(no subject)
Posted on behalf of
drackenstein:
((
Best Buy had an Insignia (in house brand) 42" 1080p for only $996, $1080.49 after tax. Sounds like a lot but anybody who knows HDTV's knows that that is an incredible value.
So I bought the set, popped into the backseat of my brother in laws car and drove home. After unpacking it and plugging it in my heart nearly stopped; the screen was totally blue and there were horizontal and vertical white lines running through and the tell tale mark of a broken LCD, a big blue blotch near the center of the screen. Yes the screen was busted. I calmed myself since I figured it was covered under Best Buys return policy. 14-30 days exchange, money back or store credit. The policy was the deciding factor in my purchase since the sales guy assured me that a lot of people buy TV sets that aren't up on display so that they can check them out at home and if they don't like them BB refunds there money.
This last part is a total lie as you're about to see. We drove back to Best Buy hauled the heavy set back over to the main entrance, were told to go directly to geek squad and then go to customer service (I figured this was a triage type situation where they would determine the problem then give me my exchange, I was very wrong). I spoke to a very nice Geek Squad guy who seemed sympathetic but told me that he didn't have the authority to exchange such a high ticket item and that I'd have to speak to the manager. I sensed trouble when I looked over and saw the manager giving another customer a very nasty attitude about an iPod he was trying to return. The manager was saying "that's not true, we can't know that, we have no proof of that". After walking away from the other unsatisfied customer he walked over to me still oozing with attitude, the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk (I didn't get his name) explained the situation then Al, the manager turned to me asked what the problem was and before I even finished explaining he started shaking his head saying "can't do anything". He then proceeded to explain to me that it was my fault for not having opted to have the set delivered and that Best Buy was not liable for any damages incurred once the item leaves the store.
I gotta admit I lost my cool at this point and both Larry my brother in law and I asked why no one had told us of this bullshit policy and the manager responded that it was "common sense" and that they shouldn't have to tell consumers about it. He then proceeded to interrogate me about how I had "shipped" the item. This line of questioning made no sense to me because I had already told him that I had taken it home in my brother in laws car. He unrelentingly repeated the same question over and over again "how did you ship it, how did you ship it, how did you ship it?" talking over me as I tried to answer him. This was obvious harassment. Then he stared me down like he wanted to punch me at which point I told him to give me his name in writing and the corporate number so I could file a complaint. He continued harassing me by telling me that it was MY fault and that there was no way that the item had left the store broken. I less than politely told him to stop speaking to me and to write down the information I needed because I was done dealing with him.
This is the information he gave me:
Al
Manager
Store 483
888 - BestBuy
He didn't give me a last name and didn't give me a direct number to Best Buys corporate headquarters. At this point Larry my brother in law got involved and asked Al the manager to define what he meant by "physical damage" (Al kept using this phrase to explain his refusal to help). He explained that "physical damage" was any damage that was apparently caused by trauma to the item such as is caused by dropping or mishandling. Larry told him that there were no external signs of trauma to the TV and that the screen itself didn't look broken. Al seemed taken aback by this and said "well, we already took a look at it and.." Larry and I interrupted saying that no, no one had taken a look at the TV at all. So Al the manager called over the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk and asked if he had opened the box to which the Geek Squad clerk said no, he hadn't.
Pissed as he was Al the manager proceeded to unpack the TV, took it off to the side had a long argument with the Geek Squad clerk and after a while turned the TV on. Turned it off almost immediately and brought it back to me and Larry. He silently and sullenly packed the TV back up and then calmly this time, explained that the screen was broken and that he still couldn't do anything for me. I asked him if he actually expected me to except that I had just lost $1080 because they had sold me a broken TV and he said, with a sense of great satisfaction "yes" then walked away from me.
When he was gone the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk came back over and told me to come back when Al the manager wasn't there. He said that Al was a "Dick" (I'm not paraphrasing here) and that "he was even giving me an attitude when I was plugging in the TV. It's my last day and he's giving me an attitude." he added "the same exact thing happened yesterday with a $3,900 Samsung and Al told the guy no. He says no to any return. He always says no." He told me I might have better luck if I called the head manager and wrote down his name and the store number.
The info. he gave me is:
Mike Louiso
718-393-2690
He also suggested that Larry and I take the broken TV with us because if we left it there it "will disappear. I know because it happens all the time."
