Issue with Best Buy

[SabreFan1]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

Oh ok I heard places stopped doing it up here.  Maybe there is some places that still do it but thats just what I have been told.

If you heard that they stopped in the US, you heard wrong.

[Toews]

Try doing things the civil way. Going the social media route seems to be the best idea if they aren't taking you seriously. But if even that fails then it's time to take more drastic measures...

 

If you are persistent and belligerent enough then IMO there is nothing more effective than creating a bit of a ruckus. Remember that making a scene is not about convincing anyone, it's about attracting attention and distracting other shoppers. You want to sound irrational, you want to be loud, exclaim loudly like "This is ridiculous!" maybe throw in a mild expletive or two like "Bull$&!#!". That's what gets eyeballs on you then call them a bunch of thieves/swindlers/charlatans. Then vow to return to give them a piece of your mind if they do not fix your problem. Eventually they will cave, you may want to find another Best Buy to shop at after though. 

[Russ]

43 minutes ago, SabreFan1 said:

If you heard that they stopped in the US, you heard wrong.

No Canada.  Hence the up here  Maybe some places do it, I've been told otherwise.  Oh well I still stick with my good ole 10 year old LCD 40" that still works just peachy. 

[taxi]

22 hours ago, theo5789 said:

Nothing states it being refurb and I did not want a refurb item and I know the risks involved with a refurb item. The manager insisted they sold me a new product and checked the receipt and kept insisting it was new. This is where the issue lies, I believe they sold me a refurbished item as new. I have confirmation from the manufacturer that the battery code does not match with SN of the phone and that a seal had been broken by an unauthorized person. I just don't have proof that this was done by Best Buy or perhaps Asus had sent Best Buy the phone refurbished to sell as new, but that shouldn't be my problem to resolve. The phone cost was almost 500 dollars after taxes, which is retail price of the phone.

I sold cell phones back in the day. Things may have changed, but phones were individually serialized. The batteries that came with them were not. Seals on phones should only exist in places that you need a screwdriver or other tool to open. Now that all phones have Sim Cards, they may not individually serialize them, but they still might. I'd check the side of the box to ensure the serial numbers match up. If they don't you might be able to get Bestbuy for slipping in a used phone into a new box. 

 

Did the phone you bought come with a removable battery?

 

Edit: 

 

Also refurb phones should come in different boxes than new ones. It's also not a simple matter of Bestbuy "referbing" the phone in the back. Switching out parts is relatively complicated and pretty difficult to do without leaving the phone looking visibly altered. It's possible a customer did this and returned the phone, and then Bestbuy put it back into their new inventory. That'd be very strange though. Theoretically, if someone just switched an old phone for a new one, the serial numbers on the box and phone shouldn't match up.

[theo5789]

20 minutes ago, taxi said:

I sold cell phones back in the day. Things may have changed, but phones were individually serialized. The batteries that came with them were not. Seals on phones should only exist in places that you need a screwdriver or other tool to open. Now that all phones have Sim Cards, they may not individually serialize them, but they still might. I'd check the side of the box to ensure the serial numbers match up. If they don't you might be able to get Bestbuy for slipping in a used phone into a new box. 

 

Did the phone you bought come with a removable battery?

No it was not a removable battery as far as I know. It's an enclosed phone that would require opening up the entire phone to look inside. It's the Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom. I was sent pictures of phone showing damage/broken seal to the areas where the screwdrivers were needed (whether it was there already or done by Asus, I won't know). The SNs seem to match on the box and phone, but the only indicator of the SN on the phone is a sticker label on the back of the phone that had been there already (thinking about it now, I'm not sure if it's standard to have this label there).

 

I would like to add now that I'm looking at the contents of the box, it contains a warranty form that has a sticker label on it, but it appears it's on top of another sticker. I'm not able to peel off the top label completely though. From what I can peel off, it looks like there's some difference on the bottom label, but I can't get the SN.

[DonLever]

29 minutes ago, taxi said:

Also refurb phones should come in different boxes than new ones. It's also not a simple matter of Bestbuy "referbing" the phone in the back. Switching out parts is relatively complicated and pretty difficult to do without leaving the phone looking visibly altered. It's possible a customer did this and returned the phone, and then Bestbuy put it back into their new inventory. That'd be very strange though. Theoretically, if someone just switched an old phone for a new one, the serial numbers on the box and phone shouldn't match up.

