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BestBuy banning people for returning things
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I think the policy is reasonable. Contrary to the thread title, nobody is banned. The OP can still shop at Best Buy. They’re just telling that he’s now (gasp) responsible for his own buying decisions—and then only for the next year, whereupon they will reinstate his return privileges.
Why would anyone want to do business with a store where he can't return an item that is defective or its performance is unsatisfactory, where he doesn't have return "privileges" as you put it?
Sure - but now you know what the return policy is (kinda, sorta)
I'm thinking that if you cannot return an item to the store, there's always alternatives to that.
One would be: Contact the manufacturer/distributor for help, explain that you are unhappy with their product, and the retail store has forced you to use more direct steps.
I'm thinking that if you cannot return an item to the store, there's always alternatives to that.
One would be: Contact the manufacturer/distributor for help, explain that you are unhappy with their product, and the retail store has forced you to use more direct steps.
But that doesn't mean It can't turn into a problem for you when you least expect it based off your return history or future returns. That's the point of this thread, is customers who had no idea they were banned because they were not contacted from the retail or third party company banning them.
From my understanding, Amazon will actually email the customer ahead of time and notify them that they might be facing a temporary ban from returning/exchanging things with their services.
The Problem with companies like Best Buy, is that the customer purchases something expensive, then might have a reason to return that product and in doing so, that's when They find out they have been banned from the store, With a possible denied return.
Which Leads me to the question, then why isn't Best Buy notifying these customers that they have been temporarily banned ahead of time before they make another purchase? In which could prevent them from purchasing something and then having to return it unbeknownst that they have been banned and then having to keep an expensive product that they can't return if it was defective for example. That's the problem.
Best Buy should have a way to communicate to the customer that a third-party company has their information and that they have been temporarily banned before they make any other purchase, then it should be explain to them that they have options to appeal the ban.
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Amazon also has banning if you return too many items. I've seen where people were banned from buying from them because of that. Not sure if they use the same company as BB.
I'd hate to see BB go out of business. They are the last physical location where you can go to get, see, many electronic items in one place. And if you are in a pinch, to get that cable or connector you need. However, their policies are nuts. Price match - they will price match B&H Photo, Adorama or other reputable online retailers. To get the 2017 MBP I'm typing on now a few days early, I was willing to spend the extra $100 for taxes. The locals only had the grey model and B&H only had the silver listed at $200 off (I believe it was a SNAFU as the following Monday the grey was also $200 off). BB wouldn't price match because "there was a difference between the two". Yeah, the color. I laughed and bought from B&H.
I'd hate to see BB go out of business. They are the last physical location where you can go to get, see, many electronic items in one place. And if you are in a pinch, to get that cable or connector you need. However, their policies are nuts. Price match - they will price match B&H Photo, Adorama or other reputable online retailers. To get the 2017 MBP I'm typing on now a few days early, I was willing to spend the extra $100 for taxes. The locals only had the grey model and B&H only had the silver listed at $200 off (I believe it was a SNAFU as the following Monday the grey was also $200 off). BB wouldn't price match because "there was a difference between the two". Yeah, the color. I laughed and bought from B&H.
[doublepost=1515252156][/doublepost]One of the "Best" ways to get around the BB return policy for you is to use a credit card for the purchase.
Credit card companies have alot of action that can be used against BB. On the back of your monthly credit card statement is how to file a grievance. Some credit cards"ie:American Express" offer standard customer satisfaction with purchase.
In these situations the credit card companies favor you because they want you to use their cards. Debit cards are useless for purchase protection
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I always do use a credit card. I don't see how the credit card would help me since BB did refund the last item I returned. I do see how it could help people who BB refuses to refund a defective item telling them they've been banned from returns *retroactively* (how cute!).
TRE on Yelp - a straight 1 rating!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-retail-equation-irvine
Best Buy on Consumer Affairs - 3,382 reviews - also a straight 1 rating!
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/best_buy.htm
Best Buy also advertises price matching. I went into a store during one of the holidays with an ad for something priced lower at another reputable online store. I was told Best Buy was suspending all price matching until after the holiday. My suggestion would be to take your business elsewhere.
Unfortunately Best Buy is the only game in town for electronics anymore. With all the complaints I've read stating that online shopping is taking away customers from the brick and mortar stores, you would think they would try a little harder to satisfy an in store customer.
So even if there is no fraud by the customer BB can just ban you? Mind you only from returning but not buying? And they can make the return ban retroactive and they are not obligated to tell you when you buy another item that you cannot return it later?
How did you determine that the Apple Pencil was defective or its performance unsatisfactory if you didn't even open it? Be honest, you returned stuff because you changed your mind. The answer to that "problem" is to take the time up front to make a good buying decision, and then accept responsibility for it. Processing returns has associated costs. Some retailers charge restocking fees. Best Buy chooses not to but they can limit your return privileges if they think you're frivolously returning things. That's their right.
I explained why I returned the pencil in a post above, but yes you could file that under changed my mind, but the sales people at the BB are always saying stuff like, hey try it out and if you don't like it no problem just return it, and I received no warning just a printed notice saying I can't return anything else for a year. OK it's their right and it's also the right of all their former customers to tell people what they are doing, just like I am doing.
Speaking of the last of the big electronics stores, how is Frys doing? They don't have a store in this city but when I go to California I stop by their giant store.
[doublepost=1515363308][/doublepost]
They didn't do that to me but they seem to be doing that to a lot of people who bought defective high cost items. I don't know how they can get away with that.
