Was your return denied?
Was your transaction warned or denied?
Seeking information? Check out our FAQs
Have questions about a return that a retailer denied?
Follow these three steps to learn more.
Step 1
Request your transaction info
Online
Phone
Email
You may request a copy of your Retail Activity Report (RAR) from our online portal. Please be prepared to provide your Transaction ID (this is the ID located on the receipt that was provided when your transaction was warned or denied).
Request a copy of your RAR
Call us at the phone number on your receipt – please be prepared to provide your transaction ID, ID number, full name, address and phone number.
Email us at consumerinquiry@theretailequation.com.
Step 2
Get your report
We’ll send you a copy of your Retail Activity Report (RAR) via email. Meanwhile, please review these FAQs about data that is collected and used.
Step 3
Review your transactions
Retailers may accept, warn, or deny a transaction based on violations of their policies or potential fraud and abuse patterns in transaction behavior. We recommend reviewing the return policy at each retailer you shop with for further information.
If you find anything on your Retail Activity Report that doesn’t look right, please email us directly about your concern. Any requests sent to us will be passed to the relevant retailer for review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Relationship with Retailers
Transaction Authorizations
Transaction Fraud and Abuse
What is The Retail Equation?
The Retail Equation (TRE) is a software and analytics company headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. TRE is a service provider that helps retail companies detect and prevent potentially fraudulent Transactions and reduce policy abuse.
Will TRE’s Transaction authorization recommendations affect my credit score?
No. TRE provides return-recommendations and related services to its retailer customers. It does not provide information related to consumer creditworthiness. TRE does not share consumer data with consumer reporting agencies or third parties for credit related decisions (such as creditors, employers, insurers, landlords, or government agencies).
Does TRE share consumer data among retailers?
TRE does not share one retailer’s specific transaction information with other retailers. However, when making a recommendation about how a retailer should handle a particular return, certain retailers may ask TRE to leverage insights drawn from aggregated transaction data from other retailers to enhance the retailer’s fraud detection and prevention capabilities.
Do I have a right to make a return?
Please see the applicable retailer’s return, exchange, post-sale adjustment, or reshipment (hereinafter, “Transaction”) policies for information on when and how you are able to make a Transaction request at that retailer.
What do I do if I believe my RAR contains incorrect information?
The information contained in your RAR is provided to TRE by the retailer. You should contact the relevant retailer if you believe your RAR contains incorrect information.
How can I find out if TRE has information on me?
TRE collects and processes information for its customers, including retailers. These retailers have entered into a contract with TRE to license TRE’s fraud detection and prevention software. In this role, TRE acts as a "service provider" or "processor." A retailer might use the software for itself and its affiliated store brands. To find out what information they have about you, please contact the relevant retailer directly. TRE provides a method for you to request a copy of your Retail Activity Report (RAR) for a retailer. A RAR shows the linked history associated with a Transaction request that was considered by TRE in making its authorization recommendation to the retailer. You can request your RAR at www.TheRetailEquation.com.
What factors does TRE’s Transaction Authorization software consider when making its authorization recommendation to the retailer?
This varies from one retailer to the next, based on the retailer’s return policies and risk tolerance. The factors that TRE may consider for a given retailer include:
- The frequency of the Transaction type
- Transaction value
- Whether the consumer has a receipt for the Transaction request
- Purchase history
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Nationality
- Physical characteristics
- Marital status
Why would TRE recommend that a Transaction be warned or denied?
About 1% of the time, TRE will recommend to a retailer that a consumer be given a warning or that the Transaction request be denied. Generally, this is for one of two reasons:
- The Transaction request breaks that retailer’s policies. For example, the Transaction request may be outside of the permitted return period, the item may be categorized as a non-returnable item, the Transaction request may be non-receipted, or the consumer may have exceeded the number of Transaction requests the retailer allows within a specified time; or
- The Linked History associated with the Transaction request indicates potential fraud or abuse.
What is the difference between a warning and a denial in response to a transaction request?
A warning message is intended to inform you that future Transaction requests may be denied. A denial means your current Transaction is not accepted. When you are denied, future Transactions may be denied for a period of time.
What is TRE Transaction Authorization? How does it work?
TRE’s Transaction Authorization is software designed to help retailers detect and deter fraud and enforce return and claim policies. The software examines links in-store and online transaction information (including purchases, returns, exchanges, post-sale adjustments and reshipments) received from its retailer customers and links these transactions with an ID number —such as a form of payment or government-issued ID ( “Linked History ”), and then evaluates the Linked History of a transaction request for indicators of fraud or policy abuse. When you submit a Transaction request with a retailer, the request is sent to TRE’s Transaction Authorization software and the system analyzes the Linked History associated with the Transaction request for indicators of fraud or policy violations. Based on the consumer’s Linked History and the retailer’s specified risk tolerance, the software will provide the retailer a real-time recommendation to approve, warn, or deny the Transaction request.
How does TRE’s Transaction Authorization software help consumers?
TRE’s Transaction Authorization software benefits consumers because it enables consistent and objective enforcement of a retailer’s policies. TRE helps retailers save money and reduce waste, and those savings can be passed on to consumers. If a retailer is able to detect and deter fraud on an individual Transaction request level, the retailer is able to maintain more flexible policies and procedures for the general customer base.
Is receipted fraud a big problem?
Yes. It is estimated that more than half of fraudulent Transactions involve some sort of counterfeit, “found,” or re-used receipts.
How is fraud and abuse hurting the economy?
Return fraud, for example, harms consumers and workers — not just retail companies. The US retail industry lost $103 billion to fraudulent and abusive returns and claims in 2024. Retailers must increase their prices or reduce staff to cover those losses. More return fraud specifics are available in the 2024 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry report co-authored with Deloitte.
What is Transaction fraud? What is Transaction abuse?
Transaction fraud generally involves stealing or forgery. For example, a person might return stolen merchandise to make money, steal or falsify receipts to enable excessive returns, exchanges, post-sale adjustments, and reshipments, or use merchandise returns to convert bad checks to cash.
Transaction abuse involves purchasing merchandise without intending to keep it. An example is buying clothes, wearing them for photos, and then returning them.
For these FAQs, “retailer” means the retail companies that have entered into a contract with The Retail Equation (TRE) to license its software to authorize returns, exchanges, post-sale adjustments, or re-shipment transactions (collectively, “Transactions”). In other words, a retailer is a TRE customer. A retailer may choose to use TRE’s Transaction Authorization software on behalf of itself and on behalf of the other store brands affiliated with the retailer.