Best Buy has some bad policies....

BingoT

Nurses love to give shots
Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Location
Palm Bay Florida
This is from a friend of mine
follows the article. I sure will not use them for major items.


BEST BUY, MY FOOT




Best Buy has some bad policies....

Normally, I would not share this with others, however, since this could happen to you or your friends , I decided to share it. If you purchase something from, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, JC Penny, Sears etc. and you return the item with the receipt they will give you your money back if you paid cash, or credit your account if paid by plastic.

Well, I purchased a GPS for my car, a Tom Tom XL.S from "Best Buy". They have a policy that it must be returned within 14 days for a refund!

So after 4 days I returned it in the original box with all the items in the box, with paper work and cords all wrapped in the plastic. Just as I received it, including the rec eipt.

I explained to the lady at the return desk I did not like the way it could not find store names. The lady at the refund desk said, there is a 15% restock fee, for items returned. I said no one told me that. I said how much would that be. She said it goes by the price of the item. It will be $45.00 Dollars for you. I said, all your going to do is walk over and place it back on the shelf then charge me $45.00 of my money for restocking? She said that's the store policy. I said if more people were aware of it they would not buy anything here! If I bought a $2000.00 computer or TV and returned it I would be charged $300.00 dollars restock fee? She said yes, 15%.

I said OK, just give me my money minus the restock fee.

She said, since the item is over $200.00 dollars, she can't give me my money b a ck!!!

Corporate has to and they will mail you a check in 7 to ten days.!! I said "WHAT?!"

It's my money!! I paid in cash! I want to buy a different brand..Now I have to wait 7 to 10 days. She said well, our policy is on the back of your receipt.

I said, do you read the front or back of your receipt? She said well, the front! I said so do I, I want to talk to the Manager!.

So the manager comes over, I explained everything to him, and he said, well, sir they should of told you about the policy when you got the item. I said, No one, has ever told me about the check refund or restock fee, whenever I bought items from computers to TVs from Best Buy. The only thing they ever discussed was the worthless extended warranty program. He said Well, I can give you corporate phone nu mber.

I called corporate. The guy said, well, I'm not supposed to do this but I can give you a 45.00 dollar gift card and you can use it at Best Buy. I told him if I bought something and returned it, you would charge me a restock fee on the item and then send me a check for the remaining 3 dollars. You can keep your gift card, I'm never shopping in Best Buy ever again, and if I would of been smart, I would of charged the whole thing on my credit card! Then I would of canceled the transaction.

I would of gotten all my money back including your stupid fees! He didn't say a word!

I informed him that I was going to e-mail my friends and give them a heads up on this stores policy, as they don't tell you about all the little caveats.

So please pass this on. It may save you r f riends from having a bad experience of shopping at Best Buy
 
this is a good point. i had heard it's best to charge all electronic/appliance purchases to a credit card, because it often increases the term and/or coverage of your warranty. and the ability to charge-back a transaction is an added warranty factor.

and 15% restocking fee is mad, like the 888 dormant account clearance. like the item's sticker price has anything to do with how much it costs to restock the item.

ROGUES :thumbsup:
 
Ive seen those restocking fees. Amazon.com has this fee as well. My dad bought the wrong item, he thought he was buying a cordless phone for this house but what he bought was the extra phones , not the base phone. He returned it and they took a restocking fee from him.

This restocking is a bunch of CRAP!! Thats almost as bad as target charging $1 to pay your bill over the phone. What a frikin joke these businesses are becoming. Any way to get that extra dollar from us!

Did anyone ever see the show "life on the mesa" Its about people who live on it. About 400 people live there. They live off the land to prove that in reality, you really dont need that much money. THese arnt all freeloaders either. There is a Harvard or Princeton business graduate living on this mesa. Yes. most of the people that live there are probably too lazy to work but there are a few. There's a psychiatric nurse that left when the healthcare system started falling apart.

If people would realize what's really important in life they wouldnt need to have such fees exist. It all comes from greed and peer pressure to live "the lifestyle" I have really changed over the years. I use to be like that years ago but since then I am pretty much a minimalist and pretty happy with it. Its a choice I made a few years back when my nephew died. My brother has all the money in the world and then some and still couldnt save him from his illness. He said he would give up every cent to get him cured (before he died). I then realized that my brother wasnt untouchable as I saw him in the past.

Money and Greed for it gets people to one place: Unsatisfied in the end and these businesses will pay the price because I for one will not buy at best buy and will pass this message on
 
Re-stocking fee

I purchased the computer I use now from Best Buy in Canada. I certainly was not informed of a restocking fee at time of purchase. (Oct/07). Careful consumer that I am, I usually look for posted return policies, and ask when I do not see them. When I asked about their policy, I was told that it was printed on the back of the receipt. The salesclerk asked the cashier to print me out a "voided" receipt so I could read the policy. She seemed confused by this simple request, but plan B was to open the register & pull me out a few inches of blank paper.

