Kmart apologizes for ‘inadvertent' layaway cancellations, errors

PITTSBURGH — It’s the nightmare before Christmas for some Kmart shoppers who’ve been sent notices that their online layaway orders have been canceled, and the items they ordered are out of stock.

Kmart issued an apology Thursday, calling some of the cancellations “inadvertent.”

The company said it has processed refunds and customers will receive those refunds soon, if not already.

Company leaders also said they’re working to contact affected customers, identify the out-of-stock items, and use supply channels to try and fulfill undelivered items for free.

If the items cannot be found, officials said, an e-gift card will be issued to be used toward the purchase of items in an amount equal to the items canceled.

Many people from the Pittsburgh area said their layaways had been canceled because of this issue. Many people came to the WPXI-TV Pittsburgh Facebook Page to talk about the problem.

"Ours was on the 3rd and I'm STILL waiting for a refund. No manager will speak to me. Order was placed online. Never received a cancellation email or anything. I went online to make next payment and it was cancelled," said Jen Monaco.

Andrea Schuster said, "Mine was cancelled. Talked to a lady this morning and will be refunded for the cancelled items in 7-10 days and they said I will be receiving an egift card within 24-48 hours also."

The issue is specific to online layaway contracts for ship-to-home, and does not impact in-store layaways.