BestBuy.Com

[muktuk14]

Technically Best Buy isn't doing anything wrong or illegal because they do state it on their website that they will periodically charge your card until your order ships. For most people this isn't a problem because their item will ship within the first couple days before the hold falls off their card. For anyone that preorders or has an item that is backordered it can create a lot of headaches. Just because its in their terms doesn't mean that its good business practices. Most honest reliable websites will run a card for 0.00 to get an authorization just to make sure that the card is open and active and then bill the person when their item ships. 

As for their response for you to call your debit card company Warpeddude you are completely correct. When a card is ran there is no way of telling whether it is a "soft charge" a charge that they were just running for an authorization or an actual "hard charge" where when the company batches out their machine Best Buy will claim the money. Most banks will release holds on the card after 48-72 hours but whats happening in your situation is Best Buy is running your card when they feel that their prior hold might fall off and you may want to spend your money now instead of in a month when they decide to ship your product. Them telling you to contact your bank or credit union is their way of saying "Hey read our terms and conditions were not going to stop. If you don't like it go somewhere else." Amazon has much better customer service I highly recommend to use them whenever you can to avoid issues like this.

[APR28]

I placed an order for a baseball bat for my son that clearly stated backordered. It was a popular bat so I was willing to wait.

The company pre-authorized the charge to make sure the money was there then let it drop. It dropped in 48hours. Three weeks later the bat shipped and I was charged. There were no renewals of authorizations overlapping each other out of desparation to retain my money.

BB is so desparate to get your money money they are willing to keep making sure the money is there. They should not this!! If the money isn't there when it's time to ship, they should just cancel the order and not tie up $4-500 of people's money to make sure they ship a $100 item.

[warpeddude]

Well, I tell you this, Best buy won't have to worry about my business anymore,and I will spread the word around to my friends and anywhere I can blog about their practices. Funny, I have pre-ordered from Amazon and Walmart and they have this strange idea of charging once and then sending the item out once it is in stock. What a concept!!

[warpeddude]

I was talking to a friend at work that has an interesting story that happened to him this Christmas that I need to share. He pre-ordered a new electronic device (some of you will know exactly what), was charged for it, then 8 days later, charged again (their authorization renewal). Now, several thousands of his credit is tied up for the next 2-5 days. Well now, Best Buy is assured that the money value is there ( X 2 ). The expected delivery date for the item, came and went and he received nothing. After contacting Best Buy, he was told that it was unavailable. That's right, they were so worried about their money, that they didn't ensure they could even get the product, and when they couldn't, they did not so much as offer an email saying; "Your out of luck!" So, he, at the last minute, had to try to find a replacement for the present for his daughter. Way to go Best Buy, ruin another holiday. If I would have known this, I never would have ordered from them.

[scopio]

Where is the response from someone who works at Best Buy as to why there is company wide problems with processing orders, shipping products, and handling customer service calls? After reading this, I don't know if I can trust making purchases with Best Buy using my credit card.

So it seems the issues are:

1. inventory control

2. customer service over the phone

3. communication between departments

4. contacting customers before making changes to their order.

[ShockSystem]

You can't trust Best Buy. This has been a problem that has repeated itself for thousands of customers in the last QT of last year (and likely before) and first QT of this year. There is nothing you can trust about this company - they are shady at best. My experience was with warranty replacement and customer service, but it amounts to the same thing. Do not give them your money, you will regret it.

[hydrogenwv]

Once the initial contact is made, the CC usually works with the person via private message. OP got a response, you just didn't see it,