Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[MLyons]

Do not take an HP product to Geek Squad for warranty work unless you have a reciept!

I bought an HP computer from another retailer about 11 months ago. I called HP and they said that because it was a common problem with this particular model, they had extended the warranty out an extra year. I was told that I could either ship the computer to HP, or I could take it to the nearest HP service center. It happened that the nearest HP service center was the Best Buy in Hixson, TN. Since this was close to my house I told the HP rep that I would take it to Best Buy.

Upon arriving I was directed to the Geek Squad desk. I told them that it had been determined by HP that the motherboard had failed and that HP said the repairs would be covered by warranty. HP had confirmed that the warranty was good until July 2009. The Geek Squad rep made a repair order and I paid them $34.95 to take care of it. I thought this would be a reasonable price to pay to let someone else take care of the warranty repair.

About two weeks later I recieved a call from Best Buy telling me that they were going to replace the computer, and that I just needed to come into the store and pick out the replacement. When I arrived, they asked for a copy of my reciept. Unfortunately I no longer had my reciept. They told me that they could not exchange it without a reciept, which is fine, but I asked that they have it repaired under warranty. I was told that they would "look into it".

Two weeks later I stopped by to see if I could get an update and was told that they could not do any warranty repairs for HP without a reciept because they cannot access HP warranty information, even though my warranty is still good.

Frustrated, I asked them to return the computer to me, and for them to return the $34.95 that I had paid them to take care of the warranty repair. Best Buy refused to return the money. I was told that it costs Best Buy $105 to ship a computer to thier service center because they do it by "air". I was then told that it will be 5-7 days before I can get my computer back.

The entire problem with this situation is the fact the Best Buy:

1. Knew that it was a warranty repair when the machine was dropped off

2. Made no mention of needing a reciept for any kind of warranty work

3. Took my $34.95 knowing that they could not make a warranty repair without a reciept.

4. Wasted four weeks of my time knowing that they couldn't make the repair.

5. Apparently wasted $70 of thier own money shipping a computer that they knew they wouldnt be able to repair under warranty without a reciept.

Luckily, HP has agreed to pay for shipping the machine to them for repair/replacement. Unfortunately I paid best buy $34.95 for absolutely nothing in return.

If you are ever directed to take an HP computer to Best Buy for warranty work..Please, Please make sure you have the reciept....otherwise you will more than likely have the same miserable experience that I did and be out $34.95

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi MLyons,

I can imagine how frustrated you must be after believing we were going to repair your computer under the manufacturer’s warranty, and to then find out we can’t unless you could provide us a receipt. It is correct that we would require a receipt for any manufacturer’s warranty repair, and this is to verify that the product being serviced is currently covered by the warranty. The $34.95 fee was most likely charged to you to pay for the labor involved in diagnosing the problem at the service center. What we are charged for shipping really depends on what service level we are shipping the product, how far it is being shipped, and how much the product weighs.

I know you purchased this computer from another retailer, but if that retailer is anything like Best Buy® they should have been able to get you a copy of your receipt. I know this doesn’t help now, but keep it in mind in case you ever need a copy of a receipt again. I would like to see if there is something I can do to resolve this for you so I am sending you a private message. To check your private messages make sure you are logged into the forum, and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

[TheRev]

"Do not take an HP product to Geek Squad for warranty work unless you have a reciept!"

I think you answered your own question.

Best buy is good for one thing only and that's selling mediocre products at a competitive price and attempting to scheme as much money out of your pocket that they can. It's a business for goodness sakes and it is what it is. Not that I neccessarily agree with their sales tactics and it does teeter on outright deception and dishonesty due to lack of professional training to an unskilled workforce. I'll get to that in a moment.

Most complaints here I see are from uninformed consumers that bought from underpaid uninformed BB sales people. If you want great service you are going to pay for it. Cheap products+cheap prices= cheap service. BB is the Mcdonalds of the electronics world.

I bought an HP laptop from BB about 2 years ago. I researched it before I bought it. When I purchased the laptop I was told the Geek Squad needed to unbox my computer and would complimentary set it up. Sorry, an 18 year old pimply faced kid will not touch a new business computer. I declined to let the GS touch the computer and was told by the sales person that they had to check it out before it could leave the store. I still declined and told them I would just order the laptop online somewhere else. I was then allowed to purchase the computer. They weren't stupid enough to let $1400 walk out of the store.

Anyway, the HP broke about a month later as it started running like it had bad memory issues. I called HP directly and they teched it online through an online software link. HP tech took about ten minutes to tell me the motherboard had an issue. HP told me not to take the computer back to BB or I would have to wait a few weeks to get it back. HP overnighted another laptop and paid shipping both ways through Fedex. I really never considered taking it back to BB since I live 2 hrs away from the closest store. This is why I will continue buying HP products, because they were brutally honest and cut through the BS.

My HP is still under warranty as I skipped the BB warranty and purchased directly from HP. It was only $110 for an extra 3 years. It pays to research online before you purchase. Note that I upgraded the laptop by putting a bigger drive and memory in myself. HP has no problem with this , but I am pretty sure this would void BB warranty unless the upgrade is done by a certified repair poerson.

I don't expect a high level of service from BB. I don't like the used car salesman tactics as well as all the pushy rude consumers. It seems they go hand in hand. This is why I do not go to BB hardly at all and most of my electronics dollars go elsewhere.I also don't eat at MD's. Again, I am not the typical demographic.

[trogfield]

i would like to say that bb is like the home depot of electronics stores, where it has a similiar selection of products. there is the main stuff (electronics) and then the side stuff of music, appliances, and stereos and stuff. depending on the store and hiring manager, the stores staff could be crap or crazily good. i also just used hp chat support to replace my broken printer 88 printhead and got a new one for free. it took one to two hours though. so it was kinda a waste for time since i could have bought a used printhead for 20$.

the situation you were in and how hp resolved it is insane. it is very nice for them to ship a new laptop directly to you.