var json_comments = new Array("
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Plates
March 24, 2009 7:04 PM
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Apparently all this seems is yet another reason to not shop at Best Buy.

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5 replies
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ninjatoddler
March 25, 2009 12:35 AM
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@Plates: This makes me more motivated to shop at BBUY.

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fleebailey33
March 24, 2009 9:45 PM
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@Plates:

stuff like this happens. call the bank or however. ask them to cancel the hold. end of story. the bank might call bestbuy. which will confirm that it was bought and the hold should be realesed

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LordofBacon
March 24, 2009 7:12 PM
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@Plates:

I'd love to be able to buy something and not have the money taken out of my account.

Wouldn't this be an excellent reason to shop at best buy?

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Plates
March 24, 2009 8:01 PM
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@LordofBacon: $1500 in limbo seems not like a good thing. Plus, what happens if it needs warranty service?

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rworne
March 25, 2009 12:11 AM
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@Plates:

No problem on the service:

The customer has a proof of purchase.

OTOH, there's no moral dilemma here. If the customer makes a good faith attempt to make good on the deal and Best Buy won't hear of it, there's a couple choices:

1. Call it as it is and enjoy the windfall.
2. Put the funds into an interest bearing account after a month or so and keep it there until Best Buy comes to claim it. Additionally, tie that account to the debit account as overdraft protection in case they decide to take it out at an inopportune time.

After a certain period of time, the statue of limitations will run out and the money is all yours. They might as well earn interest on it for the trouble.

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lordargent
March 24, 2009 8:11 PM
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@Plates:

$1500 is kinda expensive for a laptop these days, isn't it?

/~$700 for my current laptop
/~$200 for the dell mini I bought this morning (then $20 for 2 GB of ram for newegg).

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Papa Midnight
March 24, 2009 10:52 PM
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@lordargent: Been to Alienware.com lately? $1500 isn't even close to expensive.

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Papa Midnight
March 24, 2009 10:53 PM
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@Papa Midnight: Perhaps I should clarify that statement... On my relatively limited budget as a full time college student, $1500 is extremely expensive for me. Though, there are laptops available which easily exceed $5000 and by relative comparison, make $1500 look like a budget PC.

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Collie
March 24, 2009 7:09 PM
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@Plates: Or depending on your moral compass, a reason to shop at Best Buy. Not that I condone such things, but that is one way to save money.

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Jon Mason
March 24, 2009 7:06 PM
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My advice. Wait for 30 days. If the money is still not gone, transfer it into a savings account. Wait another 5 months. If they still havent come after you, its yours.

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9 replies
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godlyfrog
March 24, 2009 10:55 PM
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@masonreloaded: I'd be careful with this. If they ever do an inventory and find that laptop missing, they may report it to the manufacturer, and if she ever needs warranty work done, she may find herself explaining things to police.

Her best bet is to get Best Buy to take the money.

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Trickery
March 25, 2009 9:33 AM
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@godlyfrog: Best Buy doesn't write down serial numbers nor does it report JACK.

I'd agree to just ignore the money for awhile, if nothing happens its yours!

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rworne
March 25, 2009 12:14 AM
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@godlyfrog:

Nothing to explain with a reciept in hand.

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jimconsumer
March 24, 2009 11:48 PM
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@godlyfrog: Why would she have to explain anything to police? She has a receipt. \"Police, see laptop. Police, see receipt. Now, go away.\"

Are you just fear-mongering?

I'd say she has already made her best effort to give them their money. They have been contacted about it twice now. If they are too inept to fix the problem - and they clearly are - then she has a free laptop. Let the money sit for a few more months and if it's still there, it's yours.

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consumerd
March 24, 2009 10:07 PM
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@masonreloaded: \\

My advice. Wait for 30 days. If the money is still not gone, transfer it into a savings account. Wait another 5 months. If they still havent come after you, its yours.

I agree with this as well. I had a electric company do this and left the money in there for well over a year. They never collected it so I kept it in my savings account.

They never asked, I never cared.

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coan_net
March 24, 2009 8:37 PM
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@masonreloaded: I agree. And if the person does not feel like it's \"right\" to keep the money & laptop - donate the money to a charity in Best Buy's name or something.

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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:23 PM
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@masonreloaded: Terrible idea. You have to leave it in the account they may pull the funds out of. You never know when this lost transaction will be found.

The person should really just ignore the money and leave it there. Next year if they haven't touched it, you are probably safe to keep it.

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Porntipsguzzardo_GitEmSteveDave
March 24, 2009 7:07 PM
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@masonreloaded: I'm going to second this. Put it in it's own little separate sandbox, and let it sit there for awhile. As long as you document your good faith attempt at paying the debt, how can they come after you? It also gets it off your \"main\" book, so you're good there as well.

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tc4b
March 24, 2009 7:17 PM
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@Single-n-Bitter_GitEmSteveDave: \"...how can they come after you?\"

In the douchiest way possible. This IS best buy, after all.

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Porntipsguzzardo_GitEmSteveDave
March 24, 2009 7:41 PM
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@tc4b: I meant how can they ever say you tried to cheat THEM, instead of their standard business model.

