn't gotten a hold of this one yet. I always take my ad with me and check every price before I pay.
Expire Coupons Scam - They'll give you a coupon via your account on their website but it's already expired! Their web site says "Electronic Quarterly Rewards Certificates are normally available for viewing and printing one week after the earning quarter ends". I clicked on my 2009 Q4 Coupon and it said it expired in the middle of November! That was before the quarter even ended. Also there was no option to print because they don't want the coupon in your hand. It said it would show up on my next receipt.
I'm sure they've got more scams going. Those are just the ones I've had perpetrated on me.
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