Best Buy Scam - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

leathermang · #1 05-08-2003, 06:39 PM

Someone has " don't shop at Best Buy" in their signature.. so this caught my eye...

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/05/08/microsoft.bestbuy.reut/index.html

rickg · #2 05-08-2003, 06:49 PM

Gads! All the more reason I do all my purchases in cash anymore.(Yes, I mean the green stuff) How the hell can a buisnesses justify things like that?

Ken300D · #3 05-08-2003, 06:49 PM

That's why you're better off not to use a debit card anywhere except your own bank's ATM. Maybe other banks' ATMs in a pinch.

Your rights to dispute a fraudulent credit card charge are much higher than with a debit card.

I thought this was going to be a rebate scam. Hate those too.

Ken300D

Rick Miley · #4 05-09-2003, 09:36 AM

Speaking of Best Buy, I can't stand that place. A few years ago I bought a camcorder there for my partner for Christmas. He didn't want it, so I took it back for a refund, shortly after Christmas. After waiting 1/2 hour in line, I found out that there was a 20% restocking fee. So even though the camcorder was new, with all the parts still in the original box, and it was Christmas, they charged me $80 to return the darn thing. That's the last of my money that Best Buy has seen. Circuit City doesn't pull such shenanigans. I also make sure to tell this story every time somebody mentions Best Buy, so I'm certain that they've lost thousands because of that $80.

leathermang · #5 05-09-2003, 01:21 PM

So many companies have no charge, no reason, refund policies these days I am surprised they would charge 20 percent... 10 percent even sounds high on big items...Some companies are just not thinking about the long haul .... repeat customers are 'already sold' on that store...stores that have to always attrack new customers... are not building up their base.... very short sighted....

DieselHead · #6 05-09-2003, 01:40 PM

big business. go figure. Imagine if there were complete deregulation and no recourse for scammed or cheated customers.

G-Benz · #7 05-09-2003, 03:16 PM

Best Buy isn't alone in this...many companies unscrupulously tack on charges without the individual's consent. And once they do, they make the process of reversing the charges as difficult as possible in order to frustrate the individual into just letting it go.

Always check your credit card and bank account statements. It's amazing how many little "service fees" go undetected. Especially so if you have a relatively large debt on your credit card statement or keep a large balance on your bank account...what's $10.35 here or $15.00 there?

Discovered a "credit card security" fee on my Texaco statement years ago. Took several phone calls (and transfers) to get it removed.

Be wary of purchasing magazine subscriptions through those companies that your kiddie's school sponsors. Most are legitimate, but some of them automatically "renew" your subscriptions after the term period expires. Discovered that fact while browsing through my bank statement.

Ken300D · #8 05-09-2003, 07:34 PM

Yes. I've noticed the "automatic renewal" is the next big trick.

AAA does it and my ISP will try to do it - but the card I used will be canceled by then.

Credit card companies make so much money off of all of us that they just write it off as a business expense.

Ken300D

chowpit · #9 05-09-2003, 11:18 PM

I really can't feel pity for this person. If you are too slack to review your monthly credit/bank statements then you deserved to be ripped off. Duh!!!
A little common sense here is applicable.

First, you need to stand up for yourself. "No, I'm not interested in getting MSN."
As a rule I don't accept things that I really don't need, even if its free.

Besides, even if getting a refund is difficult you can always stop future charges by the company.

And if your bank/credit card company does not want to help you with this, time to take your business elsewhere.

BENZ-LGB · #10 05-10-2003, 12:13 AM

...I must admit that I normally like to shop at BB. I do my research ahead of time and then go and pick out exactly what I want. No point in bothering with the salespeople who, for the most part, know nothing about what they are selling.

I recently bought a Sony large screen HDTV. As I was getting ready to pay for my purchase and go home to tinker with my new TV, the cashier asked me if I wanted to buy an extended warranty. I NEVER buy extended warranties. My last large screen TV, a JVC, lasted for many years without any problems.

Anyhow, I politely refused the service contract. The kid insisted, telling me that it was REALLY a good idea to buy a service contract. Trying to make light of the situation I told him that if the TV broke, I'd just buy another one. The the kid mouths off: "We'll you must be really rich if you can afford to do that." I looked at him straight in the eye and said: "As a matter of fact, I am." "Must be nice" the kid mouths off again. "Yes, as a matter of fact it is!" I chuckle, thinking that I have diffused the situation by using humor.

But the kid is actually dumber than he looks. He goes back to telling me what a great idea it is to buy the extended service. Again I refuse. Then the kid says that Sony HDTV have a defect and sooner or later the picture tube will fail. Now I am getting pissed off. With a loud voice I ask him to repeat what he just said about defective Sony TV's. And he is dumb enough to repeat it in front of other customers.

So I ask him, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Are you telling me that BB sells defective prodcuts?" He tries to back down, but I won't let him off the hook. I keep grilling him about his statement. Finally, a store manager shows up and I explain the whole situation to him. The store manager apologizes profusely, he is sweating bullets because his employee has stated in front of other customers that BB sells defective products.

