How the Process Works
The Retail Equation’s Verify Return Authorization can be configured in several ways, depending on the retailer’s requirements. In most cases, when a consumer wants to make a return, a retailer will scan the original purchase receipt and will also swipe or scan the individual’s driver’s license or government-issued ID card. (This is actually a common process; in fact, according to the National Retail Federation's 2011 return survey, 62% of retailers require an ID to perform a merchandise return without a receipt.)
ID collection is performed in order to make an accurate identification of the person and his/her unique return behavior. As you return merchandise, the system compares variables such as your return frequency, dollar amounts, and/or time against a set of prescribed rules that form that particular retailer’s return policy.
Verify Return Authorization enables retailers to rely on objective, verifiable data to determine whether a return is valid rather than relying on subjective observations and guesswork by sales clerks. This objectivity ensures that only those with highly suspect return-and-exchange behavior are affected. The vast majority — approximately 99% — of returns are accepted.
