Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[jaxfiremedic]

About 3 years ago I purchaced an X-box 360 and got the "in-store exchange" product protection warrenty. Last year it developed the red ring of death, I took it to the store and they gave me a new one and i repurchaced the same warrenty. Well the X-box once again developed the red ring of death so I took it to the store to exchange it for another one like i had done previously.  However this time the store informs me that they no longer do an in store exchange and I would have to give them just the main unit and they would send it off to their service center and they would send me a refurbished unit in about 1-2 weeks. I found this to be complete bull, I payed for an in store exchange warrenty and sometime between when i purchaced the new warrenty and now they stopped doing the instore exchange, thats just rediculous the main reason for buying the warrenty was the convieniance of taking it to the store and getting another one rightaway. Not only did that make me angry, but also upset my son who likes to play on it almost daily. I spoke with both the geek squad manager and called the customer care people who both said there was nothing they could do that this was the terms of the warrenty. I'm so pissed off Im tempted to return over 2 thousand dollars of merchendise that i have purchaced from them in the past 30 days.

[GeraldRose]

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jaxfiremedic wrote:
About 3 years ago I purchaced an X-box 360 and got the "in-store exchange" product protection warrenty. Last year it developed the red ring of death, I took it to the store and they gave me a new one and i repurchaced the same warrenty. Well the X-box once again developed the red ring of death so I took it to the store to exchange it for another one like i had done previously.  However this time the store informs me that they no longer do an in store exchange and I would have to give them just the main unit and they would send it off to their service center and they would send me a refurbished unit in about 1-2 weeks. I found this to be complete bull, I payed for an in store exchange warrenty and sometime between when i purchaced the new warrenty and now they stopped doing the instore exchange, thats just rediculous the main reason for buying the warrenty was the convieniance of taking it to the store and getting another one rightaway. Not only did that make me angry, but also upset my son who likes to play on it almost daily. I spoke with both the geek squad manager and called the customer care people who both said there was nothing they could do that this was the terms of the warrenty. I'm so pissed off Im tempted to return over 2 thousand dollars of merchendise that i have purchaced from them in the past 30 days.

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I understand your frustration and am disappointed with your experiance.

To clarify the Best Buy replacement plans were never intended to be "in-store" exchange plans, ideally if you have a problem with your product you call an 800# you are sent a pre-paid package to ship the defective unit, once received by BBY, they send you a gift card in the amount of the price paid for the system, plus tax, then you bring the gift card in and buy whatever you like

Here is where problems happened, in the past nearly all stores would attempt to take care of a customer right there in the store and allow customers to make a exchange buy simply bringing the defective product in, sometimes you would need to speak to store management for this to happen but I personally never saw a customer get turned away, unless their product was abused.

It seems that BBY has started enforcing the actual plan details more recently, what probably happened in all honesty was too many people probably brought items that were not defective got an exchange when they shouldn't have and BBY has to eat it.

So I understand, you were allowed to do it that was before but not this time, just know any times you were allowed to do an exchange in-store before was like a bonus.

Hope this helps.

[jaxfiremedic]

I would have rather gotten a "gift card for the amount of the price I paid" so i could get a new one, then be sent some refurbished unit that had something previously go wrong with it.  However that was never even an option offered.

[GeraldRose]

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jaxfiremedic wrote:
I would have rather gotten a "gift card for the amount of the price I paid" so i could get a new one, then be sent some refurbished unit that had something previously go wrong with it.  However that was never even an option offered.

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I apologize then, the plan must have changed if they are now offering refurbished units, as opposed to a replacement or a gift card. My bad.

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi jaxfiremedic, 

Thanks for posting your concern on our Best Buy® Forum.  Your issue has been assigned to one of our Community Connectors for further review and response, and you should be hearing something within the next few business days.  Thanks for your continued patience as we work to assist all of the customers who have reached out to us on this forum.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hey jaxfiremedic,

I’m disappointed to hear about your recent Xbox troubles! Dealing with a defective video game console is rarely any fun, and I can certainly imagine how frustrated you must feel if your coverage does not meet your original expectations.

Best Buy® has not offered Product Replacement Plans (PRPs) since 09/13/2008, so any coverage purchased for video game consoles after that date would be Geek Squad® Black Tie Protection (GSBTP) Gadgets & Gizmos instead. While PRPs allowed for immediate in-store exchanges, GSBTP Gadgets & Gizmos requires that repairs be provided first and foremost. Here are a couple of threads on the subject that you might be interested in reading:

http://forums.bestbuy.com/bb/board/message?board.id=Policies&message.id=2614#M2614

http://forums.bestbuy.com/bb/board/message?board.id=Warranties&message.id=1434#M1434

If you have any other questions though, please do not hesitate to let me know. You can send me a private message by clicking on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page and composing a new message to my user name “Aaron-GS.”

Agent Aaron
Geek Squad® Community Connector
Go Ahead. Use Us.

[drnancy]

That is awful.  They should give you a new one right away!  I had a damaged cell

phone and like you the first time they helped me out and the second time they wouldn't

and they ended up calling the police on me.  No one helped me and all but three out of 12

employees were rude as well.  As soon as they see there is a problem they get very

unfriendly.

[jaxfiremedic]

The plan was purchaced 3/12/08 before it was discontinued.

[drnancy]

I don't understand what Gerald Rose is saying .  Why would bb have to "eat it" if a non-defective

product is returned.  You guys sell returned products put back in their boxes, i have seen it & rea

d about it

[jaxfiremedic]

Got the refurbished unit 3/7/09, son played on it a couple times. We left for a short vacation  left 3/11/09 and came home 3/14/09 son tried to play and got the red ring of death. The refurbed PoS lasted less then 1 week. And according to you agent Aaron the PRP's where sold till 9/13/08, the purchace date of my console and warrenty was 3/12/08. Why are they not honoring the PRP i purchaced, When I did not purchace the Geek Squad® Black Tie Protection (GSBTP) since it was not even available till 9/14/08?

Quote from Agent Aaron

http://forums.bestbuy.com/bb/board/message?board.id=Policies&message.id=2614#M2614

"The first type of coverage, Product Replacement Plans (PRP’s), did allow for an immediate, over-the-counter exchange whenever customers brought a defective product into one of our stores. Geek Squad® technicians would run a series of diagnostics to confirm the failure, and that would be that. Customers could even file claims over the phone through our toll-free hotline (888-539-6883) if there wasn’t a store in their area. These plans, however, were last offered on 09/13/2008.

The second type of coverage, Geek Squad® Black Tie Protection (GSBTP), functions a bit differently from its predecessor in that it does not normally allow for an immediate exchange. GSBTP was first offered on 09/14/2008, so all plans purchased after that date would be this type of coverage. Under GSBTP, Xbox 360 consoles are first exchanged for refurbished models via our Rapid Exchange program. Once a console needs to be exchanged a fourth time then, the “No Lemon” coverage kicks in and the unit is replaced with a brand new one."