• Report: #507125

Complaint Review: BEST BUY

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  • Submitted: Friday, October 09, 2009
  • Last Posting: Monday, October 19, 2009
  • Reported By: not happy with best buy guy — grand rapids Michigan USA
BEST BUY
28th and Alpine Grand Rapids Michigan United States of America

BEST BUY WARRANTY SCAM ON SALE PRICED ITEMS!! BEWARE!!! Grand Rapids, Michigan


1Author 4Consumer 1Employee/Owner

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3 years ago I purchased a Sirius radio (sportster 4) on sale for$121. The sales person was more than happy to explain how these radios are fragile and I should get an extended warranty. He then proceeded to explain that I can use this warranty for a brand new replacement even if I just didn't like the way it looked anymore.. or smashed it... any reason Best Buy will make it right and give me a new unit, the upgrade to this unit was going to come out in 2 months and he said the coolest thing is when the new one comes out if there isn't any of these in stock they will automatically give me the upgrade. Three years later and my unit is experiencing a power issue that is the fault of the power adapter for sure seeing the radio works on my boom box, but hey it's time to cash in my 4 year warranty and enjoy an upgrade that I was promised when I bought this item. I went to the store with all of the original items and pieces of this radio and explained the situation and showed them my receipt. they then walked me back to the car audio department and picked out the new upgrade sporter 5, only difference is a color screen.

The retail price difference is $10 from the one I originally purchased. They began to ring me up for the exchange , the way they explained it I would have to pay the difference between the two which sounded fair to pay the $10 difference from the old one being 149.97 and the new one 159.97. No, here comes the horror story... they want me to pay the total sale price difference between the old one and the regular non sale price of the new one... almost $60. So I asked for the store manager, she then grabbed out the black tie book and underlined in it the line about price difference. So I was going to be penalized cause I bought this radio on a great sale price and because this specific week the radio I need to exchange for is not on sale I have to pay the whole difference, so Now I sit with a radio and have to watch the Best Buy ads for a great sale like I found when I originally purchased this. I was very calm and collected this and went to the original Best Buy I bought this from seeing they gave me a story about how returns hurts their stores numbers and maybe the store I bought it from will help me out more...

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE SO FAR from the 28th street location in Grand Rapids, MI.. went to the Walker, MI location and they sent me to the Geek Squad who explained the exact same thing to me and wanted me to pay the total sale to non sale difference.. and this guy thought he'd give me an analogy.. well if you buy a car and drive it you can't expect for you to get an exact new one without paying fees.. and I gave him one of mine.. so you're saying if I buy a washer and dryer set and they go out during the warranty period if I bought them on sale I'd have to get the model down from the one I researched and carefully purchased or have to pay a difference just because the new model is out? Basically told me there is nothing he can do this is policy.... Well, I plan to tell as many people about this.. I will also be making copies of my receipt and a copy of the best buy terms in their warranty booklet and I will not be standing in line this year for the Black Friday Sale I hope many of you will print this out and bring it to the store with you and show this to the sales rep when they try to sell you the warranty.. unless you're paying regular price.. you'd be better off buying it from the manufacturer.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/9/2009 9:43:28 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/audio-electronic-retail-stores/best-buy/best-buy-warranty-scam-on-sal-e9bd8.htm.

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
1Author 4Consumer 1Employee/Owner
Updates & Rebuttals

#1 Consumer Comment

Not to be a bother

AUTHOR: Ashley - springfield (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Saturday, October 10, 2009

but you are trying to rip them off.

A warranty covers the product you have. Meaning if it breaks, they only legally have to replace the item with the exact same item or give you a refund for the purchase. Try this analogy: You buy the item on sale, then a week later it goes off sale and you try to return it. You demand the full price since it is no longer on sale, not what you paid. If you had bought the item at full retail, you would only owe 10$.

Seriously. You are trying to return a 3 year old radio and get a new model for 10$? you are working the system and trying to get something for nothing. 60$ for a brand new one sure sounds like a deal to me. They aren't legally obligated to even allow you to get the new model. They could dig through a warehouse and find the same model you have and replace it with that.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Ashley is correct...

