Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[Oogybear1]

I have shopped at Best Buy problem-free for years, spent tens of thousands of dollars, and have always been happy with customer service and products.

Approximately 6 weeks ago I purchased an LG Thrive for $179.99. I also purchased the buyback plan.

When the sales associate prompted me to buy the black tie replacement plan, I inquired about the situations covered under the plan.

Me: "Will you replace it if I drop it, and it doesn't properly work?"
Associate: "Yes."

In my head I thought well, I could just buy a quality case to greatly reduce the damage - I rarely drop phones. So I told her, no thanks and she continued the process to activate the phone and process my payment.

Before she completed processing, I thought wait a second..

Me: "Actually ma'am, I do go jet skiing frequently. I take my phone with me for emergencies, and keep it sealed in a watertight compartment, in a waterproof bag. What if I drop it in the water? Is it covered?
Associate: "Yes, absolutely."
Me:  "Okay. This isn't the cheapest phone, I'll go ahead and purchase the replacement plan."

I've been overall satisfied with the phone, haven't dropped it, etc. So this weekend,  I was sitting still, engine off, and the phone rang. I reached for the phone entirely too fast, lost grip, and splash in the water it went. I wasn't angry but rather relieved because hey, this was the only reason I bought the replacement plan for.

I walked in today to pick up my replacement. The nice associate whom sold me the phone happened to be working. I explained to her the situation. She proceded to explain that I needed to have the phone with me to get a replacement.

Me: "Ma'am, I asked you specifically in this situation, would the phone be replaced? You said it would (in fact she enthusiastically said absolutely). This situation is the only         reason I purchased the replacement plan.
Associate: "Sir, the replacement plan does not cover lost or stolen phones."
Me: "Ma'am..it was not lost. I know where it is, in the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn't stolen either. Again, you specifically told me it would be replaced if this happened. It's the only reason I bought the plan."

Associate: "Yes, I do remember you asking that if you dropped it in the water, and I told you it would be replaced. But you need to bring the phone in for it to be replaced in the situation that there is water damage."
Me: "People do not jet ski in puddles, where if they drop the phone - it can be retrieved. They jet ski on open water, in lakes and on the bay. I asked about this specific situation and you misled me."

After that point, the conversation went downhill, because she just started repeating "You have to have the water damaged phone with you for it to be replaced", like a robot.
I knew it was going nowhere. I asked to see the manager. She responded rudely, "I'm the manager". I figured it was getting nowhere, and I'm not one to get angry at misleading, rude people - I purchased the new phone, minus the replacement plan price (pro-rated a bit) and the buyback plan. 

I would like to file a formal complaint. Legally, this is defined as fraud. The sales associate demonstrated a misrepresentation of the product/service which precipitated a monetary loss of $148.23 to the purchasing party. Whether it was intentional, or unintentional (in her mind I was simply asking if it was covered under water damage, and she was in a hurry to complete the transaction, though I never mentioned a single other situation in which water was involved), it doesn't matter. She said what was needed to complete the sale of the replacement plan.

Where do I go to file a complaint? 
 

 

[DanK Best Buy Employee]

According to the plan, BTP on prepaid phones does not cover Accidental Damage from Handling, including water damage. However it would be at the discretion of the store, and it seems like this associate/manager would have accepted it.

Regardless, you need to actually have the device in order to handle a claim. This is part of the terms and conditions that you selected you had received when you purchased the device.

[Oogybear1]

I assume you are referring to:
https://www.productassist.com/tandc/Best_Buy_GSBTP_9_28_10.pdf

I did not, and did not sign anything agreeing that I had received a copy of this. I was handed a GSBTP pamphlet, and asked to sign after running my debit card.

Thank you for alerting me to this. In BTP it clearly states:

H. Exclusions to Coverage. This Plan does not cover:  Damage to your product caused by accident (unless you have purchased the optional ADH Coverage), abuse, neglect, intentional physical damage, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than an authorized service provider), unauthorized modification, viruses and/or spyware (unless you have the Vi-Spy Coverage), performance failures due to not maintaining firmware updates, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), external condensation, complete submersion in liquid (e.g. pool, bathtub, etc.), lightning, fire, flood, insect infestation, rodents, war, terrorism, computer software related failures, Acts of God or other external causes.

Thus, I was even further misled then originally thought - even if I had retrieved the phone (say I was in shallow water and could do so), it is excluded anyway. I was blatantly lied to.

Also, if prepaid phones are not covered, where is that mentioned in the BTP? I do not see any more specification to the product, than "mobile phones".

Thanks for the response.

[Oogybear1]

did not receive*

[Oogybear1]

 Under the "Portable Products Section" it does say:

 This Plan also provides for Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage set forth in Section E for Smartphones, Personal Digital Assistants and Subscription Based Mobile Phones.

The LG Thrive is a DROID, I'm sure you would agree that DROIDs are universally considered a "smartphone" ?

[Yellowsubmarine]

You must acknowledge on the signature pad that you received, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions of the plan for the transaction to even progress to you swiping your card. You may not remember doing it but its has to be done.
And dank was referring to the plans on pre-paid phones, that doesn't cover accidental no matter the type of phone. Contract phones however do have the accidental.

[Oogybear1]

I do remember signing, I was handed the black pamphlet and then asked to sign, implying I was signing that I received the pamphlet (which is moreso an outline). 

I see now on the bottom it says "FOR SPECIFIC PLAN BENEFITS, PLEASE REFER TO THE ACTUAL PLAN TERMS AND CONDITIONS."

