Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Recreational Equipment Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

Recreational Equipment Inc. has 56 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Recreational Equipment Inc.

  1700 45th St E Sumner, WA 98390

• 

  Recreational Equipment Inc.

  PO Box 1938 Sumner, WA 98390-0800

• 

  Recreational Equipment Inc.

  2235 NW Allie Ave Hillsboro, OR 97124-9078

• 

  Recreational Equipment Inc.

  735 NW Gilman Blvd Issaquah, WA 98027-8104

• 

  Recreational Equipment Inc.

  129 N Ely St Kennewick, WA 99336-2941

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a pair of shoes from the website that were marketed and sold as new. They arrived and are clearly used. They arrived in no original packaging and they show signs of outside wear including scuffs on the outside and pet hair and gross sock/foot residue.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/28/2025

  Hello,

  We are sorry to hear that you received a product that has been previously worn. It looks like you came into the Lakewood store and received a 30% discount and also received a $20 gift card when contacting our S&CS department. It is advised that you use the pre-paid return label that we sent you or to go into one of our stores for a full refund. 

  Apologies again for the inconvenience. 

  Sincerely,

  REI Store Operations

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/28/2025

   
  Complaint: 23253284
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is not a sufficient resolution. REI has demonstrated a lack of caring about customer experience that is beyond what is acceptable to me. I will never shop at REI again and will share this story with all my friends and family as well as on social media.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  When I bought the REI membership, its official website said "REI members get free machine wax for your skis or snowboard any time you need it". Please see the attached screenshot for this statement from their website. On Apr 19, I called the REI store in **********, ** to query about the waxing service availability for my snowboard and ski. The representative put me on hold and checked with someone, then confirmed with me that I could bring my gears together for waxing. Please see the screenshot of the record of calling the store on Apr 19. However, when I visited the store the next day with my gears, the store manager rejected to service my boards and said they were no longer doing waxing after late March. First of all, the official website promises free waxing service for members anytime. Secondly, I did call the store in advance to get confirmation about the service being available. Thus I feel this decline of service is a breach of membership agreements. I have contacted REI online twice to escalade this issue, but they never replied to me after promising to give me a solution within a few days every time.I would like to request REI to service my snowboard and ski as promised in the membership benefit in another store within 25 miles and reimburse the extra traffic cost, or reimburse the cost for me to get the service somewhere else outside REI. I will NOT accept any coupons alone as compensation.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  Hi there,

  We have contacted our Framingham REI store manager, and they will be calling Yongqian directly to discuss this situation.

  Please let us know if we can be of further assistance,

  REI Store Operations Support team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/29/2025

   
  Complaint: 23252844
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I don't want to talk to the store; I want REI to resolve this escalation from a higher level
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 05/02/2025

  The customer and the store came to a resolution. 

  REI Store Operations Support team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/04/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Thanks BBB for helping resolve the problem.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/22/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I recieved a gift card for $ 50 for Christmas this past year from my dying mother . I went to the store to use it for the first time and they went to scan it and it said zero balance . I contacted customer service at ********************** and they said their was zero balance the card I told them it has has never been used they refused to help or even track to see if the card may have not used they refused to help at all . The REI store that I went to the clerk said their was a batch of cards at Christmas that were faulty when I passed this info over to the customer service *** and told her what the clerk said all she could say is contact the person that gave it to you unfortunately, that person is dead . This was the last gift I got from my mother because she knew how much I loved that store and their products after dealing with horrible customer service I may never buy anything from this company again . To me it sounds like REI enjoys scamming people out of their money

  Business Response

  Date: 04/23/2025

  To whom it may concern;

  We are resolving this directly with the customer and sending a replacement ********************** gift card.

