BestBuy.Com

[mattk11]

I just spent the last 2 hours trying to purchase a TV on Bestbuy.com with my Bestbuy RewardZone MasterCard.

After multiple calls to customer support at both Bestbuy.com and HSBC I was told that HSBC has flagged Bestbuy.com as a source of fraud. (Which is hilarious in a pathetic way when you think about it - you can't use the Bestbuy credit card on the Bestbuy web site!)

The HSBC rep wanted the Bestbuy.com rep to enter in an authorization code, but since the Bestbuy.com rep basically just uses the same online web site there is no place to do that.

I'm mostly venting, but has anyone else run into this issue? It is extremely frustrating.

[Nokia]

That's what trusting your software in lieu of common sense gets you.

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi mattk11,

I'm sorry you weren't able to complete your BestBuy.com purchase.  I can assure you that there is no overall flag preventing all customers from using their Best Buy cards on our website; what happened is particular to your account for some reason.  It sounds like HSBC was able to override that, but as you found, I believe the authorization code process is more suited for a POS register you would find in a store.  Still,

It looks like you have been since able to complete an order - please let us know if we can be of further assistance!

Definitely a unique story - thanks for sharing it here.

[mattk11]

I was able to finally complete the order - after about 2 hours on the phone and trying various things.

For those that run into the issue:

1- According to HSBC, Bestbuy.com gets a lot of fraud so they have heightened their security around online purchases. Bestbuy.com has indeed been flagged in that sense (although it shouldn't prevent all purchases). Since I was purchasing a TV (a large purchase) and I hadn't made a large purchase in a few months, that is apparently what started the problem.

I suppose in some respects the fraud protection is good - with that said there should be a clear way to get through the purchase process if I am in fact who I say I am. That part was clearly broken.

2- I finally asked to speak to a supervisor (at HSBC) and they were able to get the purchase completed in about 2 minutes. So the moral of the story is that don't even waste time with the first line of defense on the Customer Service lines. Just immediately ask to speak to a supervisor.

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Thanks, Matt - I'm sorry it was such a lengthly process for you and thank you for following up.  I hope you are soon able to enjoy the fruits of your labor (gorgeous tv!)!!

[joecrisp28]

Elizabeth,

Unfortunately, Matt's experience isn't unique. I've tried using my Rewardzone Mastercard at bestbuy.com several times this holiday season, and haven't had any success. It's extremely frustrating, and I've given up on a couple of orders out of sheer frustration.

And no, I will not waste additional precious time on hold waiting to speak with a phone rep for either Best Buy or HSBC who will only walk me through the frustrations Matt has already experienced and shared. As a general rule, I refuse to call customer service phone lines because I inevitably exit the experience more frustrated than when I began, because I'm only going to call if I've already exhausted all obvious potential solutions, and most phone reps are only trained on the obvious potential solutions (I know--I used to be one!). And after all, one of the great benefits of online purchasing should be the complete avoidance of that whole mess to begin with. 

From my experience, there appears to be a flaw in the way the bestbuy.com site processes the Rewardzone Mastercard orders. Every time I try to place an order on the bestbuy.com site, I try selecting "Rewardzone Mastercard" from the payment options drop-down menu, and every time the subsequent payment confirmation screen displays the card as a regular "MC" instead of Rewardzone MC. I don't know if that has anything to do with the payment processing problem, but it sure seems like a likely candidate.

I've verified and re-verified my name and contact info exactly matches the information on my credit card account. So that's not the problem. These are relatively small (<$200) purchases I've attempted to make, and I've used less than 10% of my available credit on that account, so the size of the purchases and my available balance should not be an issue either.

I have to echo Matt's sentiment in that it's extremely absurd that customers are unable to use their Best Buy Rewardzone credit cards on the bestbuy.com site--particularly customers in good standing who've never missed a payment on any of their cards, have more than adequate available balance, and are attempting to make small, routine purchases. If Best Buy really wants to leverage the power of online commerce (which derives most of its power from impulse purchases), it's going to have to make the online purchasing experience of its Rewardzone credit card holders a little less tedious. Which of course means somebody from Best Buy corporate is going to have to make a call to someone at HSBC and hammer out this problem, instead of relying on frustrated customers to do their research for them.

I don't know, maybe since that place I'm not allowed to mention in your community shut down (hint: two words, both starting with "C"), Best Buy feels like it doesn't have to worry about frustrated customers like Matt and I, but at this point I'm so ticked that I'm probably just going to give up on Best Buy completely and start shopping with other online retailers, and I'd imagine other folks with similar experiences are making the same decision. It's not like we can't find the same products elsewhere at lower prices, with less of a headache in obtaining them.

I look forward to seeing a response other than, "gee, sorry you had such a bad experience with us, and hope things get better for you soon." If Best Buy wants to retain my business, they can skip the apology and go straight to "we've thoroughly researched this issue, and here's what we've done to fix the problem you've so generously taken the time to report to us. As an expression of gratitude for your business as well as your efforts to keep our online store working smoothly so we can make money from other customers, please use this code with your next online purchase to receive a discount in the amount of X dollars. And yes, we've already tested this code and verified that it will work when you make your purchase with us."

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello Joecrisp28 -

I have asked Sarah, one our Community Connectors who specializes in Reward Zone, to reach out to you regarding your concern.  You should hear from her in the next 3 - 5 business days. 

[Sarah-BBY Retired: Community Connector]

Hi joecrisp28,

Thank you for letting us know about your experience as well, and I apologize for any frustration.

However, I was able to look into the specifics of your particular situation on your behalf, and found that the issue is actually other than what mattk11 has described.  Therefore, due to the personal nature of the information involved at this time, please refer to the private message I have sent you for exact details.  You can check your private message by clicking on the “new message” envelope in the upper right-hand corner of the page (when signed in).

Thanks again and have a great day!