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Wit
March 24, 2009 7:32 PM
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@tc4b: If it was me, once I exhausted myself trying to pay them, I'd probably try holding it until the statute of limitations runs... which is horrible, but I'd be paranoid that Best Buy would suddenly discover the debt the week after I finally spent the money. When you've got advanced warning that you're dealing with douches...

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pecan 3.14159265
March 24, 2009 7:06 PM
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Cue \"OP shouldn't have shopped at Best Buy\" and \"should have used a credit card\" arguments...even if the last one doesn't really apply...

And I agree, as many times as people might say \"free laptop!\" it's still wrong, and if the payment finally does go through, but through some snafu, Best Buy finds out about their error without realizing the process did go through the first time, you might be in a world of ache if they double dip.

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2 replies
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KCChiefsFan
March 25, 2009 12:45 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265:

How is it wrong if she begs them to take her money and they won't? O_O

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KCChiefsFan
March 25, 2009 12:48 PM
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@KCChiefsFan:

Accidentally clicked submit *grumble*. What I meant to say is that from her point of view, she is doing EVERYTHING in her power to try to make them take her money. What else can she do? She can't give the computer back, because if they suddenly do take her money, she'd be out money and a computer. She's between a rock and a hard place.

She should probably EECB. This seems above the front line managers pay grade, and it is certainly above the head of regular customer support. This involves looking past what is shown on the computer, and actually doing something the old fashioned way (most employees don't have the authority to do this).

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ianmac47
March 24, 2009 7:07 PM
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Or use a debit card.

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2 replies
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JoshReflek
March 24, 2009 9:05 PM
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@ianmac47: how about dont spend money you dont have?


plastic is debt slavery.

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TexasBelle
March 24, 2009 9:56 PM
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@JoshReflek: It's only debt slavery when you don't manage it.

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Wolzard
March 24, 2009 7:07 PM
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I find amusing the fact that as soon as Circuit City went dead and gone, there is suddenly a mass influx of stories relating to Best Buy being posted.

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3 replies
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MustyBuckets
March 24, 2009 7:24 PM
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@Wolzard: I'm not sure what you want. They can't post new Circuit City stories for obvious reasons, and as more people take their business from CC to Best Buy, more accidents will happen. It all seems reasonable to me.

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tc4b
March 24, 2009 7:18 PM
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@Wolzard: Best Buy has always been on Consumerist.

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Jfielder
March 24, 2009 7:08 PM
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seriously? You've got a reciept? I don't see why this is an annoying problem. I'd say, let it ride, wait and see what happens. Keep an eye on your money and enjoy your laptop!

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antoineawwad
March 24, 2009 7:09 PM
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just cancel ur account and reopen a new checking. and that's y u should never use ur debit card... always shop using a credit. and then pay it all later each two weeks so u dont have to pay a huge amount at the end of the month. and for god's sake who still pays 1500 for a laptop? (unless u're a software engineer or st)
and be happy, u got a free laptop. :D

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5 replies
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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
March 24, 2009 7:56 PM
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@antoineawwad: And for god's sake who still can't properly type the english language? Is \"You're\" or \"your\" so difficult that you must abbreviate it to \"ur\"? Please...

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hegemonyhog
March 24, 2009 7:49 PM
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@antoineawwad: I paid $1500 for a laptop because that's how much the laptop I wanted cost.

It's a remarkable thing about being a consumer.

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Wit
March 24, 2009 7:19 PM
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@antoineawwad: Wait, what? I'm not sure what this has to do with anything. The OP is concerned, among other things, that Best Buy will suddenly \"find\" the purchase and demand the money at some point in the future. It's a liquidity problem no matter what form of payment she used. She just wants to pay now while she has the money there rather than have a phantom $1500 withdrawal hanging over her head like the sword of Damocles.

Also: the comment code - you might want to read it.

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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:26 PM
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@Wit: How is it a liquidity problem? Just leave the 1500 in the account. If Best Buy does eventually take it, you have no problems.

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mythago
March 24, 2009 9:18 PM
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@Corporate_guy: The problem is you have $1500 sitting around on hold. Plus, who knows if Best Buy won't suddenly decide you also bought the $500 ESP.

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oneandone
March 24, 2009 7:43 PM
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@Wit: Maybe antoineawwad is attempting some kind of satire? Or sarcasm? Maybe? If so, unsuccessfully.....

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Wit
March 24, 2009 8:02 PM
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@oneandone: I'm all for optimism, but sadly, based on rampant incoherency and comment history, I don't think that was even an attempt at satire :(

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wcnghj
March 24, 2009 7:09 PM
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OP shouldn't have shopped at Best Buy! Should have used a credit card!!

Just kidding, but I always recommend a CC on purchases over $50. I also think there is some time limits on holds.

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Radi0logy
March 24, 2009 7:12 PM
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??.. headed to best buy to buy a laptop... God's of the power outage be good to me!

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pecan 3.14159265
March 24, 2009 7:18 PM
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antoineawwad: Canceling an account to open a new one just to avoid payment is criminal, and stealing. The OP clearly wants to do right by Best Buy, whether they want her money or not. If they keep ignoring her and don't take the money, that's one thing. If she purposely avoids allowing Best Buy to take the money they rightfully claimed as part of their transaction, that's stealing.

