Best Buy Gift Card

Laurie of Demotte, IN March 3, 2009

Here is my story. In August of 2008 my Brother in law purchased a computer from best buy for my daughter. he was going to be on active duty shortly and they were going to work on a story together for the school newspaper. the computer had a lot of problems and after about six months the hard drive crashed and was rendered useless. We contacted Dell and they recomended we take it to Best Buy to be serviced under warranty. We did that an it took them a week to to look at it and tell us it needed to be sent out.

Two weeks later it comes back with a new hard drive. They called me a told me that the computer was fully functional and ready to go. Being in a hurry we didn't check it till we got home. We opened it it up and they didn't even restore the windows operating system on it. We contacted Dell(they were great)only to find out they never sent it to their service center. we took it back to Best buy and they wanted to charge us 180.00 to restore the system. We told them to stuff it.The manager hid behind the excuse that Dells warranty did not cover re installation of of the software only parts and offered us a deal of half price to restore the system.

We refused and told them their service stunk and that they dropped the ball and only did half the job. We no longer shop at Best Buy because we are tired of their scams. My brother in law passed away 2 weeks ago while on active duty. My daughter was in tears when the computer didn't work because it was a very special gift from her uncle. I spent three hours restoring her system with the assistance of Dell(they were great). The wireless card is still having issues but we are working on a solution for that.

I realize that there is no remedy for aggrivation and wasted time. Best Buy has got a great scam going with their Geek squad and in store warranties. It gives them the semi legal excuse to give [bad] customer service and rip off consumers.

Lisa of Brogue, PA February 9, 2009

I ordered a Zune gift card from Best Buy and the item has not been received. I've been calling since December 26, 2008 - all calls have been documented. Each time I speak to someone I am told I will have an answer in xxx amount of time. Each time it varies. The last person I spoke with gave me a new case # and told me I would receive an answer in 24-72 hours. I've not heard a word nor have I received the gift card.

I spent 25 on a gift card I've never received.

Bob of Anaheim, CA January 4, 2009

25.00 Nexon pre-paid game card was purchased on 01/03/09 from Bestbuy. Game Website states the card is EXPIRED. 01/04/09 the card was returned to exchange for a new card. Tim the customer service manager confirmed the Expired card online. Tim who adamantly refuses to provide his last name emphatically stated that there is nothing he could do. I have to take it up with the Game Company who online would not respond.

My 11 year old son who purchased the Card from his weeks allowance could not understand how bestbut sell him an expired card. How Bestbuy Customer Service make an effort to resolve the 25.00 they have taken from him

Teresa of Murrieta, CA September 10, 2008

My son (15 yr) received a Best Buy giftcard for Christmas worth 100.00 He attempted to use it last May 21 at a Best Buy store here in La Quinta but was refused because the bar code was scratched a little bit and the cashier can't swipe it. So he paid cash for a 40.00 earphone he purchased. I called the customer number right away and told the guy I was speaking to what happened. He then said that for me to be able to get a replacement card I have to let the person that give the giftcard to call them for a replacement card. Since its too much hassle to call either my brother or another family friend, these are the only two persons I could think of that could have given him the giftcard. I asked the guy if I can just use the gift card to purchase items online and he said I could do that too since I just need to enter the card number and security code at the back of the card. So I told him to just forget the other way and I will just use the card to shop online.

Then a week ago I tried to use the giftcard online to purchase memory cards for my son's camera and lo and behold, the giftcard now said zero balance. So I immediately called the other day the customer service no and told them the whole story again. The lady named April this time said that she has to do more research and will call me the following day. The next day I got a call from April at the customer service and said that they cannot do anything about this because the original purchasor has to call them so they can give a replacement giftcard.

 I later found out from her that last May 21st when I called them originally, the giftcard was cancelled by the guy I was talking to. I said that he did not tell me that he was going to cancel it because I specifically asked him that we will just use the giftcard for online shopping and he said yes, we can do that. I did not get the impression that he was going to cancel it because I said that it will be a big hassle for me to call those two people who might have given my son the giftcard. So bottom line, April gave me the number where I can reach the person wo hcancelled our giftcard. I called right away to see if I can clear the matter and of course I get the voicemail, I left a message and till now I have not received a phone call back, that's why I am filing this complaint.

I feel that my son has been ripped off and this is big amount of money, 100.00. Yes, I know I can get a replacement card because I can have my brother or friend call. But I felt that the person did not really listen to me or did not care.

Toni of Bellwood, IL June 30, 2008

I went in bec they give gift cards of 5 for every A kids make on their report cards. I brought my daughters 3rd quarter grades and her fourth quarter grades. They gave me 2 gift cards for 30 each. I went shopping and spent 37 and some change but when I went to the check out, only one of the cards worked, the other was declined. So I went back to the service desk and asked what was wrong and a different girl was their but knew exactly what I was talking about. She told me that I tried to get compensation for a past quarter and I could only get it for the current quarter. When I asked her why that was not explained to me in the first place and why was the card issued to me as if everything was ok, she replied, I had nothing to do with that.

