- Report: #1206764
Complaint Review: Best Buy - Nationwide
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Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Best Buy
Nationwide, USA
Phone:
1-888-237-8289
Web:
www.bestbuy.com
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Best Buy Selling refurbished phones out of warranty as brand new in box Nationwide
This is in regards to BestBuy.com selling refurbished iPhones without warrantys as BRAND NEW phones.
My girlfriend wanted a iPhone 5s 64gig. She is already a verizon customer and was due for an upgrade. After calling many verizon stores in the area, unable to find this particular phone, we called Apple and they advised as that this phone is no longer made as they are directing people to the iPhone 6. They Apple rep told us that Best Buy/bestbuy.com may still have these in stock. After calling the local Bestbuys we ended up on bestbuy.com
We found an iPhone 5s 64gig for Verizon. No where did it state that these are refurbished phones, out of warranty phones, etc. Using her 2 year upgrade, my girlfriend paid $318 for this phone. Once it arrived, we contacted Apple to make sure that the phone was still under warranty as advised during our inital conversation with Apple prior to contacting Best Buy. Apple proceeded to tell us that the phone was refurbished and is 52 days out of warranty. We couldn't beleive that we just paid over $300 for a refurbished, unwarranted AND used an upgrade that comes once every 2 years.
We immediately contacted the Ohio distribution center listed on the invoice that came with the phone. The employees were very condesending, laughingly told us they only shipped new product, and could not transfer us to a supervisor. We then contacted 1-800-Best-Buy. After speaking to numerious people and being transfered many times we finally got on the phone with someone who was willing to help. They told us that this was a mistake and that they would overnight a brand new phone and email us a return shipping label for the refurbished phone.
Several hours passed and we never received tracking for the new phone, or the return shipping label via email. We then contacted customer service again and the first rep and supervisor told us that they had no record of us calling in or any notations regarding the issue. The supervisor then told us that it is impossible for them to overnight the new phone. ( We placed the order on a Monday, we received it on Tuesday. Overnight. Via UPS) He also stated that in order for them to ship out a new phone, the verizon upgrade must be reversed which can only happen by shipping in the refurb phone we had on hand. (At this point we still had not received the return shipping label) He then told us there was nothing he could do for us and basically said call back and talk to someone else.
Which we did. We finally got someone who was able to view the notes that were taken the first time we spoke with customer service and they too also advised that it is impossible for them to ship overnight. We believe this lady as she was very helpful, even conferencing in a supervisor from another department to help sort things out. She told us that we did not have to reverse the upgrade as the previous supervisor stated. She advised that we would receive tracking within 24 hrs, and that the phone was being expedited and it should arrive in 2-3 business days.
Which brings us up to date. We are waiting for tracking and once the new phone arrives we will confirm with Apple that it is a new phone and is covered under warranty.
Apparently Best Buy has a record doing this as the Apple rep told us to not open the box until we call them and verify it was still under warranty, which we did, which sparked all of the above.
Buyer Beware - When ordering ANY phone from BestBuy.com or any product for that matter. Contact the manufacturer to make sure your product is brand new and under warranty. I will update once the "new" phone arrives.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
J
Scranton,Pennsylvania,
Allow me to enlighten you
#2Author of original report
Thu, February 05, 2015
As my girlfriend was on hold for over 30 minutes with the 7th person she had spoken to from Best Buy she said she was going to write a ripoff report on this. Thats when I fired up the laptop and began typing away. She was on speaker phone with all conversations. This actually is a first hand account, not third person.
As the entire world knows, just like you, you can walk into any retailer and purchase an iPhone 5s 16gig. My girlfriend wanted a 64gig 5s. She called Apple because apparently when the 6 came out, all of the 5s 64gigs were pulled from the shelves from Verizon stores and most other stores including Best Buy. Apple stopped production on the 5s 64gig. When we found this out, we contacted Apple Directly. We were told that Best Buy would be our best bet for finding a 64gig 5s online. They are not available in stores, atleast in our area as we contacted them - I'm sure you've done your research and have come to the same conclusion before leaving such a strong and opinionated rebuttal.
Continuing along.. When speaking with the Apple Rep she warned us before opening or activing the phone ordered form BestBuy.com to make sure it was still under warranty. She told us this because of past experiences with Best Buy sending out refurbished phones.
Even so, my girlfriend had her mind set on this phone and we decided to take the leap of faith and purchase this product from Best Buy because it was worth it to her. The 6 is just too large for her and she wanted the most storage she could get in a 5s.
When you say:
"I was just at the store that provides my cell phone service and they had Iphone 5 (both) on display NEW. IF your girlfriend wanted a new phone then what is she doing paying that much money for an upgrade??? My carrier offers a new Iphone 5 for zero dollars."
iPhone 5 (both) - What does that even mean? 5, 5s 5c? In 16 gig 32 gig? Or how about 64gig? Highly unlikely as detailed above. Maybe a 5 in 16gig for zero dollars with upgrade. Youre very generic in your comment, and details mean the difference.
We have the time of call and the name of the employees at the Ohio distrubtion center who were condescending and laughed at us. So if there is a Best Buy Supervisor reading this, and you want that information, we have it. Contact us.
If you noticed, I even complimented the last lady at being helpful and getting this sorted out. So this is an unbiased review of our experience. Just facts, no fluff. Sorry to dissappoint you.
Its worth noting the most unfortunate thing about this was it took several hours and speaking to 6 different people from customer care as our last resort was calling the corporate number and thats how this was settled. The 7th person was from corporate customer relations, in Richfield MN. These calls are documented from 1pm to 5:20pm. We have highly detailed notes outlining the whole incident.
Fore the sake of us all, please don't leave a rebuttal unless you have facts. Detailed facts. Not opinions. Its hard to understand why you would take the time to write a rebuttal on this with such little vague information.
Stacey
Texas,Really??
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, February 05, 2015
I was just at the store that provides my cell phone service and they had Iphone 5 (both) on display NEW. IF your girlfriend wanted a new phone then what is she doing paying that much money for an upgrade??? My carrier offers a new Iphone 5 for zero dollars.
AND what is the reason your girlfriend did not post her own report?? "The employees were very condesending, laughingly told us they only shipped new product, and could not transfer us to a supervisor." I find this hard to believe because usually these phone calls are recorded and if a rep was laughing at you then that rep would be in big trouble. SO this is a third party report and hard to believe.
