Woman Accuses Best Buy of Holding Disabled Sister's Laptop Hostage
Woman Accuses Best Buy of Holding Disabled Sister's Laptop Hostage
Posted 07/14/2011 at 6:07am
| by Paul Lilly
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More often than not, it seems that when Best Buy makes headlines on a computer site, it's because the company's Geek Squad division did something boneheaded. In this case, a woman is accusing Geek Squad of foul play by holding her disabled sister's laptop hostage until after the warranty expired. Let's go back to the beginning.
A woman named Jenni wrote in to the Consumerist to complain of how her sister is being treated by Best Buy after purchasing a laptop from the brick and mortar store and paying $300 for a warranty. Her sister also happens to be deaf and an invalid due to RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy), "so her computer is her world."
Back in May, the laptop began freezing, so Jenni's sister had her mother take it in to Best Buy for repair. Long story short, she's been getting jerked around ever since. First Best Buy said the laptop was ready for pickup, then told the mother to bring in the battery and AC adapter because they couldn't get the laptop to stay on long enough to restore it.
"Then they called her and said they needed an 'activation key number' and my mom asked them were she could find this information and they said 'on the side of the computer' (which, of course, they had in their possession)," Jenni writes. "So they have her call HP to get the computer's activation number and HP couldn't give it to her because she couldn't give them the product number and information that, of course, was on the computer."
By the time everything got sorted out, the warranty had expired, and Best Buy is claiming the AC adapter had to be repaired, which was going to cost $170.
"Since then there have been ongoing phone messages back and forth between my poor mom and the Best Buy Geek Squad, my mom trying to talk with a manager, them giving her the run around, them telling her it is an HP issue, HP telling her it is a Best Buy store issue, and so on," Jenni explains.
Bearing in mind this is Jenni's version of how it all went down, bottom line is, the laptop was dropped off to Geek Squad while still under warranty, the warranty has since expired, and it remains in Best Buy's possession until the owner ponies up $170. The owner being disabled is beside the point, other than making this a particularly callous act if, as Jenni says, the laptop is "her world."
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winmaster
July 17, 2011 at 7:22pm
Wow, a bad AC adapter. Damn. I would've bet money they were going to say bad hard drive.
Biceps
July 17, 2011 at 11:33am
What's the name of the branch and area managers for that best buy? Let's put their pics up here and see how long it takes for this girl to get taken care of. Some level of personal responsibility and accountability inside evil companies like Best Buy is the only way we'll ever see change. I realize we are seeing only one side of the story, but, like most posters here, I am inclined to believe the story of the girl.
iwrk4dedpr
July 16, 2011 at 1:23pm
I bought a Toshiba Satellite from them a few years ago.
The motherboard ended up dying within 60 days. I was on phone with Toshiba trying to understand it's reluctance to boot. Toshiba rep ended up stating that the motherboard needed to be replaced. So great took it back to Best Buy... Geek Squad ( aka Goon Squad )
They had the computer for two weeks when they finally called me back.. We have to send this out to a repair facility because the motherboard is dead. I said really???? I told you this when I brought the thing in. So for me... One reason to NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER! Buy from Best Buy. Yup they got a lot of stuff and when I look at their prices compared to a local store cheaper. I'd rather pay my money to someone who appreciates my business
As far as Toshiba.. The repair center fixed the computer ( supposedly ) returned it. Now, when I got it back made them start the laptop athe store and it booted and appeared to run correctly... Come two years later when I want to wipe and reload the hard drive. I'll be damned if Toshiba didn't fek up the pc.. INstalled a motherboard from a different model and then didn't reflash the bios to indicate my model.... hence my disc that came with the pc didn't work. Now thinking that my disc was bad somehow... ordered another $25 wasted.. After that didn't work researched the issue and came across the bios issue. Closest repair fac I could get to 90 miles away would take at the very least a full day and cost $80
Called Toshiba they said not our problem. Called Fek Squad they said not our problem, so asked for the repair facility that they sent it to they said we don't have that information... Like yeah right.