And it doesn't matter whether the OP used a credit or a debit...if it didn't post on her debit, it quite possibly would not have posted on her CC either, which would have been more of a problem if she didn't have access to her credit line because of the looming threat of having $1,500 posted to your CC account.

I would say most people spend near $1,500 on a laptop. $1,500 is pretty middle of the line for a laptop, especially if you want something that does more than a netbook or has more storage.

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11 replies
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StephenCepheus
March 25, 2009 12:18 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: Horseshit!middle of the road laptops are $300-$400 Idiot! Gamer models stroked out and bleeding edge are $750 to $900...Recesson?Ring-a-fucking-bell?

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Jordan Brill
March 24, 2009 9:12 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265:

I have a toshiba laptop with 250gb hard drive, amd turion 64bit processor (2 ghz), 2 gigs of ram, windows vista ultimate, dvd-rw...

$600 brand new

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Jordan Brill
March 24, 2009 9:13 PM
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whoops and a 128 mb ATI radeon graphics processor

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XBL: Legend xKWx (Kyle)
March 24, 2009 8:22 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: I bought my laptop for less than half of that and mine is awesome. 3 gb memory, 250 gb hard drive, webcam, fingerprint scanner. I would never buy a computer from anywhere but directly from the maker, Why pay best buy a few hundred dollars more when you can't even design or tailor the machine to fit your needs?

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ryohazuki222
March 24, 2009 7:23 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: If most people are spending $1500 on a middle of the line laptop, then most people are complete morons. Or, you just don't know what you're talking about...

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wdcr0ck
March 24, 2009 10:48 PM
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@ryohazuki222: I spent $2200 for mine. Of course, mine will run circles around anything you have or will ever own.

Don't judge people just because your laptop requirements are mundane. There are such things as power users.

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tripnman
March 24, 2009 8:12 PM
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@ryohazuki222: Then I'm definately a moron. The laptop I'm typing on right now was over twice that price four years ago - $3.1k. I love it, and paid a fair price through Costco. Buying the same machine direct from Dell would have added $1K.

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HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak
March 24, 2009 8:44 PM
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@tripnman: Four years ago was an entirely different situation than today. Today, you can get a whole lot of laptop in the neighborhood of $1000.

For instance, I've got this lovely piece of kit for my job (slightly customized; mine has 2 GB RAM, Bluetooth, and the 9-cell battery). I honestly can't think of any job it can't handle.

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Joeb5
March 24, 2009 7:57 PM
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@ryohazuki222:
They are complete morons for paying the $200 - $300 best buy mark up on the system vs paying less for the same hardware on line.

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morganlh85
March 24, 2009 7:53 PM
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@ryohazuki222: Maybe we're talking Macs here?

One can get a pretty high end PC laptop for $1500, or a pretty shitty Mac for the same price. I'm a graphic designer (who unfortunately is stuck using PCs for the time being) and I don't need to spend more than $800 for a good quality laptop to do my work on.

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basilray
March 24, 2009 7:47 PM
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@ryohazuki222: If it's a laptop that has more than the Intel Graphics Media Acceleration, you're looking at the $100+ neighborhood.


If it's a gaming laptop...start thinking $2k.

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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:27 PM
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@basilray: Incorrect. For 1k you can get a very good gaming laptop. A middle of the road laptop is 600-800.

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wdcr0ck
March 24, 2009 10:54 PM
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@Corporate_guy: You obviously aren't a gamer. Name anything under $1k that will get a minimum of 30fps in Crysis.

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Pink Puppet
March 24, 2009 7:36 PM
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@ryohazuki222: Or you have low standards for what \"middle of the line\" would be, alternately.

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LuvJones
March 24, 2009 7:19 PM
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It's on the first line, she used her debit card or were you saying she shouldn't use her debit card? I don't understand the fuss. Know the 1500 doesn't belong in your account and balance the check book accordingly. Keep trying to get best buy to take the money. It's a pain, but this is best buy were talking about.

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oneandone
March 24, 2009 7:48 PM
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@LuvJones: So just because they have shoddy business practices mean we should indulge them when they have really pain-in-the-ass business practices? Why should anyone have to balance their checkbook around BestBuy's whims?


There are standard business practices, and consumers have every right to expect that business will follow them. Ex: when you pay for something with credit or debit, the payment is processed in a few days, maximum. Or the business spells out special terms, which you agreen to. Ex: the business bills you on a certain day of the month, or presents you with a bill and you have 30 days to pay, or whatever arrangement you work out.


I'm balancing my checkbook around a $50 check I wrote to a friend, and I'm happy to do it because she's my friend. Best Buy doesn't get that special treatment.

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Alex Duzik
March 24, 2009 7:21 PM
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Something like this happened to my mom with an iMac. She ordered it online, got it a few days later, and discovered the fan was making a loud noise. She took it to the Apple Store, and they told her she should return it for a new one instead of having them repair it, since it was still within the return period.

Following a bit of confusion about returning the computer, she printed and shipped the computer. A couple of days later, she gets _two_ shipping confirmations. Because of the return label mix-up, Apple thought it owed her two replacement machines.

They tell her to just refuse delivery on one, which she does, but when Apple gets the computer back, they refund her credit card. So she has one iMac, but hasn't paid for it. It took her over an hour on the phone with Apple to get them to understand that they are supposed to charge her for it.