It is normal practice, to ask the customer to sign, without giving them a copy of the BTP? 

In the case of the most recent laptop I bought and pricey headphones (both with replacement plans), only after having a problem and coming to this website, have I actually seen the BTP I was signing in agreement with. In those purchases, as with this phone, I was given the pamphlet or a 1/2 page explanation of benefits.

The entire BTP has so many defensive clauses, and is practically ultimately at the discretion of Best Buy. Shady practice to say the least, but ultimately I acknowledge my responsibilty as a consumer to review what I'm agreeing to.

Fortunately, federal law regarding fraud (kind of strong word, this case is moreso misrepresentation) applies as strongly to the contract as it does to the what the sales associate says verbally in the transaction.

Would the best way to file an internal complaint of the sales associate be to call customer service?  

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

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Oogybear1 wrote:

Fortunately, federal law regarding fraud (kind of strong word, this case is moreso misrepresentation) applies as strongly to the contract as it does to the what the sales associate says verbally in the transaction.

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For instances where verbal contracts are in place, absolutely.  But, when you electronically signed agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, you were legally stating that there were NO verbal contracts, or any other contracts whatsoever that were not contained in the purchase receipt and the Terms and Conditions pamphlet.  Because verbal contracts can be contacts too, most real contracts have clauses (BTP does too) that state there are no other agreements(verbal or written contracts) other than what is specificaly laid forth in the written contract.  This stops people from just being able to say "He promised me this" or "She said that" and trying to enforce a 'verbal contract' based off of something that may or may not have been said.  In instances like this, it's a "He said, She said".

While no employe should every lie or knowingly misrepresent Black Tie, there really is no way to tell what was said during the transaction. So, to combat this and ensure that every customer knows exactly what the plan entails, a copy of the Terms and Conditions is made available to every customer. Before the purchase of Black Tie can be completed, you would have had to acknowledge by keypad that you received this copy of the Terms and Conditions.

Best Buy then gives every customer 30 days to read the relatively small pamphlet and if they see something that they do not agree with or feel that the plan does not live up to what they were made to believe it was, they can return the Black Tie for a FULL refund. After the first 30 days, they may return it for a pro-rated refund.

This ENSURES that every customer has the means to know EXACTLY what the Black Tie Plan entails and if a customer does not like the Plan or feels that there is no value in it, they may return it within the first 30 days and they will receive their money back.

[Oogybear1]

By signing the BTP there is nothing agreeing that a verbal contract was not contained in the purchase receipt. 

The BTP does not contain the word "verbal", "verb", or "oral", let alone verbal, or oral contract.  You refer to "real property", which is defined universally as "real estate", etc. Land, Homes, Deeds, land grants, etc. None of this is applicable in this situation. You also drop the term "real contract". Real contracts refer to property and land transactions. This is none of the above. With respect, I applaud your efforts to learn of the law.

I will say, you are right - this a "he said, she said" situation. In a court of law, in usual instances where the value of the loss is greater than $148.xx, "she said" can be called to testify. "She" has already admitted misleading the consumer. Maybe she wasn't properly trained? I don't know.

As a consumer handed the pamphlet, and verbally told this was what I was signing for, I was at fault for wrongfully signing (and not questioning) that I was signing the "terms and conditions". The terms and conditions do not exist in the pamphlet. The terms and conditions exist in a document made naturally unavailable, or rather in practice - never given to the consumer. I am at a loss for defending myself because I signed a mere screen saying "I agree to the terms and conditions". In the "relatively small pamphlet" you refer to the pamphlet whom blatantly says that it does not reflect the terms and conditions.

The employee blatantly misrepresented the conditions of Black Tie. That is apparent now, and post attempts to collect on financial loss. I'm sure she would proudly say it now. She said it today. She would say it again.

As far as your statement, "This ENSURES that every customer has the means to know EXACTLY what the Black Tie Plan entails and if a customer does not like the Plan or feels that there is no value in it, they may return it within the first 30 days and they will receive their money back.", well I did get my money back, pro rated. I'm happy about that. The fraudulent plan proved useless, as it proves useless in writing, at 100% FULL discretion of the store. Best buy really holds no liability in replacing the property in the replacement plan.

I feel you are applying law of real estate to laws of fraud and misrepresentation of the sale of a product, which has no minimum dollar value. Person to person, I was lied to. The plan may or may not apply to my product, the plan doesn't apply to products completely submerged in water, and above all the plan doesn't apply to products in which I cannot return in physical form. I presented a specific situation where the product would be lost, as only basis for purchase of said plan, and the employee assured me that I would be covered. I was lied to. I am not attacking Best Buy policy - I would like to submit a complaint about an individual employee misleading an individual consumer. This situation may be as small as one single employee in a large corporation having lack of training and understanding in the policy she is selling. I only wish to file a complaint against one employee so that she doesn't add to the 3,000 Better Business Bureau complaints of Best Buy Stores in this region in the last 12 months. I don't wish to stop doing business with Best Buy. I don't wish to cause great harm in the name of a 60 minutes style, class action lawsuit, against a corporation that employees thousands of American employees. I do not have malicious, hateful, or harmul intent.

I simply wish to be reimbursed for a protection plan where I was misled, misrepresented, and otherwise lied to. 

 

[Oogybear1]

Excuse me, you don't refer to the term "real property", rather "real contract", which in essence can be directly exchanged in my explanation.