Complaint Review: Geek Squad- Best Buy - Birmingham Alabama

Where do I even begin with this company? 1000s of reports have been filed to BBB in all states and many investigations have been launched by Attorney General's in over 30 states.

So let me tell you shortly about my story. My laptop has the 3 year PSP Service plan which covers EVERYTHING, I bought the most expensive Service Plan I could which was 299.99. The laptop was sent off for the first time back in Aug of 07, for a broken LCD Hinge a new key board, and a new wireless card. Took 27 days but, that was the main issue that time, the length of repair, it sat in the Best Buy store for like 8 days when it didn't have to, they said a mistake was made.

Second time, October of 2008 the laptop was sent off for the exact same LCD hinge and a Wireless issue again, the keyboard was ok this time..lol. Well the Geek Squad agent asked me if I wanted to back up the data in my laptop and I asked him, was it needed since its being sent off for the 2 basic repairs? The agent said, "No, not really, its up to you and I just have to offer it..." So I decline and let it be. The laptop was sent off on Sept 15, 2008 and picked up Oct 1st 2008.

Here is the kicker that started all of this. They found something wrong with the hard drive and replaced it, therefor I lost everything. I then start going off on the agent because I was not informed and was told prior to sending it off that I would not need the back up since the two repairs were not going to be dealing with the hardware of the computer itself. He tells me I need the recovery disc and I tell him I do not have one, did you guys provide me with that at the beginning and he said No, you would have had to pay for it, but if you give me the rest of the day and I will try to get an operating system on here for you. I waited the day and went back that night and picked up my laptop.

My laptop started with Windows XP when I bought the laptop, but now it has Windows Vista, which the computer and the components weren't up to date enough to hold Windows Vista, but it was at least working. I take it home, half way happy.

1 week later the laptop starts powering off by itself, I take it back, and the guy tells me it may be the memory, you need to upgrade your memory, so he talks me into spending 75 bucks on a little chip he puts in my computer

It still has the same problem, powering off, I take it back to Geek Squad, a new guy says its now the fan in my laptop comes on but doesn't stay on all the time and its over heating. They will need to send it to the repair center again to fix this problem. This did not happen over night, they caught the hard drive problem, why didn't they catch the fan problem? UGH!!!!

So I explain to him that I just got the laptop back and was not going to have it sent off so soon. I go and buy one of those extra fan plate things that you sit on your desk to help cool your laptop down, and the problem stopped...YAY!!

Now comes the recent problem...

01-10-09

Laptop will not boot up and its giving me an error message saying Kernal is missing or corrupted.

01-10-09

Take laptop to Geek Squad for a resolution

- They check it in and tell me it will be 2-3 days to figure out what is wrong with it.

01-12-09

go to Geek Squad to check on Laptop, they still don't know whats wrong.

01-13-08

Call Geek Squad and was informed the hard drive is bad and it needs to be replaced, I will need to bring the recovery disc in so they can replace the hard drive and put the operating system back on there.

I explain to the guy that the agent who put the Windows Vista on my laptop Oct 1, 2008, did not give or offer me a recovery disc.

I speak to a so called "manager" who is very rude and shows very poor customer service to me and explains to me if I want my laptop fix I will order a recovery disc. I explain to him that the agent he hired put that on there, he tells me they didn't but they did. I have the guy's initials and everything on the paper work. He finally admits they made an exception then and they WERE NOT going to make it again. He made me feel like I was asking for something I didn't pay for, when I spent the money to buy the most expensive warranty and paid 150 bucks to get my new laptop started up, which on the reciept tells me I paid for a recovery disc that I never received.

I hang up because im done with Best Buy and Geek Squad at this location, which is the Hwy 280 store in Birmingham, AL. They are the RUDEST and Most HORRIBLE people to deal with. The agents are IDIOTS.

01-14-08

I go to Best Buy to get my laptop and take it to another Best Buy store just to deal with people who are friendly and will at least try to help me.

I go to pick it up and they really don't want me to have it. I explain to one of the agents everything that has happened, and he says, he wants to get a MGR to look at the sticker that is on the bottom of the laptop that tells about the O.S and gives the Key Code. The Mgr, who I have the name and number of, instructed the agent to remove that sticker because the agent who broke store policy and put the Windows Vista on there, took it from another computer or laptop and installed it on mine. That means he stole my sticker that originially was on the laptop and replaced it with that one.

So the agent removes the sticker and I didn't notice it til I was just about to walk out the door and I notice it and go back to the desk and some other agent now is there and I ask him why the sticker was taken off, he disappears and comes back and says the MGR instructed the agent to remove the sticker... I ask why? He says. "because it wasn't yours" I say, Well the agent put it on there, and he says, "It wasn't the agent's to put on there."

This to me is very shady, I am launching a claim and report with the Alabama State Attorney General's office and letting them know all the names, dates, and everything that has transpired with this case, because seems to me, something illegal happened.

I take my laptop to the other Best Buy store in town and get a much FRIENDLIER and more caring agent who tells me several options I can go through and I am currently trying to obtain a recovery disc from one of the many options he has given me and assures me once I obtain a recovery disc and bring the laptop back in, a new hard drive will be put in and everything fixed, for now...

I will keep this updated on everything that transpires in the next few days as I continue to fight with the WORSE company every. My next laptop purchase will be straight from the company itself and no longer from Best Buy which should be named, WORST BUY....

Bleedcrimson08

Birmingham, Alabama

U.S.A.

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