Way OT - Best Buy's total incompetence

[Ysabel Kid]

A little backstory. I used to buy many of our consumer electronics from Best Buy. I try to support the "brick & mortar" stores who make the investment in location and inventory as much as I can. I have bought every computer and laptop I've ever owned from them, for the entire family. Pads, game systems, TV's, videos, printers, etc. Supplies for all as well. I've been a Best Buy "Reward Zone" member and subscribed to their "Geek Squad" service.

NEVER AGAIN.

I started getting e-mails from them about service done and purchases made in the state of Maine. I've never been to Maine. I have no relatives in Maine. Other than OldNo7, I don't know anyone in Maine. Knowing how loose they are at the register when ringing up customers, I figured they asked someone if they were a member, they had a similar name, and tied it together. That's what I hoped anyway, versus it being someone trying to steal my identity.

I wrote and called Best Buy and Geek Squad to let them know this wasn't me. Even cancelled my Best Buy credit card and had it reissued. Still kept receiving the e-mails for activity that wasn't mine. I let my Geek Squad membership expire to try to resolve it. No such luck. So last month I'd had enough, and called to cancel both my credit card and Reward Zone membership, and asked them to pull my e-mail addresses.

Well, this week while traveling I got a ton of e-mails from them again for service and purchases in Maine.

So today I called them, now armed with account numbers and a name from the e-mails. I ended up talking to five different people, being transferred four different times, then finally hung up on!

So I wrote them this e-mail:

THIS IS NOT ME!!!

Disassociate IMMEDIATELY this e-mail address from the accounts listed below. They are for an "Andre Winters" somewhere in Maine (a state I have never been to and a person with no relationship to me). I live in South Carolina. If you do not disassociate my e-mail address from these accounts and I continue to get e-mails from Best Buy and/or Geek Squad I will pursue legal action against both.

I WASTED 40 minutes on the phone with 5 different people before being hung up on today. I will NEVER buy another thing from Best Buy again, and will tell everyone I can to do the same. I had previously purchased almost all of my consumer electronics from Best Buy. I've spent thousands of dollars with you. BUT NEVER AGAIN! Your incompetence is astounding. If it takes five people to simply separate my e-mail from someone else's account, being transferred four times, then hung up on after 40 minutes without the simple issue being resolved, you DO NOT DESERVE MY HARD-EARNED DOLLARS.

I hope you go out of business soon and clear the way for a competent company.

Well, you all are part of the "I'm telling everyone I know" (I do not make idle threats). These clowns are beyond incompetent. It would help if they actually hired people who spoke ENGLISH. I had to spell my name 5 times to one person, and it is not that difficult. I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from them again.

[Blaine]

Tell us how you REALLY feel about them.......( I never get on retail credit plans....)

[GunnyMack]

I bet those folks you dealt with all vote for Scumbag, er I mean hrc... ( notice I DIDNT capilitize initals)!

Sad to say this kind of treatment is the way of the world anymore.
I'm the same way, ya screw me you are DONE getting my business. I support my local business's ( except 1, but that's a different story).

You made the right call !

I would suggest that you contact your OTHER credit card companies and alert them to this, maybe you WERE hacked, they will keep an eye on your billing.

[Ysabel Kid]

Tell us how you REALLY feel about them

Well, you know how shy I am about that...

......( I never get on retail credit plans....)

I usually don't either, but we made a rather large purchase from them years ago, and they offered a 10% discount if we signed up for their credit card, so I did so. Never really used it, except with them, and only enough to keep it current.

[Ysabel Kid]

I bet those folks you dealt with all vote for Scumbag, er I mean hrc... ( notice I DIDNT capilitize initals)!

I was thinking the same thing!

I would suggest that you contact your OTHER credit card companies and alert them to this, maybe you WERE hacked, they will keep an eye on your billing.

I have been. Living in SC, we all received free credit monitoring services for a year several years back when the state's database was hacked. I have continued it since then. It is well worth the modest annual fee.

[Lefty Dude]

I here that Cabela's is selling their Credit card division to a Large Bank. I will cancel my card when it expires at the end of the year.
This is the only Card I have from a retail firm.
The only Credit card we have is a Discover Card. They are very nice to deal with.
All the others, forget them in our views.
We try and go by Cash for all purchases.

BTW; I told Best Buy to take a hike, Years ago.

[stretch]

Sorry for your troubles!

But one of the things you sign up for to save a (very few!) dollars
with the big corporations IS unlimited harassment. See - that's a legal
contract - ALL of the information they can get for that discount. Pure and
simple, you sold them your information for the discount on whatever it was
that you bought. And now that they LEGALLY own that information,
they can use/trade/sell/barter/give it away as they see fit.

It's one of the reasons that I virtually NEVER give an email address to a vendor.
No cell phone number, either. (Not currently having a cell phone makes that
easier.... )

I used to get phone reminders all the time from CVS for prescription refills that
I no longer needed. I got that stopped fairly readily - but I can only imagine the
hassle if I'd given them all of my electronic information and a work cell number!!
Alerts, reminders, "free" coupons, texts and calls at all hours of the night and day....
No, thank you.


-Tom

[Blaine]

Cabela's Card is a VISA Card, so they have high standards to meet. I consider the Cabela's Visa to be the Gold Standard of any card I've ever had in my adult live.

[mikld]

Out west, Best Buy stores are not doing well, closing. Two in So. CA, and IIRC one in Oregon. Too many unsatisfied customers going to other retailers. Your report sounds typical of a dying company...

[Blaine]

Out west, Best Buy stores are not doing well, closing. Two in So. CA, and IIRC one in Oregon. Too many unsatisfied customers going to other retailers. Your report sounds typical of a dying company...

I've had two bad experiences with two different ones in the Tacoma area.....

[Grizz]

Kid, it sounds to me like i.d. theft. you've been had. I doubt there is a thing best buy can do about it. whoever has your stuff can say you're the hacker, not them.

might want to secure all of your financial assets while you have them.

and yeah, best buy is raunchy, but in this case it sounds like you're getting played by someone other than them.

[Dan 444]

Cabela's Card is a VISA Card, so they have high standards to meet. I consider the Cabela's Visa to be the Gold Standard of any card I've ever had in my adult live.

I agree.

Dan

[BenT]

I gave up on Best Buy in 1998 when they had my PC to replace a mother board under warranty. They returned it 6 weeks later just to tell me that they don't do warranty work for Acer. It took them 6 weeks to figure that out! I will never give them a dime after that incompetence.

[FWiedner]

Had an in-store experience at the local Best Buy several years ago.

Note that I said SEVERAL years ago.

I have not purchased a major item there since maybe 1998, because their customer service stinks.

[RIHMFIRE]

and your just finding out now they are idiots..........

[FWiedner]

and your just finding out now they are idiots..........

I accepted that as given nearly 20 years ago.