Best Buy Sued By Ohio

liryon writes "The Register is reporting that the state of Ohio has sued national electronics retailer Best Buy for misleading customers by repackaging used goods and then selling them as new, and for failing to pay rebate claims. The Register report can be found here, and the original story is here. I guess this is what you get for deciding the customer is not always right." See also the Ohio AG's press release.

Comments

Best Buy Protester

[Robotech_Master]

This kind of reminds me of a fellow often sighted on the outskirts of the parking lot of the shopping center that houses the Best Buy here in Springfield, Missouri, particularly during big sales. There's a landscaped border to the lot, with small grassy ridges and trees and things, and this fellow will bring a lawnchair, thermos mug, perhaps a parasol for shade, and set up right there on the hill overlooking the entrance with a big posterboard protest sign. I can't remember exactly what the sign said--I'm sure he had different ones on different occasions--but it was basically warnings like not to trust Best Buy's warranty plans, don't shop at Best Buy, etc.

I never quite worked up the nerve to approach him and ask him about it, but I did ask a couple of Best Buy servicepeons I happened to encounter while eating in the nearby Subway one day. Apparently the fellow had bought a video camera, damaged it in a fashion not covered under warranty (apparently dropped it over the side of a boat into a lake or something, I can't remember exactly now) and then got upset when Best Buy refused to honor the service plan.

So now he's getting his money's worth back by carrying out this oddball protest. Takes all kinds, I suppose.

Re:Best Buy Protester

[aardvarkjoe]

Apparently the fellow had bought a video camera, damaged it in a fashion not covered under warranty (apparently dropped it over the side of a boat into a lake or something, I can't remember exactly now) and then got upset when Best Buy refused to honor the service plan.

It's worth noting that salesmen in these electronics stores often claim that their service plans cover anything that happens to the items, and so it's not too surprising that people get mad when they refuse to fix damaged items. It doesn't excuse the guy in question from reading the fine print before blowing his money on one of these worthless "service plans," but it does make the situation a little more understandable.

Re:Best Buy Protester

[stratjakt]

I've fallen for the "service plan" scam before. And yeah, the salespeople lie straight out about it. They claim it covers anything.

I've been told, and this is as close as I can get to quoting "Yeah, like in 6 months they won't sell a 20 gig hard drive anymore, so if you brought yours back, we'd replace it for the next compatible model, and you'd get an upgrade to 40gigs or so for free!" This was completely in a *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* kind of way. Completely dishonest, and completely false.

I have a nephew who works at Best Buy, and these sorts of speeches are encouraged.

Anyhow, I got screwed over a monitor. Back when 14"-15" were the norm, I payed about $500 bucks for a nice NEC 17", from FutureShop (the Canadian answer to Best Buy). Being a poor college student, $500 bucks was a lot of cash, so another $50 for the extended warranty seemed like a wise idea.

A month down the road, the monitor starts going bad. It shuts itself off after a half an hour, sometimes not coming back on. So I lugged the thing back to FutureShop, and put it on the service desk. It was hot and that fucking thing was heavy.

I was told, that since it's still under manufacturers warranty, that they couldn't exchange it for me. I argued for a good hour with every jackass in the store. I showed them my replacement plan, which said nothing about "manufacturers warranty". I said replace it, and YOU deal with the manufacturer.

But no, I ended up having to ship it back to NEC at my own expense, who cross shipped me a refurbed monitor.

The next paragraph is even more offtopic!

The story goes on, the replacement had the same problem, as did the replacement after that. All I can say was that NEC was top notch. They kept good records of what went on, and never gave me a hassle. I remember the girl on the other end of the phone, after putting in my name, going "Oh, this is the 3rd one?". We talked about climate and where it is, and why they were overheating, etc.. The last time I called, the girl brought up my file, and immediately began apologizing. Turns out that particular model had a design flaw that made it overheat at higher resolutions. They hooked me up with it's replacement, which lasted me until early this year, when it started to ghost images.

Anyways. Every time I see the Simpson's episode where Homer is having Moe reinsert the crayon into his brain to make him stupid, and they know Homer is stupid enough when he exclaims "EXTENDED WARRANTEE! HOW CAN I LOSE!", I can't help but be reminded of my Future Shop adventures.

Manufacturers are so much better to deal with, and for most electronics, offer decent warrantees. Hell, Sony repaired a CD walkman for me for free, and it was six months out of warantee.

Re:Best Buy Protester

[Izago909]

In my younger days I used to work for both Circuit City and Best Buy. My experience in being the "man on the line" is that most customers are ignorant, either by choice or by apathy. Because I am the only person they will ever talk to I am the CEO, President, and store manager wrapped up in one. Towards the end of my days at both places I was so bitter that my most common response to a complaint was "I am a trained monkey with no authority. If you like, I can find a manager, but I can do nothing for you"

Most customers fail to realize that they are 'protesting' to a kid who probably has the same complaints they do, but management ties their hands. If I could have, I would have given every last person exactly what they wanted.

Circuit City has gone under many changes since I left. They used to have older, more knowledgeable people, but since they stopped paying their sales people on commission, high school and college students have filled in the ranks. This greatly reduces the quality of service since the more experienced and educated people can not afford to work there and support their families.

Their service plans are another example. People are actually fired for not meeting their quota on service plans. If you read the fine print and can comprehend it, there are actually certain pieces of hardware that everyone should get a service plan on, but it is useless for almost everything under $200 and stand alone commodity items. It's also good for people who don't have a clue what they are doing, and the manufacturer's support and warranty lifetime is too short (like computers).