Good thing she's honest, right?

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theboomboomcars
March 24, 2009 7:52 PM
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@Alex Duzik: Amazon did something similar to me when I ordered the West Wing Complete series. They sent me two and charged me for one, I only ordered one. I contacted them and they email me a return label for the extra set. When they got it back they gave me a refund so I contacted them again and then they were finally able to get things squared away.

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Canino
March 24, 2009 7:24 PM
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I don't think the OP is under any obligation to make sure BB gets their money. The transaction was completed to the satisfaction of the cashier at the time of purchase. Just keep that money in your account for a reasonable amount of time, and if it isn't taken out then forget it.


Now having said that, I bet the transaction just hasn't been downloaded/uploaded/whatever from that day and it will be during the next inventory/audit/etc. If not, so be it.

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CoarseLive
March 24, 2009 7:24 PM
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Take the $1500 and change your bank account. $50.00 for new checks, few hours of hassle, and $1500 free. Sounds like a cool deal.

Who deserves it more? Stock holding ass-sitters, or you? You worked hard! Keep it.

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2 replies
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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:28 PM
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@CoarseLive: If you open that new account in the same bank, they will take the funds from your new account.

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dave23
March 24, 2009 7:40 PM
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@CoarseLive: So you would feel the same way if a customer pressed the submit button twice on an order, then called to cancel and Best Buy kept the product and the money? Mistakes happen on both sides of the consumer/seller relationship. Taking advantage of a mistake is stealing.

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ColoradoShark
March 24, 2009 7:30 PM
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My policy on this sort of thing is to try to fix it once. For example, on the rare cases where I have been undercharged at a restaurant, I always report it. (It's a golden rule thing, it's the way I'd want to be treated. If you think this makes me a sucker, I recommend you check your moral compass). If they cannot fix it the first time, I don't go on about about it.

So, my recommendation is to let it sit for many months and mentally remember $1500 may go away at any moment. Also, be sure to write down all the phone calls with specific times and dates in case BB tries to charge you with theft.

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ageekymom
March 25, 2009 2:01 AM
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@ColoradoShark: I agree with you, it seems, unfortunately, that many here don't.

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MichaelLC
March 24, 2009 7:32 PM
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Really? A post to Consumerist after only 10ish days?


Yes, they can take the money out at any time, so you'll pretty much have to leave it in there. Hope it's an interest-bearing account.


No, you did not steal it. Do not let them \"re-ring\" the transaction, either: Unless you want to pay $3,000 for it.

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squinko
March 24, 2009 7:41 PM
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@MichaelLC: Heaven forbid that they have current stories.

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MichaelLC
March 25, 2009 4:26 PM
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@squinko: I actually meant 10 days was too soon to be worrying about it. If was a month and still no charge, that might worth mentioning.

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SecretAgent8
March 24, 2009 7:33 PM
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This doesn't seem like the kind of problem that the store can just fix. This is one of those things that it looks like she will have to have a manager escalate this up to the cooperate level to be taken care of.

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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:32 PM
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@SecretAgent8: Most likely no. If a transaction for some reason is not listed in their system, that does not mean it's not listed somewhere where the money will be transferred. If they have no record of it, just sit on it. Don't let them try any crap like \"voiding\" the non existent transaction and making a new one. That missing transaction will most likely go through.

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Anonymous
March 24, 2009 7:33 PM
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A similar thing happened with me while buying purses for my wife at vera bradley online. I purchased them around the beginning of December, but they never posted to our account. We had the confirmation and everything, they even sent everything.

The finally charged us about 2 weeks ago, sending a letter saying they lost it in their system, and they sent a coupon. It ended up working out even though in between the order and the charging, we actually had to order new cards because my wife lost hers. The charge went through, but waiting for a $200 charge to go through for 3 months definitely messed with our spending habits with that card.

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YOXIM
March 24, 2009 7:35 PM
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I would just go to the store, get a manager, and show them the receipt. If they still don't want the money, get a written not from the manager stating so.

I once had a similar situation. My printer broke, I took it in for service, it took a few days, but they fixed it, called me, and I picked it up. A few days later I get a voice mail from Geek Squad saying that my printer is ready for pick up. I was tempted to go to Best Buy, act stupid, and try to get a free printer. Fortunately for BB, I was too lazy.

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ageekymom
March 25, 2009 2:05 AM
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@YOXIM: I agree that OP should go to Best Buy with her receipt and have management sign off on the deal. She has put an admirable amount of effort into doing the right thing.

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jimconsumer
March 24, 2009 11:52 PM
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@YOXIM: s/lazy/honest and you'd be better off...

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squinko
March 24, 2009 7:38 PM
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On a sidenote: If I don't want to purchase a laptop at Best Buy, and have apprehensions about buying them online, where should I go instead? Should I even bother having a local computer place build one for me, or is online really the last good place to buy a laptop?

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5 replies
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Corporate_guy
March 24, 2009 8:40 PM
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@squinko: No one can build you a laptop. It's not like a desktop. But you just have to compare prices. A friend of mine was going to buy a dell online. We looked and best buy sold the same model for the same price with a better processor and more ram.

When you buy an hp, compaq, dell, IBM, etc. from best buy, compare the price and specs with the official online store for that manufacturer.

