Best Buy review: Fraudulent charges 84

Geek squad from best buy wanted to charge me 900.00+ dollars to fix a picture tube and driver board after just sitting on couch and looking at it called atv the man right away knew what was really wrong right away cost 340.00 for a small signal board, geek squad was completely wrong on problem this was on a 65" projection tv.

The Best Buy store in Olympia Washington charged a ten dollar re-stocking charge after first refusing to take back a still factory sealed Sandisk 4GB strorage device because it was after the 30 day return policy. After telling the clerk my computer operating system, she pulled the wrong item. The item was never opened and the original receipt was with the item.

I called their customer service toll free line, and told them what had happened, but the customer service clerk on the line would not refund the ten dollars the store charged me, even though it was their error.

I Have taken my computer in 6 times since May of 2008. They are suppose to give you the Lemon Law after 4. I have had 2 hard drives and 2 motherboards put in it. I live 120 miles away round trip. Each time I say I want a lemon law for it and they say that it is up to the service center whether they will lemon law it out. Why buy a extended warranty if they won't honor it.

I purchased a computer. The sales associate said system recovery discs do not come with the computer, and must be purchased by the manufacturer for $59, or best Buy can do it in the store for $39. We hade them do it in the store. When we got home we caw in the manual that recovery discs can be made for free. I complained to Best Buy, but they refused to refund my money.

I am extremely delayed in posting this complaint, however due to another extremely unfortunate experience with Best Buy, it compelled me to make a point in letting the public know how this company truly operates.

Let's start with today.

My husband and I own/operate a small company of about 15-20 people. Although we were at capacity, a woman came to us basically begging for a job, and we caved. We were out of computers, so we high-tailed it to Best Buy, the closest location selling computers. (Might I add if we weren't in such a hurry I would NOT have opted to shop here!)

So we found a full workstation for sale at $599. We get to the counter, check-out, and low and behold... they don't have the monitor in stock. Credit card already charged, (conveniently) and wham - no monitor. We also didn't notice at first, but they added a $59.99 service fee without advising us or getting our consent. They had to do a seperate credit to our card for this overcharge.

So they tell us the monitor will come in a shipment at 5:00pm that night. Meanwhile, it's a 20 minute drive from our home to make the trip back. Rather inconvenient for their error, I might say. Doing as told, we arrive at 5:15pm. Shocker... no monitor! I'm not going to lie, I embarassed my husband and demanded a replacement monitor, or they could pay for my gas and time to/from their store, plus a day's interest on my credit card for charging me without having the items available.

Finally a manager came over to replace it. Funny, but they wanted to do ANOTHER charge to my debit card - for the full amount. WARNING: This is classic Best Buy behavior. Both charges will hit your debit card, and it will take up to 5 days for those funds to reverse. So basically Best Buy/your debit card company sits on your cash interest free, while you lose access to your own money. I called them out on this, and magically the Manager found a way to rering it without having to charge my card again.

Now moving on to over X-Mas:

My husband's Uncle is an elderly man, with absolutely no computer savvy. We sent him $700 to buy himself a laptop for X-Mas, as after being out of work for 12 months, he finally had an opportunity to help operate a landscaping company. We figured the computer would help him stay organized.

He took our money and went into Best Buy, telling "Kevin", the Sales Rep, exactly what he was looking for. He indicated he wanted the smallest/cheapest laptop they had. (Now mind you that Best Buy was advertising Netbooks, etc. for $199 over Christmas.)

Kevin convinces Uncle that he needs a 'certain' laptop in order to operate the internet. (LIE!) He also tells him that he has to sign-up with the Geek Squad in order to use the internet, because ONLY Best Buy can get him an email address with Google. (Are you kidding me...?)

Some of this sounded so ridiculous, we told our Uncle to wait until we flew home to check things out.

When we got there, the computer wasn't even out of the plastic yet. The box had been taped shut by Best Buy with green tape.

