Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[maroon57]

If anyone has a Best Buy CC and has a 0% promotion rate, your interest is going to go to 27.9% on 12/7/09.  You CAN reject the change and keep your original agreement, but it will close your best buy acct and you can't reopen it.  The phone number to reject the changes is 877-268-0991.  As far as I know this is with HSBC bank, and they sent a letter out.  The last date that CC companies can change cc agreements is 12/10/09

[BBBob]

I do not see how they can legally do this. You entered into an agreement for 0% interest for a fixed amout of time. If you do not pay it all in that time frame they can and WILL charge you all the accured interest. So if you are living up to your end of the agreement and paying on time, how can it be that they can do this? It sounds like a win, win situation for the bank. I think there will be some lawyers involved in this one. I understand the bank has the right to raise interset rates but they should not be able to change the terms mid way through a contract. This is not revolving debt when it is fixed for a certain amount of time and 0% interest. Someone help me understand this. I am lost as to how they can legally do this.

[maroon57]

I've been a fan of best buy for a LONG time and I don't think I will be anymore.

[CrystalWoW Valued Expert]

What my paperwork that I got said was that if you default on the card, miss a payment, don't pay it off in time, that kind of thing... instead of jumping to like 20% its going to jump to 25%. I don't understand how this is a big problem for people . If you pay your bill  no problems. This will not affect future purchases either because there is always a 0% offer for a certain period. 

[Nokia]

My card is going up to 30%. I have no problem with that. Anyone who spends money they don't have on frivolous things deserves to pay a penalty.

[Rrrrrrr]

Bob, they have it worded in their fine print that they can change the terms anytime they want and for whatever reason.

Crystal, last year I would had agreed with you, but this is happening even to people who pay on time . They may be hoping that these people dont notice the new rate on their statements. Much like how some cc companies will 'hold' a payment that arrives 2-3 days before the due date so they can charge the late fee. Or my fav of not mailing out billing statements in a timely manner so the bill shows up 2 days before its due. CC companies are doing what they can to grab as much cash before the new regs go into effect.

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

If you are under the 0% finance promotion you are not affected unless you default and either miss a payment or are late and or the time period in which to have it paid off has passed. If you did default and your interest rate was 20.99 it is going up to 24.99.  I confirmed this on Saturday  by calling the number on the back of my card and I think Sarah confirmed this was well.  According the HSBC it also will not affect future purchases under the 0% financing again unless you default. I don't know what number people are calling but the info they are getting seems to be incorrect.

Also HSBC cannot change the interest on something you already purchases if you are paying on time as when you signed the receipt you are in a legal contract under those terms which will state 0% for 90 days, 6 months, 18 months, or 36 months.  They can not change that regardless if they can change the terms anytime unless it state the previous terms on purchases and my paperwork does not.

[Fallout3Guru]

As far as I know, if you have purchased something under a Financing Offer (such as 18 Months No Interest with Payments,) the terms of said offer still apply - no matter what overall changes happen with your HSBC account. Most of the time, from what I've noticed, it involves paying the minimum payment every month to receive "No Interest." Raising rates seems to be the normal behavior of Credit Card companies. 

I agree with Nokia - entertainment purchases are not necessary, and therefore only hurt as much as one allows them to hurt, no matter what Interest Rate or Penalty may occur. Personally, I try to avoid Credit Cards at all costs, despite the loss of the opportunity to build "credit."

I hope that everyone maintains a level of interest that is acceptable and fair. Best of luck to everyone.

[JM]

I have both the Best Buy card and the Best Buy Reward Zone MasterCard, and I never use the Best Buy card. I don't carry debt, so I simply buy the items I want to on the MasterCard, and pay it off.

And as for the interest rate... I've yet to get such a notice in the mail, so I can't speak to it directly, however, the interest rate is most likely the default rate, or the regular APR for non-promotional financing.

[starhelper2587]

Did any of you see the official word posted from a Community Connector last week?  I believe it stated that as long as you didn't miss 2 payments in a row, you would keep the 0% until the end of your promo period.  See the posting below found under Customer Service: BB.com

10-16-2009 04:33 PM - last edited on 10-16-2009 04:36 PM

Attention Best Buy® Credit Card Holders:

We are aware that some of you have received a change in terms for the Best Buy® card APR, and that this has caused some questions to arise.  However, please allow us to assure you that according to HSBC (the third party bank that administers our credit cards) this change does not affect any customer's previous finance promotions, and as long as the customer’s account remains in good standing, those promotions will not go to a higher APR.

Thank you!

[starhelper2587]

Attention Best Buy® Credit Card Holders:

We are aware that some of you have received a change in terms for the Best Buy® card APR, and that this has caused some questions to arise.  However, please allow us to assure you that according to HSBC (the third party bank that administers our credit cards) this change does not affect any customer's previous finance promotions, and as long as the customer’s account remains in good standing, those promotions will not go to a higher APR.

Thank you!