But you should never be scared to buy the item online from the official store. If you buy a dell at best buy, dell.com is where you get warranty service. Also never ever ever buy a warranty through a store like best buy. I am pretty sure that even if you buy the item locally at a best buy, you can still call dell up and get an extended warranty through them.

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kexline
March 25, 2009 3:49 PM
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@Corporate_guy: Barebones laptop platforms can be had, so yes, someone *can* custom-build you a laptop to only a slightly smaller extent than they can build a desktop.

(That doesn't necessarily make it a good idea, however.)

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oneandone
March 24, 2009 8:00 PM
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@squinko: Last time I bought a laptop (nearly 3 years ago) I got it directly from IBM / Lenovo's website. If you have something specific in mind, you should check out the manufacturer's website and see if they have competitive prices with some of the online shops you feel apprehensive about.


Also, depending on your location, it might be worth going to a local college or university, if it has a store that sells computer hardware & software to students and faculty. Most do, and even if you're not eligible for discounts, you might enjoy the shopping experience more than Best Buy. Store might be smaller, but the staff are usually pretty knowledgeable. I've always found mine interested in addressing my needs, but YMMV.

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squinko
March 24, 2009 8:26 PM
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@oneandone: Thanks for the suggestions! My husband is looking at Lenovos so we've visited their site...But I'm one of those people that have to see/play with something before I buy it, especially since we're planning on replacing our desktop with a laptop, so it'll probably cost a pretty penny.

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jeffbone
March 24, 2009 7:39 PM
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\"Once again I call the store only to be told that they can't find the transaction, they have no record of our purchase and as far as they are concerned we never bought anything from that store.\"


Wait 'til it needs warranty service...I'll bet Worst Buy will figure out the problem right away at that point. They'll probably even charge her interestat the prevailing rate on their store-branded card from the date of purchase, to boot.

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Anonymous
March 24, 2009 7:39 PM
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You should do two things. Write a letter to corporate. I'm sure Loss Prevention would be interested to know why they are missing a laptop. Go all the way to the top. Second, contact the BBB, Better Business Bureau to help resolve the issue. Not verifying the transaction will hurt you in the long run when you try to get something fixed for warranty reasons. This is not your fault, it's Best buys and they should fix it immediately.

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Bill2me
March 24, 2009 7:43 PM
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I'm actually kind of amazed that she was able to put a $1500 purchase on a Debit Card. I work in an industry where people regularly try to put large sums on debit cards and they're almost always flagged for purchases over $300.

In most cases there's about 15m of anxiety as they call the bank, get their one day debit withdrawal raised, and then wait to try again.

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maztec
March 24, 2009 7:44 PM
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Geeze, all of ten days. You need to be more patient.

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morganlh85
March 24, 2009 7:47 PM
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You know what I would do? Change my account number and enjoy my free laptop. Bwahahahaha!

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hellinmyeyes
March 24, 2009 7:50 PM
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I've had this problem at some businesses, usually for small-dollar transactions. The authorization limit for the debit card should be 30 days. Check with your bank on that.

As masonreloaded pointed out earlier, after 30 days it's pretty much yours since the time for them to have collected on your authorization will have expired. Things might get a little tricky if you have to do any sort of return or warranty service, but make sure you register all your products and paperwork, make copies, etc etc, to cover yourself should something happen in the more distant future. I'm not sure they could claim fraud given your due diligence in the effort to pay them, which they openly refused to you and to the bank.

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Cafezinha
March 24, 2009 7:56 PM
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Of course she should be a big girl, balance the checkbook, and go on running her account as if the 1500 is gone, but in the age of online bank statements, seeing that discrepency every time you checked your balance, even if I knew better, would annoy the bejesus out of me.


So what happens if she does as another commenter said (wait a month, transfer it into savings, wait more, then eventually give up if they won't take the money) and BB never authorizes it? Legally, is she in the clear, too bad/so sad for BB? Also, would she have any recourse against BB if they withdrew it after the 30 days (when the money had been transferred to savings) and caused some major overdraft shenanigans?

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metaled
March 24, 2009 7:57 PM
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Don't try to straighten it out,, the trouble is on their end and if you try to do the right thing, they are going to take an additional $1500 from your account, then whatever the problem is, they will correct it and it will finally go through. You'll be out $3,000 and have no way of getting it back, they'll end up claiming you bought 2 computers.
You did everything right, just don't touch the money and don't let them have your debit card or checking info in order to correct it. If it's still not corrected after a few months, then you can write them a check and drop it off, make sure any receipts and interaction you have with them is for the serial number on this laptop.
I really believe you should leave it alone (for now) or it will come back to bite you in the arse.

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AltheaGalopamonster
March 24, 2009 8:02 PM
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I ordered a camera from Target. They sent the wrong one. I called, they sent another wrong camera and did not send the box and shipping label for the return. (Free shipping.) I called, I called. Nothing. They did not charge me. They did not call me back. I gave up after a year. I now have 2 cameras, not exactly what I wanted, but good enough considering they were free. The point: I did my best and then decided it was no longer worth my time.

