Reader Ben’s receipt doesn’t match the serial number on his defective PS3, so GameStop and Sony are refusing to repair or exchange it.
This same kind of problem has happened to one of our readers before. It turns out that an employee had inadvertently entered the SKU instead of the serial number on our Reader’s XBOX. He was eventually able to prove that he hadn’t switched the XBOXs, but Ben is having a much more difficult time.
Ben writes:
I am going through a terrible experience with game stop. After finally deciding to make the leap and purchase a PS3 I went to my local game stop in Queens, NY. After purchasing the 80 GB I drove home and eagerly took it out of the box. Much to my dismay I found the video and audio signal weren’t working properly. I called the store and they said bring it back in. I went back to the store(less than an hour later) and they told me that they could not help me because the serial number on the box didn’t match the one on the machine. Employee scam? WTF? So the say sorry, sorry, blah, blah, we are going to investigate this and review the cameras. Whatever. Who checks the serial number before they leave the store? Well apparently we all should. Now it’s been over two weeks and I still have no answer from game stop or the manager…
We suggested he try some of the tips in this post. He wrote back today with an update:
Wow. I am screwed. So, the main customer service for gamestop has now told me that the district manager made his decision (unbeknownst to me) and they have to stand by his decision. This is to not help me in any way, shape, or form. So I figured good old Sony would help me, right? Well they also refuse to help me. Not only will they not exchange my machine, they refuse to even take it for repair because my serial # from the receipt doesn’t match. I really don’t care what my serial # is, I just want a PS3 that works properly for the 500 I spent. Any suggestions?
Ben
We suggest that Ben contact his credit card company and request a chargeback. Once again we are lead to believe that before you exit a store you should check to see that your serial number is correct on the receipt and open the box to make sure what you’re buying is actually inside. Once you leave the store, they’re going to assume that you’re a liar and a crook.
Does anyone else have any suggestions for Ben?
(Photo:Marike79)
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Is there any legal precedent (small claims or w/e)? I get where common sense says the customer should check the serial number and make sure its correct. It just seems, to me, the store bears some responsibility as well…
Well, if the store is going to require that, shouldn’t the store prove they matched at the time of sale?
Chargeback is the best option here. The problem is that it is hard to prove that this is the same product he left the store with. You can switch the item in the parking lot and come back 20 minutes later and say it doesn’t work (or you know, put bathroom tile in it).
It shouldn’t be the customer’s responsibility to check the serial number in the store, prior to walking out. But, I guess we’re left with that burden and mentality now.
@girly: Put that on the credit card dispute. Tell them that if they can prove that the serial number was the one at the time of sale, you’ll bite it.
You could also ask the store for a list of serial numbers that were actually on their stock. You might be able to prove that the number entered at the time of sale wasn’t even a number that they should have had.
What bugs me about these sorts of issues is that the onus always falls on us the consumer.
If he’d paid with a bad check he wouldn’t be able to say “No, that’s not the check I gave you.”
Another thing to try is to call Sony and go through the a manufacturer’s warranty? A complete pain and totally unneccessary, but might be the best way to get satisfaction.
@ad8bc:
Now that would be interesting!
The answer is simple. Simply say that the PS3 was a gift and that he didn’t get a reciept. Problem solved.
@JeffMc: Or to take it a step further, if get my receipt and see that the serial numbers don’t match or if I open the box in the store and see bathroom tile maybe I should be entitled to something like the NSF check charge.
@NoNamesLeft: The serial number on the box still won’t match the system, though.
Every single 80gb is less than a year old (it wasn’t released until august ’07) so they are all therefore in warranty no matter whether you have proof of purchase or not. Speak to Sony again and make it clear that its an 80gb and therefore MUST still be in warranty. I’m sure they will then sort it out.
@masonreloaded: Way to read the whole artice.
so even the manufacturer needs your receipt to do warranty work?
As a Queens resident, I am curious which GS it was, as I’ve had a some problems with certain stores in Queens. I might be able to dig up the district managers number, if I still have it(I should), from my dealings with them in October.
Girly, the problem is with the reciept, not the box. Gift manufacter warranty repairs don’t require a reciept.
@Norbit:
I agree… Also, I don’t blame Gamestop since swapping out broken stuff for newly purshased stuff seems to be the big thing anymore. Places like Costco have had to change their return policies because of these crappy scammers and it pisses me off. One thing though…if they have a way of knowing that the serial number doesn’t match your receipt then Gamestop must be able to track who bought what console and when. Was the serial number on the broken console a previously sold system or was it a system that should still be in inventory? There’s a lot more Gamestop could do but the manager is a bit lazy.
