Home Depot Refuses Woman’s $400 Christmas Tree Return Because “Someone Else” Already Returned It

By Callie (Carlos) Cadorniga

Dec. 11 2023, Published 1:49 p.m. ET

If you celebrate Christmas, then chances are you’ve gotten or are in the process of getting a Christmas tree by the time December rolls around. Whether you’re buying an artificial one that you can forget to take down weeks after Christmas has ended or tying a real one to the roof of your car, Christmas trees are practically an essential annual item for anyone who’s waiting for Santa to come down their chimney each year.

But shopping during the holiday season can be difficult for everyone no matter what you’re buying, especially if you’re in the market for a tree. Places could easily run out of the tree you’re looking for, or worse yet, you may end up getting the wrong one.

The Difficulty of Returning Items During the Holidays

Unfortunately, returning something during the busiest shopping season of the year can be just as arduous as buying something. Just as Liz Goldstein (@hilizgoldstein) on TikTok, who couldn’t return her Christmas tree after someone else returned the same item to Home Depot.

A Case of Unfortunate Timing

Liz breaks down the shocking story in a lengthy TikTok posted in early December 2023. Reportedly, she’d tried to return a Christmas tree after her partner bought the wrong one. She was apparently in the market for a tree she had seen on TikTok before. After receiving the wrong tree, she tried to get a refund after spending $472.

The Shocking Revelation

That was when her troubles started. Despite presenting the card that was used to purchase the tree, Home Depot’s records showed that the tree in question had already been returned. The situation raised a few flags from the start. Liz hadn’t returned the tree yet and the purchase of the said tree even showed up in her bank statements. However, no refund was issued to her card despite there being a record of a return that Liz had no part in.

Confrontation and Allegations

Liz demanded that Home Depot look into the matter and check out the timestamps for when the tree was “returned,” but they reportedly didn’t comply. She even ended up calling the police to see if they could resolve the matter, but Home Depot employees fought back in earnest. According to Liz, employees who had helped her with the tree during the initial purchase denied having interacted with her. She even claimed that she was getting fined once more for the tree. This led her to some wild theories over what was happening over the fraudulent return of her tree.

The Aftermath

As of this writing, Liz is pursuing legal action to get the matter resolved. She has also posted several follow-ups and even joke videos on the matter. Hopefully, Liz will be able to get this matter cleared up in time for Christmas. After all, nobody should have to have this piled on to their usual holiday stressors.