Best Buy Deceitful Business Practice (1 Viewer)

[saintfan]

There is a saying that if you are happy with a service you will probably tell a few people, but if you are dissatisfied you will tell many people. I am not one to let things slide if I believe a company knowingly does soemthing untoward.

I once complaine about Capital One Credit Card Billing Practice, just so my fellow Saints fans may be caustioned about some of their tactics.

Hopefully you will be forewarned about a Best Buy tactic. In November I purchased a refrigerator. They clearly had signs stating that there would be no interest and no payments due for one year, if you used their card.

I went to their customer service desk and applied for one of their cards so i could take advantage of their interest free payment plan. I was approved and wnet to the sales clerk to make the purchase. I told her at that time that I wanted the interest free and payment delayued plan. She made the appropriate annotations and off I went.

Today I receive a bill from their Buyer Rewards Credit Card, with a minimum payment due and 14.4% interest. So I called the company and explained to them the program I used. The customer service representative was friendly and courteous. She said that many people call with the same problem, but that I should have used the Best Buy Store Card, and that I had a MasterCard credit card which requires payment and interest, and that the card requires annual renewal payment.

First I did not want a new credit card, and only applied to get the interest free plan.

Second, I have a 12.5% card that I would have used in lieu of a higher interest rate card.

Third, Best Buy never told me that I was getting a Mastercard, and that I would not get the interest free or delayed payment plan. I only found out after I received the bill.

Based on what the Mastercard representative told me about the number of Best Buy customers lodging similar complaints, I can only assume that this is a blatant practice by Best Buy to deceive their customers. I think it is reprehensible that a company would knowingly engage in this kind of practice. I blame Best Buy management because they must endorse this action corporate wide.

The problem isn't that I can't pay for the item, I thanked the Mastercard representative, and sent in a payment of $100. After I finish making all my payments in 4 months, I will cancel the card, which I did not want to begin with. But I will never believe in anything Best Buy says again, and will tell anyone I know about how they operate.

Remember that people tell many others about bad service. Companies should remember that.

 

[xpuma20x]

I'm not sure I'm quite following what Best Buy did? You applied for what you thought was a Best Buy card and got a Mastercard instead? I bought my TV on the Best Buy card and didn't have any problems with the no interest thing.

 

[saintfan]

I filled out a Best Buy application. I was never told I would get a Mastercard, and I did not get the no interest or delayed payment that I was led to believe I would get. I would never have applied for a credit card with a higher rate of interest than my existing card.

 

[504 Girl]

Reward Zone program MasterCard Membership

Earn rewards faster on purchases you make everyday with a Reward Zone program MasterCard.
Earn 4% on Best Buy and BestBuy.com qualified purchases
Earn 2% during special promotions throughout the year in popular categories, currently travel and dining1
Earn 1% everywhere MasterCard is accepted

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat44800050004

Best Buy Credit Card

Enjoy great financing offers exclusively for Best Buy credit card holders.
No interest for 90 days on all purchases.
See the details.
Exclusive financing plans
Low monthly payments

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat97200050032&type=category

One card let you earn points based on purchases and the other offers no interest for 90 days. I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but it's plain as day on their website what the purchasing options are.

 

[Bundok Saint]

I'm not exactly following you either. I worked at Circuit City when they first opened in the NOLA area and we had the same delayed interest/interest free plans as long as you opened up a store credit card account as well.

Sounds like some miscommunications all around. I'd suggest going back to that store, finding your salesman/lady and raising hell and asking to speak to a manager. Nothing gets managers bending over backwards than wanting to avoid a "scene" on the sales floor.

That being said, I've never had a problem with Best Buy personally. My sister hates them, though, for their lack of organization in scheduling a TV delivery. Oh well, it was their 1K loss that went to A-1 instead.

 

[saintfan]

One card let you earn points based on purchases and the other offers no interest for 90 days. I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but it's plain as day on their website what the purchasing options are.

I didn't look at their web site when I made the application in the store usinmg their applications. If there is a miscommuncation, it exists at the store where their applications are not clear.

Anyway, I couldn't care less if anyone uses their services. I only want to inform people about what they do. It is evident to me that I am not the only person to have this happen as the MasterCard rep explained. I just do not care for business practices that appear deceitful. I am in a position to pay off this card immediately, but others are not in the same financial shape. These are the poeple who could be burned.

