Customer in store credit dispute with West Elm in Palm Springs

At West Elm in downtown Palm Springs their card cover reads "you deserve some credit".

But La Quinta resident Jim Crall was surprised to find he doesn't have any credit when he tried to redeem the credit he says the store put on his card back in 2017 when he returned merchandise to the Palm Springs retailer he previously purchased online.

"I just felt like this can't be true. I got this card here. It's still stuck on the envelope," said Crall.

The retired sales executive says he first asked for cash back when he made his return.

The total was $311.

But he was told the store could only offer him credit on the card.

"Well I'm feeling angry and deceived," said Crall.

He says he recently found the card at home after it "sat in a drawer for three years" and says it was still stuck to the cover, with the covered code on the back of the card only scratched off this past December when a manager at a company-owned store in Palm Desert scratched it off while trying to find out why the card no longer has a balance.

"It's just so time consuming and everything that they will not come to any resolve to my request," said the retiree.

As it turns out, Crall says West Elm tells him the balance on the card has been spent, but he says the company can't tell him how,when or where the credit was spent, or say what was purchased.

Crall says he knows for sure that neither he nor anyone in his family spent the card.

After failing to get anywhere with West Elm, Crall asked News Channel 3 for help.

After speaking with Crall and learning the details of his claim, we spoke with the store manager and contacted the corporate office as part of our efforts to find resolution.

The store manager told us he could not comment and directed us to speak West Elm's corporate media relations representative.

"It would make me happy to have them honor that $300 gift card so I can spend it," said Crall.

In an email late Wednesday afternoon, the media relations representative for West Elm wrote in part, "the customer redeemed the full $311 in-store at West Elm Palm Springs leaving a zero balance on the merchandise card".

For anyone who receives a store credit, a representative for the Better Business Bureau says it's best to spend the credit as soon as possible to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation.