Best Buy review: Unacceptable repair and customer service 53

On May 22nd our TV was picked up by Precision Electronics through a protection service with Best Buy. This was the third time they had tried to fix our TV and this time they had to take it to their store. They told us that it could take up to two weeks before they brought it back. On June 4th we had not heard anything from Best Buy or Precision Electronics so I called Precision Electronics and was told by Kris that she had only contacted the parts place at the end of the previous week and should would call them again that day.

The next day my husband called Precision Electronics and he was told by Kris that she had just called the parts place the previous day (the day that I had called). That Thursday, on June 7th, Kris from Precision Electronics contacted us and told us that they were unable to repair the TV and that Best Buy would be doing a buy back, or an exchange. The same day, at 9:34 am, Cindy from Best Buy called and left a message on our machine telling us that we had been approved for the exchange and to wait 24-48 hour and contact our local Best Buy store.

Monday morning, June 11th at 10:22 am my husband called the Best Buy 888# and was told that the number had been sent to the Best Buy store’s tool kit and we could go ahead and drive up there to exchange our TV. We drove 75 miles to Precision Electronics, picked up our old TV and then brought it to the Best Buy store where we were told to go home because they hadn’t received any approval for the exchange. We asked that they call the people we had talked to and it is my belief that no one at the Duluth Best Buy store made any effort to contact or obtain any useful information from anyone, they just repeatedly told us to go home despite the fact that my husband had taken the day off of work and we had driven 75 miles for the specific purpose of making the exchange. We left the Best Buy store and I called customer care where I spoke with Liz. Liz was very helpful and contacted the repair place where she got a verbal approval for the exchange, at which point she contacted the Duluth Best Buy store where she spoke with Eric. Eric told her that he would go ahead and let us exchange the TV and put the paperwork through tomorrow (June 12th). Eric had even told Liz that he would let the person who was coming in to work after him what was going on in case we didn’t make it back to the store before the end of his shift, which was at 6:00 p.m. The time at this point was 3:45 p.m. At this time we were in Superior but drove back into Duluth and up to Best Buy because it was shorter than going home and coming back the next day. When we entered the store we asked to speak to Eric. Instead of Eric, a Tom came out and told my husband “I told you that you weren’t getting a TV today.” I tried explaining to this Tom that I had contacted Liz with customer care and she had worked it out so that we wouldn’t’ have to make two trips (we had our 4 week old daughter and our 5 year old daughter with us) since we were told to go up there by Best Buy to begin with. After going and sitting behind a screen for the better part of ½ hour and pretending to look for some number (which I had tried explaining to him wasn’t there) he proceeded to call my husband a liar about Best Buy ever contacting us and said the only call logged was the one that my husband had made at 2:30 that afternoon. I once again tried explaining to him that when I spoke to Liz, she had gotten verbal approval from the repair company for the exchange and had talked to an Eric who had approved the exchange and agreed to put off the paperwork until the next day. Tom then told me that Eric never approved any such thing and he had been standing right next to him during the phone call, yet only a few minutes before he claimed to know nothing about any phone call. By now I no longer trusted Tom and felt he was lying to us and playing games for some reason and I asked him who his manager was. He responded, “the 800#). I then used my cell phone to once again call the 888# to contact customer care. Liz had already left but I spoke to someone else who read Liz’s notes right off the screen and they were exactly what I had been trying to tell Tom. I handed my phone to Tom so that they could repeat to Tom what I had told him several times already. Tom proceeded to argue with customer care and smirked as he handed my phone back to me. By this time my 4 week old was getting fussy and we had been in the Best Buy store for the better part of 5 hours. The person on the phone (who’s name I did not get unfortunately) said he would have to speak with his supervisor and get back to me. My 5 year old had started climbing on boxes and my 4 week old was screaming because she was hungry so out of respect for the other customers in the store (certainly not the employees as most of them clearly had no respect for us with the exception of one girl working behind the customer service counter that checked on us several times and asked if she could get us water or anything while we were waiting) we took our daughters to sit in the van while we waited for the phone call. When the call did come we were told that Tom had the authority to make the exchange but for some reason would not.

Twice in one day we were told we could exchange the TV we paid $2100 for and were jerked around when we arrived in the store. Three weeks we have been without a TV. When we tried to resolve a conflict we were treated like low life lying ###.

I have never been so disappointed or disgusted with anything in my life. We drove 75 miles home (gas is $3.11/gallon where we live) and will have to wait for a phone call from someone who seems to be on a power trip and is rude and condescending towards formally good customers. If we are lucky the next time we are told we can make the exchange it will actually happen and we won’t be the brunt of Best Buy’s sick joke.

I will never shop at Best Buy again and I plan on telling everyone our story so that they know to shop elsewhere.

I am outraged at the service center and its method of solving a consumer's problem. In this case, I paid $400 for an extended 4-year warranty and service plan with outrageous results, careless behavior on the part of the customer service people, and rudeness and repeated inconveniences to me.

Best buy leadership

Brad Anderson CEO/Vice Chairman/Director -
brad.anderson@bestbuy.com

Shari Ballard, Executive Vice President, Retail Channel
Shari.Ballard@bestbuy.com,

Kim Motz at 612.291.5332 Shari Ballard’s assistant?
Kim.motz@bestbuy.com

Bruce Chatterley, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Bruce.Chatterley@bestbuy.com,

Steve Delp, Chief Operating Officer, Magnolia Audio Video
Steve.Delp@bestbuy.com

Brian Dunn, President and Chief Operating Officer
Brian.Dunn@bestbuy.com

Julie Gilbert, Senior Vice President, Retail Training,
Julie.Gilbert@bestbuy.com

Jena Lund, Julie Gilbert assistant at [protected]
Jena.Lund@bestbuy.com

David Hemler, Senior Vice President, Best Buy for Business
David.hemler@bestbuy.com

Paula Prahl, Vice President, Public Affairs

Lisa Smith- Best Buy Vice President Customer Care
Lisa.Smith@bestbuy.com
[protected] Office

Sean Skelley, Senior Vice President, Business Group Leader,
Sean.Skelley@bestbuy.com

PR number at (612) 292-NEWS

Susan Busch, [protected] Director, Corporate PR
susan.busch@bestbuy.com

Dawn Bryant, [protected] Manager, Corporate PR
dawn.bryant@bestbuy.com

Mark Paragi
Senior Executive Resolution Specialist
Best Buy Corporate Campus
[protected] Direct
[protected] Fax
mark.paragi@bestbuy.com

Investor Contacts: Jennifer Driscoll, [protected] Vice President, Investor Relations jennifer.driscoll@bestbuy.com

Charles Marentette, [protected] Senior Director, Investor Relations charles.marentette@bestbuy.com

Carla Haugen, [protected] Director, Investor Relations
carla.haugen@bestbuy.com

I fully agree with everyone's complaints about Best Buy. I purchased a Phillip's 42' flat screen that broke down in September of last year. Despite numerous repair requests I have actually only seen a tech 3 times. Once to turn a screw...didn't work...and twice to take serial numbers to order a part. That part came in but was returned because Best Buy didn't let me know it was in so I could set up an appointment. Now the part has been on back order for almost a month. Calls to Best Buy do no go as it seems no one knows whats going on. After contacting the Better Business Bureau the representatives got more efficient but Best Buys answer to my problem was to send me a $50 gift card to buy more defective merchandise. No thanks Best Buy!
All I want is my television fixed.

Don't Buy Best Buy

I already knew this, but I had a senior moment.

Let me relate a story. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. (Shakespeare and me)

I must admit. I am a slow learner. I knew, under most circumstances, you were better off buying locally.

Let me back ground this chronicle for you. Senator Frank Eldridge and I owned the first computer to be used in the State Capital. Later after my unsuccessful venture of running for Lt. Governor against Zell Miller, I moved back to Colquitt County. I set about building another computer. I am accustomed to saying that I built the first M.S. Dos computer that I ever saw.

At the time, as far as I knew, the computer jointly owned by Colquitt County and the City of Moultrie was the only other computer running in the county. Certainly it was the first "home computer."

I had to purchase three cabinets to get one. This requires me to build two more. Over the years, I sold a few others. Then the home computer market got saturated and there was little demand for home made entries.

About ten years ago, I assembled my last one. It was old and ugly, slow and steady, pugnacious but dependable. Alas a few short weeks ago, it developed aged computer syndrom. My beloved companion of the past decade was giving up the ghost. Its spirit was broken. It was in dire circumstances.

Its mouse was giving trouble .this is only a minor distraction I speculated to myself. Its mouse board needs replacing. I opened up the cabinet and found that it did not have a separate mouse board. I would have to replace the complete mother board. This ain't good. I mused. As old as this unit is, I need to purchase another one. I then called a local computer expert. My own talents were outdated by massive changes in technology. He didn't call back.

In the mean time, I was in Valdosta and saw the big yellow sign, BEST BUY, I whipped in. This was a mistake. I ended up buying the most expensive Hewlett Packard that they offered. I would have been better off to have donated the money to the Salvation army.

As a rule once a computer is burned in, it gives no problems. This one came with a defective Hard Drive. After the third trip down there, they agreed with me. It had a bad hard drive.

At the point of purchase there were all kinds of promises of reliable store service. The abominable snow man would be easier to find than the promised local service. We'll send it back they said, it's still in warranty. It was purchased 11/27/07. It still ain't fixed. They installed a new hard drive, but I have to jump through the hoops at Hewlett Packard to get an operating system. You know the procedure where you are placed on hold and forced to listen to some caned music not knowing whether you will ever hear from "a people." Hewlett Packard and Best Buy has this thing going for them. Neither knows Franklin Sutton. It is my problem it seems. Best Buy is a large discount house. They have their employment an NBA who has stated in a printed piece that it is possibly to their financial advantage to lose a customer than it would be to satisfy a customer.

Best Buy would be just as likely to pick Adam's House Cat as Franklin Sutton from a line up.

All You Fools . . . As P.T. Barnum said "There is a sucker born every minute"

The new hard drive is $109.00 over the shelf. As I write this, I have been from Ellenton to Valdosta five times. If I were to count my labor, and the cost of gas, I would have been five times better off not trying to have Best Buy and Hewlett Packard fix their error. I should buy the hard drive and install it myself.

Do I expect that the loss of my business will hurt either? Certainly, not. I am foolish but not naive. My patronize does not effect them. The problem in my problem not theirs. There are many more suckers out there, willing to take the chance of getting a sound unit.

Few will show up and stand in line behind others with a personal computer under their arms in a vain and futile hope who believes that a large corporation cares about them or their business.

The only point that I am trying to make is to deal locally where you know the person, where you are familiar with their integrity and expect them to do as promised.

That was 11/27/07 this in now 3/09/08. I don't know how long this saga will continue. Fortunately, my old home built has not let me down. Praise god for haywire

The above is the original of my story published in my weekly article THE X'CHAIRRMAN'S CORNER. this is a sequel to that story. Now several days later, I am more than indignant

I am more than indignant., offended, provoked or annoyed. The policy of HP has antagonized me beyond any level of depiction.

I have spent the better part of two days trying to buy something for which I had already paid. The so called recovery disk. I did not need a recovery disk. The system never worked there was nothing on the disk other than programs which I had purchased and the operation system which I thought I had purchased. The system came back without an operating system. I was not given a copy of Vista when I purchased the unit. It was pre-loaded. I assume that I purchased it. Now I am informed by Best Buy and HP that I must purchse from Microsoft a recovery disk.

That is not easy. Several places on the HP website insist that this is N.A. for that serial. I assume that N.A. means not available. I had to jump through several hoops, never the correct one. At one point two numbers were suggested, one [protected]. (commercial site) the other [protected] was a $.99 cent per minute station.

I gave up and carried it to my technician and instructed him to purchase and load a copy of Vista for me. This will cost me $45.00 per hour plus the cost of Vista.

Perhaps when this controversy reaches the point of discovery, I will be able to gain some modicum of satisfaction.

Franklin Sutton

fsutton@alltel.net

686 Ellenton/Omega Road

Norman Park, Ga. 31771

[protected]-[protected]

05/8/08

Seems to me that instead of complaining which only serves to vent out frustrations, solving nothing, if people would get together "UNITE" start a class action suit against BEST BUY or any supplier with such a reputation there may be more clout and pressure to obtain satisfactory results...

Speak soft, Carry a big stick !

I purchased a Nano I pod in 2006 and with it I purchased a replacement policy. When the I pod failed, I returned it to the store and they promptly handed me a new one off the shelf. After 5 returns, they said they wanted to upgrade me to a 30 gig Ipod and a new contract. After the first failure freeze up, I took it in and they said that they would send me a "refurbished one", I asked why not one off the shelf and they stated that I had a different contract now. So they sent me a refurbished one in about 3 days. On the 12th return for a freeze up, they took it and said I had to wait for 2 weeks to get it repaired. I said what happened to the refurbished one in the mail...they said that they repair them now. They are a bunch of theives. I will never go into another Best Buy Store again...thats firm.
Bill Costello
St George Ut

Nest time, don't deal with Best Buy. Fiorst time is not your fault the second time is...and be sure to tell all your friends

I have a 32in HD paperweight in my living room thanks to the horrible customer service at Best Buy.
The set was purchased on 12/24/2007 and it broke on 4/28/2008. First time I waited for the tech to come to my house and he ordered parts after barley looking at the tv. 2 weeks go by and another tech comes to my house to discover that the wrong parts were ordered. Another 2 weeks and now one of the parts will not be available until July. I call customer service and they can not offer a replacement until after 14 days that the part was ordered, even though they know it will not be there.
My story is the same as above - scheduling service at home and waiting for a servicemen that could not fix the problem, countless phone calls to Customer Service that resolve nothing, and in the end a useless TV and lots of frustration.
Please, please do not buy from Best Buy and tell anyone you know that they will not stand behind their products.
I am behind any organization to make Best Buy accountable for the horrible treatment of their consumers.
-Jeff
-Los Angeles

I purchased a 32in. Insignia television from Best Buy in L.A. late Dec. of last year. It stopped working and was reported as such late April, 2008. As of June 5th after countless phone calls the television is still down. Right now they know that the part needed will not be available until late July, but must wait before offering to replace the set for another 2 weeks. 2 months to fix a television!

Do not buy from Best Buy, they do not stand by their televisions and will waste your time rather than replace or fix defective products.

wow let me regurgitate the same you all have been through...
My name is Anne Meek I have been purchasing items from your store for quite some
time. So imagine to my surprise when I do have a problem with a tv and no one
from customer service to the instore manager to your corporate resolutions team
actually wants to help me. If I would have known what I was in for with this
whole fiasco I would have turned the other way instead the street going to Best
Buy. I have written to the BBB/ consumer affairs/my states attorney general/ and
now to you. my next letter is not so much a letter but to a lawyer. I just want
my tv replaced I don't think I am asking all that much, but apparently for 30
days i have been, as that is how long I have been with out a tv. Seng Xiong
supposedly is helping me... RIGHT. I bought this service protection plan so i
have seen for no reason, since it hasn't worked yet. Your company sent some
idiot technician to my house in CT from RI with no tools/parts or clue as to why
he was here that was on June 5th 2008 he was in
my house for 5 minutes made a guess at the part and took them two weeks to get it ordered. Of course what
do you know the part comes in we wait for our new appointment and he shows up
with a part not even for our tv. not that the manager of the service center
cares as i asked to speak with them have they returned my calls?... i think you
know the answer to that question. so i have been told by this Mr Xiong person
that if in 14 days from the original part being ordered that my tv would be
repaired or replaced. it has been 29 days and now we are some how on part two?
what i don't understand is how the rules and policies change everytime i talk
him and to other departments? i have an email stating such policy as well as a
voice mail and documented time and calls with names, to prove all this for a
lawyer if need be. I would like some resolution and you know I am demanding
satisfaction! I was told by your customer service department that " No I could
not escalate this to a supervisor
" and "that if i didn't like the policy I could cancel it" and " that I could cancel my cable service at my own discretion and pay
to have it turned back on" ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING ME?
If you as the ceo can't find a way to help me that I am left with no recourse of
action but to retain a lawyer, and as the manager of the new britain st west
hartford store stated " lady we get threatened all the time" i will put it to
you this way. I don't make threats! I have been calm for the last 28 out of 29
days I can't take this anymore. I am literally losing it, I am not sleeping, not
eating as i am so stressed out with this whole situation. I am pleading with you
to please help me.
Sincerely
Anne Meek
[protected]
Bristol CT
LOOK AT ALL THESE COMPLAINTS AND UNRESOLVED ISSUES, this makes your company look
so bad.

http://www.mnd.bbb.org/complaint/view/57126133/c/iszeyu

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/search.html?cx=004616541639631650405%3Auoeingz5lo
8&cof=FORID%3A11&q=best+buy+complaints#0

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=complaints+about+bestbuy&search_type=&aq
=f

www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/bestbuy_exwars.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=complaints+about+bestbuy

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bestbuy+complaints

I spent $1100.00 for a Dell Computer at the Best Buy in Millville, New Jersey. I'm not very computer savvy so I had some questions about connecting to the internet and such. Further, it appears that the new Windows Vista was not allowing me to log on to my AOL Instant Messenger program and was freezing on videos on youtube.com. Naturally, I called Dell Computer. I was told by their customer service rep that Dell could not help me because they had a contract with Best Buy. So he suggested I speak to someone on Best Buy's Geek Squad about my problems. So I called Best Buy's number at [protected] and was eventually connected to a Geek Squad specialist. When I told her my problems she said that she could help me but I had to pay $29.00. I told her that I just bought the computer and she said that it didn't matter, I still had to pay $29.00. You know, when I bought a Dell laptop at Circuit City a few months ago, I was able to talk to a Dell computer specialist for free. Best Buy's customer service totally sucks.

Called Best Buy for repair on Sony HDTV(7/25/08) 3:30pm, TOLD OPERATOR MAKE AND MODEL # AND STATED THAT I HEARD A POPPING SOUND AND THE LIGHT ON THE FRONT OF TV WAS BLINKING, CLEARING MEANING THE LAMP WAS BURNT. Repairman showed up (7/31/08) with the wrong lamp and stated the first visit for repairs are only for diaognastics check and not for repairs.He order a new lamp to be delivered to my residence and told me to call for installation (another week of waiting).I quessing that Best Buy is charging Sony for each visit made to the customer residence.This is really bad news for Sony as I too purchased a surround sound and dvd recorder all Sony products from Best Buy.Put after this adventure I will not purchase any thing from Best Buy.

Same thing! I purchased a 62 inch Toshiba in 2006 and have been fighting Best Buy ever since! FINALLY went thru Better Business Bureau and may have some results, we'll SEE! They say we can exchange the tv, but what about the warrenty we purchased, the stand, my time off work, the rude techs, and they don't show up when they say they will, being put on hold FOREVER, with no results! Their LEMON policy is a LIE! I have been going through this since 2006! I PAID in full and etc etc. The problem I have now is...I can go to the local Best Buy and EXTANGE this LEMON, now I have to deal with Best Buy AGAIN!

I purchased a digital camera only to find out 3 months later it stopped working. I brought it to the Best Buy store, because I had purchased a Service Plan. Its been over a month so I called to find out the status, only to find out that it was put on "Warranty Exchange" meaning the store needed to replace it. I went to the store (of course they put me on hold forever over the phone and no one was available) and they told me there was nothing in their system for my camera to be replaced. So there I was, stuck, waisting my time. I asked to speak to the manager, who was rude, not professional at all, and I don't even want to start talking about him because I will get all worked up again. Bottom line is he said to the rep who was helping me "she's not getting a new camera". Day 2 - I spent all day back and forth on phone calls trying to figure out what's going to happen and they have no answer for me. They want to blame their system "not being updated yet" to the fact that they just don't want to replace my camera. I don't know what to do anymore and it is so fustrating. I'm never dealing with Best Buy again. EVER!

Should you choose to purchase any product from Best Buy, please be aware that this company DOES NOT honor their extended warranties. Do not waste any of your money on them!
In March 2006, I purchased a RCA 50 inch DLP TV from Best Buy, along with their extended warranty. I was told it covered lifetime lamp changes. Now, I am being told after Best Buy has changed the lamp 3 times, and never charged me, that the warranty only covered one lamp change. Just one? Funny that now as the warranty comes close to being over, it only covers one. Lemon coverage, you say? Best Buy laughs in the face of Lemon Coverage! This TV was sent out for repairs just two months after purchasing it! I was told at the time that I could not return it for another model or store credit, but since I took the extended warranty, that "although I might be slightly inconvenienced", at least it was covered for three years.
Today I was told by the a rep claiming to be the "highest up person" that I could speak to regarding this so called extended warranty that I could not have our conversation recorded for quality assurance, and that Best Buy does "NOT CONSIDER" customer requests to be relevant. Her words, not mine. I was told that I could write a letter to a post office box. This is not aceptable to me nor should it be to anyone else considering paying $2000.00 + for a DLP TV from Best Buy.
Lamps, unfortunately are an intergral part of DLP televisions, so buyer beware, you can purchase your TV today, have to send it out less than two months later, as I did, have best buy come in to your home to replace your lamps 3 more times after, as I did, need a fourth replacement, as I do, and find out that the warranty no longer covers lamp replacements, as I am finding out today...

I purchased a 42" Panasonic TV & 4 years service plan with it. My tv doesn't work and I called for service on 8/5/08. The technician re schedule the first visit on the 15, they re schedule for the 26 and days later the tech came and ordered a "part" that was going o take 3 days via UPS delivery, but it never came 25 days later they tell me that my part was schedule to come in two weeks from now, but I alraedy waited a month. I 've called Best Buy over 40 times and every time I ask for a suppervisor, but every time someone else tell me something different. I placed a request for replacement twice and it takes 5 days before they make a desission, but the first one took me 15 days with no respont, the second one took me 5 days and they are telling me that I have to wait. Now they're telling me it have to be approve by the manufacture, but why? what's the service plan for?. This is taking months to be resorve. Plese think before You buy from this company. It's a waste of time and if you need to speak to the best buy Gigsquad be ready to spend one hour each time you call. I learned my lesson.

Geek came out on 9 - 6 - 08 says not enough water going through water line to make ice maker to fill up so it makes a piece of ice once in the blue moon. They sugest we put in new line directly to fridge this is told to my husband. I decide to unhook the line and check for my self, there is a steady stream of water so i did not replace the line. I called to have them come back out of course that takes another week. I was there this time and same geek came out. He did not agree with me as i figure 10 - 1 - 08. Says he would order the new ice maker and controls that control the warter, be in on 10 - 6 - 08. I called to check on part 10 - 8 - 08 they dont even show that he came out on 10 - 1 or that any parts have been order. They will reseach it 3to5 days and call me back. So im waiting and i will never buy from them again.

i would like to let all of you know I did finally get resolution. i googled every corporate persons email i could find and sent them the same letter as above and i have a new tv 32 minutes later with a phone call from someone very important.
i went and exchanged my broke tv which of course i had to bring there and bring home my new one. but it is done thank god! good luck

I would like to share the horrible experience I currently have with Best Buy. I purchased a laptop computer in the amount of 450 dollars for my daughter on Aug 3rd. This was intended for her to use in her first year of college. On Sept 24 the laptop just stopped working. I took it to the store on Sept 25 where it remains with the Geek Squad to this day Oct 17. I was advised the delay in getting this repaired was due to many parts had to be ordered to repair this item. I advised Best Buy I wanted a replacement laptop since I only had it less than 2 months and it was an inferior product. Meanwhile my daughter is in school without the use of a laptop. They refused to provide a loaner and advised that if I out of desperation do purchase another one and return it within 14 days I will have to pay a 15 percent restocking fee. I feel this is so unjust and I feel taken advantage of. Paying 450.00 was a real sacrifice for me and to have it just taken from me with an inferior product in return is certainly not good customer service. I will not give up because this is absolutely a matter of principle and good faith. Will fight this with all I have. no. 00505-[protected]

A systemic cult of hubris perculates down from management to the last bottom feeding worm at Best Buy.
The best advice you will ever receive is avoid Best Buy like a plague. Nothing but infuriating bad faith lurks within those stores. If you have a problem with anything you purchase there, save time and simply throw it away. You will never be allowed to speak to a manager, and the employees are well trained in the art of stonewalling. I predict that Best Buy will soon fail anyway---good riddance.

Lance Cross

I worked at Best Buy in the customer service department and I would never, ever buy anything not "name brand" that cost a significant amount of money. I once saw a customer return 3, yes THREE store brand stereo head units in one day. Same with Insignia DVD players. I saw two of those come back in one day from the same customer.

Is there a major problem with Best Buy or are they just taking advantage of this situation? At the near end of September I called Best Buy since there was problem in the washing machine and so they sent a technician (Geek Squad) to see the problem at October 6. They ordered the parts which were need to fix the washing machine and informed me by saying that they will call back to me when they have received the parts. So my family has been waiting to receive the call but there is no word from them what so ever. I then called the company over and over again for about 2 or 3 times a day which then caused the technicians to eventually come and see the problem over again (about 2 times). The second time a technician came to fix the problem but he told us that the part he ordered was the right part but the company sent him the wrong one and he said he will come back as soon as possible to get the machine working again. Again and again I have called and did the same thing as I did before, calling 2 or three times a day but there was no sign of anyone from the Geek Squad. Then at Halloween I called them, as usual, to schedule a repair as they replied to me saying that they will replace my washing machine with a new one, although I have not asked them to replace my washing machine. They said they will call to give me an authorization code to replace the washing machine and then again there was no call back from them. The next day I called the companies supervisor and he told me he will give me the authorization code within 2 business days so I told him that I will call back on Monday (11/3). I called them today (11/3) and they told me to call after 2 hours to receive the authorization code. Then again no word from them. I then called again, waited another hour and spoke to the supervisor on Best Buy. She said she will get the Geek Squad to fix my washing machine when they told me that they will replace it for me. So I have to conclude that Best Buy is taking advantage of this situation and wasting time with me. My family cannot do anything because they are all waiting for someone to fix it. I am wasting a lot of money on laundry in the (laundry stores?). At first we just wanted a simple fixing of the washing machine but since Best Buy has given us the idea of getting a replacement of the washing machine, we want that. And also we want the money that we spent on the laundry store back.

i have had the worst experiences with best buy and their warranty and “THE NO LEMON POLICY”. I will not discuss in here. However I am interested if anyone is willing to start a class action lawsuit.

I had such a great morning today [11/29/2008]. My oldest brother had bought a HP laptop from Best Buy, and its USB port was faulty. His internet connection was made throught the USB port, and he used it mainly for his roofing company, sending and checking e-mails, so he needed internet connection.

My brother brought his computer to the Geek Squad in the Best Buy where he had bought it, and they send that his warranty would cover it because it was barely three months old, and away it was sent to Geek Squad headquarters somewhere in California.

My brother got a phone call a few days ago, and was told that he had "Excessive wear and tear on his laptop, which would cost him $799 out of his own pocket to fix". He has somewhat of a bad temper, so my dad and I went with him down to the store today to see what was going on.

We spent forever on the phone, with different customer service reps, finally to be told that it was under HP's warranty for a year, and should have been sent there, no charge. The store manager, general manager, and all of the Geek Squad staff at the Colorado Springs, CO store on Powers were very disrespectful, unprofessional, and rude. None of them wanted to help us at all, and were very snotty when it came to simply ask for a pen to write something down while on the phone with the 888BESTBUY number.

Well, now we just have to wait for Geek Squad to send it back, call HP and send it out there. I'm just waiting to see how long it's going to take for Best Buy to give him the laptop back.

I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING EVER AGAIN FROM BEST BUY OR BRING ANYTHING TO GEEK SQUAD TO BE REPAIRED. THEY ARE CORRUPT, DISRESPECTFUL AND RUDE, AND ALL OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS AGREE. NO WONDER THEY ARE IN BANKRUPTCY. USELESS GEEKS.

I have had an awful experience with Best Buy. I had purchased a HP Pavilion Media Center TV m8100n Desktop PC back in August of 2007. After 6 months, the hard drive failed, and I had to take the computer into a Best Buy for repair. They essentially told me it was the fault of the manufacturer, and had to send it out. After 4 weeks, they had it, but it was completely blank. I then had to send away to HP for backup disks. After installing the OS, I took the machine home, grateful that I had a computer again. 6 months went by, and I noticed that my disk was almost maxed out. Surprised I looked at the system settings, and learned that my 500GB hard disk was only 60 GB. I called customer service, and after being on the phone for 2 hours, they informed me that there would be no consideration, because they had their service records that indicated they DID place the 500gb hard drive. This is one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. Not only did Best Buy sell a faulty system, but after installing the wrong part they refuse to make good. Unbelievable!

12/12/2008 – Washing machine fails during washing cycle. The washing machine is covered until April 2009 under an extended warranty plan.
12/15/2008 – Placed call to 888-Best Buy to notify them of issue. An appointment was set up on 12/18 for a service group to come out and inspect the machine.
12/16/2008 – Call received from service group who indicated the 12/18 date was no good for them because they do not make calls in our area on that day. A new appt was set-up for 12/19.
12/19/2008 – ASAP Appliance Service group visits our home, inspects washer, and indicates the control panel is “fried”. He does not have the part with him, and he will need to order it.
12/23/2008 – Called 888-Best Buy to get an update on the replacement part. Customer service rep indicates the part has been ordered, but they cannot give an estimated delivery date. We asked to speak with the CSR’s boss in order to escalate the issue. Spoke with a supervisor named Amanda who called the service group on our behalf to get an update. She also assured us the part was on order, but could not give us a deliver date. We asked for the contact information for ASAP so we could speak with them directly. Called ASAP and spoke with Tina. Tina told us that the part had only been ordered that day because the field tech didn’t turn in his order until Monday (12/22) (the service appt on 12/19 was a Friday). I asked if they could expedite the part and have it sent over night. Tina told us the Parts Manager was in charge of that, and she couldn’t do anything. I asked to speak with the Parts Manager, and she informed me that he doesn’t take calls from customers. Called 888-Best Buy again, and after explaining issue to CSR, I asked to be reconnected to Amanda who had given me her ID number. The number she had given me did not connect, but I was connected to a Kim who was also a supervisor. Spoke with Kim at length about the issue, and our expectations of having the part expedited. Kim called ASAP, and then confirmed since the part had been ordered, she could not change the method of shipping. The only thing she could do was order the part again, but said they wouldn’t do that because 2 parts would show up when only 1 was needed. Exasperrated, we ended the call with every assurance that the part would come and the appliance would repaired by Jan 2.
1/2/2009 – Spoke with Tina at ASAP again to get status on part. She indicated that our part had not shown up, and that all other parts that they ordered on 12/22 and 12/23 had shown up. We were left with the impression our part had not been ordered. Called 888-Best Buy and went through the story with their CSR and asked to speak to a supervisor. This time we spoke with a Scott, who could not explain why they part had not been ordered, or when we might get the unit repaired. We decided to involve the store at this point, and went to the Gunbarrel location where we purchased the washing machine and extended warranty. We met with Matt (Appliance Supervisor) and explained the whole story. I asked if he could just call the 888 number with me and listen to the ‘run-around’ we were getting. He offered to call them, and call me back – he could not believe we were not getting the help needed. Matt did call me back within 10 minutes of me leaving the store and told me he had requested the washer be ‘junked out’ meaning that they would just replace the washing machine with a new one. He told me their process was to issue a return authorization number (RA#) and that we should get that within 3 – 5 business days. When we got that number, we were to return to the store to pick out our new unit.
1/11/2009 – After waiting nine days, we went back to the store to see Matt. He was surprised that we had no reply. In fact, we had not received any contact from Best Buy during this period. He offered to again contact their 888 group and put in a store-level ‘urgen’ request for the RA number. This was on a Sunday, and he asked that we wait at least until Wednesday for the return call.
1/14/2009 – Wed. Received a call from Best Buy indicating they were calling to update us on our claim, but that their computer systems were down, and they could not update us.
1/15/2009 – Thursday. No other updates, so I called the store again to talk to Matt, but he was not in. I did speak with another manager named Zach Turner. I explained to him the whole story, and concluded that our last update was their systems were down. At one point, I asked Zach did I have an legal options, and he promised that if I said that phrase again, he would have to hang up and would not be able to speak me again. I just told him I felt like I was out of options, and that in addition to not having a working washing machine for more than a month, we were also spending $40-45/week at the laundrymat. He took my information and offered to call the corporate group again. Zach did call back, and said the replacement group wanted to send another service group out to verify the unit could not be repaired. I asked when this would happened, and he said by the end of the day Friday. Zach also mentioned that he would let his GM know about this issue. I asked who that was, and he said Joe. Zach also offered that the next time we come in the store, he could give us a gift card for our troubles. He was apologetic (actually, all Best Buy contacts have been professional, polite and apologetic during our mini-saga).
1/16/2009 – Friday – having no update, I called 888 Best Buy to try to find out what we were to do. Spoke with the CSR who was nice, but could not tell us much and asked to speak to a supervisor. Ended up speaking with Ricky who indicated he was a supervisor at the Corporate level. Ricky reviewed our log and then informed me that when the replacement request was submitted on Jan 2, it was done incorrectly, so the ‘system’ had kicked it out. He told us that he would enter it in correctly and make sure it went through this time. I could not believe what I was being told, and so I asked Ricky how in the world did Best Buy now expect me to believe anything they told me. For a month, we had been given one story then another, and all of them end up being not true. Promises and commitments are made, but no follow-up is done.
1/17/2009 – Saturday – no update, no calls from Best Buy or service group. I went to the store again. Found Matt, and again replayed the whole thing. Matt could not believe we did not have an RA number by now. He took 15 minutes to call and see what could be done, but his update was no better. We were to wait for the service group to contact us, and since we had involved the 888 number, there was nothing else they could do at the store level. They have a process, and nothing can be done until we get our RA number. I suggested that they give us a loaner machine, bring ours back to the store and wait for the RA number themselves – we are desperate at this point. Matt could not agree to anything like that, so I asked if we could talk to the GM – Joe, and Matt brought him over. Finally, we were talking to the General Manager, Joe Y.. Joe listened carefully to our whole story. He apologized, and took our information, excused himself in order to call someone. When he returned, he gave us an update that he had asked for management support to intervene on our behalf, and he promised we would get a call back today, but that the process of getting an RA would take up 2 business days to complete. I summarized our frustration with Joe the best I could. That evening, I received a call from Loretta who introduced herself as part of the Best Buy management team. She indicated she would personally follow up with the replacement center on our behalf until the issue was resolved.
1/18/2009 – No update
1/19/2009 – No update
1/20/2009 – Loretta called today and indicated she had followed up with the service group about the part in question. Since the part was not available, she indicated that we would be receiving an RA# within 24 hours for a replacement washing machine.
1/21/2009 – 24 hours have elapsed without any word from Loretta or Best Buy. We continue to wait.
1/22/2009 – No answer from Best Buy, called 888 number again, spoke with Tiffany in customer service who elevated the call to supervisor named Chase. Told Chase whole story and that we were expecting a return call & RA number from Loretta. He said he didn’t see why we would get an RA number when the part had been ordered. He called the service center who said they did not have the part, but they were expecting it any day. Once the part was received they would call us to set-up an appointment. This is the same story we started hearing back on 12/23/08.

I bought a 50 Magnavox TV from Best Buy in Summerlin Nevada in March of 2006. Within the first week the TV picture developed blotches and the TV began to overheat. I called Best Buy and they told me to contact the manufacturer to get it repaired. When I called Magnavox, they just told me to unplug the set for 20 minutes every time it overheats and the screen becomes blotchy. After multiple calls to Best Buy in attempts to have someone look at the TV, and never being able to get a repairman to come out, I hired my own private TV repairman. He looked at the innerworkings of the TV and found that it had extensive repairs that were done incorrectly and said it would cost me over $1000 dollars to repair. I told him no. I called back Best Buy and explained what the repairman had found. Best Buy said they do not do repairs in house and would not resell a repaired product as new. They suggested the TV came from the manufacturer that way and I needed to call them. I did call Magnavox who told me they don't sell remanufactured products to Best Buy, and that if the TV had been repaired, it was done by Best Buy in house and then sold to me as new.
I called Best Buy 3 days ago as I have not gotten my problem resolved yet in 3 years, and confronted them about the same repair issue that was brought to my attention by an indipendent repairman and the manufacturer. The representative from Best Buy Corporate put me on hold for 10 minutes to speak to his manager and when he came back on the phone with me stated "there is nothing we will do for you." I am out over $2000 dollars for this TV which does not work anymore. I have contacted the BBB and Consumer Affairs and filed complaints.
I have found so many complaints against Best Buy that I have learned after giving them $2000 dollars and getting a TV that never worked, not to EVER deal with this company again and I hope they go bankrupt!

