Best Buy just Ass Raped me....

Hi guys. Best Buy just nailed me hard on a TV return.

I already have called their hotline and got no help so I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Beauro. I dont want to type it all again so im going to copy my complaint over and you all can read it if you like. I will never deal with them again and I want others to know what they did to me. I paid in fucking cash and I deserve fucking cash back. But no, they want to jip me outta 50 bucks and then mail me a check which will take at least 2 weeks. Anyway heres the complaint. Think if I post it over at maxconsole it will make front page?



On 4-9-07 I purchased a HDTV from BestBuy. The TV was a model NS-27HTV and it was 415.99 before tax. This was a no box item and therefore they had a special running where if you bought the item you got a free gift card worth 80$.
I had a employee helping me with my choice and after some time I decided to make the purchase. I asked the man if I could return it for a full refund if I wasent happy with it (becuase it was unboxed) and he said I could get a full cash refund if I wanted to within the warrenty period. I then asked if I could use the $80 dollar gift card towards the TV and he said no. I said fine. He then offered me a warrenty for $50 that was 4 year coverage. I asked if I could use my gift card and he said yes. I then said can I get a refund on that to if I bring the TV back and he again told me yes, I was safe.
I then paid 450$ in cash and got the TV. He explained to me that I had $30 dollars left on the card (after I spent 50 of it on the warrenty) and he said if I bought something with the 30 and then tryed to return the TV that amount I wouldnt get back. I then bought a 20$ item and left roughly 10$ on the card.

Fast forward to 4-18-07 and I am taking back the TV set. Its not the quality I want and its no cutting it for me. I walk in with my receipt and full paperwork to the front desk. I explain my situation and ask for my full refund minus the 20$ I spent on the video game item.
They inform me that I cannon get any of my money back from the card because I used some of it. They said even if I only used a dollar off the 80 card, its then forfit and I dont get any back. I argue with them and the finally agree to give me the 8 dollars left on the card back, and then give me my 50 dollar warrenty money on another gift card which made me quite mad.
So at this time I have a 50 dollar gift card I dont want, then I have $367 in cash. I said fine I will take $367 and never shop here again.
They say I cant do that, because its more then $200 they have to send me a check some 2 weeks later. At this time im furious with them. I have to give back the TV and walk out with nothing but a gift card for 50$ and a promise to send me a $367 dollar check.
At this time I call the hotline for Best Buy which is 1-888-BESTBUY I speak to a person who says they are just following policy and they cant help me. I then come home and file my complaint.
Its not so much that im mad about their policy, its more that I was lied to by the employee and they didnt care and wouldnt help me. This is a outrage, I have the right to be able to trust what their people say to me. He told me I could get all my money back in cash and that I was safe. Now I have no TV and no money for 2 weeks (if it gets here in the 2 weeks) I please ask that you look into this and see if you cant make them change policy.
They cannot let their employees like to make a sale like they did to me. Here is some more info you may need.

Besy Buy keeps track of sales with customer Pin Numbers. Here is the number for the first sale.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and here is the PIN number after all this took place, on my new receipt.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I would be ever so grateful if you could help me. I dont have the sales persons name who helped me but I could pick him out if I saw him.
Thanks so much for you time and effort.
Michael Vannatter



:thumbsup:

 

5 to 1 says you have to call a second time because they don't send you the check within two weeks. By the way, I would remove your receipt PIN numbers from the end of your post.

 

thanks they have been removed. I am so pissed off at them. Its not even the policy thats getting me, its the fact they they dont give a shit what their people say.

If a salesman says this TV can make gold, and I come back saying it didnt work, they basically just say yeah.... he lied... have fun with that


There is no fucking way thats legal. As I stated I already filed a complaint. I asked for full refund in cash, at that store, by the manager. I also asked for a formal apology.

I hope things go my way.

 

You might be hurt by the fact that the return policies are pretty prominently displayed at the stores and usually printed on the receipt as well.

Printed word wins over "he said, she said."

ALWAYS get it in writing.

-hl718

 

I dont have a problem with the policy, I do have a problem with employee's lying to me though.

At worst I have to wait on a check and im out like 20 bucks (70 if you count the 50 on the damn card they gave me)

 

Damn man that sucks, I had a similar experience at a circuit city a few years back.. only they actually charged me a restock fee of about 20% on an unopened item I lost over $100 in less than a week just for neglecting to read their nazi return policy...

This kind of stuff is why I refuse to deal with major consumer electronics chains.

Just for fun check out my EB topic in general gaming...It's nowhere near this bad, but it's good to get your blood boiling.

 

Isn't that kinda offensive? I mean, I'm not Jewish, but it made me cringe in your bad taste.

On topic though, whatever the assistant said to you isn't a legally binding verbal contract.

Sure, you can get angry at them for claiming that you could get your money back (as I would too), but you need to check the fine print of a companies returns policy. I have to deal with this most weekends, as I work in a Gamestore and always have people demanding money back even when its in breach of our returns policy.

I agree with your sentiment, but as hl718 said, you need it in writing.

==Edit==

After re-reading your first post, I don't understand your maths.

• TV was $416 (rounding off for arguments sake) before tax
• You get a free $80 gift card with that, as TV is unboxed.
• TV with tax is $450 cash.
• You spend $50 of the gift card on the warranty.
• The guy then tells you if you spend more on the card, you cannot get any of it back
• You spend an additional $20

So now you are out cash by $450 and out on the card by $70.

You return the TV, and demand the gift card money back? Even though the guy told you it wouldn't work like that? And whats with getting $367 back in the cheque rather than the price of the TV?

 

Very sorry about the Jew comment. I was really ticked when I was typin that so I didnt reread it. I will edit that out thanks.


