Best Buy Sends The Police After You For Taking Your Loan Application Home
Here's a weird situation from Orland Park, IL. Mike Quilty, who works for a subcontractor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, went to Best Buy to purchase a refrigerator.
Best Buy's loan application required his SSN, which he was not happy about providing because, you know, he works in "security" and likes things to be "secure." Then, after deciding he did not want to purchase the appliance, Mr. Quilty took his loan application back. That's when it got weird:
Quilty said he picked up his paperwork, which he had signed, and intended to go to the rear of the store and talk to the sales rep.The police threatened Mr. Quilty with arrest if he didn't turn over the paperwork, which Best Buy apparently needed in order to prove that Mr.Quilty had applied for the loan. In the end, the police accepted the torn up pieces of the application."But the clerk shouted that I can't take the application," Quilty said. "She said it belongs to the store."
Best Buy's spokesman said the clerk was following proper procedure.
Quilty said at this point he decided to leave the store - and take the loan application with him.
The clerk again insisted he leave the loan application behind.
Quilty ignored her and headed toward the door.
The clerk then shouted out to a security guard.
The security guard told Quilty to stop and return the loan application.
Quilty kept on walking out of the store and into the parking lot.
The security guard followed him.
"He never touched me or threatened me in any way," Quilty said. "I will give him credit for that."
Quilty tore up the loan application as he walked through the parking lot.
"As far as I was concerned, the application had my name on it, my signature and my Social Security number," Quilty said. "I wasn't going to leave it behind. I figured that young girl would just toss it in the garbage once I walked out of the store. I didn't want anyone getting my personal information because I know just how much trouble that can cause."
Quilty got in his car and drove off.
"But the security guard must have taken down my license plate number because when I got home, my wife tells me the police are waiting for me," he said.
What a weird story. Is taking your own loan application a crime? We're not going to pretend to know the answer.
It's just outrageous that a store could call the police and try to have me arrested because I walked out with my own loan application," Quilty said.The Best Buy spokesman said that in his six years on the job dealing with customer problems, he never had heard of a story like this one.
"The man should have just asked for the store manager and told him to shred the application as he stood there," the spokesman said.
Would the store manager have shredded the application?
"I'm not sure what the procedure would have been," the spokesman said.
The man who knew too much [Daily Southtown]
(Photo:garavondik)
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Comments:
Why is retail SO fucked up??? WHY? This makes NO sense at all!
Thank god he didn't also have a receipt stuffed in his pocket.
Thats a new low...
Best Buy... Always entertaining...
wtf? I now have to worry about being arrested for taking my personal information?
Wow. Quite a story
NEXT UP ---
Best Buy Detains Customer for Theft
"You're not leaving here until you exhale, sir. That air belongs to us!"
Somehow this does not surprise me in the least - since its BestBuy. Perhaps because he signed the application -- completed the process -- BestBuy considers the transaction complete and there is no opporuntiy to revoke the contract (loan application) I don't think such an interpetation of contract law would be correct but since its BestBuy - who knows. I can't believe they would call the police on this guy, I'd be interested to know what BestBuy's allegations are?
I would have thought that the police would have treated that as a nuisance call. Very odd.
What the holy hell are the Orland Park police doing intervening on behalf of the store in a CIVIL MATTER? A lot of police departments will not touch civil matters with a ten foot pole except to keep the peace. I'm kind of disappointed the guy, after all that, tucked in his tail and surrendered the paper to the police.
I'm wondering what the loan application actually says. If there's some fine print that Best Buy doesn't want anybody noticing, so they don't let you take home the application and show it to a lawyer or examine closely.
i work at a finance company and unfortunately best buy is right on this one. we have to keep all of the original paperwork. which means the manager wouldn't legally be able to shred it either. until 30-90 days pass by. if hes in security he should know its for his own protection. as gay as it sounds its true.
when we turn ppl down for a loan they get all huffy and puffy and demand their paperwork be turned over, but we legally can't do it.
and i hate siding with best buy!
This wouldn't have happened if he just showed them his receipt.
its to prove they were actually there applying for a loan, and or porvides evidence in the case of identity theft. plus they have to reply in writing giving you information on their decision.
however, that only applies if he handed over the paperwork in the first place. sounds to me like their are some pieces of the story missing, such as maybe he (like my customers) was turned down and wanted his paperwork back.
He should have demanded a receipt in return for the loan application. I mean, BB should be able to certify that they received it from him right?
and if this guy is in the security biz and thought he could get a loan without his ssn he is an idiot.
Note to self: NEVER apply for loans through Best Buy. Thanks!