At this point I've called the number Al the manager provided me and was greeted with the same response Al gave me; no help at all and the implication that I had broken the set myself. I asked to speak to a supervisor, was transferred over to Annie who was much more polite but insisted that they couldn't help me. She gave me the number to the manufacturer but suggested that calling them would do no good since Insignia (the brand of HDTV) is owned by Best Buy and that she had "never heard of one situation in her entire career where they have replaced a broken TV set". She told me to give it a try but that it wouldn't help. Thanks for the vote of confidence Annie!
I asked her to work with me, to give me some options and she suggested that I might receive help from their 'at home repair service' but that in all likelihood they wouldn't help and that, essentially, I was better off just giving up. She did offer a %10 discount on repairs if they could help or if I wanted to buy a replacement TV she would be kind enough to extend the same percentage off on a new set. So let me get this straight Annie, you actually expected me to be placated by a %10 off discount on a new set from the same company that just jipped me out of my hard earned cash! I just can't believe these people!
Ok, so despite her insistence that it would do me no good I asked to be transferred to the 'At home repair department'. They scheduled an appointment for this coming Wednesday (I'll have to miss a day of work) and I was told that if the technician determines that the TV was in fact broken in the box ( I don't know what determining factors he'll use) that he'll issue a replacement at no extra charge to me. Finally a glimmer of hope.
So now I have to wait until Wednesday with bated breath and hope that this technician is good enough to understand that I'm not scamming anyone and that I AM in fact the victim in all of this... or at the very least just give me a replacement without too much trouble.
I'm also calling my bank and disputing the charge. Don't know how far that will take me though since I have to wait until the charge posts to my account before they can proceed with a dispute claim.
So there you have it; a waiting game with my $1080 at stake and all because I trusted Best Buy to provide me with what I'd expect from any other store; a working product, devoid of any damage.
I've done some research online and have found other such horror stories involving Best Buy. If you want to help me out, please:
-Digg this http://digg.com/business_finance/Best_Buy_refuses_to_exchange_or_refund_defective_HDTV
-Call Best Buy and complain about their return policy
-Tell your friends and family about this horrible experience
-Avoid Best Buy so that the same doesn't happen to you
-Blog about this
-Post a link to this entry
-Email anybody you think should know or can help in this matter.
-Publicize this as much as you can and in general spread the word.
Please don't let Best Buy get away with ripping off the public
))
drackenstein:
((
Best Buy had an Insignia (in house brand) 42" 1080p for only $996, $1080.49 after tax. Sounds like a lot but anybody who knows HDTV's knows that that is an incredible value.
So I bought the set, popped into the backseat of my brother in laws car and drove home. After unpacking it and plugging it in my heart nearly stopped; the screen was totally blue and there were horizontal and vertical white lines running through and the tell tale mark of a broken LCD, a big blue blotch near the center of the screen. Yes the screen was busted. I calmed myself since I figured it was covered under Best Buys return policy. 14-30 days exchange, money back or store credit. The policy was the deciding factor in my purchase since the sales guy assured me that a lot of people buy TV sets that aren't up on display so that they can check them out at home and if they don't like them BB refunds there money.
This last part is a total lie as you're about to see. We drove back to Best Buy hauled the heavy set back over to the main entrance, were told to go directly to geek squad and then go to customer service (I figured this was a triage type situation where they would determine the problem then give me my exchange, I was very wrong). I spoke to a very nice Geek Squad guy who seemed sympathetic but told me that he didn't have the authority to exchange such a high ticket item and that I'd have to speak to the manager. I sensed trouble when I looked over and saw the manager giving another customer a very nasty attitude about an iPod he was trying to return. The manager was saying "that's not true, we can't know that, we have no proof of that". After walking away from the other unsatisfied customer he walked over to me still oozing with attitude, the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk (I didn't get his name) explained the situation then Al, the manager turned to me asked what the problem was and before I even finished explaining he started shaking his head saying "can't do anything". He then proceeded to explain to me that it was my fault for not having opted to have the set delivered and that Best Buy was not liable for any damages incurred once the item leaves the store.
I gotta admit I lost my cool at this point and both Larry my brother in law and I asked why no one had told us of this bullshit policy and the manager responded that it was "common sense" and that they shouldn't have to tell consumers about it. He then proceeded to interrogate me about how I had "shipped" the item. This line of questioning made no sense to me because I had already told him that I had taken it home in my brother in laws car. He unrelentingly repeated the same question over and over again "how did you ship it, how did you ship it, how did you ship it?" talking over me as I tried to answer him. This was obvious harassment. Then he stared me down like he wanted to punch me at which point I told him to give me his name in writing and the corporate number so I could file a complaint. He continued harassing me by telling me that it was MY fault and that there was no way that the item had left the store broken. I less than politely told him to stop speaking to me and to write down the information I needed because I was done dealing with him.