I look at the receipt, and they've charged him $549 for the laptop, $129 for Geek Squad, and $79 for some anti-spy software that "Kevin" indicated our Uncle just HAD to have or the internet wouldn't work right. What a joke!

So I walked into that same Best Buy, and put the computer on the counter to return it. Afterall, it had never even been turned on. The "Manager" tells me we should look for an exchange, so we did. We were advised if we didn't find an exchange, there would be a 15% restocking fee. We were fine with that. However, if you haven't guessed... everything was out of stock. There was nothing equivalent or less expensive.

We went back up to the counter, and the Manager of the Geek Squad comes strolling up to the counter with a mouth full of food, telling us it will be at least 20 minutes while they inventory the computer. So we wait.

We're called back up to the counter to THEN be told we couldn't return it. Why? Because it was already opened. Ummm... yes it was opened. By the Geek Squad he was told he just HAD to have! (They also lied to him and told him all he had to do was turn it on and he'd have internet. Bull! A total and complete lie!) I indicated I was confused... Why did the Geek Squad have to spend 20 minutes 'scrubbing' the computer if they knew within the first 5 seconds it was already opened and we couldn't return it?

I then asked for a refund of the Geek Squad fee and this virus software - still in the case. This Geek Squad Manager, (now chomping gum in his mouth) told me he bought the software, and he couldn't return it. I couldn't even understand the guy and asked him to take his gum out so he could articulate properly. He told me, (and I quote) "I need to deal with it. He'd rather be chewing gum than have bad breath, and he never gets a chance to eat." Wow! This is my problem HOW?

So after being berated, they handed us back the computer box.

We walked towards the front door, and I stopped to ask the Security Guard if he could get me the Store Manager, not just some Geek Squad department Manager. Meanwhile, while walking to the door, the bottom of the box fell out, and the laptop goes crashing on the floor, plastic pieces going in all directions. Apparently the lovely Geek Squad didn't package the computer right, leaving out all the protective packaging. The computer lay in a pile on the floor.

As the Geek Squad counter witnesses this all, they send over a 18-20 year old black girl, complete with sagging pants, ghetto personality/vocabulary, and head bob. She tells me that SHE'S the Manager, albeit her shirt says Customer Service Associate, or something of the like. She tells me that we need to leave the store, the Manager is busy, and that there's nothing they will do for us. So we walked out with broken laptop in hand, worthless software, and over $100 in bogus Geek Squad fees.

Want to know the most interesting part? Not once did they ask whom the sales rep was to see if there was a sales/Management issue. Not once did they want an explanation of what occurred. And even better... as I walked out the door they were still trying to convince me that without paying for the software or the Geek Squad fees that our Uncle wouldn't have had access to a Google email account.

WORDS OF WISDOM:

- Always check your receipt!
- Don't get coerced into some bogus Geek Squad fees!
- SHOP ELSEWHERE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!

I noticed on a recent Best Buy Credit Card Statement that Bets Buy 'allowed' me to go over my credit limit by nearly $800.00 dollars. When I called and asked how this could be possible, the response was that Best Buy did not want me to be embarrassed at the point of sale.

I responded that Best Buy should be embarrassed by engaging in this type of practice: collecting more on late and interest fees. Nothing can be done. I am going to get caught-up and zero-out the balance.

It is no wonder why the nation is in such a crisis: a balance between undisciplined consumers and unscrupulous creditors.

11/12/08 the Geek Squad came out to fix my computer because I could not sign in or anything! So the 'tech' tells me that he had to completely strip it. The cost to me $299. I guess that's what he did because it seemed to work slightly for a few days but nothing like it did before. Then it reverted back to to not working.

I called GS back the first week of Nov.(supposedly had 30 day warranty). Naturally they sent out a different 'tech' who told me it would cost another $299 to fix. I told him to go. I then checked around and found another man that a friend recommended. He came and told me that GS should have told me on the first call that I should buy a new computer because it's so trashed. That I did for less than $500. I do not recommend the Geek Squad!

