Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[nicmax1]

Worst Customer Service is absolutely right. I've been waiting for the General Manager at the Tallahassee Location to correct mistakes that the Geek Squad manager made when sending my I-phone off for repairs. Nobody seems to really care. They have essentially hijacked my phone for over two months now!!!!!! I'm so upset that I am printing up flyers telling everyone the story and how I have been treated and I will be posting them on peoples cars in the parking lot until there is a resolution. The BLACK TIE PROTECTION PROGRAM IS A SCAM. The store employees don't even understand how the program works. I've gotten no less than 5 different explanations from 4 different people and I've caught the Geek Squad manager lying to me on two different occasions.HE KNOWS HE MADE A MISTAKE AND HE'S COVERING HIS TRACKS. AND THE GENERAL MANAGER IS HELPING HIM!!! THEY ARE ALL A BUNCH OF LIARS. The Best Buy Mobile department is useless too. Everyone I talk to on the 800 line keeps me on hold then makes me repeat the entire incident and then transfers me and then I have to tell it all to someone else again and then after 2 hours on the phone one night (i'm not exaggerating) I was told that it was a store issue and I would need to go back in and speak to the store manager. These people are ridiculous. i've bought 2 laptops, a desktop computer, 2 big screen tvs, a ps3, and a nintendo wii plus 2 iphones from this one store and this is how i am treated. i even joined their stupid rewards program which is another scam they are running. You can rest assured that i will be letting all of tallahassee know how horrible this customer service is. I don't care if i have to purchase billboard space. all I want is my broken iphone back or a brand new 3gs 16gb phone to replace it. i've paid hundreds of dollars towards my black tie coverage and for what!??!!?!?!?

[perfectjen]

Contact the Better Business in their home state. That's how I got through to the people at Best Buy. I filed complaints with the Attorney General's office, the Dept. of Agriculture, and several BBB offices. The one that got through to the company was the BBB in their home state. Within about 4 days I had corporate calling me and saying that they would exchange my camera not because that's what was promised of the service plan, but it would make me go away. I emailed every day and called every day. Don't give up!!!! They count on people getting frustrated and giving up. DONT DO IT!!! Contact everyone that you can about this store. I believe that the Attorney General's office is investigating their Black tie coverage so contact them and let them know that you have been scammed by Best Buy too. The more people that contact them the better chance that they will do something.

[nicmax1]

I purchased black tie coverage for a 3G and a 3GS phone. I dropped off the 3GS (16gb) phone at the Tallahassee, FL location back in early December 2 weeks later the "service center" sent me a 3G phone back. I refused to accept the phone and told them that I wanted the same type of phone that I purchased and that they sent off for repairs (cracked screen.) Then they tell me that my 3GS phone did not have coverage only my 3G phone. First of all I have records where they have been taking out 16.00 every month on my credit card so that is BS. Secondly, if the 3GS phone isn't covered then why did they accept it AND send it off? Nobody can answer that question!!! I've spent countless hours on the phone with Best Buy Mobile and every time they say "it's a store issue, there is nothing we can do." but when I go to the store they won't say or do anything different!! I told them if my 3gs phone isn't covered then GIVE IT BACK. They can't give it back because it got sent to the service center where they probably put a new screen on it and then shipped it off to somebody else!!! This is their mistake no matter how you look at it but nobody (Not even the GM who I've spoken to twice) will do anything about it! They just keep telling me that they've e-mailed the service center and they are waiting on a response. It's been over 2 freakin months and I'm paying for service with AT&T for a phone that Best Buy has hijacked!!!!! I've made no less than 10 trips to the store and every time I leave feeling like absolutely no progress has been made!!!! I have never been so annoyed by any customer service department in my entire life. How can they get away with this? I'm going to have to take this to small claims court to get any answers out of someone and by the time it's all over and done I will be the only one who loses. DO NOT EVER BUY BLACK TIE PROTECTION FROM BEST BUY FOR ANY PRODUCT. IT IS A SCAM. DO NOT EVEN SHOP AT THE TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA STORE. THE GEEK SQUAD MANAGER AND THE GENERAL MANAGER ARE LIARS AND THIEVES. 

[nicmax1]

I was told the same thing and now it has been 2 months and still no phone. Tallahassee, FL store will not give me my phone back or replace it. They sent off a 3gs 16gb phone and i got back a 3g 8gb phone. But i refused to accept it because that's not the phone I sent off. Then GM won't even help me. All they keep saying is that they e-mailed the service center and they are waiting to hear back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for 2 months?? C'mon. You've got to be kidding me! How can you deprive me of a phone that I purchased and that i am having to pay monthly service on with at&t and all i get is a lame excuse like that? Everybody knows that the service center has repaired my broken phone and shipped it off to some of other store in another state. Best Buy should replace my broken phone with a brand new because it was their mistake that got it lost in the first place!! 