The math is kinda hard to explain. Bascially the TV was 416 without tax.

I gave the guy 450 in cash and got like 18 dollars of change

He then gave me my 80 dollar gift card for free.

I spent 50 of the 80 on the card for the warrenty

I then spent 20 more of the card on the wii chuk

That left me with 10 on the card.


I take the TV back to get my 432 (416 +tax) and they say that since I used some money on the card the 80 dollar card will be docked from my 432 I paid. So then im down to like roughly 360 as my refund.

so then I have 360 coming back and they offer to give me back my 50 dollars from the warrenty I bought. The only catch is they want to give it to me in the form of a card because they are retarded -_-

So I end up with 360 in cash and a 50 gift card.

Then I say fine that works, I want outta here. They then inform me they cant give me anything over 200 in cash back and it has to be mailed out in about 2 weeks

So I lose the TV and I walk out with a 50 doller card and the promise to mail me 360 dollars in the form of a check after 2 weeks or so.

You can see why im upset. Employees shouldnt be allowed to lie. My dad and brother were their and heard him to. Thats basically falsh advertising. I asked him to explain the warrenty and thats what he told me, I could get cash back and all that jazz.

Anyway enough on this topic for now, im going to sleep for a while.

~Mike


EDIT: also so you understand. The guy told me whatever I spent after the 50 on the warrenty would be docked from the refund if I returned it.

Meaning the 20 I spent on the Wii Chuck I wouldnt get back in my refund. So it should have been my 450 I paid for the TV minus the 20 for the wiichuck = 430 dollars rhoughly.

 

I hate them now. Thanks for the heads up to, I will be using Credit and Debit for anything but thrift shops and yards sales now -_-


Whats this world coming to... its a cold day in hell when I pay for something in greenbacks and have to wait on a fucking check to show up.


Im not questioning their policy, I can understand they are cunts and I can deal with that. However its not gonna fly to let their people say something to a cusomter to make a sale, then tell them its to bad when they question it.

Thats the basis of my complaint with the BBB. My brother and dad were right there with me helping me shop and heard the asshole say it so they know he did.

When I told the manager about the guy hes like do you know the name, and I said no and described him and offered to point him out and the guys like dont worry about it, my friend with me started yelling at him to fire his ass and the manager told my friend to calm down his langauge and he told him to go fuck himself and walked out lol.

At the very least im gonna make them take some hell over this. :thumbsup:


Thanks for the support though guys. I am holding off spending the 50 on the gift card they gave me in case the BBB sides with me and I have to give it back, but if it dosent work out that way what should I spend it on. Im thinking about buying a assload of the cheapest thing I can find and then returning them 2 min later lol :rambo:

 

Find a loss-leader (stuff they put on sale to lure people into the store and buy other things) or buy a standardized cost item (CD/DVD/game).

 

lol good ideas. Can you post up a link to the comsumerlist place for me?

I should email corperate but I dont know what the email address is. I tryed to find one at their website and couldnt locate it.

I want to spread the word around so other people will know how lame they are being, if I had 4k to buy and return stuff with I would lol, but I dont so that idea is kinda out the window.


EDIT: I emailed Ben@comsumerist.com as he is the editor. I linked him to this topic so I didnt have to retype all of it and hopefully he can help me out.

Is there anything more I can do to hit them? Thanks for the support!

 

I see your point of view, bad luck. I feel you should have checked the policy or got it written down as you acknowledge, but a lesson learned I guess. Make sure that you have the facts straight when you write the letter, get someone to read through to spot any inconsistencies (the customer service dept will spot them a mile off). Did the guy say a "full cash refund" or just a "full refund"? Get names and include those in the letter.

You're mad at the moment, understandable. Taking revenge will get you nothing though and the shop won't care. It will be a hollow and petty victory. You won't be sticking it to the company, that's for sure.

Send a complaint, but it's not entirely their fault. You did make a few boobs there yourself. Just bear that in mind. Better luck next time!

 

Agreed. The sales guys aren't paid enough to care about getting things right (I used to be one at Office Max). Most of them will flat-out lie just to get the sale (and keep their jobs). Better yet, get it in writing from the manager on duty.

 

regardless if they are going to lie about it then im going to fight them tooth and nail on it.

I took their survey thing and rated it very low, then I put down I had a problem and they had me explain it in 2000 characters or less. Then they asked for my personal info and said they would call me about the problem to discuss it.

I also informed them that both my brother and father were with me and heard the guy say it, and on top of that I filed with the BBB.

I hope they realize im not screwing around and offer to refund my money in cash. I mean what the hell, I dont have anything to lose. At worst I wasted some of my time and I get my 368 in the mail in the coming weeks.

At best they admit the problem and give me all my money in cash :thumbsup:

 

I wouldn't recommend doing the "return" thing repeatedly. They record that information and can either ban you from the stores (big deal at this point) or actually file a nuisance lawsuit against you.

 

im not returning anything. Im trying to go about it the legal way by bad mouthing the hell outta them on the internet and complaining to anyone that will listin lol.

 

I am posting a update to the situation. I used the website WWW.bestbuycares.com

and took their survey. Part of it asks if you have had a problem and I put I did. I then had to explain it in 2000 or less characters and give my number to be contacted.

I have done so and today the Manager called me. He is VERY sorry for the situation and argreed to refund all my money in cash in person at the store whenever I come in. He said hes sorry that the sales person lied to me and he will talk to him.

I am overly pleased with this result as it shows the manager cares.

Anyway the situation is now delt with and I hope anyone else who has a problem like this can get it resolved in the same manner.

Thanks for all the help!

 

? What are those?