Remember the guy with the dusty PS3?
From [consumerist.com]
==================
I call Customer support who originally tell me that they can do anything because I don’t have the original sales receipt, (it was a GIFT!!!), I stayed on the phone for hours explaining to them that I don’t have thee receipt as it was a gift from my parents. Finally I got a rep who said that it was strange that earlier reps hadn’t let me go through with the exchange as if it was a gift it was policy not to require a receipt. He sent me a box, I boxed up my console and sent it in.
===============
Just say the PS3 was a gift and he won’t have to send in a reciept.
@NoNamesLeft:
I took that to mean the SN on the box didn’t match the SN on the console. Perhaps he meant the SN on the Box didn’t match the SN they recorded?
@girly: box as in packaging, that is
@statnut: Actually, I’m kinda curious as to which GameStop in Queens it is also.
Best answer:
Chargeback..
If you don’t do a charge back call this: 1-800-883-8895.
Open Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (CST); Saturday – Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (CST) .
It’s a direct line to the store issues Customer Service Center.
How about GameStop making it so that the SKU and serial can’t be interchanged? Shouldn’t GameStop’s computer system be able to recognize whether an entered serial number is in fact a valid PS3 serial, and even if it’s one that they have in stock?
@Xehirut: Honestly, they wont do jack. The best they will do is pass it along to a DM. I believe this is the number for the DM that I spoke to back in October(and again in November regarding a problem I had in one of their Astoria stores):973-420-4232. I find it odd that the DM didnt follow up with you personally, and that the CS knew exactly the problem you were talking about.
Also, here is their corporate relations site, could be some useful info there: [www.gamestop.com]
@thomas_callahan: yes, if the Serial number is so important, it should be tracked stock to sale. If not tracked properly it should be the store’s liability.
@thomas_callahan: That is a good idea, but incredibly difficult to implement. To allow for checking the serials in this manner, you would have to program in what a serial looks like from every manufacturer you have in the store. Then, when they change it (notice I didn’t say if?), you have to update it again. Not feasible when talking about a 1,000 stores that have to be updated individually with the new software. Cheaper just to screw the customer.
It sucks for this guy, but it doesn’t sound like the number punched in was the SKU or anything… it IS likely that Ben switched systems. So unless he can prove otherwise it’s hard for gamestop to step in.
Not that this is a scam, but scams like this are run on gamestop all the time. It doesn’t sound like Ben has really made much of a case.
@floydianslip6:
So he’s a liar is what you’re saying. Cause you know, store employees wouldnt dare do something like this.
Hmm, well. Shouldn’t sony replace it since all PS3 sales are less than 1 year old… Does it matter what the serial # really is.
floydianslip6: I took it as the sn on the packaging didn’t match the system inside, which they should have checked at sale time if they wanted to hold him to that (and the person purchasing the item should be shown that they match at the time of sale).
Even most shoe stores or department stores check the size on the box matches the actual shoe size.
Good god why does anyone still shop at GameStop? I’ve never heard a single good thing about that store, and the few times I’ve ever been it’s been a horribly awkward if not downright embarrassing experience. The employees are awful and the customers are worse. I’ve been reading about their used prices too… often only knocking a few dollars (as in 5 or less) off the new price for a used game. I don’t expect everyone to turn to internet shopping but even Best Buy isn’t this bad.
Rant aside, I doubt there’s much he can do. People swap out systems all the time and return them, exactly why a checks like this exists. I’m seeing a lot of comments about receipts and employee error, but I think you’re reading the post wrong…
The box doesn’t match the machine. There was no employee error, no improperly scanned barcode.
@FullFlava: To me the employee/company error is that they seem to have no proof that the box (if that equals packaging) and the machine (if that means the console and not their cash registers) SNs matched in the first place.
@statnut:
Store employees absolutely would do something like this, that’s one of the myriad of reasons I won’t ever shop there. I don’t think anyone’s calling anyone anything here, just considering all the possibilities.
I’m willing to bet the incidence of customers swapping out broken systems and returning them is much, much higher than employees doing it. Not saying the kid’s a liar, but if you take one side of the story like this at face value without considering the other likely possibilities, you’re just as irresponsible as they are for writing him off.
@girly:
Yeah the system’s flawed, but this definitely isn’t a Dreamhost-ish fat finger fuckup. If the systems had been swapped before he took the box home, how did he not notice? It’s not like they just shrink-wrap these things in a manner that’s easy to duplicate in the back room. There are all kinds of seals on the box to prevent this very thing from happening.