I can't wait to hear these people at Best Buys have gone out of business, This is the worst store I ever have been in, And I will never ever in my life go back to best buys for anything, I don't care if they are the cheapest in town, I would rather pay more than be treated like I am a fool, and I guess that is right I am a fool for shopping at Best Buys

Aug 6th, Best Buy charged me $42.39 for a virus protection subscription that was not authorized by me. I called them 6 days after posting to request a credit. They said they would issue a credit. 21 days later, credit wasn't issued. I called again and was told it would take TWO billing cycles before credit would be issued. I called again two weeks ago and was told to call back after October 11th when after second billing cycle was recorded. I called back on the 20th of October and was told the information was lost and they would resubmit. I think Best Buy is having financial problems. Had to dispute this with my credit card company. They found in my favor and will issue the credit against Bust Buy. Best Buy is must be having financial problems and this is their way of hanging on to extra cash. When I said this to the last BB service rep., she replied, "I am tired of people saying that to me!" Hmmmm, must be others having the same problem getting their unauthorized charges reversed and/or getting their accounts credited for returned merchandise. I am writing the Attorney Generals office about this.

think about it, you open the box and there is no dvd. in the eyes of the customoer service agent, you have a new dvd that you purchased, and now its gone? How do you think the company would do if everytime someone came up saying that there was no dvd in the box and you want a new one, they just keep giving you new ones. I dont doubt you as a citizen, but others. You may be a middle aged woman that would rip someone off, but someone else will, where do they draw the line?

So BestBuy sent it to HP and your pissed with Best Buy? Makes no sense, So it was 4 days outta warranty? guess you shoulda have got the extended warranty that best buy offers. Great Store Love the place

If you already purchased the computer they were dead wrong for not letting you check it out. If you didn't then they were right...witch was it?

I am sure they changed the price rightaway. It happend to me many times. They are really bad at online customer service.

When ordering online it is best to do it early especially during the busiest shopping and shipping time of the year. Did you check your spam folder for the e-mail? If not read they are usually auto- deleted after a certain amount of time, depending on your settings.

I purchased a pay as you go phone form Best buy and was asked if I wanted to purchase the 2 year insurance policy for this phone. I was told that it covered Accidental Damage and since this was for a 15 year boy I jumped on it. It was also placed in a brosure with the reciept stating the same thing. I am now told 3 months owning the phone that for pay as you go phones that accidental damage is not covered under this policy. Shame on Best buy once again ripping off the consumer I will never step in your store again I will also post this on fcace book for all my friends to see so maybe they wont either. Do you sleep well at night?

I guess he gets turned down a lot, but I bet he gets more than what he's turned down for.

Best buy is the worst buy ever fukin Jack ###

I purchased a desktop computer from Best Buy approx. one year ago. I agreed to pay the "optimization set up" fee, so they can clean the extra junk off the new hard disk, and install a good antivirus program, then get the internet and e-mail set up for me so I didn't have to do all of this work myself (which I am quite capable of doing, but was too busy at the time). When I got the computer back home, ALMOST NOTHING WORKED PROPERLY!
The Kaspersky Anti-Virus program was installed, BUT IT WAS NOT RUN TO COMPLETE THE INITIAL SETUP, so I had to do that myself. I went into the Windows startup area of the registry, and found that Best Buy didn't turn off ANY UTILITIES that I didn't need or want. They didn't run a virus check, a defragment, or a registry scan, install Window Live e-mail, NOTHING! Rather than waste time giving a brand new computer back to those lazy idiots, I did the initial setup and cleanup myself, and it took hours. JUST BUY THE COMPUTER FROM BEST BUY, DON'T BUY THEIR DAMN WORTHLESS SERVICES OR WARRANTIES!

At any Best Buy at any given time you will speak to incompetent, rude, careless, and/or lazy employees. They have low standards for hiring.