Does Best Buy even sell refurb phones or electronics?  I've seen refurb items elsewhere and the packaging is different from the original product.  Often they come in plain cardboard boxes.

 

What Best Buy do sell is open box electronics.   These are items returned by customers and resold by Best Buy.   They are clearly marked "open box" and sell for a lower price than unopened box.   Is it possible the OP bought an opened box phone that mislabelled by Best Buy?  ie. they did not put an open box label on it.    On the hand, you can often tell something is open box if there is no shrink wrapping on it or if the sealed was broken.

[theo5789]

10 minutes ago, DonLever said:

Does Best Buy even sell refurb phones or electronics?  I've seen refurb items elsewhere and the packaging is different from the original product.  Often they come in plain cardboard boxes.

 

What Best Buy do sell is open box electronics.   These are items returned by customers and resold by Best Buy.   They are clearly marked "open box" and sell for a lower price than unopened box.   Is it possible the OP bought an opened box phone that mislabelled by Best Buy?  ie. they did not put an open box label on it.    On the hand, you can often tell something is open box if there is no shrink wrapping on it or if the sealed was broken.

Best Buy certainly do sell refurbished items, but not sure they do in store, but when it's advertised as refurbished, then I'm sure it would be clearly marked. Honestly, if it was an open box/used item, I wouldn't even mind simply because the warranty is from the date of purchase if anything goes wrong. The problem is the battery supposedly didn't match the phone (been replaced, harder to do for an enclosed phone) and it had been previously opened up (seals broken) which leads me to believe it's been refurbished.

[theo5789]

1 hour ago, taxi said:

Edit: 

 

Also refurb phones should come in different boxes than new ones. It's also not a simple matter of Bestbuy "referbing" the phone in the back. Switching out parts is relatively complicated and pretty difficult to do without leaving the phone looking visibly altered. It's possible a customer did this and returned the phone, and then Bestbuy put it back into their new inventory. That'd be very strange though. Theoretically, if someone just switched an old phone for a new one, the serial numbers on the box and phone shouldn't match up.

The internal part of the phone is visibly altered from images sent to me from Asus. Battery is an easily replaceable part once it's been opened up I imagine. Perhaps they looked at the phone externally and believed it looked fine and thought they could get away with it. If the phone lasted a year or more. I may not have ever known.

 

Perhaps it was altered by a previous customer or whatever, but at the end of the day they sold me a new product that wasn't (should have had a full warranty, but was void) and I am not responsible for that and I shouldn't be the one footing the bill for it. I could understand them blaming me if it was water damage or perhaps something being damaged from dropping the phone, but how does the battery get changed and seals broken? Maybe if the phone was past its warranty period, then one might try to fix it themselves.

 

There just isn't a logical explanation to fault me for this and that is the added frustration of this process. They rather not do the right thing and keep a reasonable and honest customer, but instead continue to push them away to shop elsewhere and leave a bad name for themselves. It's no wonder why these retail stores are going under fast, it's not just simply the convenience of online shopping.

[Alflives]

On 6/5/2018 at 8:45 AM, theo5789 said:

I'm just curious if anyone has gone through something similar and can help me with my situation. I bought a new Asus phone through Best Buy in late November and it has since died in late April. I sent it (paid for shipping as there is no service locally) in to Asus for repairs and was told that the battery does not match the phone and some seal had been broken by an unauthorized person so the warranty was void and I would have to pay for the repairs, which would cost me the price of the phone itself apparently. I had it shipped back unrepaired.

 

I proceeded to take it back to Best Buy because it would appear the phone that I had purchased was tampered/refurbished already when I bought it as "new". They told me that it's past the return period and that it is no longer their responsibility and that I've had it for a while and they don't know what I could've done with it. I find this absolutely absurd because why would someone do this to their phone when it should be under warranty. They quickly tried to brush me off and took my contact info and said they will contact me within 3-5 business days after talking to someone higher up and let me know my options, but I'm not sure they will ever contact me back, but today is day 5, so who knows.