  Thank you,

  ~REI Customer Service

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/24/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/17/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My friend had an order cancelled by REI and still had some unused REI gift cards left. So he gave me these gift cards as a present. However, REI claimed that these gift cards were stolen and refused to return them to me. I tried to communicate with them but they didn't reply to my emails. I demand that they return my gift cards to me. I can provide my friend's account information and the details of the previous gift cards.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2025

  The customer was sent the following email on 3/23/2025 -
  
  Our department received a request to follow up regarding the gift card from original REI order # A335055716.The gift card was cancelled due to the reason below. When a gift card is used on an order that is cancelled, it is reissued on a new order, which in this case is order #Y126143169. Since the original gift card was compromised the re-issue has been frozen Our records indicate that this gift card was compromised or was reported to have unauthorized use and has therefore been rendered unusable.When purchasing gift cards, the safest way to purchase is through ************************, an REI store, or an authorized retailer. If you purchased these gift cards from a third party, we suggest reaching out to them for compensation.Please reference the terms and conditions for REI gift cards and member bonus cards here: ****************************************************. Please note that we may not respond to further inquiries on this issue.REI Transaction Verification For more information, visit ***************************************************** and search verify

  The customer needs to go back to his friend that he received the gift cards from, and they need to reach out the 3rd party seller the gift cards were purchased from for a refund.

  Due to the original gift cards being obtained without cardholder knowledge or used without the cardholder knowledge, the replacement gift card will not be re-issued to the customer

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/11/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered a paddleboard from REI. It appears to be lost in the mail. But they refuse to refund me the money.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/15/2025

  Delivery has been set up for 4/25/25. If there are further issues, please work with our Sales and **************** Team. 

  Thank you, 

  Support Representative

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/03/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear ***************************,Hello!I am a transgender mother. On March 9th this year, I purchased a coat priced at 260 US dollars for my partner on your company's website. They chose the **************************** (****) for delivery and stated that the goods were delivered on March 12th. However, I still haven't received this coat until now. During this process, I waited for a long time and had friendly communication with your company. Unfortunately, your company was irresponsible for this order and couldn't re-deliver the goods or give me a refund. Later, they even actively closed my after-sales conversation and I couldn't get in touch with them anymore. Please help me contact your company and make them responsible for this order. Thank you!

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  To whom it may concern, 

  Order A332917454 shows as delivered by our shipping partner and was sent to a third party freight forward company. 

  It is REI policy that when a customer uses a third party to ship their order outside of *****************, especially for brands that REI are not authorized to ship outside of ***************** like in this case, we do not refund or replace the order if it shows as delivered. The customer in this case has been informed of this by our customer service team.

  Thank you,

  ~REI Customer Service

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/03/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a long and loyal customer of **********************. I have helped my family and friends buy a lot of camping gear which has resulted in me spending a lot of money on my account.. As the return policy has changed, so I have changed my spending habits. I understand that that there has been a change in return policy so that excessive returns can result in a ban in returning items to REI. But I was given no notice that my last day to make returns would be in November 11, 2024. Given that over the years I was encouraged to make purchases and return those items if I did not like them. I am filing a compliant because I was encouraged by REI employees to try out the items are return. As well I was not given any notice that this policy was applied to my account. In fact once I had heard about this news, I had adjusted my spending habit to buy things that I knew I wanted. But I had a few things that I wanted to return because of what their employees had told me. I am hoping to be unbanned from this return policy or at the very least able to return the items I was encouraged to buy with the promise that I would be able to return them.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/23/2025

  To Whom it May Concern:
  
  We are writing in response to a complaint that was submitted on April 2nd,2025, by ****** ** and was assigned ID no. ********.
  
  While we very much appreciate ****** as a member of REI Co-op (REI), we unfortunately are required to enforce our Return Policy as ******* frequency of returns far exceeded what is typical of our members.  REI stands behind our products and seeks to ensure that our members and customers are satisfied,offering exchanges or refunds in most circumstances within one (1) year of the purchase for members and within 90 days of purchase for non-members. However, given such a generous and flexible policy, we must also ensure that every return or exchange is handled with fairness and protects the integrity of our membership and customers. 
  
  ********************** Co-op has over 28 million members that are able to make returns within one of year of purchase and often no questions asked.  However, of that 28 million, there is a very small percentage (less than 1%) that abuse the policy and return a significant amount of their purchases, often well over 50% of the value of their purchases, and often with items that cannot then be resold as new by REI. As a result, REI was required to update its Return Policy to prevent such abuse.  REI posted a notice of this change on October *******, and sent email communications directly to members impacted on October *******, letting them know that they would have until November 6, 2024 to make returns before future returns were prohibited.  Unfortunately, ****** was a recipient of such a notice in that the total value of their returns has equated to 71% of the value they have purchased in the past 5 years and 62% of these returns by value were unable to be resold as new.
  