I had a bad experience, they told me 700 to get a new lcd screen for my laptop, I went home and found out I could get the screen for 149 dollars from toshiba . These people are out to get you. The geek that I talked to never even checked out the system just told me that was what I needed.
come on now.

www.cablewholesale.com. Those cables would be half as expensive as what Big Lots has them for.

I completely agree, this was fraud.

Best Buy doesn't stand behind their products they sell. Buy a warranty and that is a joke! Bottom line DO NOT BUY FROM BEST BUY! THEY SELL DEFECTED PRODUCTS! I have a $4500 Sony TV that is defected and Best Buy, Sony and the warranty I bought means nothing. BEST BUY could care less!

Best Buy doesn't stand behind their warranty plans. I have a 60" Sony projection TV that has went out 5 times. The warranty plan was over $400 and will be out this april. The TV was $4500 and will not last a yr! Best Buy, Sony & the warranty doesn't stand behind their products!
Bottom line!

Get all the money you can out of him, your wife may really want to get the money deep down but believes that being loyal is more important. Maybe it is, but get all the money possible, he's rich!

@fazez

You are absolutely incorrect. I worked with a handicapped associate. She uses a wheelchair and is a customer assistant within the home essentials department. The aisles are wide enough, the facilities are accommodating, and any of the jobs that best buy offers (with the exception of warehouse [required to lift 50+ pounds]) can be applied for by handicapped individuals.

@Felix

Why did it take you over 30 days to figure out that sandisk device didn't work with your operating system?

Common scenario: you would have went right home, plugged it in, and then figured it out.

And HOW does sandisk not work with your operating system?

Sandisk supports Mac (current all the way back to 8.6) and PC (current all the way back to 95 INCLUDING ME). They also have support for Linux kernels within their knowledge base and forum.

Bottom line is it is OUT of return policy. Both customer service agents were obviously correct to charge a restocking fee since you are making BS excuses for why you want to return it out of policy.

Unfortunately Best Buy is not the best buy at all! recently i went to their store in need of a USB printer cable... it was well overpriced! $29.99 for a such 6 ft cable, then i checked the walmart site and wound up purchasing a 10 ft USB printer cable for $9.99, later i found a 6 ft USB printer cable at Big Lots for only $5.99...

in making a research found out that stores like Radio Shack and Best Buy sells other audio and video cables for 300% more than other most popular places...!

Beware Costa Mase and Orange... something SEXAL is goin' on.

Best Buy is big on promotion and advertising, but low on actual talented employees.

@ iwishangel

Wait so you didn't pay your bill on time and you're complaining that when they took appropriate actions to collect the money that you owe them it was a bad time for you to talk to them?

Sounds absolutely rediculous!?

If it's only sexal harrasment I would not worry. I'd be pissed if it was sexual harrasment though.

I dont even believe this claim

contact police. this isnt something to come on here and talk about.

It is YOU that lies, Jin Ming Fong! Have you forgotten your time in Bangkok? Have you?!

your a liar... Bet Buy does not do that to people who buy there PSP. You probably just did not listen to them and may just need to call back to get clarification. Call a Best Buy you idiot

If you tv is still covered under warranty i can't believe that best buy just would not do anything.

I have dealt with customers that have very old tv's that are just not worth fixing. I remember a few customers just trading in their (broken but still under warranty ) tv for a new one.

@ Kevin Englert

It sounds like there is some confusion and misinterpretation of the products and services that best buy offers.

Firstly most of the computers that Best buy sells have 3 different prices. A package price ( monitor + tower + printer), Desktop Price (Just the tower), and monitor price (Just the monitor). There is some variance in different type of packages (ie: whether a printer is included or not) but for the most case those are the standard products. And those prices are updated weekly and are readily available in the weekly ad located at stores, online, and the paper.