 

[Bundok Saint]

If there is a miscommuncation, it exists at the store where their applications are not clear.

Like I posted above, go back there, call them out on it (especially the salesclerk if you had clearly stated, as you posted, that you wanted the interest-free plan), and raise some hell.

What could it hurt? They're not going to charge you more interest. They might even offer you satisfaction as it's been my experience that the typical manager wants to avoid confrontation and a "scene" in front of other customers. It's a lot harder to ignore and dismiss someone standing right in front of you than it is for some face-less CSR over the phone.

 

[Hoyasaint]

Like I posted above, go back there, call them out on it (especially the salesclerk if you had clearly stated, as you posted, that you wanted the interest-free plan), and raise some hell.

What could it hurt? They're not going to charge you more interest. They might even offer you satisfaction as it's been my experience that the typical manager wants to avoid confrontation and a "scene" in front of other customers. It's a lot harder to ignore and dismiss someone standing right in front of you than it is for some face-less CSR over the phone.

Not only does this typically yield some good results (as long as you do it properly), it can be a fun way to spend an hour or so.

 

[domedog316]

I have both a Reward Zone Mastercard and a Best Buy Account. I had a RZ card first and went in one day back in Sept. and was told about the no interest for 36 months deal they had going for the Best Buy Account. I was very happy to find that I could finance a great deal more than my limit on my RZMC and they were happy to sell me 3200.00 worth of TV. Basically, it's 100 bucks a month same as cash for the next 31 (round about) months.

Sounds like either a poorly trained CSR that you dealt with, or just a misunderstanding on your part about what you were signing. The applications for each account are pretty different. The "Reward Zone" application has Reward Zone printed all over it, and they ask you each and every time you check out if you have one. It's basically their flagship program.

I wouldn't condemn Best Buy as a company with poor business practices, they gain little from a situation like the one you describe.

 

[Goatman Saint]

Is it what they call a double sided card? I had one that I got through lumber liquidators for some flooring. They put my promotional 1 yr/no interest on the mastercard side when it was supposed to go on the Lumber Liquidators side. 2 accounts, 1 card. Lots of BS.

 

[llama]

Cash is king.

 

[domedog316]

Is it what they call a double sided card? I had one that I got through lumber liquidators for some flooring. They put my promotional 1 yr/no interest on the mastercard side when it was supposed to go on the Lumber Liquidators side. 2 accounts, 1 card. Lots of BS.

Nope they are 2 seperate, distinct accounts.

 

[shaqtaw]

i went to best buy to get a tv. they offered a free chair with the tv. after i asked about the promotion they said all they had was one chair left and i could purchase the tv but i could not have the chair. when i asked why they said they needed this chair to show people about the promotion. i asked when they would get more chairs in, the sales rep said in a few months. the screwed up thing is the promotion was only lasting 3 more days. the whole ordeal was so stupid i have not been back in about a year.

 

[Tapxe]

I avoid Best Buy for another reason. They do a little slight of hand with model numbers and sell you a lower grade item while letting you think its just as good as somewhere else, but cheaper. I was looking at a Mitsubishi big screen and they were 200$ less for the same model. After some research I found that they are the only ones who offered this particular model which was the same but added an -A to the end of the model number. The internal components where older generation, but the externally it looked identical to the other stores. So if you shopped around and found a set you wanted and weren't careful to check, you could wind up overpaying for something you thought was a bargain.

 

[FWtex]

Sorry to say i am not surprised by your problems. Firstly Best Buy has some of the worse trained employees I have ever encountered. They know just enough to screw someone around just like you explained.

My guess is it is a cohorted effort of Best Buy and the Credit Card Company. If they are charging 14% I can promise you Best Buy is getting a nice percentage of at least 4% of that back to them.

I saw where congress had the executive for the credit card companies in for some chewing out a before christmas for their fraudulent business practices and gave them an ultimatum to clean up this latest trend or congress was going to do it for them very soon.

Every credit card out there is a trap scheme geared to add on fees and raise the interest rate if you carry any kind of balance. I took notice of the scams quickly and avoid them now.

As for your problem, tell them to convert your account to what you thought you were given or try to return the refrigerator. Not sure if it will work but since its on a credit card try to claim fraud and see if the insurance of the card will force best buy to take the refrigerator back at which point I am sure they will do a simple paper credit and rebill it to the no interest no payment plan.