I am in the same situation in the middle of second month.I have had 6 scheduled appts with no show and no call.I called corporate today and will supposedly hear back tomorrow, well see.I talked to several supervisors and once again someone will supposedly be here today.Im not holding my breathe!If anyone has any helpful info on my options please let me know.Thanks

I forgot to add we had just purchased nov 18th it is now mar 10th and its been month and a half this hasnt worked.

I took my daughter's laptop to BestBuy to be repaired. I was told diagnostic would be 3 days, after 5 days and no contact, I went to the store and was told they are still doing diagnostic. Another 5 days and I'm told they need to do a new O/S and it would be $129 would I authorize it, I said yes and was told it would be a few days. Now another 5 days go by and no call I show up again to the store only to be asked if I was there to authorized the repairs or pick it up. I was shocked since I authorized repairs 5 days ago, and then the tech told me that they would need my discs to reboot the laptop. why am I going to pay them $129 to reload discs that are in my house. (Something they did not tell me when I authorized repairs). I took my laptop home unrepaired and was asked to sign a receipt to take it back. Highly aggitated I didn't read the paper, only to find out when I got home that I signed a form stating repairs were done to my satisfaction. What repairs, they didn't do anything but keep my laptop for 3 weeks a laptop I bought there. I am so disgusted with BestBuy and the Geek Squad I will not purchase anything there nor will I tell anyone to use them.

I purchased a radio for my suv there in the summer of 2005. I also added to it the PSP (Protection Service Plan) for and extra $50.00. In 2007 that radio quit work so I took it back and the Installers tested it and agreed it was bad. Best Buy at first did not want to exchange it under the plan as they did not sell it anymore. After arguing with the CS Rep, I got the manager who after 10 minutes of conversation finally agreed to exchange it for another like unit.

Well here it is 2 years later and that one has gone out. So I took it back and had it check and the unit was bad. This time the Best Buy rep said they could fix it and I had to talk to the geek squad. Now that was a bit odd as they fix computers. Well they have to send it off to some other location (The location is not disclosed nor do they have access to speak with anyone there, neither does the customers). This was on the 6th of March and now its the 13rd of April and my unit is not back. No one including corporate can tell me the status on me radio. If you buy from them be prepared to be treated as a bad customer not a valued one.

No Radio for a month and counting. Avoid them and you will do better if you go to a local stero shop.

I am not sure that Mr. Sutton's posting his name, address and telephone number in this thread or anywhere online is a smart thing to do.

He should reconsider removing this information from the view of predators.

Purchased a projection television last February. The screen is displaying the hours of bulb usage is running low. Called best buy to see what I needed. Informed me that the bulb will cost $453.00 & Needs to be professionally installed @$200.00 & This has to be done every 3000 hours of usage. I feel I am being taken advantage of, by either best buy or the manufacturer of these bulbs and machines.

I would have never purchased this had I known.

Will not fix my TV under extended warranty, They tell me they only fix it once and thats it.

Best Buy warranty doesn't mean anything. We bought a 60" Sony TV that will not last a yr. The TV was $4500, warranty was over $400, and the extra's was $2300. This is a defected TV! Down 5 times in 3 1/2 yrs. Sony, Best Buy and the warranty dept. could care less. The warranty is up this april. Now we have this BIG 60" TV that is defected, and BEST BUY knew this when they sold it. BEST BUY, SONY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS! And lets not forget the warranty-THIS MEANS NOTHING. The same as going to a casino and giving the money away!

I can relate to these warranty issues. I had a Dell mini 9 and the battery began to leak acid; unfortunately i was only aware of this after the mother board had been soaked. I went to best buy geek squad and they agreed that the battery had leaked however they said they still needed to snd it in for repair/replacement. 2 weeks later i get a call saying that there is liquid damage to the lap top and that I am responsible for the damage and would have to pay $1200 in repairs for a $400 lap top.

Being a very careful person, I take care of everything that I have. I was so convinced by their explanation that I doubted myself and blamed my girlfriend for spilling something on it, even though I knew at the time it was battery acid. We had a big arguement and she was very upset at the end of it.

Looking back I realise that the liquid was not sticky, sugary nor sweet; it had caused corrosion on the battery contacts. I felt terrible for blaming my girl friend and ended up forking out $100 for dinner. Best buy are horrible people and cause great socio-economic problems. Somebody please do something about this. I am $400 out of pocket and many others are $1000s out of pocket.

This fraud must stop

STAY AWAY FROM BEST BUY

Thanks for the extremely informative post

If you do choose to go to BEST BUY to buy computer, do not pay for the Geeksquad to tune up and computer. I bought two computers at BEST BUY this week. The salesperson kept emphasizing that the Window 7 needs update software which could take 2 hours or more to get the computer ready to use. He further pursuaded that it was a good idea to pay extra $30 to have them create recovery disks because Microsoft makes it difficult to reinstall when computer has problem with product key, etc.

After I took computers home, I found no recovery disks in the box. I called BEST BUY and got $30 back. As I used the computer further, I found that I paid $69 for each computer for BEST BUY to install Webroot software and that was it. The control panel shows only Webroot antivirus was installed on the day of purchase, and no other Windows updates. It is a unethical business practice to cheat consumbers for something that they didn't do.

I am hoping their extended warranty works, not like the experience I had so far!