This is the information he gave me:
Al
Manager
Store 483
888 - BestBuy
He didn't give me a last name and didn't give me a direct number to Best Buys corporate headquarters. At this point Larry my brother in law got involved and asked Al the manager to define what he meant by "physical damage" (Al kept using this phrase to explain his refusal to help). He explained that "physical damage" was any damage that was apparently caused by trauma to the item such as is caused by dropping or mishandling. Larry told him that there were no external signs of trauma to the TV and that the screen itself didn't look broken. Al seemed taken aback by this and said "well, we already took a look at it and.." Larry and I interrupted saying that no, no one had taken a look at the TV at all. So Al the manager called over the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk and asked if he had opened the box to which the Geek Squad clerk said no, he hadn't.
Pissed as he was Al the manager proceeded to unpack the TV, took it off to the side had a long argument with the Geek Squad clerk and after a while turned the TV on. Turned it off almost immediately and brought it back to me and Larry. He silently and sullenly packed the TV back up and then calmly this time, explained that the screen was broken and that he still couldn't do anything for me. I asked him if he actually expected me to except that I had just lost $1080 because they had sold me a broken TV and he said, with a sense of great satisfaction "yes" then walked away from me.
When he was gone the sympathetic Geek Squad clerk came back over and told me to come back when Al the manager wasn't there. He said that Al was a "Dick" (I'm not paraphrasing here) and that "he was even giving me an attitude when I was plugging in the TV. It's my last day and he's giving me an attitude." he added "the same exact thing happened yesterday with a $3,900 Samsung and Al told the guy no. He says no to any return. He always says no." He told me I might have better luck if I called the head manager and wrote down his name and the store number.
The info. he gave me is:
Mike Louiso
718-393-2690
He also suggested that Larry and I take the broken TV with us because if we left it there it "will disappear. I know because it happens all the time."
At this point I've called the number Al the manager provided me and was greeted with the same response Al gave me; no help at all and the implication that I had broken the set myself. I asked to speak to a supervisor, was transferred over to Annie who was much more polite but insisted that they couldn't help me. She gave me the number to the manufacturer but suggested that calling them would do no good since Insignia (the brand of HDTV) is owned by Best Buy and that she had "never heard of one situation in her entire career where they have replaced a broken TV set". She told me to give it a try but that it wouldn't help. Thanks for the vote of confidence Annie!
I asked her to work with me, to give me some options and she suggested that I might receive help from their 'at home repair service' but that in all likelihood they wouldn't help and that, essentially, I was better off just giving up. She did offer a %10 discount on repairs if they could help or if I wanted to buy a replacement TV she would be kind enough to extend the same percentage off on a new set. So let me get this straight Annie, you actually expected me to be placated by a %10 off discount on a new set from the same company that just jipped me out of my hard earned cash! I just can't believe these people!
Ok, so despite her insistence that it would do me no good I asked to be transferred to the 'At home repair department'. They scheduled an appointment for this coming Wednesday (I'll have to miss a day of work) and I was told that if the technician determines that the TV was in fact broken in the box ( I don't know what determining factors he'll use) that he'll issue a replacement at no extra charge to me. Finally a glimmer of hope.
So now I have to wait until Wednesday with bated breath and hope that this technician is good enough to understand that I'm not scamming anyone and that I AM in fact the victim in all of this... or at the very least just give me a replacement without too much trouble.
I'm also calling my bank and disputing the charge. Don't know how far that will take me though since I have to wait until the charge posts to my account before they can proceed with a dispute claim.
So there you have it; a waiting game with my $1080 at stake and all because I trusted Best Buy to provide me with what I'd expect from any other store; a working product, devoid of any damage.
I've done some research online and have found other such horror stories involving Best Buy. If you want to help me out, please:
-Digg this http://digg.com/business_finance/Best_Buy_refuses_to_exchange_or_refund_defective_HDTV
-Call Best Buy and complain about their return policy
-Tell your friends and family about this horrible experience
-Avoid Best Buy so that the same doesn't happen to you
-Blog about this
-Post a link to this entry
-Email anybody you think should know or can help in this matter.
-Publicize this as much as you can and in general spread the word.
Please don't let Best Buy get away with ripping off the public
))