My problem is the way I was treated like I had done something wrong when they had clearly messed up. They treated me like I had tried to get over on them and they had caught me when all they had to do was say, Sorry mam, but we dont compensate for old quarters, and I would have been fine. But instead, I felt violated and angry and knew that I would never shop there again. I would have made my daughter return 8 worth of stuff so I would not have given them any money at all but I knew that they charge you 15% to return anything (so unfair)which means my daughter would have paid them 15% for nothing in return. Trust me, for that kind of customer service, I wont ever go there again, not even for FREE.

Jocelyn of Lithonia, GA March 11, 2008

I used a Christmas gift, a BestBuy gift card, and purchased a camera after Christmas. Did not like the camera (battery issue) so I returned it ,and they kept 25 for restocking fee. I lost the card 2 days later with a balance of 125 remaining and reported it immediately to Best Buy. They indicated it would take four weeks before I received replacement. It is now 3/10/08 - 60 days later, and Best Buy consumer affairs said it will take another 6 to 8 weeks before they reissue--are running behind. His supervisor says the cards in the mail!

How can they keep 25 restocking fee at their own whim and put me off for 60 days plus, before I get my card and receive the recurring interest on my card as well? How can big business just walk over consumers, and we have no recourse at all?

Anne-Marie of Abington, MA January 2, 2008

I tried to send my nephew an ITUNES card from Best Buy, value 25, on December 14, 2007. I sent it special one-day delivery via UPS. After a week he did not get the card, so I called Best Buy on December 26. UPS log only told me that it was loaded on a UPS truck; it never said 'DELIVERED'. I got customer support person, Joseph, who told me that the card would be resent and the cost of shipping the card would be refunded, 8. I was pleased with that response, my UPS fee was refunded, and I waited again for the card to get to my nephew. It is January 3 now, and my nephew still did not get his ITUNES card. I called back BEST BUY customer support to ask why the card was not sent.

A supervisor, Chris, told me that the person who told me it would be resent was not telling me the truth, and that this case was being sent to their research department. I was appalled! I asked Chris for his supervisor, and he told me that his supervisor did not come to the phone; and then I asked for my money to be refunded, and he told me NO, I could not have my money refunded. Then I tried to call the corporate office. I talked to Brendan, and all he could tell me was they did not deal with bestbuy.com transactions even though I had had a difficult time retrieving my 25. He reconnected me to Gord, ID #1186606. Gord told me he was the TOP supervisor of BESTBUY.com , there was no one else to talk to. He reiterated what Chris had told me. I asked him for the phone number for the research department; it was denied. I asked him again for a refund; that was denied, and I asked him to resend the card..denied. I do not think it is right that BESTBUY.com can keep my 25 since December 14, not refund it, and keep it while it collects interest in order to correct a mailing situatuion that was their fault, not mine! I cannot get my money back, I cannot get what I payed for, and no one will give a phone number to call....I do not think this is right in our country today. Please help!

I want to warn other consumers that this is not a trustworthy operation, bestbuy.com. And I cannot accept that a corporation can withhold my money for any period of time and not deliver the goods that were purchased!

Darren of Wilmington, NC December 16, 2007

I recently received a 150 gift card from Best Buy, but when I attempted to use the card in Raleigh, NC, it was denied. The card was purchased from the Best Buy store in Cary, NC. They (Best Buy in Raleigh, NC) were shown the receipt, which they verified and then told me that I had to go back to the store where the card was purchased because it was denied. Does this mean if the card had been purchased in California, I would have been expected to travel across the county to get this issue corrected? Basically, they had no interest in determining what the problem was with the card. I returned to the Best Buy store where the card was purchased. (Yes, I had to drive several miles to another store!) They told me that the card was voided shortly after it was purchased.

Of course the purchaser immediately contacted the credit card company who verified that the card's purchase price was indeed charged to his account. It had not been voided as the manager had boldly stated. After the manager was informed of this, he left to check information on their computer system. Why didn't he do this first? He then returns and informs us that, yes, the card was purchased from them. He was able to tell me who the cashier was, what time the card was sold, who brought the card and what store denied the card. He had the entire history of the card on their computer system. He also told me that there was an activation problem with some cards purchased on that date. I asked to have the card activated or replaced, but they refused.

I was told I had to contact a third party, because Best Buy doesn't actually back the cards that they sell, even though it has their name on it and was sold in their store. After three hours, I am finally told that yes your card will be replaced, but that it will take 10 business days. But what about the item that I needed that day? Well you can purchase it now and come back later and use your gift card. This means I have to spend even more money in a store that doesn't seem to care about its customers. Of course, you can't get your money back from a gift card, even if you are unsatisfied with the process. Gift cards are not a good thing because there are no cash refunds on gift cards.

I needed a laptop that night, so I had to purchase one from somewhere minus my 150 gift card. I still have to use the gift card in their store since it is not redeemable for cash. I was issued a new card 12 days later.

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