Your original receipt is required and a valid ID may be required for all returns, exchanges, price matches and warranty repair services

We accept returns & exchanges 14 days from the date of purchase on Computers, Monitors, Printers, Notebook Computers, Camcorders, Digital Cameras, Radar Detectors, Portable DVD Players and Air Conditioners.

We accept returns & exchanges 30 days from the date of purchase on the remainder of our merchandise.

Exceptions to the 20 day policy include: opened Computer Software, opened Videos & DVD movies, opened Video Games and opened Music. You may EXCHANGE these items for the same title if the original is defective. We do NOT accept returns on these items if opened and non-defective.

No refund on labour or installation services

If any item is returned with any of the original pagage contents missing, the full purchase price will not be refunded.

Al returns, exchanges and price adjustments must be made in the country of original purchase.

See your local Best Buy store for further details.
May oo5​

No mention of any re-stocking fees. But again, this is Best Buy in Canada, (note spelling of "labour") and your friend's experience may not have been the same.

It is common for "special order" items to have a restocking fee applied, and I think that 15% is about a normal charge. I've been doing home renovations for some years now:eek: and I've run into that policy a number of places. Quite a few years ago ('92 or '93) I'd had to put down a 50% deposit on special order hardwood. By the time it came in, I'd suffered a job loss, and I decided that such a large purchase and the associated installation charges were not a reasonable expense at the time. I was charged a 15% restocking fee, and refunded the difference. As the clerk explained, because there is only so much of the material (or carpet, or tile) they often have to sell it at a discount because it is not an instock item and to move it off their premises, and usually the special order amount will not meet another buyer's needs precisely.

In the absence of a printed or posted policy, merchants in Ontario do not have to offer ANY return policy, including defective items. Your beef then lies with the manufacturer, and it is up to you ship the item back to them.

Consumers -- read the fine print. If you don't like the way a company does business, let them know why. Your purchasing power is the most important thing you can withdraw, but if a company doesn't know just why they are losing customers, they are unlikely to change poor policies or behaviour.
 
this is a good point. i had heard it's best to charge all electronic/appliance purchases to a credit card, because it often increases the term and/or coverage of your warranty. and the ability to charge-back a transaction is an added warranty factor.

and 15% restocking fee is mad, like the 888 dormant account clearance. like the item's sticker price has anything to do with how much it costs to restock the item.

ROGUES :thumbsup:
The restocking fee relates to the retailer's loss on the returned item, which is related to the price. Credit card won't help you if you want to return something just because you don't like it, not because you it is defective.

Ive seen those restocking fees. Amazon.com has this fee as well. My dad bought the wrong item, he thought he was buying a cordless phone for this house but what he bought was the extra phones , not the base phone. He returned it and they took a restocking fee from him.

This restocking is a bunch of CRAP!! Thats almost as bad as target charging $1 to pay your bill over the phone. What a frikin joke these businesses are becoming. Any way to get that extra dollar from us!
The returning a perfectly good product with or without a restocking fee is not a right, it is a service some retailer offer in the hope that it will increase their profits.

In the absence of a printed or posted policy, merchants in Ontario do not have to offer ANY return policy, including defective items. Your beef then lies with the manufacturer, and it is up to you ship the item back to them.
This is wrong. You have a contract with the seller. The seller may try to fob you off and tell you to deal with the manufacturer, but it is the seller's part of the contract to provide the goods as described in the contract. There is no need for any special policy, since you have rights in law, contract law and consumer protection law.
 
I purchased the computer I use now from Best Buy in Canada. I certainly was not informed of a restocking fee at time of purchase. (Oct/07). Careful consumer that I am, I usually look for posted return policies, and ask when I do not see them. When I asked about their policy, I was told that it was printed on the back of the receipt. The salesclerk asked the cashier to print me out a "voided" receipt so I could read the policy. She seemed confused by this simple request, but plan B was to open the register & pull me out a few inches of blank paper.



No mention of any re-stocking fees. But again, this is Best Buy in Canada, (note spelling of "labour") and your friend's experience may not have been the same.

It is common for "special order" items to have a restocking fee applied, and I think that 15% is about a normal charge. I've been doing home renovations for some years now:eek: and I've run into that policy a number of places. Quite a few years ago ('92 or '93) I'd had to put down a 50% deposit on special order hardwood. By the time it came in, I'd suffered a job loss, and I decided that such a large purchase and the associated installation charges were not a reasonable expense at the time. I was charged a 15% restocking fee, and refunded the difference. As the clerk explained, because there is only so much of the material (or carpet, or tile) they often have to sell it at a discount because it is not an instock item and to move it off their premises, and usually the special order amount will not meet another buyer's needs precisely.