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Tiber
March 24, 2009 8:03 PM
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I think if they want to keep the money there so Best Buy can take it out, but still not have to worry about their finances, they could possibly open a second account and transfer everything but the $1500 to the new account, including direct deposit and everything else. That way they won't have any financial trouble if BB tries to take it when it's not there, and they don't have to worry about accidentally spending it.

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rachmaninov1
March 24, 2009 8:07 PM
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This is extraordinarily unusual. EECB, now!

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Cafezinha
March 24, 2009 8:08 PM
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Ohhh, this broken reply button business is driving me bananas.


@Tiber: That makes sense, but what a pain in the ass for the OP to have to do this because BB is being a pinhead. Not cool for them to have to go through the trouble of setting up the account to avoid the possibility of getting screwed. :(

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RanChan03
March 24, 2009 8:11 PM
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should've just bought the laptop online. Sure it takes a bit longer, but you don't have to deal with the annoying BB brats who'll try to scam you out of your money

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pecan 3.14159265
March 24, 2009 8:12 PM
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squinko: I've always purchased computers online, and I've found it be very reliable as long as you keep things simple and buy them from reputable sites. I think the problems we see via Consumerist are the exception, not the rule. I've never had troubles purchasing computers online. If you want to look at it in the store to test the keyboard and stuff, that's good, but I've never had anyone build a computer for me.

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pecan 3.14159265
March 24, 2009 8:16 PM
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RanChan03: Maybe the OP doesn't have access to a line of credit that is enough for the laptop to be purchased online, and did not want to use a debit card online. *shrug*

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ionerox
March 24, 2009 8:18 PM
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If BB never sold you a laptop, how would you get warranty service on said laptop?

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deejaypopnfresh
March 24, 2009 8:21 PM
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squinko:
i still buy from and send friends to staples on a regular basis but have a really good relationship with the managers at my local location because I used to work there. costco also has an awesome return policy and newegg still seems reputable as far as online retailers

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captadam
March 24, 2009 8:24 PM
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Just accept it, I say. Then, do all your electronics shopping for the next year at Best Buy. Before long, they'll have overcharged you out of the $1500 they didn't take from you for the laptop, and you can feel good about yourself again!

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captadam
March 24, 2009 8:24 PM
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@lannister80: NO NO NO Tiger Direct! Do NOT give your credit card number to Sleazy Carl Fiorentino!

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SkokieGuy
March 24, 2009 8:31 PM
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What I haven't heard is that the OP document her attempts to notify BB of the missing funds.


I suggest one more attempt to notify them and include references to your previous attempts.


Also, do NOT transfer the $1500 out of your debit account into another holding account. If BB decides to claim their funds, you will end up with a slew of bank charges when funds become insufficient.


You should ask your bank is there is a time limit on when funds can be claimed, so you know when you are past the period of danger of withdrawl. AFTER that date, then move or spend the funds.


$1500 can pay for a lot of paid computer maintenance, instead of BB's crappy warranty work!

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djmichaelangelo
March 24, 2009 10:39 PM
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@SkokieGuy:

Seconded. Get it in writing from your bank their exact policy on the time limit a company has to claim their funds (30 days? 90 days?) and after that time is up, consider the money yours. Surely you're not the first person this has happened to, and hopefully your bank has a policy when this rare (but not impossible) situation does come up. You're right, when weighing $1500 cash against some maybe-or-maybe-not warranty work, it's easy to see which is more valuable. The OP shouldn't worry about this, but instead look at it as a great opportunity, if you patiently wait it out instead of fretting and fussing, then you may just come out ahead. You've tried to do the right thing not once but twice, which is more than Worst Buy deserves in this situation. Document everything, and once that time-limit passes that your bank sets on companies taking their funds, then pop open a bottle of champagne and celebrate! :)

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barbieseviltwin
March 24, 2009 8:31 PM
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Hi, poster here, I just wanted to clear a few things up!

I do have an available line of credit, we just don't use it for things like this. The debit card we have through our credit union works the same as any major credit card does, plus we don't have to wait to pay off a bill when we already have cash at hand to pay for it outright.

Yeah it's only been 10 days, but honestly, it's turning into a pain in the rear now, we've got direct deposits going in, bills coming out, and it is screwing up my checkbook (which I do both online and the traditional pen and paper way) because I'm constantly having to deduct 1500.00 from the balance any time it changes. And that's including how much we can pay on other bills. Sure we have plenty in the account, over draft fees aren't a worry, but constantly having to check and re-check to make sure that the balance I have, minus 1500.00 is starting to irritate me. I have total OCD with our accounts and having this money floating in some black BB hole and thinking that some day soon the evil hand of BB is going to jump in and take their fill is a little scary.

And finally, we went to BB for this laptop because we just got done smashing our dell \"craptop\" that we spent close to 2 grand on with a hammer and leaving the remains to be run over by the train that runs behind our house. We were out celebrating my birthday and we were only there to look. We knew what laptop we wanted, we knew what we wanted it to have on it, and as long as it connects to the internet and gives me my daily fill of Chuzzle I'm pretty happy with it.

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stpauliegirl
March 24, 2009 11:54 PM
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@barbieseviltwin: I'm not sure how this could be messing up your pen-and-paper register. You enter the transaction like normal, as if it happened, then keep on truckin' and act as if it's not there. You should only have to subtract the $1,500 from your online balance.