[BTY · Accepted solution]

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nicmax1 wrote:

I was told the same thing and now it has been 2 months and still no phone. Tallahassee, FL store will not give me my phone back or replace it. They sent off a 3gs 16gb phone and i got back a 3g 8gb phone. But i refused to accept it because that's not the phone I sent off. Then GM won't even help me. All they keep saying is that they e-mailed the service center and they are waiting to hear back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for 2 months?? C'mon. You've got to be kidding me! How can you deprive me of a phone that I purchased and that i am having to pay monthly service on with at&t and all i get is a lame excuse like that? Everybody knows that the service center has repaired my broken phone and shipped it off to some of other store in another state. Best Buy should replace my broken phone with a brand new because it was their mistake that got it lost in the first place!! 

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perfectjen is right - contact the BBB for the area you live in.  Beware of the "Super Whatevers" in this community forum who believe the BBB can be paid off and other BS.  The BBB can help you with your problem.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello nicmax1 -

Justin, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  Thank you for your continued patience!

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hello nicmax1,

Oh my goodness!  I’m quite dismayed to read about your ongoing service repair experience with your iPhone and your poor service received by our Tallahassee, FL location.  I cannot believe the troubles you’ve encountered through your iPhone situation and I can only imagine your aggravation.  I would be happy to assist you with this scenario. 

So let’s diagnose all the present issues within your post.  First is the fact that your 16GB iPhone 3GS phone is missing after being submitted for repair almost 2 months ago.  I cannot offer explanation to why this happened or the feedback you received regarding your coverage.  However it clearly appears that you have been met with a lack of communication and information regarding the status of your repair.  I truly apologize to you for not receiving the proper communication and for the inconvenience which has certainly transpired. 

You also mentioned the treatment you’ve received from store management, namely the Geek Squad® manager and the General Manager® of the Tallahassee, FL location.  Through your personal legwork, several trips to the store, constant waiting and phone transfers, etc; clearly it seems that you have not been met with professionalism and the high level of service that we strive to provide with you, the customer.  Best Buy® does not condone this sort of behavior and will certainly be noted.  I want to extend my deepest apologies for this entire experience. 

Rest assured, I have documented your expressed concerns to be internally addressed within the proper channels of store management.  Also, I note your views and I would personally like to get involved to see how we can work together towards an acceptable resolution.  I’m sending you a private message to continue our conversation.  You can check your private messages by logging into the forums and clicking on the envelope in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Thanks for reaching out to us on the forums!

Regards, 

[nicmax1]

So I went into the store today to see if the status of my phone had changed and suprisingly when the geek squad manager saw me he told me to hold on and scurried to the back for about 5 minutes. When he returned he said that since they are unable to get my original (broken) i-phone back from the "service center" that they are going to replace it. But because "corporate" would only approve me getting a 8gb 3G replacement (which i don't believe because it doens't make sense) the General Manager approved for me to receive a 16GB 3GS phone as a replacement if I was willing to "SPLIT" the $100 it was going to "cost the store". Basically he wants me to pay $50 which is probably how much the "store" is actually getting the phone for. He couldn't promise me it would be a white 16GB like my previous phone. I told him that I shouldn't have to  pay the $50 but that I gladly would if it would get me my phone back.. I will argue the $50 with the BBB and the Attorney Generals office afterwards if I have to.

But here is what I still don't understand. If this is the resolution that was decided upon then how come nobody called to tell me? Am I supposed to believe that I was just lucky enough to stumble in the store only hours after this decision was made? He claims they didn't have ANY 16gb phones in stock which I thought was mighty convienant. But I also want to know why the phone hadn't already been ordered? He said Terrance (the Mobile Manager) would order the phone on Monday. ***By the way... Terrance was extremely polite each time I've dealt with him and he is the only one that ever even showed any concern.)*** I have a hard time believing anything that Josh from Geek Squad says. I have caught him contradicting himself on several occasions and he talks to me like I'm stupid and when I'm talking to him he won't even look me in the eye as if he's barely even listening to what I have to say. This black tie protection  plan is nothing more than a flat out scam in my book. The geek sqaud doesn't even repair the phones. In fact, in most cases they are able to get Apple to do the repairs under the manufactures warranty which I never even knew about. I was made to believe that AT&T wouldn't insure the iphone so if anything happened to it i would have to pay retail for a new one.

I also want to know why I never heard anything else from YOU. Your personal message went to my spam folder so i didn't even see it until days after. I was hoping I would get a follow up message but i should have known better. Best Buy seems to have a "lets wait and see if he goes away first" policy.

[Nokia]

You originally dropped off a white 16GB 3GS. It's unacceptable for them to give you anything other than that, and certainly unacceptable for them to make you pay for it! If I was you and they told me that, I'd think it was them trying to make me laugh to get my spirits up. Don't take that offer. As you said, they checked a white 16GB 3GS in, so it's irrelevant whether that phone had service plan coverage. It's their mistake, and they are going to have to lose money to fix it.

You are correct, GS does not repair the phones. However, neither does apple. They are sent to a third-party refurbisher, which is why they don't have an apple warranty on them. ATT does not offer insurance on the iPhone, so if something happened to it that was not covered by the apple warranty, you'd be paying $600 for a new one.

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hi nicmax1, 

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get back to you.  I have been out for a while due to personal reasons and I wanted to advise you I'm continuing to research your issue.  Any feedback or response I receive, I will promptly let you know what I've found out and we can go from there.  

Thank you for your continued patience!  

Sincerely,