 

My question is am I out of luck for this situation or is there something else that I can do? I'm considering filing a complaint through BBB, but I've never done it before and I don't know if it'll really resolve anything.

I have an iPad, that is great.  The battery died after a couple years, and my wife to it to the Apple store (in Surrey, so I didn't go; she's still fast enough to dodge bullets) and they just gave her a new one.  I had no extra warranty or anything.  They even updated my new one with all my saved stuff from i-Cloud, which I didn't even know existed.  Maybe, after this issue is resolved to your satisfaction, get an Apple phone?  

[taxi]

Seems very strange to me that a customer would buy a phone, swap out the battery, and then return it as new. Wouldn't they just get a new phone? The whole thing is very odd. Could have also been a staff member. They pull weird scams all the time. Cell phone sales, for whatever reason, seems to especially attract a bunch of shady sales people.  Once again though, I'm trying to find the motivation for swapping out a battery.

 

Guess it could have been a customer buying both a refurb and a new one. Then swapping the boxes and returning the refub in the new box and keeping the new phone?

[Toews]

14 minutes ago, taxi said:

Seems very strange to me that a customer would buy a phone, swap out the battery, and then return it as new. Wouldn't they just get a new phone? The whole thing is very odd. Could have also been a staff member. They pull weird scams all the time. Cell phone sales, for whatever reason, seems to especially attract a bunch of shady sales people.  Once again though, I'm trying to find the motivation for swapping out a battery.

 

Guess it could have been a customer buying both a refurb and a new one. Then swapping the boxes and returning the refub in the new box and keeping the new phone?

That would be my best guess going off what the OP said.

[Alflives]

Write an old fashioned letter of complaint to the Management of Best Buy, and cc it to several news outlets.  I bet that gets the ball rolling. 

[theo5789]

41 minutes ago, taxi said:

Seems very strange to me that a customer would buy a phone, swap out the battery, and then return it as new. Wouldn't they just get a new phone? The whole thing is very odd. Could have also been a staff member. They pull weird scams all the time. Cell phone sales, for whatever reason, seems to especially attract a bunch of shady sales people.  Once again though, I'm trying to find the motivation for swapping out a battery.

 

Guess it could have been a customer buying both a refurb and a new one. Then swapping the boxes and returning the refub in the new box and keeping the new phone?

Well as someone mentioned prior that if one were to pay extra for the Best Buy warranty, they could get a replacement or whatever from Best Buy instead of the manufacturer. So perhaps they took back a customer's phone and instead of taking the loss on selling it at a refurbished cost, they decided they could try to re-sell as new to maximize profits. I imagine most people would not as meticulous to put the effort and would assume they would sell a new product as advertised and like I said, if the phone lasted long enough, it may have gone undetected.

 

No matter what the reason was though, I shouldn't be punished for it. Even if they weren't aware, they are the ones in the wrong by selling the product and should correct the issue as soon as possible, but it doesn't appear they find any urgency in this.

[Violator]

4 hours ago, Russ said:

No Canada.  Hence the up here  Maybe some places do it, I've been told otherwise.  Oh well I still stick with my good ole 10 year old LCD 40" that still works just peachy. 

Probably smart way to go

 

Heard some of the newer tvs actually have an activation fee.

[Russ]

21 minutes ago, Violator said:

Probably smart way to go

 

Heard some of the newer tvs actually have an activation fee.

What an activation fee?  The hell would that be for? Oh well I like to let things take their course.  Guess thats what I got from my parents who still had a box TV like 10 years after they stopped selling them.  Going from that to our first LCD was like "BOOM" holy crap I can actually tell whos who in the hockey game!

[Kragar]

Good luck, OP.

 

I can't stand Best Buy.  Used to go there often, but got screwed on the warranty when I bought my camera there (US store).  Package deal, camera base and two lenses.  One of the lenses broke under warranty, and they couldn't fix it so they replaced it.  Since "it" was a package deal, they replaced everything.  Which sounds nice, except the warranty is tied to the serial number of the camera base, so my replacement wasn't under warranty, unless I bought a new one.  Nice con job.

 

Since that whole mess a number of years ago, I have been back once, desperate for a late Christmas present, and needing a quick DVD to complete shopping.  I will never buy any electronics from them again.