So Toshiba and Best Buy of my list forever! I hope I get to a job where I authorize the purchase of laptops for a company.. I'll call Toshiba and ask them if they want the business for my employer and then.. tell them bite me.
raint567
July 14, 2011 at 6:31pm
$170 to fix a A/C adapter? Thats ridiculous might has well buy a new one!
She should just get the laptop tell them to keep the dam charger and order one off ebay for $10 or an original for $20-$40.
And next time they need a computer repair to find a computer technician self employeed (computer shop) cuase best buy has ridiculous pirces!!
KenLV
July 14, 2011 at 5:08pm
Seems pretty cut and dry: IF (and that's the critical point here, the "if", since we don’t know all the facts and as several have stated, we’re only reading one side of the story) anyway, IF they had the laptop while the warrantee was still in effect and the issue(s) for which it was brought in were not resolved, it's covered. Pretty basic Extended Warrantee coverage terms.
mkhokoana
July 14, 2011 at 2:57pm
THANK GOD - MAUI DOES NOT HAVE A BEST BUY!!! Best Buy is rubbish!!!
1) you can totally haggle the prices
2) they are uber pushy about their Extended Warranty Plan
3) they don't know SHIT about Computers at ALL.
4) GeekSquad should be renamed to TardSquad, DDDSquad or DontKnowShitSquad
5) they hire kids with pimples, zits and scabs - that don't know shit
6) they are OVER priced, their service is rubbish and their managers are douche bags
7) the chicks are Fat and Heavy, never saw a hot chick, even if she was dumb, she could make it up with her hotness.
Wow, I went off on a tangent. Well maybe best buy isn't my cup of tea, but they still suck!
Oh, and if you work for best buy - FUCK YOU! I HATE YOU! or you can quit and now you are COOL!
ps, i wrote this for laughs - nothings serious!
evilyeti
July 14, 2011 at 12:24pm
I'm not convinced by her story, Her sister may very well be disabled but I think shes using that as a crutch to get some attention.
I bet what really happend was she didn't realize the warranty on her laptop had already expired and was upset when she went into the store to have it serviced only to find out that her warranty had passed.
$170 for an AC adapter is upsurd at my local Futureshop (owned by Best Buy) the retail HP power adapters are $99.99 I highly doubt that unless its some crazy 150w power adapter thats usually only found on gaming laptops or higher end machines that the repair center for Best Buy would quote them $70 higher than retail.
I know its fun to pick on big companys because they're all so evil but I have to agree with what MaximumMike said "There are plenty of good reasons not to like Best Buy. We don't have to invent them." I just don't see how this story adds up.
JohnnyCNote
July 14, 2011 at 4:08pm
Your message is offensive on multiple levels. The idea of someone using a severe disability as a "crutch" for attention is a slap in the face of anyone who has a disability. If you "don't see how this story adds up", then it would be a good idea to withhold your screed until you obtain the facts. Forum rules prevent me from writing a more appropriate response . . .
SilverSurferNHS
July 14, 2011 at 10:59pm
he's just advocating for the other side, where most -usually with the popular opinion that the big company is always wrong, will not... and your not seeing the big picture, if youve never heard of someone using such disabilities to serve themselves or someone close to them, because the reality is that it happens sometimes and this might be one of those times... theres nothing wrong with what he said - and forum rules prevent me from calling you an ignorant [----------]
JohnnyCNote
July 15, 2011 at 4:07pm
Go ahead, fill in the blank. I worked at Computer City for three years, I've seen more scams than I could possibly name. But all too often the excuse that "they're just using their disability" to get what they want is brought up as a pretext to deny whatever it us that the customer may be asking for. And it's not just in computer stores.
I've encountered similar attitudes as an Internet support rep for a large cable company, a travel agent for a large airline, and several other businesses. Far from being ignorant of these situations, I've seen it used more frequently than most people would ever believe against customers with legitimate complaints . . .