Secondly when the salesman approached you he/she is trained to ask lifestyle questions about what you want to use your computer for. 75% of people would fall under a category of "internet usage, office work (writing papers, spreadsheets, presentations), and media (music, movies)". This sounds like it would suite you from your remark about email and the media player. This sounds like where the confusion takes place: The salesman is correct about the Microsoft Office package, they don't come on computers by default anymore, you might have thought that he meant that media player and email were part of that package. [Here's the gray area]. The media player comes default on all Microsoft Windows Operating systems, so does a basic email program referred to on xp as outlook express and referred to on vista as windows mail. Your definition of email is different than his. You might access email through an internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox where it is free through your Internet Service Provider.

Lastly for the geeksquad service issue, if the problem was strictly with the CD drive either not playing cd's or not reading / writing discs in general or if it doesn't appear in "My Computer" all the service can be done in store typically under the MFG warranty depending on what the actual issue is. But since the agent wanted to send the computer to the service center I suspect a bigger issue would have been at hand.
***Now standard procedure for sending a computer off to the service center dictates that an agent must inform the customer about their data, offer a data backup, and make them aware that Geeksquad does NOT verify data integrity. When he said "they almost always replace the harddrive" he was referring to a new clause within BB's SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) which states that once a harddrive was deemed faulty and the service center replaces it, that service center takes ownership of that faulty harddrive and turns it in for reimbursement with either the manufacturer or a 3rd party insurance company and that in NO way can a harddrive be requested to be sent back to the store in ANY event. So he was just trying to prevent an issue where you decline the data backup, then your harddrive gets replaced, and you lose all your files.

***Bottom Line*** --> Products have manufacturer's warranties for this specific reason. It's a shame that your product stopped working within such a short time and that the agent was rude to you about signing the data backup / integrity form. But Best Buy did everything 'by the book'. I would have suggested talking directly to the DCI of that local precinct's Geeksquad about the agent that was rude.

I went into best buy to purchase a home computer on 5-18-09. I found the computer I was interested in, and when the salesman came over to help me, and informed me of the price. I asked him about the price of the monitors, and he told me they were $139.00. I told him that I really needed a new monitor too, but couldnt afford one at this time, and that I could barely afford the computer. He then proceeds to tell me that if I purchase this computer, I need to have some Microsoft office product for it work, and that costs $150.00. I asked him if I dont buy this extra product will I have access to email or media player, and he tells me that I would not, because microsoft doesnt download any of that on there computers anymore, and you need this product to be able to do anything. I live on a fixed income, so I couldnt afford the extra $150.00, so I did not buy the computer and left the store. Later that same day, coworkers of mine informed me that I did NOT need this extra product to have access to those things, so I went back to the store and bought the computer. My coworkers were right, I did not need that extra $150.00 product, I have had access to those things without it. The sales person was just trying to get me to purchase things I did not need. Three weeks later the computer stops working... I call Best Buy, and tell them about it, and that I have a receipt, and they refuse to help me. They tell me it is over 14 days and there is nothing that they can do, and then they tell me it is under manufactures warrenty, and I can take it to Geek Squad and they can send it away to fix it. I go into the store, and while I am there I find out there was a promotion running when I bought my computer that I could have also gotten the monitor for an additional $26.00, and no one told me, not even after I asked about the monitor prices and said I couldnt afford the extra $139.00. Then Geek Squad tells me that they can send my computer away, and it will take about a month for me to get it back. The guy also tells me that they will probably replace my hard drive, and I will lose everything on my computer. I told him the problem was with the DVD/CD Writer and not with the hard drive, so why would they replace it, and he said they almost always do.. He wanted me to sign some part of the form saying I refused hard drive back up, and when I asked him what it meant that I refused hard drive back up, he said, "Just sign the form". I was so upset about not having a computer for a month, and the way I was treated, that I told him to just give me my computer back. I then called corporate customer service, and they treated me just as rudely. They basically said, there is nothing we can do to help you. It is over 14 days, and you need to just send it away to get fixed. It was three weeks, not three months since I bought this computer, and the service was HORRIBLE. I will never buy another piece of merchandise from this company. My family also said they are going to stop shopping at Best Buy too after this, because they have had some problems in the past..

### that, get that ###in money! quit holding her back!