[doublepost=1515363576][/doublepost]Bopajuice - Another thing I read is that if you take advantage of their price match guarantee for a month after u buy something, or whatever it is, they send that to their strong arm "third party" partner, TRE, who will count it as a return!
[doublepost=1515364696][/doublepost]I think the BestBuy management doesn't want to bother with employees and customers anymore. They are annoying creatures who want to get paid and get Christmas off too (bah humbug!) and return things. They just want to rake in more money!
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Do people even use Yelp to make decisions? Especially when it comes to established retailers? I don't know anyone looking at yelp to see if they should go to Best Buy or Sears for instance.
I would have to say, even though you may consider the knowledge of the B.B. employee is low, it is much higher than the amazon employee that you can talk to face to face.
Rather than getting upset with a corporation for doing to you, what you perceive to be an injustice, have more patience and shop online. Maybe B&H Photo, free ship/no tax (most of the time). They want your business. If someone bans you, listen to the message they are sending you. They dont want you to shop there. Dont take it personally, im sure your still a reasonably decent person regardless. Enjoy the rest of your day! 
Apparently I am of a completely different mindset than most people, but I honestly got to ask, how would BestBuy ever know how many items you had returned?
I pay for everything I can with cash (can’t spend what I don’t have), and I have never had a problem holding on to receipts for pricy items.
Absolutely NO ONE aside from people required to report my earnings to the IRS needs my personal information. When personal information is requested from some place that has no earthly need of my information, depending on my mood, my response varies between NO to sliding to “made up” information.
If I returned something to BestBuy and they forced the information thing, at best (pun!) they would get false information from me, and especially after reading the shenanigans from this thread, I would make sure that any personal information provided would be different with each interaction.
The only possible way I can imagine this affecting any large number of people is if you are paying by card instead of cash.
I pay for everything I can with cash (can’t spend what I don’t have), and I have never had a problem holding on to receipts for pricy items.
Absolutely NO ONE aside from people required to report my earnings to the IRS needs my personal information. When personal information is requested from some place that has no earthly need of my information, depending on my mood, my response varies between NO to sliding to “made up” information.
If I returned something to BestBuy and they forced the information thing, at best (pun!) they would get false information from me, and especially after reading the shenanigans from this thread, I would make sure that any personal information provided would be different with each interaction.
The only possible way I can imagine this affecting any large number of people is if you are paying by card instead of cash.
I recall various stores asking for ID and scanning it in more and more cases.
Good point.
A lot of items can be used for ID.
Specifically regarding this circumstance, I will make the assumption of US and govt. issued ID.
There may be other options, please share if you have them, but from a govt issued ID, there is the drivers license, military ID and your passport. Only the cops that pull me over for speeding, seat belts, etc get to see my drivers license. The big problem with the drivers license, aside from that is what so many expect, is that it contains a lot of personal information, including your home address.
I used to travel a lot more for work, but do not currently
. That aside, the passport is a great form of govt issued ID in as much as not only does it only contain a name, picture of you and a passport number. I use mine almost any time I am forced to produce ID. No address or other personal information. The best part is that most people will look at it, not know what to do, then just process you thru bypassing their "rules". That is frequently my observation anyway. A passport, even if it is expired, is a legal, govt. issued ID.Military ID is very similar to the passport thing for ID purposes. I fully realize that a significantly smaller part of the population have a military ID.
Ratsg - The main wayvthat BB/TRE tracks people is through their drivers license. The TRE phone person even told me that when I first called. He said he can't find my case through my credit card number but he needed the transaction number or my mvl. When you return something to BestBuy they demand ID and most people give them a mvl. Have you ever returned any of your cash purchases to them and shown them your passport for ID? If so how did it work out? I was in the military at one time but all I have now is a VA card. I don't know if they'd accept that as ID. I'm going to try it with the next place that asks me for ID.
Unless you’re putting it back on the CC or debit card used to purchase they should be asking for ID. You can thank all the ******* criminals loose among us for that privilege.
If they are randomly banning folks from accessing a return policy that makes no mention of limited returns or any such discretion, they will eventually piss off the wrong person and get sued or fined by some state organization.
Big box stores are hurting financially. Aside from the ability to handle something, they offer nothing more these days. Used to be you could go into a store and have a decent conversation about a product you’re interested in. Now days that is next to impossible to do.
Sadly, instead of offering more reasons for folks to come into their stores with quality help and service, they are doubling down on stupid and pissing customers off. It’s a great business model if you don’t know squat about people and want to be unemployed soon.
If they are randomly banning folks from accessing a return policy that makes no mention of limited returns or any such discretion, they will eventually piss off the wrong person and get sued or fined by some state organization.
Big box stores are hurting financially. Aside from the ability to handle something, they offer nothing more these days. Used to be you could go into a store and have a decent conversation about a product you’re interested in. Now days that is next to impossible to do.
Sadly, instead of offering more reasons for folks to come into their stores with quality help and service, they are doubling down on stupid and pissing customers off. It’s a great business model if you don’t know squat about people and want to be unemployed soon.
TAZ - I always use a credit card and if I return anything the credit goes back on my credit card, so come to think of it demanding to see my ID doesn't even make any sense - except they want to track me through my mvl! - because if I'm trying to return stolen merchandise I certainly wouldn't want it credited to the original purchaser's, or my own, credit card. I'd want cash!
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That's not always abad thing...Your buying from them, yet we think they should be like everyone and accept returns?
Their rules, their policy. and if BB want to track users, then that's up to them...
Lots of reasons why u wanna return, not just because every single customer didn't wait it.. Perhaps they use the policy just to test stuff out.. and decide they hate it.