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TrueBlue63
March 24, 2009 8:32 PM
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After a certain amount of time, the bank will close this transaction.

But to protect yourself, you ought to write a letter to Best Buy corporate. Explaining the situation and that if they don't take the money now, there is no guarantee that you will have it later. That if they decide they want the money and you don't have it, you will not pay interest.

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heismanpat
March 24, 2009 8:50 PM
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There is absolutely no way I'd be going through this much trouble to get a company to take money from me. Call it unethical or lazy, the reality of it is that I'm just lazy.

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failurate
March 24, 2009 8:53 PM
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Given the stops and starts of the attempted transaction, this could have easily been an article about how the OP was hammered with $6,000+ worth of charges and then overdraft fees.

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caesar889
March 24, 2009 9:12 PM
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i think this is a wash. the only thing as dumb as an incompetant store like best buy not correctly charging a customer for an item is a person that places such little value to THEIR own time that they would try to get them to charge them for merchandise they are getting for free, when the company clearly does not care about the value of their time at all but what explains everything is that the laptop is 1500 it is probably a mac, and that explains the weird eccentric behavior

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heybtbm
March 24, 2009 9:18 PM
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Who buys a $1500 laptop? Seriously. They're all the same after $700-$800.

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TexasBelle
March 24, 2009 9:54 PM
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I wouldn't go to any extraordinary lengths to pay for the laptop. Eventually, they will do an audit, figure out what happened, and charge you. At which point you might well have already managed to get your account charged some other way, and thus you will have paid twice. And then dog only knows how long it will take to get the extra debit (not to mention any associated overdraft fees) reversed. (Ah, debit cards. How I love 'em!)

If I were you, I would:
1. deduct the $1500 from my checkbook register balance and consider it gone,
2. document my efforts to pay, including receipt, log of phone calls made, copies of e-mails (if I didn't have a paper trail, I would quickly create one, but again, no heroics), and
3.calendar a reminder for myself in, say, 30 or 45 days, to follow up if the charge still hasn't appeared, and if it hasn't, send another e-mail or letter.
4. lather, rinse, repeat until the debit shows up.

That's just what I would do.

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Tetrine
March 24, 2009 10:25 PM
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This happened to me too -- I bought a laptop at Best Buy on my AMEX in September and at the end of the month, I paid off that portion of my balance. Some months later, in December, I looked at my AMEX statement, expecting to see < $100 of activity for the month, and noticed I had a $1000+ -- It took AMEX and me several hours on the phone to figure out what had happened. I suppose Best Buy eventually did some sort of audits and figured out I had never been charged.

I feel like in that circumstance someone should have contacted me and explained what had happened rather than just slap a $1000 charge 3 months later on my card -- what if that had put me over my credit limit? Pretty uncool, Best Buy!

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rainday
March 24, 2009 10:35 PM
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Don't call the store. Call the customer service number at the home office. Although the store processes the transaction, they don't have any contact with the bank or how/when funds are released or collected.

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Gizmosmonster
March 24, 2009 10:44 PM
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What if it never goes away? Imagine that money sitting in banking limbo.

We have a $1000 ghost hold in our savings account from a computer glitch last NOVEMBER. We took money out for holiday shopping and some car repairs from a shared branch credit union. They ran the transaction twice apparently. and there is a corrective transaction. Also the money shows as in the account, but our available balance is $1000 lower than it should be.

Our CU can not release it, nor can the one we used to withdraw money. Deal with your Best Buy situation now, it is not worth the headache to wait and see. Trust me!

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Anonymous
March 24, 2009 11:14 PM
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Here's what happened...There is a small \"receipt\" that should have printed on the crashed register. This receipt should have been filed that night and the Admin Sr (or Ops Coordinator) should have researched the transaction. In this situation, the Admin should have contacted sales auditing. One quick call or email to sales auditing (from the store)will have this situation rectified in 24 hours. Customers do not have access to sales auditing...Voila!

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trashbaby
March 24, 2009 11:15 PM
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Do not wait \"6 months\" for the transaction to possibly come out then consider it good.


With MasterCard (I presume this is the same with Visa/Amex as these types of things are pretty uniform) a merchant can process a transaction they never debited up to a year later. 6 months won't work. If you don't mind the balance collecting dust in a savings account for a year...why not. But would you be tempted to spend it? What if an emergency happened and you needed it? In the end I think you should force the issue on best buy.


If you can get the approval code from your bank (Good luck) and force Best Buy to call their payment processor for the credit card they may be able to use the information from your receipt to track it down.

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bufftbone
March 24, 2009 11:15 PM
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I know it's wrong and moraly you're right but the way Best Buy is and how much money they make, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to play around with my new FREE laptop!

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pecan 3.14159265
March 24, 2009 11:48 PM
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Why does it matter what the OP spent on the laptop? She wanted the laptop, and it seems that she was pretty savvy in what she wanted. My Macbook was $1550 when all was said and done. Sure you can get a lot for $800 but don't knock people who choose to spend more to get exactly what they want.

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0chilly
March 25, 2009 1:07 AM
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If the bank is a larger one, it probably has a fraud department. Having already called the bank and BB two times with no resolution, I would call the bank's fraud department and tell them you're concerned about this charge.
This department will probably have contacts at BB already who can get the situation corrected.

