BestBuy.com

[MarcGrener]

My order was delivered and the tracking information shows "left in vestibule" of my apartment building in downtown Chicago. I called Best Buy to get assistance and they told me they would be sending a replacement or a refund. I chose a replacement and then I get an email 36 hours late that some investigation, that I was never made aware of was completed and they determined I won't be receiving a refund or replacement and to contact law enforcement.

What does this mean exactly? I called UPS and they said that this package has no claims on it. UPS told me they can't guarantee they would pay the claim to the shipper, but that the shipper hasn't even attempted to file a claim. Wouldn't that be the first step Best buy should be taking?

And to make matters worse, it seems my account has some sort of block or restriction on it because every time I place an order it gets canceled. I was never told I was being punished or blacklisted because I claimed I didn't receive my shipment. This is terrible.

I've heard the mods here are pretty helpful people so I'm just curious if they have any information about what's going on.

[nckhammond]

It generally means that the shipper provided best buy some sort of proof of delivery. They concluded that the item was stolen after it was delivered and you should file a report with the police Unfortunately it also means they won't reimburse or resend the item.

[MarcGrener]

That's a nonsense. If it were such a simplified investigation, it would defeat the purpose of even declaring an investigation in the first place. All Best Buy would have to say is, the tracking shows the item was delivered, thus there will be no refund or replacement. An investigation implies there's more to it than that. Besides the credit card associations require more than mere delivery, especially as the value increases. For example, American Express requires a signature delivery when the value exceeds a certain amount. So if you used your American Express card and filed a dispute, it would be resolved in your favor if no signature was obtained and the value exceeded that threshold. Best Buy should be making a good faith attempt at a resolution, not designating some nebulous back office to send an email two days later that nothing's going to be done. What are the police going to do exactly? Create a case and hunt down the person who stole your item? Not happening. So it's not a realistic proposal. Best Buy should be working with the carrier to try to recover some or all of the value of the items so they can replace or refund. By doing so, they're also alerting the carrier to a potential internal LP issue, not to mention the fact that it could be an LP issue at Best Buy's warehouse. Regardless of anything, the outcome of these issues can't simply be a cold form email that indicates there's nothing that's going to be done and you need to contact the police for further assistance.

[Allan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hey, MarcGrener,

I hear where you are coming from on this, and appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us here on our forum. I would be just as concerned by all of this. If you did receive an email stating your only option moving forward was to work with law enforcement towards any possible resolution in this matter, that is most likely what you will need to do. With that said, I could double check on this. I will also check to see why you can't place new orders. Can you send me a private message with your name, phone number, email address, and order number? To send me a private message simply click on the message button in my signature.

Thanks,

[MarcGrener]

I don't see that option. I'm on mobile. How can I appeal and make my side known? Surely there's a way to do so.

[Allan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hey, MarcGrener,

The link to send me a private message should be in my signature, regardless of what platform you are accessing this forum from. You could also send me a private message by accessing your private messages, addressing a new message to my user name, and then sending the new message. We do not have a way for a customer to appeal a determination, in regards to an investigation our teams have done. If you were notified that your only option in this matter is to have your local law enforcement open an investigation, then that is what you will need to do. We of course would fully cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.

Thank,

[MarcGrener]

Six months later and my case was resolved. I initially attempted to fix it here on the forums, but the reps were powerless to do anything. The forum reps were terrific, and I realize it's not up to them. They reinforced that the investigation was finalized.

The entire "investigation" is nebulous, and no one could offer a way to appeal the decision or provide further insight. The best I was told is that the decision not to refund or replace was not made lightly, and the matter was closed.

I contacted the BBB, ConsumerAffairs, and my state Attorney General. None could help, and BBY was adamant that they couldn't do anything more.

I then initiated a dispute with my credit card issuer. A temporary credit was issued while they investigated, and after six weeks, BBY responded that the package was delivered. In the meantime, I was in touch with the executive office of the shipping carrier. They sent me a letter detailing the delivery record and information that only BBY could take action. They confirmed that no investigation or lost package tracer was ever filed.

So if BBY never contacted the carrier, what did they investigate? It seems the investigation was a rep checking the tracking, and seeing it marked as delivered is the scope of how they investigate. Armed with this compelling evidence, I submitted this to the bank, and they again charged back the transaction. The next step was arbitration which the bank and I were prepared to do.

BBY came to its senses and decided not to pursue arbitration and instead decided to "accept financial liability for this transaction." In the end, I won! I wrote to BBY to have my account restored, it took them about five weeks, and they emailed me that I could resume placing orders and that the stolen package matter was considered closed.

Although I will never order from BBY again, it was mainly a matter of principle to have my account reinstated, and my name cleared. Thank you.

[MarcGrener]

Also, my advice to BBY is you need to research and investigate these claims. If someone has a history of lost packages, take action, but someone like me with zero lost packages? I was treated like a criminal, like someone who claims lost packages as a career. There is more to the story than a tracking number that says delivered, and your team should be more judgemental when considering a case. It felt overly procedural and tarnished your image with me. I was a loyal customer; I loved shopping at BBY even when your prices were higher, but you shunned me over ONE package. I had to fight for months only for you to decide to accept responsibility for the transaction. 

[Arielle2279]

I’m going through the same thing nobody helping.