Kinetic
July 14, 2011 at 11:47am
That's really terrible, I hope everything gets worked out for them.
BSLSK05
July 14, 2011 at 11:00am
I never buy computers from them, but their black tie program can be quite useful.
I purchased a Dell Streak 5 from them on an AT&T contract, payed $50 for the phone and $7 a month for the Black Tie service. Within 2 months, I broke the screen on the Dell.
After 30 days, I told them I could not wait anylonger because I was going off to college, which I was, and a manager tried to argue with me. I explained to him that I could not get to the nearest BB to my college because I didn't have a car and busses don't go on interstates.
After about an hour, they hand me a $500 BB gift card.
I stole another member of my families upgrades and got a moto atrix, a rat 7, a pair of etymotic hf3's, a zagg invisible sheild, 4 games, and some school supplies.
Best hour of my life.
Phrish
July 14, 2011 at 10:13am
Well as we know, she can have someone go in there, snatch the computer and run out with it. Anyone who tries to stop her will get canned by BB. If the police stop her, she can say it's her equipment.
Agree with MaximumMike, something doesn't quite add up here.
lindethier
July 14, 2011 at 9:29am
Wait a second, is this somehow implying that Geek Squad employees aren't the best and brightest techs that can be found in the industry?
alabasterdragon
July 14, 2011 at 8:34am
This is a prime example of why I always tell my customers to avoid the store warranty and ONLY by the manufacturers extended warranty.
shdwdragon7
July 14, 2011 at 8:27am
Dell does that crap too. They delayed sending a tech out to fix my PC (that their online support people cooked) for three weeks until the warrenty was up.
wirehedd
July 14, 2011 at 8:01am
One more, of many reasons, to never do business with the douchebags at Worst Buy. Theiving pieces of garbage like that need to have their teeth knocked in for being that type of scum. I hope she gets her laptop back and a whole bunch of those morons get their asses fired and, if possible, sued into the stone age.
MaximumMike
July 14, 2011 at 7:50am
I don't particularly like Best Buy, and rarely shop there. However, something doesn't sound right. I worked for Best Buy several years ago. Their policy has always been to honor warranties if the product was in the store before the warranty expired. Either this lady is not telling the whole story or management at the store is ignoring corporate policy. They would probably get better results if they called corporate headquarters. In situations like this one, they have been known to just replace the item with a new model off the shelf.
therestorestore
July 14, 2011 at 8:43am
Time passes, policies change, different stores do things different ways. It is well known that in general bbuy and geek squad are not the best places to buy computers and not the best places to get them worked on.
Some best buys are ethical and care. Most don't. Perhaps you worked at one that was "good". This one, in TFA, is apparently not.
MaximumMike
July 14, 2011 at 9:37am
Well, I certainly worked with a plenty of incompetent twits while I was there. So, I'm not saying this couldn't have happened. However, I also know what its like to be on the other side of the register and to have to deal with the general public.
I remember this lady that came in the store once with a Ipaq pocket PC she wanted to return. She had bought it for her husband for Christmas 18 months earlier. She said her husband hated it because it was "low tech". But I actually had one and hers was the model up from mine. It was the best Pocket PC you could get at the time she bought it. She also said she had never opened it, but couldn't explain why the screen was completely busted out of it. She threw a fit because we wouldn't return a broken product that was WAAAAAAAY outside of the return policy. I thought we were going to have to call the police to get her out of the store. I'm sure that if some news outlet had been willing to talk to her, the story would have been very different than what actually happened.
I'm just saying. Some of this sounds fishy and it would be nice to hear Best Buy's side of the story before harping on about how evil they are. There are plenty of good reasons not to like Best Buy. We don't have to invent them.
matlock expressway
July 14, 2011 at 7:49am
I think simplest explanation is that they lost the laptop and will keep covering it up forever if allowed to do so.