In the absence of a printed or posted policy, merchants in Ontario do not have to offer ANY return policy, including defective items. Your beef then lies with the manufacturer, and it is up to you ship the item back to them.

Consumers -- read the fine print. If you don't like the way a company does business, let them know why. Your purchasing power is the most important thing you can withdraw, but if a company doesn't know just why they are losing customers, they are unlikely to change poor policies or behaviour.
................i sometimes have to pay a restocking fee at some supply houses, once when one of my employees bought the wrong piece of cut wire, we had no use for it but it was nice that they did take it back, refund our money and charge us 15% restocking fee, they could have made us eat the whole amount, over 300.00.if a store has alot of returns, someone has to pay that employees time whether they have 1 or 1000 items to put back , not including the paper work and everything else involved, even if the item hasnt been out of the box or used. i just see the good and bad of both sides of the issue..........and i never shop at best buy:)....................laurie
 
Respectfully disagree

This is wrong. You have a contract with the seller. The seller may try to fob you off and tell you to deal with the manufacturer, but it is the seller's part of the contract to provide the goods as described in the contract. There is no need for any special policy, since you have rights in law, contract law and consumer protection law.

Grandmaster, I am only stating consumer law as I understand it in MY country, and MY province. I have a valid Provincial Sales Tax Licence in Ontario, and have yet to be successful enough ($30,000 sales annually) to be forced to collect GST for no compensation on behalf of our government. You are in the UK, and English Law is not applied worldwide. In Ontario you have to petition a court for the right to bring a suit against the Government, and even a municipality.

Stronger consumer protection laws should be in place in most jurisdictions. Canadian jurisprudence has a case history following English law, and it is admirable that the UK has stronger consumer protection policies then we have here in Canada.

I think that other countries have even less.

In Ontario, Canada... ask. Business do no have to have ANY return policies. But ones that want repeat business do.
 
The returning a perfectly good product with or without a restocking fee is not a right, it is a service some retailer offer in the hope that it will increase their profits.

Not trying to be antagonistic here, but is that not part of the point I was trying to make?

Caveat emptor (buyer beware) and all that, Laws varies from jurisdiction to juriscition, and I am not a lawyer nor proferring legal advice. I do not even play one on TV:lolup:
 
Not trying to be antagonistic here, but is that not part of the point I was trying to make?

Caveat emptor (buyer beware) and all that, Laws varies from jurisdiction to juriscition, and I am not a lawyer nor proferring legal advice. I do not even play one on TV:lolup:
..........lol, but have you ever stayed at a holiday express? i love those commercials:D
 
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Grandmaster, I am only stating consumer law as I understand it in MY country, and MY province. I have a valid Provincial Sales Tax Licence in Ontario, and have yet to be successful enough ($30,000 sales annually) to be forced to collect GST for no compensation on behalf of our government. You are in the UK, and English Law is not applied worldwide. In Ontario you have to petition a court for the right to bring a suit against the Government, and even a municipality.

Stronger consumer protection laws should be in place in most jurisdictions. Canadian jurisprudence has a case history following English law, and it is admirable that the UK has stronger consumer protection policies then we have here in Canada.

I think that other countries have even less.

In Ontario, Canada... ask. Business do no have to have ANY return policies. But ones that want repeat business do.
There does not need to be one. Under the Ontario Sale of Goods Act, the consumer has the right to reject faulty goods or goods not in accordance with the description.
 
Grandmaster, whether a merchant complies in a legal fashion with defective merchandise is another issue than that raised by OP. Something that breaks or ceases to function during the warranty period is something else. But as you so rightly noted, goods that are not defective do not have to be accepted for return. Particularly when giving gifts, purchasers should ask about a store's return policy. I've had stores extend their return period on my receipt by asking politely for just that.

I buy clothing for my daughter from a store whose policy is "credit only" on exchanges. She likes their clothes, so if she is not happy with my selection, she can always find something she likes.

The OP brought to light the return and restocking fee policy at a major US chain, something I think many people were not aware of. Sent me running to check my receipt. But I know that if my monitor blows, it's up to me to deal with the manufacturer several months after purchase.

I try to be a careful consumer, and good luck getting your cash back from some places for defective goods. Am I really going to beat my head against a brick wall with a retailer for an $11.98 hand mixer, or meekly box it up and send it back? Last purchase from that place, and I was sure to tell all my friends. BTW, the manufacturer shipped me a new one that has worked fine for the last two years.
 

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