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NikonGal
March 25, 2009 1:20 AM
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I just have to tell my similar story. Before the internet - yes it was a long time ago - I paid a travel agent for a trip to Las Vegas. The trip included airfare for 4 people, 2 hotel rooms and other stuff; total cost was $1400. I paid by check. For some reason the travel agency never cashed my check. Finally, I called the travel agency, but the phone was disconnected. I still kept the money in my checking for a LONG TIME - over a year - just in case they came back and decided to cash the check. I did not want it to bounce, and they had a legitimate claim to that money. But man, was it hard not to spend that money during that time! And what a nice bonus when we finally decided to simply \"add\" the money back.

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pgh9fan1
March 25, 2009 1:28 AM
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I'd take the receipt back and try to return the laptop and see what happens. They'll figure it out right quick.

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yoni242
March 25, 2009 1:50 AM
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Should have gone to B&H Photo.

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missing_piece
March 25, 2009 2:25 AM
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I know I'm way late to the conversation, and I'm not going through all the comments to see if this has been mentioned. However, if the OP ends up checking this, call the bank and ask them for a trace number for the transaction. This can then be given to Best Buy for them to speak with their bank and find the transaction to accept it into their system.

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Allen Hou
March 25, 2009 4:42 AM
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if i were you, id go to your bank and get a new debit card with new numbers, if they dont believe that they sold you the laptop, then be it, but they might charge you later on when the loss prevention comes into action. they'll try to find the missing receipt in there system and re-charge that card of yours whenever they want. changing your account number will stop that ^_^

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KillTheAcademy
March 25, 2009 6:16 AM
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we're talking about best buy. keep the computer, say nothing. it's the least they deserve.

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Slottsherre
March 25, 2009 7:36 AM
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Wait a couple of weeks, or tell your bank to cancel the fund to Best Buy. Go back to the store, ask to talk to someone in charge, show the receipt and ask to pay the exact amount. This is probably the easiest way to pay for the laptop now.

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tworld
March 25, 2009 2:17 PM
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I'm assuming you've already gone back to Best Buy with your receipt, and the Manager on duty had a seeing eye dog sitting with him/her.

In that case, my dear, keep the lap top AND the money. Sooner or later Best Buy will realize both are missing.

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flyromeo3
March 25, 2009 2:26 PM
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find out if Merchants have a time frame when they can retrieve the funds.


Write a letter to BB. Let them know if the funds arent collected within 15 days you will consider this laptop a gift etc... make sure its sent with return receipt.


dont know how you would feel guilty about this laptop. I'd be jumping for joy.

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corinthos
March 25, 2009 3:20 PM
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I had something similar happen with Sears years ago for a 900 dollar tv on clearance. The color was green tinted and I tried with all the color settings but still looked like it had a green filter on it.
They couldn't find anything in the system on it. So after 3 weeks 4 visits and waiting 9 days on a store manager to call me back which didn't happen I contacted local fox news that has this \"on your side\" piece. 4 days later they got it fixed.

Anyways turned out that the guy rang on some register he shouldn't of and he said that he rang it under a false upc since it was out of box and they couldn't find a upc for it and then he voided it later for some reason. Also the Store Manager was from another store because the old one no longer worked there and the messages were still being sent to the old one. Anyways just sounded like I just picked the wrong weeks to purchase and try to return that TV.
They let me keep the TV and a guy from a service center came out and picked it up and they gave one of their 3 year warranties on it. Service Center called me back and said they couldn't fix it but said they could offer something equal in value on it from Sears as part of that protection plan they gave me. So I got a TV that was actually better and retailed for 1400 there.
Also which was not on the news show and happened two days after it aired a guy from Sears higher up called me and gave me 1000 dollars worth of gift cards free. Whenever he called it sounded like he was blaming just the store manager and I declined at first because I told them that the store manager fixed the situation and and he was really great about it. Then I got that weird feeling in my stomach that I just declined 1000 dollars in free stuff but the guy went on to tell me that he wanted me to use that to come back to Sears and asked me to email him directly back to how my service and experience with the store was when I went to go use it.

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Anonymous
March 25, 2009 5:23 PM
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I have a Best Buy credit card and when I pay my bill online the money almost always sits for the longest time before it's withdrawn from my account. I know the retailer doesn't handle those charges directly but even so they are the only bill I pay online that can take over a week to claim their money. It frustrates me so much that I've already destroyed the card and once I pay off my remaining balance I'm done with it for good.

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amandakerik
March 26, 2009 4:42 AM
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If she's having issues with her budget / numbers, I'd suggest she open a new account, put the money that ISN'T for the computer in the new one and live on.
That way she can see the numbers she needs to, the transaction will go through if it does and doesn't affect anything if it doesn't.

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Whiskey212
February 6, 2010 6:48 AM
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Listen, as a former employee (b**ch) with the company I'll explain howb this works. Each month they have a loss allowance that they have to meet, and are financially rewarded for beating. Nevertheless, once that 30 days has passed they roll over to a new month and last month's numbers are essentially forgotten. My point is this: you tried to make this right and they wanted none of it, you have your receipt should you need any warranty service which says you lawfully own the item. In my view you have met your moral AND legal burden here and after the 30 days believe me, they don't give a damn. I know this from experience.

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