@goodguy812: He DID provide his SSN, and it was written on the loan application. That's why he didn't want to leave the application behind.
i just asked my manager and we have to keep the paperwork on file for 26 months. (for the state of indiana) i'm sure other states have similar clauses.
i tell my irate customer that try the same line on me to call the police, and the police will tell them the same as i just did. legally they have to keep it on file.
If he changed his mind and refused to give Best Buy the paperwork, I fail to see how this constitutes him "applying for a loan".
Best Buy is definitely not in the right. If I take a credit card application home and fill it out, but change my mind at the last minute, is the bank entitled to raid my house to retrieve it?
I would've stuffed that paperwork in my mouth. I don't go down without a fight!!
Okay, I see what you are saying. At first I was completely shocked and confused as to why Best Buy would do this, but as you say, it is for security. Imagine for a moment if this guy takes the application home and loses it or tosses it. The next thing you know, he is screaming that he left it at Best Buy and they must not have handled it properly. Big lawsuit ensues and this guy gets a nice payday because Best Buy was too careless with the application. After the lawsuit is settled, Best Buy would come out with a policy just like this one to ensure that the applications don't leave the store and that Best Buy is actually in charge of them, as the courts ruled that they are.
@Darren666: thats why i say there has to be more to the story. the only way best buy would be right is if he turned it in, then changed his mind afterwards. after you turn it in it doesn't matter if you change your mind they still have to process it.
Yet another reason to keep not shopping at Best Buy.
If you change your mind, how exactly did you apply for the loan -- thus meaning they have nothing to keep on file?
well what you have is a written application vs. a verbal change mind. if they didn't process it they could get accused of discrimination. say the guy calls back after he verbally said he changed his mind saying he never said that he changed his mind. you have no evidence he changed his mind. so he could accuse you of not giving him a fair chance at a loan because he was black or short or whatever he decides to say.
Gee, i'm going to buy a lawn chair, go sit out in the local best buy parking lot and watch the fun. These clowns are more entertaining than television.
OTOH, why in the world would he commit his soul to BB by applying for a loan there? Any credit union would have gladly assisted him in getting a more than fair loan.
It sure sounds like he DID turn it in, as they have no reason to care about a form unless he applied for the loan, as they have the same form online too.
If he did apply for the loan they are required to keep the loan application for 1-3 years depending on state regulations. There are multiple reasons behind this.
The most important is to prove you applied for this credit, so if you dispute this inquiry on your credit report they have proof. If they have a signed app, (and Im guessing they made him sign it before running it) they are protected.
It is also an LP thing. Since so many companies give incentives for thier employees to take credit applications (I remember doing this at JCPenneys in the early 90s) there is always a worry that employees are submitting fake apps to get the dollar.
he should have taken it over to the housewares department to see if it would blend. That would have killed all birds with one blender.
Here's a case where stopping and discussing the issue may have saved a lot of headache
My HR people confirm the laws applying to job applications are quite specific about partially completed applications. I suspect the laws applying to credit applications must be very similar.
In general the providor (creditor or employer) must prove non-discrimination and other legal issues.
Blank applications are no big deal. Want a job application to take home with you, go right ahead. I have filled out many credit applications at home as well.
The issue is with the "completed" or "partially completed" application.
For completed applications I must show cause. Hired, not hired, retained application for future action. Creditors must show action to the applicatant, as in credit denied or approved.
The "partially" complete application must be retained to show abandonment by the consumer/customer. That is the key word.... ABANDONMENT. The provider must show that applicant abandoned the application (process) rather than the providor refused the application.
Shredding may be an option. That is a whole another legal issue. But a started application is to be retained by the provider.
Now.... one key grey area issue in the OP complaint. Applicant takes an application, maybe to read, maybe to fill out, the provider does not "know" the specifics. So how does BB or any other provider know the applicant has started the process, unless the applicant has involved the provider?
In this case, BB knew the applicant had started the application. At that point BB has to retain the application, or show proper disposal if the law allows disposal.
im glad to see some people who have my back on this as i definately do not like best buy.
Regardless of what BestBuy thinks is in their best interests, I still side with the applicant here.
If I change my mind about something and want to cover my ass from identity theft, I'd prefer to shred and dispose of the forms myself than trust BB not to "lose" it.
I do think getting the cops involved is a bit over the top. How many times has someone been sued after someone pulled "i'll take the application home scam"? I bet never.
