I purchased my daughter an I phone on January 4th, 2014. In Aug, the screen stopped lighting up and the touch feature no longer worked. It happened suddenly and it was not damaged. I returned to Best Buy and was informed that they could, because we had the geek squad warranty, send it in and we would get a refurbished phone identical to the one we purchased. We would have to wait 5-7 days. No loaner phone, no other options. I asked if we should call Apple because shouldn’t the warranty still be effective. The girl at Best Buy geek squad indicated that this type of thing didn’t fall under the warranty and it happened “all the time” with the 5c. I stated that that seemed odd and really not very ok if that was a common problem with that phone and apple wasn’t recalling or fixing the problem but we wouldn’t likely have gotten that phone had we known. I kept our phone and waited 5 days. I called the store to see if the replacement phone had arrived and was clearly told that we would be called once it was in. We did not need to call the store again. I waited 3 more days and finally called again and found that the phone had been there for 2 days. They had been trying to call the phone number of the non working phone and not my phone number. We brought the replacement phone home. On Sunday, Oct 11, 2014, my daughter brought the replacement phone to me and the touch screen was no longer functioning. I asked her clearly if anything had happened to the phone and she indicated no. There was, again, no damage. This time I called Apple. We have a phone that is again not working and it hasn’t even been 1 year since the purchase date. I spoke with a senior advisor at apple (Haley) who was trying to be very helpful. She stated that our warranty had expired 10 days previously but she would extend it considering the circumstances. She was concerned that because the id number was not under the apple insignia on the back of the phone, however, that the refurbished phone had been repaired with non apple parts. If that was the case, then the warranty was void. Oh yes, and the screen failure was DEFINITELY covered under the warranty. She recommended taking the phone to the Mac Experience which was the only certified repair shop/dealer in our area for an evaluation. Once there, the technician very quickly indicated that the phone WAS repaired with non apple parts. It no longer had an id number on the back, the screen was installed crooked and the camera was not positioned correctly. He called apple and came back stating that because of the non apple parts, the warranty that Haley had extended, was void. He could not help us. He recommended that we take the phone back to Best Buy. He, Haley and the first apple advisor agreed that we should be given a NEW phone. I took the phone to Best Buy and store manager, Trevor, was given the full story. By now, I am very angry. We purchased a new I phone 5c in good faith and have been given misinformation after misinformation by all of the people we spoke with at Best Buy. Trevor “understood” but could not help us. He would not replace the phone with a NEW I phone. They only thing he was allowed to do was to offer us a loaner (which was not offered the first time) and get another refurbished phone. He insisted that they only use apple parts, even though I clearly told him what the gentleman at Mac Experience stated after examining the phone (he indicated that they were wrong and they were not an apple store. I showed him my email from Haley, senior iOS advisor from Apple) and what Haley stated on the phone. He indicated that the first time I could have sent the phone in for repair (never given that option) and received her original repaired phone in 2-4 weeks or we could have called apple (which, remember, I asked if that was a viable option and was clearly told that that would not fall under the apple warranty by the Geek Squad girl). He said we could call the corporate office. I called the corporate office and requested a supervisor or at least someone authorized to make a decision. I went through the entire story, now remember, I am very mad. They would not let me talk to someone who could make any decisions. I was told that they would look into it, but they could not help me. Does Best Buy realize they are failing as a business? I mean this literally; they are losing money and will likely have to close if they don’t have more of a turn around. I am a good, loyal customer and have young persons who will likely require more electronics, probably an appliance or two, etc. in the next 20-30 years. I researched other complaints and, although the products may be different, the story is always the same. Best Buy will not put the customer first and will not remedy a problem even if they are wrong or they cause the problem. I am posting this letter and hope that it will be shared. I do not want something for nothing. I purchased this phone. I pay for its use every month. I have a nonworking product that should be functioning and, if it were older or if we had broken it, I would never expect a NEW replacement. In fact, when I did break a previous phone, I had no complaints with Verizon when it was replaced with a refurbished phone (no, not through best buy and not an I phone). Even though apple attempted to be helpful, because of Best Buy I will never have another I phone. Nor will my family. I understand it is actually a good product and, by the way, Haley indicated that the screen in the 5 c rarely fails and she doesn’t know why Best Buy would have told me that to begin with. I will NEVER use Best Buy for any product and I am hoping that our experience was bad enough that when others read about it, they will no longer purchase products from Best Buy. I will refer persons to consumeraffairs › Shopping › Retail Stores which lists the top 697 complaints about Best Buy. Similar complaints, but various products. I have never written a letter of complaint. I have a voice and am using it. I understand that Sears and HH Gregg have similar appliances, and I will go through our phone company (Verizon, Sprint, At&t, or whichever one we have) for a phone in the future. I really think the customer should not be lied to or given false information. I earned the money that I spend and I do not think I should be taken advantage of in this way. I do not do that to my patients/customers, in fact, I make sure they understand everything (complications and otherwise) of treatment. I do not assume they read the “fine print” or understand. That is what I am there for. I am not a computer or tech knowledgeable person and it is their responsibility (even though no one wants to be responsible anymore) to help me understand what is going on instead of fluffing me off and only giving me partial information. I will forward this to Best Buy, although they will politely tell me they can’t/won’t help…Do they have anyone they answer to, because I am not allowed to talk with that person, evidently. I will forward this the news paper and I will post this on Facebook. Please feel free to share it as much as possible. Sincerely, Dawn Robinson
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:02:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015