All-in-all if you have a problem with something in any store, take it up with a manager. Even they may not have the authority to fix you problem, but you have better odds with them than the kid on the floor. Also, the quality of service is much better at locally owned and operated stores. You probably will pay more, but you are supporting your community instead of a large, heartless corporation that uses off-shore tax havens to avoid paying their taxes.

Go get 'em Ohio!

[garcia]

Why people ever shop at Best Buy I will never know. Sadly I was tricked into going there just last night...

I have a problem with Best Buy at all times of the year but especially at Christmas when they block off lanes so you can only enter/exit in one spot. That way they have an easier time trapping you in there to tell you that they do not work on commissions but that they are happy to help you look for everything they offer.

The second to last time I went to Best Buy I was looking for a wlan CF card for my iPaq. I went to Circuit City first and they had one for $40. I wasn't a huge fan of the maker (never heard of them) so I went to the Best Buy (less than 2 mi as the crow flies). I went into the area with the CF cards and looked at their gigantic selection of two CF cards. Both were over $75. Immediately the vultures descended on me. For once I had a question, "where are the rest of your CF wifi cards?" "That's it." "Wow, these are expensive." I was then dismissed with a wave of the hand and an insult about my lack of wifi CF card knowledge. I told them to start shopping at Circuit City, their discount couldn't even help to match their prices.

So last night I go in there to pick up a SD card reader. Their selection was, again, fantastically lacking. Five card readers. Two took SD the rest were for Sony format. $35.00 was the cheap one. Huh? Newegg.com here I come. So as I am leaving I am asked why I am leaving without buying anything, "Not here for Madden 2k5?" "No, I was here for an inexpensive SD card reader, it's obvious you don't carry those."

Now I was lying a bit when I said it was $35. It *was* $35 but I was not-so-politely informed that I could buy it at $35 and wait X weeks for my refund to come in the mail. Sorry about that Best Buy but I could get I online for $14 including shipping and no need to wait for my money to come back. Perhaps Ohio should force Best Buy to pay interest on the money while you wait for a rebate... Don't they make you pay back all the interest accrued if you don't have it all paid off when their 0% APR offer is done? It would be nice for them to taste their own medicine for once. Perhaps they would care about their customers more if they did.

For Best Buy being on nearly every block here in Minnesota (there are 5+ within a 5 mile radius of me) they suck. How the hell did they get so popular? People are really willing to put up w/lack of choice and expensive prices?

I'm sorry, I forgot I was in Microsoft-taught hell.

I just went into Best Buy yesterday ...

[Jason1729]

for the first time in years, and it will probably be the last time.

I wanted a bluetooth keyboard for my notebook and some other accessories. I got all the accessories and then I was looking at the keyboards. The sales girl came and said that if I'm going to get a keyboard, I should get the extended warranty.

She didn't even try to see how interested I was in the keyboards or try to convince me to buy one. When I said "that's okay", she said I should read about it and shoved a brochure in front of me. I said "no thanks", and she angrily shoved it even closer and said "I really should at least read it; it's a great deal". I ignored her and she kept trying. I finally just abandoned my cart full of things I'd already decided to buy right in front of her and walked out of the store.

In summary, I didn't RTFA, but I hope this lawsuit breaks them.

I will never set foot in Best Buy again.

[Howski]

On August 29, 2003, the Panasonic 27" television that I purchased at the Best Buy store in Columbia, MD was replaced with a model comparable in specification, according to the 4-year Performance Service Plan (hereafter PSP) that I purchased with the unit. The salesperson informed me that, under the PSP, if anything ever goes wrong with the television, I can bring it back to the store for repair or replacement. When the original unit was replaced, the salesperson informed me that, under the PSP, the remainder of the 4-year term of the PSP would carry over to the replacement unit.

Since my roommate and I found a substitute for the unit in the interim, the unit sat unmoved and unopened in my parents' house for approximately 120 days. (Yeah, I know. I probably should have checked it out, but I mean, i didn't really have the room to open this thing, especially when I didn't immediately require its use.) When I opened the unit that was given to me as a replacement, it turned out to be defective, with considerable cosmetic damage in the form of cracks and warps in the case. On January 6, 2004, I returned to the Best Buy store in Columbia, MD to have it repaired or replaced according to the PSP, the salesperson at the store told me that the PSP did not cover physical damage. I told the store salesperson that the unit was in that condition when I opened it. Then the salesperson said that the situation would be different if the unit did not function. I then told the salespeople that I did not turn the unit on, so I did not know if it functioned at all. Once it was determined that the unit did not function, the store salesperson agreed to send the unit to their authorized repair facility, saying that they would contact me when it was returned. They did not contact me. On February 3, 2004, I finally contacted the store myself--at which time I found that the unit had been in their possession for the past 3 weeks--and they told me it was repaired and I could pick up the unit. When I arrived, the store salesperson told me that the unit was not able to be repaired. When I asked for the unit to be replaced according to the PSP, they told me that I must have caused the damage myself, and that it was therefore not covered under the PSP. This is unacceptable, as the salesperson who sold me the unit and the PSP told me that if anything goes wrong with the TV, I could return it for repair or replacement, and since the full disclosure of the terms of the PSP were not given to me until after I purchased it.

So yeah, I probably should have checked it out to make sure it was ok, but I didn't really feel the need - the box had no signs of damage or trauma, was sealed, etc, etc. But that will surely be a lesson to me not to trust Best Buy ever again, ESPECIALLY not their so-called "service plan."

For more stories - FAR more offensive and appalling than this one, I might add - check out http://www.bestbuysux.org/.