Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[jimmytony]

explain to me how i spend 70 on a video game,after being talked into buying it by a customer sales representative that fails to mention that after spending the 70 on the game i have to pay a 15 dollar a month fee to play the game at all, and want to return it, well within my timeframe for returns, and you at best buy wont give me cash. i handed YOU cash when i purchased it. how is it my fault that noone informed me you had to pay to play and now i dont want the  thing. i, as well as the rest of my family, have been very loyal best buy customers for well over a decade and this is how you thank us? i understand your policy says its against the law to accept open games. if its agains the law how is it that  stores like GameStop can accept used video games and re sell them. i feel that i have been treated completely unfairly and that i was decieved by your sales team, and i will NEVER step foot in a best buy again. i spent 1500 the day i bought that video game. 1500 of my hard earned money. 70 of which i spent based on the faith that your sales team would know what their talking about and would mention the fact that you have to pay to play a game before talking me into buying it. is that not an important part of customer service? making sure a customer is informed of every detail of a product before purchasing it. i asked many questions about the game before i bought it and never once was it even mentioned that i would have to pay every month to play the game. best buy makes a lot of money every day and i ask for a return of the price of my video game and you tell me youll exchange it for another game? i dont want another game or i would have bought it when i got that piece of junk. i want the money i handed you handed back to me.

[cr_client]

First of all, there is no LAW that states that Best Buy cannot accept a return on opened software, it's a loss-prevention policy based on the fact that software, music, movies, etc. can all be copied at-will.

What game are you referring to? I know of very few games that require a subscription or membership, but the ones that I can think of, such as World of Warcraft, all specifically state on the box that there may be a monthly membership fee required to be able to play the game.

[jimmytony]

the game is DC Universe and it does say that you have to pay to play it. inside the case of the game. nowhere on the plastic wrap, demo station in store, or outside cover of the game does it say anything about paying a monthly fee. i didnt even know i had to after opening the game until i put it in my ps3 and it said i wasnt allowed onto their servers without paying.

and if theres no LAW that says that why was i told that by not only the store manager but the customer service representative that i spoke to on the phone. like i said in my original statement, best buy has done all that they can to decieve me in this matter.

[cr_client]

The game is officially called "DC Universe Online", and the "Online" part is quite clearly mentioned as part of the title.

On the Bestbuy.com website, in the description of the game:

"Features
•Includes 30-day subscription; Internet connection and additional recurring subscription fees required"

The cover art shows, on the lower left of the front cover, in a yellow box with yellow lettering:
"30 Day Subscription* INCLUDED"

And below that, in a white box with white lettering:
"Internet connection and recurring subscription fees required"

There's also a big yellow box on the back cover that gives additional information about the asterisk that's attached to the front yellow box, with details about how the 30-day subscription is for new users and new customers only, etc.

That's on the outside of the box, and should have been clearly visible through the clear cellophane wrapper/factory seal.

[jimmytony]

first off i didnt buy this game on the webpage. i bought it under the advice of a sales rep in store. secondly neither of the stickers you claim to be on the packaging are in fact on the packaging. im well aware that the Online part is mentioned in the name. i can read. you dont have to be rude. im merely asking questions and if your idea of answering them is trying to make me feel stupid you can stop because that will get you nowhere. this is exactly what im talking about when i say that best buy's customer service is garbage. i, a customer, have a complaint and a question and all i get is somebody being rude to me.

[jimmytony]

and yeah. i understand your not affiliated with best buy at all in any way. then why are YOU answering customer service questions. that some customer service. im just gonna go around answering peoples questions rudely and wrong too.

[cr_client]

The wording in the yellow and white boxes is part of the cover art, not a sticker. It's printed directly on the cover of the game. In some version of the cover art, the yellow box about the 30-day subscription is at the top, next to the title, and the "recurring subscription is required" is at the bottom in the middle, instead of both being at the lower-right of the front cover, but I have yet to see a cover that doesn't contain both disclaimers, either for the PC or for the PS3.

Sony, DC, and Warner Brothers have been making products long enough to know that these sorts of disclaimers are required in order to be allowed to sell a game like this.

Can you post a picture of your cover to show that the disclaimers are missing? That should be enough proof for the store to take it back, but the most they'd probably be able to do is provide you with store credit, rather than a full refund.

[cr_client]

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jimmytony wrote:

and yeah. i understand your not affiliated with best buy at all in any way. then why are YOU answering customer service questions. that some customer service. im just gonna go around answering peoples questions rudely and wrong too.

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This is a public forum.  All users are welcome to post on a topic if they have relevant information that adds to the discussion.

An official answer from an official Best Buy representative will take 3-5 business days, so you should expect to hear from someone some time before next week Monday.

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

It is unfortunate that Best Buy cannot accept returns on opened software, but that is the policy.

I understand your reasoning behind wishing that the employee would have told you about the subscription, but in reality, employees cannot explain everything that you would need.  This is where you would need to research your product beforehand.  With many online MMO PC games, subscriptions are required to play and sometimes the employees may take it for granted that most people know this.  Same thing if you purchase a car.  Most car salesmen take for granted that most people know that they will need to purchase gasoline for the car after the original tank of gas is used up.  I highly doubt that a car salesman is going to say to you "Oh, by the way, you will need to purchase gasoline in order to use the car for any period of time."

It's regrettable that you didn't research your purchase beforehand and were unaware of the subscription requirement, but the employee cannot be responsible for ensuring that the customer knows everything about the product before purchase.  It's just not possible and not economical.  The responsibility of knowing the details of the product lies with the consumer not just at Best Buy, but with any retail establishment.

[CrimsonRain]

I don't think Gamestop would even be able to return the game because of the nature of the account creation binded to the product key...