AUTHOR: Ronny g - North hollywood (USA)

SUBMITTED: Saturday, October 10, 2009


If you read the terms of your PRP...or "product replacement plan", you will find that in actuality..they are only required to replace the product with one of equal specifications if your current model is discontinued, it could even cost less..doesn't matter. Electronics have actually been going down in price...so for example if you bought a top of the line GPS unit years ago..it might have cost almost $1000.00...but now a better system with similar specifications cost half that..they don't sell $1000.00 GPS units anymore...so maybe now you understand?

If you wish to upgraded your Sirius radio...that is allowed..but why would you expect them to credit it for more then you paid?? You got 3 years of use out of it..the replacement plan is very inexpensive if you break it down by how much it cost per day..or month..they will still lose money because the unit you are turning in for replacement is probably worthless now..so why do you have a complaint here?

Why would you expect them to give you more then you paid for it..does it say that in any agreement you have with them? Did you read the terms of the product replacement plan?

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#3 Consumer Comment

Best Buy

AUTHOR: Elize Von Stratton - Missoula (USA)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, October 11, 2009

Wow. So do you own a business and provide a 4 year warrenty on your services cause i should would love to be a customer cause to expect to get an updated  piece of equipment almost 4 years later is really. 

I bet that your a customer that would buy a 4 year extended warrenty on a laptop and in 3 years when a blu Ray DVD  read/writer where common place and to have a 1 TB hard drive is standard. Your thought hey i take this piece of crap now and by the warrenty and when i see a better laptop spill some coffee on it and short it out and get a new one that makes this one look like crap.

The sad fact is that its tudes like that they make  those warrenties become  even more so limited.  No sales associate would say  anything like this "if I just didn't like the way it looked anymore.. or smashed it.."  If they did then that employee would be more than eleigible for a change in carreers as no manager would approve of a sales person to say something like that . to smash it on purpose would be fraud in my eyes. 

If something came in smashed up  on purpose i would refuse a warrenty. believe me there is a way one can tell if it was an accident  or on purpose.

you need to read the warrenty  first and secondly  if yoiu where a business owner   such a practice would certainly in the long run  end your business.  Imagine I am a maker of laptops and  with every laptop i make i sell a additional warrenty that  for an addition 200 dollars  i provide any and all upgrades  free of charge.  does that mean when the laptop has been pushed to the limit  as far as ram  hard drive , and cpu that i should give you a brand new  totally  new laptop that makes the past one  look  like a childs toy?  No cause ultimatly the beginning purchase of 500 dollars  will not justify the new improved laptop that may sell for 600 dollars and at my expense put me in the poor farm .


you saw the new model it had more flash to it ( bells and whistles and saw ya best friend with it i am sure ) and said hey  i wanna be as kewl as so and so so i better  use that warrenty  to get a new one that is flashy.


 




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#4 Employee

policy

AUTHOR: Eric - The Woodlands (USA)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, October 18, 2009

There are numerous types of "service plans" that Best Buy offers. In your case it is referred to as a Product Replacement Plan. In the event of an exchange for another product because the same model you purchased is unavailable you will be given a credit for the original sale price of the item you purchased. In your case $121. You then have that credit to be used on a replacement. The response you received from both locations is correct. 
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#5 Consumer Comment

Who's Trying To Rip Who Off?

AUTHOR: Cory - San Antonio (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Monday, October 19, 2009

I guarantee something was going to "happen" to your radio before the 4 year warranty period was up just so you could get the new upgraded model. You're just pissed cause it is gonna cost you $60 insyead of $10. Was talking to my brother-in-law and he was telling me how every two years his son "fries" his phone right inside the 2 year warranty period just so he can get a new phone and "those stupid jerks at the phone company" have never been able to figure out how he does it. I'd be careful able telling everyone "about this". You'll just be admitting to "everyone" what a unethical little crook you are. When my brother-in-law told me his story, it just confirmed my belief about his son.
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