Eoraptor
July 14, 2011 at 7:47am
Yeah, I'd definitely beleive this from the orange idiots trapped inside the big blue box. After all, these are the same folks who graciously offer to update your playsation for the nominal fee of thirty bucks when you do it for free every time you put a new game disc into it or connect to the PSN (assuming it's working)
And given I service a lot of handicapped customers myself, I've seen PLEANTY of examples of techs of all stripes taking advantage of them. While it reads like a soap opera, it probably has more truth to it than any of us wants to accept. not much I can add to the other comments about "duh nerd herd, get a adapter off da shelf."
Brett Schealler
July 14, 2011 at 7:22am
what kind of respectable tech couldn't find the windows COA / product key on a common laptop???
If the ac adapter was faulty, Best Buy should open a ticket with HP about it,.
and since when do you repair ac adapters, and not REPLACE them under warranty?yes, their story would be nice to hear. if this is true however, how did the techs even get hired?
Blues22475
July 14, 2011 at 7:17am
"AC adapter because they couldn't get the laptop to stay on long enough restore it."
Mistake #1. There are such things as "Universal Adapters". That could have been used. If not this, then an adapter should have been located since they are a computer store that sells computer parts and used. In my case, I do not have access to the resources they have so I used an universal power adapter to deal with it (has not failed me since).
"Then they called her and said they needed an 'activation key number' and my mom asked them were she could find this information and they said 'on the side of the computer' (which, of course, they had in their possession)," Jenni writes"
Number 2. You have the laptop in your possession with the Key on the underside of the laptop. You also should have the serial and product numbers underneath. Since you are the technician responsible for it, you call HP/Dell/whatever with the information you have. Don't ask the customer to do it when you got their laptop with the pertinent information. Hell, you don't even need to call: you may have Internet chat which is even easier.
In this case, I would agree here: Best Buy perpetuated the problem to the length where the warranty ran out and the customer is now forced to pay for something which they should have not needed to pay for to start with due to warranty. I am a technician myself and I have even LESS resources to work with than Best Buy should, and yet they fail hard. I am sure there are some talented technicians who work at the Geek Squad, but I am sure those people are overqualified for the position there.
Eoraptor
July 14, 2011 at 7:43am
Well, this is high, but not AS HIGH as you'd think. Brand name adapters routinely push the C-note mark. (and beleive me, you buy 1 ten dollar adapter off of e bay, you begin to appreciate getting what you pay for)
kixofmyg0t
July 14, 2011 at 6:44am
I especially like the part where Best buy called her asking for the battery and AC adaptor.....cuz it wouldn't stay on long enough to fix....
Images of Geek Squad frantically trying to figure out why the laptop won't turn on come to mind......
don2041
July 14, 2011 at 6:40am
I have had a similar situation with Sony. I no longer own or will ever own another Sony product. Tell everyone you can about this, and never deal with that store again.
nlncmp
July 14, 2011 at 6:33am
I'm no fan of Best Buy, but would it be too much to get their side of the story before reporting this? Also if Jenni's sister's being disabled is irrelevent, why mention it?
Wingzero_x
July 14, 2011 at 7:16am
What possibly could they say? That they have no idea how to run a maintenance facility let alone how to perform maintenance. Seriously it's like if a mechanic accepted your car in shop and didn't ask you to leave the keys! Anyway beyond that, if the computer was in "shop" and on still "ticket" before the warrenty expired then the parts and repair costs should still be covered.
nlncmp
July 14, 2011 at 10:39am
If the story is true then of course Best Buy can't possibly explain it. I know Best Buy sucks, they have no idea what they're doing and the story is totally believable, probably true. But without some modicum of journalistic investigation the story is no better than gossip. To use your analogy, I guess magazine should have at least confirmed the customer really did leave their car with this mechanic first. Really Maximum PC is saying, 'I don't know if it's true but I heard..." and I think Maximum PC is too good for that.
Cleaver
July 14, 2011 at 9:41pm
Well THAT certainly added to the overall value of the discussion. Except it didn't. Please stop trolling this website, dude.
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