So-called 'prolific returner' of recalled Ikea drawers has human rights complaint against company dismissed

This is a Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 file photo of the IKEA sign at the IKEA furnishing store in Magdeburg, Germany. (Jens Meyer/AP)

Vancouver — An Ikea shopper who claims a request to return an item was denied based on skin colour has had his human rights complaint against the retail giant dismissed.

Jason Sienaert filed the complaint against Ikea about an incident that happened on April 23, 2019. Sienaert alleges that when someone named Alex – who he went to the store with – tried to return a recalled set of drawers, their request was denied.

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision, released Thursday, says Sienaert claimed an employee suggested he was related to Alex based on the colour of their skin and demanded he prove otherwise. He also says Ikea staff embarrassed him in front of other customers and called him a "prolific returner."

"He says the returns employee refused the return because she believed Alex was part of his family based on their skin colour, " tribunal member Jessica Derynck says in her decision on the complaint.

"He says the manager then became involved and said that Ikea has a policy to limit recall returns per household, and told Alex that her family had made too many returns and they could not accept any more, even though no one had established a family relationship between Alex and Mr. Sienaert."

According to Derynck's decision, Sienaert claimed he was "forcefully" asked for his identification to prove they weren't related.

Ikea, on the other hand, alleges Sienaert himself was trying to make the return that day. The company confirmed it has rules in place for how many recalled items a person can return without a receipt and alleges Sienaert far exceeded the limit of six.

In its supporting documents, Ikea submitted files that appear to show returns associated with Sienaert's address, though Derynck says it's unclear if he made all the returns himself.

Ikea claims 40 returns of recalled dressers were connected to Sienaert's address and Derynck says the files appear to show his name associated with 19 of them, which have a value of more than $3,200.

"Ikea says that based on Mr. Sienaert’s returns history, he was informed that Ikea would require proof of purchase to process the return since he had returned more than six recalled chests of drawers, " Derynck's decision says.

"It says the returns manager from the store had previously contacted Mr. Sienaert to advise him of this, either directly or in a detailed voice message."

Sienaert says he was never informed of the return policy.

In deciding to dismiss the complaint, Derynck says Sienaert was unable to prove "that his skin colour or family status were factors" in how he was treated at Ikea that day. Part of that decision was made based on apparent discrepancies between Sienaert's complaint, an email he sent Ikea and a response to his application to the human rights tribunal, Derynck says.

For example, in one of those documents, Sienaert reportedly suggests he didn't know Alex.

"Notably, in the email Mr. Sienaert wrote to Ikea on April 24, 2019 complaining about the interaction, he did not mention discrimination or skin colour at all, but complained about public embarrassment and disrespect," the decision says.

"In reaching my conclusion, I have also considered that Mr. Sienaert does not identify his skin colour in his complaint or his application response. He does not suggest that Ikea was employing race‐based stereotypes."

In 2016, Ikea issued a recall for dozens of its chests of drawers over concerns they could tip over if not properly secured to the wall, which could seriously harm or kill children.

As of late 2017, eight tip-over incidents had been reported in Canada with six injuries. In the United States, 299 tip-over incidents were reported by that date, resulting in eight deaths and 144 injuries to children between the ages of 19 months and 10 years old, according to Health Canada.

Those who had one of the drawer sets could either return it for a refund or get a free wall anchoring kit from the store.