Consumers and consumer rights groups are calling foul after discovering that many of the nation’s top retailers—with the help of Irvine-based firm The Retail Equation—keep a database of customer’s personal information and transaction history in order to suss out and reject fraudulent returns. Though TRE, described as a credit bureau for retail returns, has not (and will not) release its client list, they do claim to work with 11 of the nation’s top-50 retailers. Various outlets have constructed a partial listing, including: CVS, Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JC Penny, The Home Depot, Victoria’s Secret, Best Buy, and Nike.
