Here's my story:
On September 21, I purchased a new laptop for my wife as an anniversary gift for $1129.99 plus the 3 year service plan for an additional $249.99 from the Best Buy in the University area of Charlotte, NC. When I went to pay for my purchase, the salesperson recommended I have the store's computer department take a look at the laptop to make sure it was okay. I agreed.
The computer department took the brand new, unopened box and proceeded to OPEN it up so they could take the unit out and power it up. After charging my purchase on my Best Buy credit card, the laptop was ready and I took it home. When I got it home, without taking it out of the box or touching the unit in any way, I resealed it and I gift wrapped it.
A few days later, my wife and I decided that due to money constraints, it would be best to forgo any gift giving this year. I agreed and a few days later I returned to the store to return the laptop. When I attempted to return this merchandise which I had never touched nor removed from the box, to my total disgust I was told that I had to pay a 15% restocking fee. That fee equals $169.50!!! As the Best Buy returns policy states, a 15% restocking fee will be applied to any returns or exchanges of any opened notebook computer.
But I never opened the box. The employees at the Best Buy store opened the box when they went to power it up and at their own recommendation. I was never informed that I would be charged a 15% restocking fee once THEY opened the box. And I had not even completed my purchase before they had opened it. Yet I was told that I had no choice but to accept this fee of $169.50 which meant I was paying a hefty amount of money for nothing. When I attempted to dispute the charge, the store manager, Cameron Haynie told me my only recourse was to contact the toll-free 1-888-Best-Buy number which I did. I first spoke to someone named Lithanou who could not help me. Then I spoke to his manager, a Brian Cornelius who told me that my only recourse was to go back to the store. So, the way the Best Buy dispute process is set up, if I feel I have a valid complaint and wish to dispute this fee, each party refers me back to the other where I get no help whatsoever.
I understand why a policy such as this exists. However, I strongly disagree with its implementation in this case as I did not open the box. The Best Buy store and its employees opened the box. I never took the laptop out of its original packaging, I never plugged it in and I never turned it on. Yet I was told that I had no choice but to pay this fee.
I have been a good and loyal customer to Best Buy over the years. Over the last 2 to 3 years alone I have bought the following from their stores (and never returned any of it): 2 new desktops with monitors including a flat panel, two color printers, a wireless hub, 4 wireless adapters, 1 PCMCIA wireless adapter, 2 network hubs, 1 NIC and countless other peripherals including many CD RW disks. I have also purchased a 13 inch flat panel television with mounting bracket, cell phone accessories and a new 900 mhz cordless phone, a Kenwood satellite radio with accessories and installation, and those are only the purchases I can recall.
Do I have any recourse for what I believe to be an unfair and expensive fee?
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