The manager asks how he can make things right by me. I tell him that I ticked off and that I am ready to take my business elsewhere. BB can tell, by putting in your phone number, how much you have bought at the store. He now knows that I am a regular customer so he is worired about losing my business.

To make an already long story short, he took off $300.00 off the TV.

Not a bad deal. Afterward I felt bad, being such a load, but then I keep thinking about all the poor slobs who feel pressured to buy useless service agreements and then I stop feeling bad.
:rolleyes

BTW, the kid is still working at BB and, presumably, he is still selling service agreements to unsuspecting customers.

#11 05-10-2003, 01:08 AM

Leathermang,

I'm probably the one you're referring to with the "Don't do business with Best Buy" signature.

Here's the short story:

I bought an aftermarket wire from La Jolla Audio (who sponser the audio portion of our Forum and have been GREAT to me) to use with the Pioneer XM radio unit. I bought the unit from BB after the salesmanager assured me that they could install the control unit of it into the ash tray of my E-320 so I could keep as much of a stock look as possible.

I bought the unit in January. It's now May and I STILL don't have a working XM unit in my car. No tunes, no sound. Just wires hanging in my trunk and a disconnected control unit in the arm-rest compartment.

The staff at Best Buy cares NOTHING for the customer. The techs refused to install the unit as promised. They also couldn't figure out how to hook it up with the after-market wire. The wire is made so that it can only hook up to the unit in ONE way. What could be simpler?? At one point he tried to convince me to throw the wire away and have the unit installed using the FM radio signal. Yeah......

I have been to BB at least five times to have them attempt to install the unit properly. Two of these trips yeilded nothing because the tech didn't show up for work. No one called me to let me know and no apology was given. One appointment lasted EIGHT, yes, EIGHT hours before they discovered that the unit was not working properly and had to be sent to be fixed. It had never been used, didn't work out of the box. No offer to give me a loaner while I waited, though I asked.

SIX weeks later it came back. The tech hooked it up in my trunk and it STILL didn't work. He said I had to come back at later date (AGAIN, ANOTHER APPOINTMENT) to have it sent out to be "fixed" again. I ran some errands, and, after arriving home two hours later, I decided to remove the unit from my trunk so I could send it to have it fixed myself. The stupid tech had left the unit DANGLING from the wires under the rear deck of the trunk!!! Who knows what other damage has occurred because of that stupidity. On top of that, he called me to let me know that he had left his power tool in my car so I had to drive back to that accursed store to return it to him. Should have kept it.....

I can't believe the shear stupidity and carelessness of this company. I was very patient up to this point, but seeing the unit dangling in my trunk was too much. I called the supervisor on duty and balled her out. She refused to give me the district manager's information and tried to make me believe that if I just called her store manager, he would forward the complaint to the district manager. I then called their "official" complaint line. That person put me on hold while he talked to the manager of the store. Minutes later, he said the manager I complained about would look into the matter and get back to me. Yeah, that's never happened. I'm not holding my breath.

Cleave, at La Jolla Audio has graciously offered to send the unit to Pioneer himself and then test it at their facility before sending it back to me. At that point, I'll just complete the installation myself.

Basically, BB wants you to buy their products, but has no intention of backing them up. The sell cheap and charge customers extra for installation. One lady was dismayed because her $120 Panosonic head unit would cost $150 to install. Can you believe that?? That gives you an idea of the scam.

#12 05-10-2003, 01:53 AM

Yeah, BB charges around $70 to install head units. They don't tell you when your car will require extra bolts/etc. that are "special" for your car. And of course, this extra hardware also jacks up the cost of labor. Little things the salesman seems not to mention....

rickg · #13 05-10-2003, 02:11 AM

Magnolia Hi-Fi used to have "free" installation on decks(Not sure if they still do). I say "free" because their prices are already too inflated, so it should be free. But at least they seem to have competant installers. I don't think I would even consider having a discount store do an installation on anything but a '85 Buick, for the very reasons as you all have just described.
I've never shopped at a BB, mostly because the nearest one isn't near enough for me to go there. But I sure as heck won't now

rickg · #14 05-10-2003, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 123c
The few times I have been in a Magnolia Hi-Fi I about crapped my pants when I saw the products they were selling. They tend to only sell the high end products, which those large chain stores won't sell. You are right about their prices being a little high, but they also care about customers, and the sales staff knows their stuff...

I've bought a fair amount of stuff from them, and for the very reasons you said. You can go in there and actually carry on an intelligent conversation with them about what they sell. And it's above average products(mostly). Not top end, but better than the usual.
I got to thinking, I did have to pay an install fee once though. I had them put a deck in a '86 Audi 5000 I had(for a VERY short time), and they said "oh, an Audi?, We charge an extra installation fee on those"

rickg · #15 05-10-2003, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 123c
All I will say is that I used alot of electrical tape to make my own "custom" connector

What! No duct tape?