  The change in their return status will remain in place.

  ~REI Customer Service

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/30/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have tried for over a month to try and get them to stop sending me emails. I have unsubribed on multiple different emails. I have contacted customer support and told it would be taken care of. It has been 2 plus weeks since then and I am still getting emails. Still illegally getting emails from them.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  REI's Marketing and Information Technology Team's has confirmed the customer's email address has been removed so they will no longer receive emails. 

  In Service, 

  REI Store Operations Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/23/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Order Number: A332282670 Order Date: March 10, 2025 Delivery Date: March 12, 2025 Total Amount Paid: $480.00 Items Ordered: 2 Arcteryx Incendo Airshell Hoody (Black, Mens Large)Tracking Number: ********************** Shipping Carrier: **** I placed an order on March 10, 2025, with REI Co-op for two identical items totaling $480. The package was delivered on March 12, 2025. However, upon opening the package immediately after delivery, I discovered that only one item was included instead of the two I had paid for. The package was not damaged in any way.I reached out to REI customer support, but they refused to provide a refund or replacement, stating that the package was shipped to a third-party facility and was therefore out of their control. Despite my efforts to explain that the package arrived intact but missing an item, REI declined to take responsibility, simply advising me to contact the recipient facility.I believe REI is still responsible for ensuring the correct items are shipped and received. The missing item represents half of my $480 payment, and I am seeking either a refund for the missing product or a replacement. This is a straightforward case of an incomplete order, and the company has not taken appropriate steps to resolve the issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/24/2025

  To whom it may concern,

  This customer was informed that unfortunately ********************** could not process their claim of a missing item in their order as the package was delivered to a third party 'freight forward' company. The shipper noted delivery without any damage to the package. REI is not able to assist them and they need to resolve the issue with the third party that received the package.

  Thank you,

  ~REI Customer Service

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/19/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear BBB Complaint Resolution Team,I am filing a formal complaint against Recreational Equipment, **** (REI) for unfair and deceptive business practices related to its return policy enforcement and unjust membership restriction.Background of Complaint I have been a loyal REI member since 2017 and have made numerous purchases under REIs return ********* Fall 2024, I attempted to return a defective product within the standard policy timeframe.I was informed that my account had been permanently restricted from returns without prior notice or justification.Upon contacting REI customer service and supervisors, I was told that they had no further information and were unsure whether their legal department was handling such issues.I sent a formal email to REIs legal and customer service team, but they disregarded my request and failed to provide any meaningful response.REI falsely claimed that I had been notified via email months prior, yet no such email was received.Request for Resolution I request that REI:Reinstate my membership and restore return privileges.Process the return or refund of the defective item that was unjustly denied.Provide a written explanation for the membership restriction.Despite multiple attempts to resolve this issue directly with REI, they have refused to provide any response or resolution. I appreciate the BBBs intervention in resolving this dispute fairly.Sincerely,Dr. **** ********* REI Member #: ******** ********** *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/21/2025

  Hello ****,
  While we very much appreciate you as a member of REI Co-op (REI), we unfortunately are required to enforce our Return Policy as your frequency of returns far exceeded what is typical of our members.  REI stands behind our products and seeks to ensure that our members and customers are satisfied, offering exchanges or refunds in most circumstances within one (1) year of the purchase for members and within 90 days of purchase for non-members.  However, given such a generous and flexible policy, we must also ensure that every return or exchange is handled with fairness and protects the integrity of our membership and customers. 
  
  ********************** Co-op has over 28 million members that are able to make returns within one of year of purchase and often no questions asked.  However, of that 28 million, there is a very small percentage (less than 1%) that abuse the policy and return a significant amount of their purchases, often well over 50% of the value of their purchases, and often with items that cannot then be resold as new by REI. As a result, REI was required to update its Return Policy to prevent such abuse.  REI posted a notice of this change on October 18, 2024, and sent email communications directly to members impacted on October 30, 2024, letting them know that they would have until November 6, 2024 to make returns before future returns were prohibited.  Unfortunately, you were a recipient of such a notice in that the total value of your returns has equated to 46% of the value you have purchased in the past 5 years and 47% of these returns by value were unable to be resold as new.
  
  With that in mind, the requests you make are declined and we will be taking no further action to adjust your REI Membership.