@STEVEID
So you are saying that if I go into a best buy, get an application, Fill out my name & address,and as I then read the finer print, I cannot dispose of the application right there and then? It makes no sense that they would need to retain it with my personal information if I did not decide to turn it in. I'd be damned if I'll let them collect information when I am not even getting anything in return (the loan).
ok the@Darren666: ok then whats to stop some kid who didn't like you cuz you were poor looking or stinky or fat or black, from just shredding your stuff and telling you your not approved. if you think people aren't racist wake up. its for your protection. most all places even have a privacy policy preventing your information from beings sold or anything like that.
@Darren666:
Perhaps getting the cops involved was a bit over the top, but so was the applicant's refusal to discuss the issue and his leaving the scene.
If there was no legal reason that Best Buy could provide for having to keep the incomplete application then I imagine that they would've been happy to shred the document in front of the user.
I don't know all of what is on the credit application, but perhaps there are some security/privacy concerns that the store has as well (perhaps guarding against scanned and faked credit applications for some reason?)
Regardless, it seems much of this could've been avoided had the applicant chosen to discuss the issue with the store rather than leave immediately without discussion.
@Goodguy812
So if I walk home with an application, come in the next day and say "I started to fill the application I took home yesterday, but decided against the loan", will best buy then get a warrant to search my house to locate the application?
Hey, its Orland Park! Self proclaimed "Golf Capital of the World", (just look on the water tower) - what do you expect.
@dawime: no i don't think that a warrent would ever get issued. but i could be wrong. i think that unless you show them the partial application, how would they know if you were being truthful and ever started to fill one out in the first place.
and i'm pretty sure that an aplication cannot be submitted without the signature (which means that you agree to all the conditions and terms.)
ugggh!!!! i cannot see my post! i hate it when that happens!
It is incredibly simple, but seems to bear repeating: Do not shop at Best Buy.
Just.
Don't.
Do.
It.
Back to DAWIME.
Yep, BB needs your application. Actually BB needs to show that you "abandoned" the application process and that BB did not discriminate in refusing to offer you credit, nor did BB attempt to offer you credit (ie running a credit check etc).
How far you got, or did not get, in the process is not an issue. Abandonment is the issue. Abandonment allows BB to be off the hook with regards to credit discrimination and other legal issues.
Personally I suspect that the law would allow you to obscure your information, or would allow the document to be shredded. But that is just a suspicion, not a statement of fact.
And yes BB really does need to keep that half arse completed application on file.
The same with employment application records. I have a filing cabinet full of what I call "garbage" applications. Half arse completion or filled with obscenities or other crap so that the person can say the filled out an application to meet their unemployment requirements while at the same time making sure that there is no possible way they would ever be hired for a job. About 3-4 years ago the State Unemployment office actually did a field audit of that filing cabinet and were wanting records (if we had them) going back 5 years. Yes, FIVE years. The law did not require the 5 year time, the State was trying to determine how aggressive we were in cleaning out the filing cabinet. I had records going back to the beginning of time, so the State was happy.
If there is ever a stink about BB denying credit to one class (or lack of class) people, the state and federal agencies are going to up close and personally examing the bowls of BB's records (if you get my drift). BB better have kept your incompleted application on file or be able to provide proof of abandonment.
@Darren666: According to the story: "The clerk processes his application, and he's approved for the no-interest loan."
Note that he completed the application and was approved. The application probably included something indicating his permission for them to run a credit report, etc. Best Buy would have been in serious trouble if they'd run a credit report and approved a loan without having any documention on hand. That sort of thing pretty much counts as fraud, and any auditor or accountant worth his or her salt would pass out if they found out that completed loan docs (originals, no less, with no backup copy) were allowed out the door.
TAKE the BLANK application with you. Most stores are going to encourage you to take the application with you. Relieves the store of the legal liability regarding the abandoned applications.
But many employers are going to require you to fill out the application on site. The requirement is to cut down on the state unemployment fraud issues as well as determining the applicants ability to read and write.
So what happens if I walk into Best Buy, grab a hundred forms, fill in my first name on ALL of them, and then decide "screw it, I'm not interested". Will Best Buy have to file away all 100?
If so, I'm going to fill out 100 apps a day just to screw with them.
Thank goodness they don't have Best Buys at the University of Florida.
Was he entered in the computer? That question makes a world of difference.
If the application was never submitted, who cares? I let people take those applications all the time. If he takes it, he takes it.
If it was, even if it was declined, it is now a legal document and a possession of HSBC (not Best Buy... they just hold it until it can be sent out in the next FedEx shipment). He stole and destroyed a legal document, if that is the case.
The article is a little vague.
Back to PADIAC.
Actually BB is going to file the applications in a file labelled "Crank" and then prohibit your further applications attempts by refusing your entry into the store.
Wow. Best Buy steps on thier crank again. Who woulda thought?