Complain about a product or service

Best Buy Cameras

Robert of Portland, OR (11/13/05)
I bought an extended 4-year warranty on the camera I purchased in March 2004. The camera stopped working in September 2005 so I took it back to Best Buy. They sent it in for repairs and five weeks later I got it back with the exact same problems. They did not fix it.

I took it back again and asked for a new, replacement camera. The store manager refused to give me a new camera, even though the store acknowledged this one was inoperable. He said they had to send it in for repairs again, and that they could send it in up to 4 times under the warranty. He said if I didn't like it I could buy another camera or get it fixed on my own.

Yevgeny of New York NY (10/25/04):
On November 10, 2002 I purchased Olympus C4000 digital camera at Best Buy # 482 (Chelsea, NYC). The retail price was at the time $449.99, of which $25.00 was in the form of the free $25 gift card. At the time, I also purchased a 4-yr. PSP for $59.99. Last month, I started experiencing problems with the camera (zoom action) and decided to take it back to Best Buy for exchange, thus activating my Service Plan. I called 888-BEST-BUY to inquire of the general process and have been told by the customer service rep that if a) camera is repairable, it will be shipped to the service center; b) if it is not repairable, it will be replaced with the same model at the store; or c) should it be out of stock or no longer retailed, I will be issued the store credit for the purchase price.

On October 12, 2004 I went down to Best Buy to have my camera checked by the customer service. I was referred by the customer service to the Geek Squad. Jesse, the guy on the squad, looked at my camera, checked the PSP and told me that since Best Buy no longer carries this model, I can go upstairs and pick any digital camera. Should it be cheaper than the original purchase price of $429.99, I will be able to use the credit towards the new PSP or memory card or, in case it is more expensive, I just pay the difference. I thanked Jesse and asked him if it will be OK for me to return the next day for I like to research my major purchases (specifications, customer reviews, CNET reviews, price comparison, etc.) He said it would be just OK.

Next day, October 13, 2004, the story was altogether different. After approaching the customer service counter, I was told that I could only get a camera in this location, or any other physical location. I told the employee that the camera I like is part of the “extended online selection” and I do not really want anything from the retail store. I inquired as to what happened to the store credit on my Best Buy card (originally used to purchase Olympus C4000). The PSP brochure states “Products, including those within the original manufacturer’s warranty period, may be repaired or replaced with a comparable product, or we will issue a voucher for the original purchase price at our discretion”. The person I was dealing with at the time could not say anything different to me other than what she said before – if I do not want to pay extra, I need to get a camera under $429.99, I will not be able to get price difference applied to the new PSP or accessories, and there will be absolutely no store credit or any voucher.

Needless to say, at this time I was really confused. What has happened with the friendly and accommodating customer service in one day? I decided to call the national customer service one more time to see if I got the policy right the first time I called them. I talked to John at 888-BEST-BUY, ext. 60355 at around 17:30 on 10/13/2004. He looked up my PSP plan number, said that since the model is no longer available at Best Buy, I will be getting a store credit. I told him about the problem I had with the customer service people at the location. He advised me to have somebody from the store call him directly so he could explain the policy.

I returned to the customer service counter and asked an employee to call John and talk to him. I was not told if they got him on the phone or not, but I did get the simple ultimatum – I either get the camera on their original terms, or get nothing. By that time, after spending over an hour at the store arguing about the Terms of PSP, I was ready to pick just about anything. I ended up with the Kodak EasyShare DX7630 model, retailed for $379.99 that day. Everything went OK until the checkout, when I was asked whether I want a new PSP (since the original one was voided at the moment of exchange). I said “yes”, and that’s when I got another surprise – the cost of the new PSP was $79.99, instead of $59.99 as should currently be for cameras priced $200.00-399.99. I inquired why the new PSP was $79.99 (price range of $400.00-599.99) and was told that it was due to the fact that my original camera (Olympus C4000) was in that price range. I stated that if they go by the original’s price, they should also charge me an original price of the plan - $59.99 (as in 2002).

There was no further discussion, as the two employees I had been dealing that evening had become irritated and edgy with me. I myself was tired of all of the deception and incompetence surrounding the transaction that should have been nice and easy. My original PSP was purchased for 4 years, but nowhere and never was I told that once the item is exchanged, or serviced, the PSP is void and deemed to be fulfilled, and that I would be faced with the decision of buying a new plan at a 30% higher price for the same item ($59.99 vs. $79.99). As a result, I had a really negative customer service experience, I was coerced into getting the camera that was not my first choice, and I was not able to purchase a new PSP ($20 make a difference, plus I felt like it was a fraudulent presentation of the deal on behalf of Best Buy # 482 employees).

Phaedra of Roeland Park KS (8/18/04):
My husband and I bought a digital camera a couple of years ago with an extended warranty from Best Buy. One of the reasons we bought the camera that we did was beacuse the guy selling it to us said that, if we bought the service plan, then if anything went wrong we would get our camera replaced the same day instead of waiting for a month to get it back like some of the other cameras. This was great for us, because we use our camera a lot and sometimes for our livelihood.

When we went to take our camera in, however, Best Buy said the plan has changed and that it would have to be sent in and that we would be without our camera for a month. The guy who sold us the warranty never said it had the possibility of changing or anything. They couldn't help us with a loaner or anything. Even when we told a manager that we will never return, he said "it wasn't his problem" and walked away. What kind of customer service is this? I feel like no big corporations care about their customers anymore.

Gerald of Palos Park IL (6/30/04):
During the month of May 2004 I purchased $2,000.00 worth of camera equipment from my local Best Buy store in Orland Park. I knew I had $40.00 worth of Reward Zone but at the time they were misplaced in our home. Yesterday I found them and today I went to Best Buy to buy some more camera equipment. When I attempted to use my Rewards I was told they had expired 2 days earlier and could not be used. I was quite disappointed and felt they should have honored them especially after my past purchasing history.

Tristan of Waterford CT (6/14/04):
On June 12 2004 my husband and I went to Best buy to look for a digital camera with a fairly decent quality. Prior to going to BestBuy,we've visited two other places such as Wal-Mart and BJ'S. We found a camera we liked at Best Buy and bought it. My husband took several pictures of my graduation the very same night. To our dismay those pictures were horrible, the quality weren't nearly close to the features that good quality camera described. We took it back the next day.

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