Best Buy Destroyed my computer and continues to ignore my request for compensation Los Angeles California

Summary of Events

I brought a fully functioning Compaq Deskpro Pentium III computer to Best Buy (Westwood, CA, store # 367) on 9-25-2003 to have a second hard drive installed.

After numerous attempts and countless lies from BestBuy technicians, my computer's original working hard drive was rendered COMPLETELY inoperable (they are not even able to boot-up my computer to Windows XP).

Pursuant to paragraph 6 of your service order disclaimer which calls for Best Buy to correct any defects in workmanship of the repair services, at no additional charge; I request that Best Buy restores my computer to its original condition (have my original invoice) or compensates me $1050 for my loss.

I have enclosed a full, detailed and factual account of my dealings with Best Buy employees and technicians.




Full Account



This is my statement as to what happened to me, Ruth Mirelly Osuna, at the Best Buy store in Westwood (store # 367) on September 25, 2003 and subsequent visits:

At approximately 11:50am I walked into Best Buy with an 80 GB hard drive in hand that I had just purchased at the same Best Buy the day before. I also had my Compaq Deskpro 2000 Pentium III computer, that was operating fine. The computer, in its entirety, had given me no problem and all the hardware and software was working fine. I had a disk drive, a cd-rom drive, the original 10 GB hard drive, and a new firewire 3 port PC card, which were all in perfect working condition.

At the computer services department I approached a young man by the name of Tommy (Darwish). I explained to him I needed a secondary hard-drive installed properly onto my computer. He said it would only take him about 15 minutes and I should wait. I decided to walk around the store in the mean time. When I returned I saw he was still working on it. I saw my computer working fine because up on the screen was my Win XP and all of my software icons (this is important because Best Buy employees will later blatantly lie to me about the condition of my computer when I brought it into the store).

Realizing he was still working on it I decided to leave the store to run a couple of errands. I called 2 hours later and he(Tommy) said he had gotten the second hard drive installed but couldn't get the computer to recognize it, he said he would have it done by the end of the day and he would call me to come pick it up. Knowing Best Buy closes at 10PM, and I had not received a phone call by 8PM, I called once again and another guy named Steve _______ (he would not give me his last name) said he was working on it and he would have it done by the next day. He said he would call me when it was ready.

The next day (Saturday), not having received a phone call, I called Steve and asked what the situation was. He said there was something wrong with the connection to the second hard drive and that he would call me back when he has it figured out. I then called my boyfriend, Thomas Swalla, since he works in nearby Beverly Hills and asked him to pass by the Best Buy on his way home to pick up the computer. He came home with no computer and said they were still working on it.

On Sunday I called again and they gave me the runaround saying they were working on it and they would call me. Having learned from my recent experience with the employees at the Westwood Store that I was not going to receive a phone call, I decided I would call back the next day.

I called again the next day and talked to Chris, who was the THIRD technician working on my computer. He said there was something wrong (bad sectors) with the second hard drive I had purchased at the store and that was the reason it was taking so long to repair. He said that they had not realized they were trying to install a defective hard drive. I asked him to get another one off the shelf and I would exchange it when I pick up the computer. He said they didn't have any more 80 GB hard drives but they had a 60 GB hard drive. I said to use a 60 GB drive.

We did an over the phone exchange with the val number on my receipt. He later called and left a message saying he couldn't install the 60 GB hard drive along with the original hard drive because the connector wouldn't allow 2 things connected to the computer at once. He continued to explain that, WITHOUT my permission, he had only connected my CD drive and my second hard drive leaving me without a disk drive and my original hard drive.

I immediately called Chris and told him that everything was working properly when I dropped off the computer and there should be no reason for me to be left without a floppy disk drive. He then told me that he installed Windows ME on the new 60 GB hard drive, again WITHOUT my permission and that my orginal hard drive, that was working properly when I brought the computer in, was not functioning anymore. In other words, everything including the operating system had been completely lost.

I asked to speak to the store manager and was put on hold for over 45 minutes. Knowing something was DRASTICALLY wrong I hung up and quickly drove to the store.

When I arrived at the store I approached Fabian Meza, the store manager, and explained my situation. He took me over to my computer and I was in disbelief with the fact that they had completely ruined my first hard drive to the point of inoperability, making the entire system worthless. I asked to be shown my original hard drive and when they connected it to the computer it was inoperable saying something about UNIX on the screen.

I could not believe they had erased my entire system and ruined my original hard drive. In addition, they had disconnected my floppy disk drive, which again was working fine when I dropped off the computer. In essence, I was left with a machine that had a 60 GB hard drive installed with Win ME as my new operating system. (PLEASE COMPARE THE SYSTEM DESCRIBED IN THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH WITH THE ORIGINAL WORKING SYSTEM ON THE ENCLOSED INVOICE. YOU WILL CLEARLY SEE THE ENOURMOUS DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY OF PRODUCT.)

I asked for a detailed step by step write up of what was done to the computer, they said they didn't have one.

I asked to speak to Tommy(the technician I entrusted my computer with initially), they said he was out of the country.

I asked how they ruined my original hard drive and they lied and said that I had brought the computer in that way. I have six witnesses that can attest to the condition of the computer before I brought it to Best Buy.

I was adamant that I had a working system with over $2,000 worth of software on that hard drive and that it was all properly working when I dropped it off. I was left standing in Best Buy feeling completely alienated with no customer service support whatsoever. They had ruined my computer and everyone was trying to get their stories straight so they could escape how INCREDIBLY NEGLIGENT they were. Fabian insisted I take my computer and leave, knowing that if I did, they would be completely free of any legal responsibility. Therefore I left the computer at their service department, which is where it sits today.

After a difficult process of automated services I finally got a voice on the other side of the phone at Best Buy headquarters. I spoke with a guy named Jake who was very nonchalant about the situation and basically told me I was out of luck. I asked to speak to his manager and he put me on hold for about 15 minutes. A man named Jeff came on the line and would not give me his last name either. I explained my situation and he told me Best Buy wasn't liable for any software or data loss. I said, Your technicians ruined my computer? He said, excuse me I am not finished, I didn't interrupt you when you were talking. I don't know where the Osuna family comes from, but does the whole Osuna family have a habit of interrupting people?

I then asked to speak to his boss and he put me on hold for another 20 minutes. Finally, a lady named Jill got on the phone and I had to explain my situation again, she said they weren't liable for any software or data loss. I told her I had my hardware ruined by their technicians and that I wanted to resolve this issue without having to go to court. Being extremely frustrated, I was willing to compromise. I told her that I wanted my computer back to some kind of working order. I told her at a minimum I wanted Windows XP back onto my computer in order to verify that the second hard drive was installed correctly.

In addition, I wanted to verify that all of my other hardware such as the disk drive, CD drive, and fire wire card were functioning correctly. She complied and said they would wave the $60 fee that went along with the XP installation. The next day they told me I had to pay for the XP system in its entirety. I told them I don't think I should have to pay for anything since they are the ones responsible for my completely ruined original working hard drive. She again stated Best Buy is not liable for software or data loss. I refuse to pay for the negligence of the Best Buy technicians who did not only loose all of my data and software programs but destroyed my working hardware.

After writing headquarters and trying to contact top personnel I have had no responses.

Ruth
Sherman Oaks, California
U.S.A.

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