[kingofsurrey]

2 hours ago, Alflives said:

Write an old fashioned letter of complaint to the Management of Best Buy, and cc it to several news outlets.  I bet that gets the ball rolling. 

Really.   Alf - young people don't even know how to write a letter... 

 

YOu would be better off advising  Snap Chat, Twitter... live.me ...,  Kik,  Group messenger...  Facebook... , whisper....,  Whats AP,  INstgram  ,  house party...   tumbir.... , .  or whatever new APP is out today.

 

Kids today don't even know how to lick a stamp or address an envelop....  A letter is 1000 times beyond their capacity....

[theo5789]

9 minutes ago, Kragar said:

Good luck, OP.

 

I can't stand Best Buy.  Used to go there often, but got screwed on the warranty when I bought my camera there (US store).  Package deal, camera base and two lenses.  One of the lenses broke under warranty, and they couldn't fix it so they replaced it.  Since "it" was a package deal, they replaced everything.  Which sounds nice, except the warranty is tied to the serial number of the camera base, so my replacement wasn't under warranty, unless I bought a new one.  Nice con job.

 

Since that whole mess a number of years ago, I have been back once, desperate for a late Christmas present, and needing a quick DVD to complete shopping.  I will never buy any electronics from them again.

Thanks, this has been a very poor experience so far. If they were quick to right their actions, I would've been more inclined to continue shopping with them as I do prefer to go in store for my products still. The longer this drags out, the less likely I will do so. They can hang onto my 500 dollars like their lives depended on it, but lose out on the thousands I would've spent there in the future and deal with the negativity of my comments about them to friends and family. Not a very smart business plan IMO, but maybe I'm just a small potato to them so who cares right?

 

Last time I had to deal with an unusual consumer experience was with Sears where I tried to get a price adjustment/price match with Costco on a fan and they refused to do so because it was "a wholesale price" that they wouldn't match. I told them I'll just return it and buy it from Costco then and they thought I was bluffing until I brought it back to the store. They quickly decided to do the adjustment but only to a Sears gift card which I would've been fine with if that's what they offered in the first place. Not long after, Sears went under. Luckily I spent the gift card already.

[Alflives]

2 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

Really.   Alf - young people don't even know how to write a letter... 

 

YOu would be better off advising  Snap Chat, Twitter... live.me ...,  Kik,  Group messenger...  Facebook... , whisper....,  Whats AP,  INstgram  ,  house party...   tumbir.... , .  or whatever new APP is out today.

 

Kids today don't even know how to lick a stamp or address an envelop....  A letter is 1000 times beyond their capacity....

I wish I could give you plus 1000 for this!  Totally awesome King!

[theo5789]

On 2018-06-05 at 9:52 AM, Lancaster said:

Also check out with your credit card company.  If it has some warranty or purchase protection benefits, they may be able to help you a bit.  

 

On 2018-06-05 at 11:31 AM, Gnarcore said:

This. You can also straight up dispute the charge if the product is faulty.  

 

On 2018-06-05 at 11:45 AM, DonLever said:

I would go his route too.  Many credit cards offer extended warranty or purchase protection.   You should get free repairs at the minimum or a charge back on the credit card.

 

On 2018-06-05 at 7:11 PM, King Heffy said:

Sometimes asking for the mailing address with the intent of serving them with a lawsuit can really, really get their attention.

 

I'd call your credit card company regardless at this point.  Merchants really, really hate chargebacks and Best Buy has done everything in the world to deserve one.  Item not as described, confirmed by manufacturer.  For future purchases, Amazon has top-notch service.  I had one problem with a bad reseller and they handled it very professionally and forced the merchant to refund me.

 

Stores like Best Buy are obsolete when online retailers provide better customer service.

Just wondering since you all suggested to call the credit card company, I'm wondering if you have any advice towards this. I looked up the credit card policies and it does include a protection plan and extended warranty. However the protection plan only covers 90 days after purchase which has passed and the extended warranty only extends the manufacturer warranty which is now void because of the issue I'm having. Will the credit card company still help me in this situation because I can see them telling me that they cannot help me based on the information provided. Just wondering if you've had any experience in this so I know what to say to lead me in the right direction.