I wish the kid the best of luck, but all the evidence works against him. He’s going to have a very tough time proving his case.
@FullFlava:
I believe you’re calling the customer a liar here, when you say “it IS likely that Ben switched systems.”
And considering my dealing with the employees of GS(especially in Queens), yeah I’d totally believe they screwed something up. According to the manager of one store, you dont need the cable that connects the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive to the Xbox 360.
I had the exact same problem (only with best buy) with my defective PS3. Sony wants a copy of your receipt, not the actual receipt, so I just too a photo of it with my digital camera and then used photoshop to blur the serial number into unreadability. The new PS3 arrived promptly. This trick should also work with photoshopping a legible receipt and replacing the serial number on it. I can’t imagine that Sony corporate has access to gamestop’s internal transaction database to check the receipt.
@frieze: I have to think that a chargeback would be better than going that route.
@FullFlava: I wonder if it was sealed. If they are they should probably have a giant “DO NOT PURCHASE IF SEAL IS BROKEN” sticker.
I used to work at GameStop. They have always tracked serial numbers being sold, though until recently (mid-October?) they did not verify that the number was in a valid format for a particular system. As part of that upgrade they also put in warning screens as part of the return process that check where the serial number was sold, and if it wasn’t at GameStop, disallow the return.
@crymson_07: There are about 5,000 stores worldwide. And while it’s not trivial to push out a software update, it’s not like they have to go store-to-store and do it by hand. On top of that, there are only a handful of items in the store where the serial number is even recorded, and they are all gaming systems from three manufacturers. Like I said above, they do now check serial numbers to verify their format.
To the original poster, contact Sony again and tell them it was a gift, and that you don’t have a receipt. I wouldn’t bother pointing out the fact that the 80GB has been out less than a year and therefore must be under warranty, because they will come back with “Well we require the receipt to verify that you purchased it.” In other words, to make sure that it didn’t “fall off the back of a truck”. Make it clear that you only want to get it repaired or exchanged. If that fails, I would follow the chain up through Sony as opposed to GameStop, since I don’t see it likely that GameStop will care enough to do anything about it.
@statnut:
I should have spoken for myself, as I didn’t make that comment, and I can see how you could take it as such. I think it would be better worded as “all the evidence points to Ben switching the system.” Again, I want to make it very clear that I’m not trying to side with or defend GameStop’s actions here, they’re an awful company, but this is one of those stories that raises an eyebrow.
The appropriate resolution for this situation would be for Sony to just fix the damn thing under warranty, since, as other people have pointed out, the 80 gigs haven’t even existed long enough to be out of warranty.
@tubedogg:
The “it was a gift” excuse isn’t going to work, because it wasn’t a receipt error, the box doesn’t match the system inside.
@girly:
I haven’t bought any electronics over a couple hundred dollars that weren’t sealed with something that permanently damages the box once removed. It would be immediately obvious that the box had been opened unless Sony somehow forgot to put decent package security on one of their flagship products.
@FULLFLAVA
You don’t have to send it in with the box it came with. Duh.
@frieze:
I missed this comment earlier. Are you actually advocating fraud as a way to resolve this?
@NoNamesLeft:
I’m not sure I understand what you’re referring to. Jeeze I’m commenting up a storm here… slow day at work
@NoNamesLeft: I figured that for sending it in it doesn’t make a difference, but I would assume the store would think it strange if you didn’t bring the box.
I guess this tells you how many times I’ve needed warranty repairs on something I bought (never!).
@FullFlava:
How many stories have popped up over the last few months about this kind of thing happening(ie buying a box of tiles)? Frankly, given my dealings with GS, I’d rather side with the customer than them.
@FullFlava: “I think it would be better worded as “all the evidence points to Ben switching the system.” “
Really? Because I can read the same evidence and deduce that a store employee had a bad PS3 and did a quick “repair exchange” with their store inventory figuring some poor sap would have to deal with it.
You see scammers are scammers because it’s easier to scam than to go through the system. Why would Ben be taking the trouble of going back to Gamestop, calling Sony, and even writing to a consumer website for advice if he’s just trying to scam a PS3 *repair*? It makes no sense, this is more effort than if he just went through normal channels. A real scammer would just keep trying to do the exchange at other electronics stores until they got someone who fell for it.
I’m sorry but if Game Stop is so stupid not to recognize that under model number it reads the SKU number, which is the same for every PS3 sold in there store (and I’ve worked at both Game Stop and a BBY after a while you have SKU’s memorized) they should be able to understand the problem.
Can the guy send in a photocopy of the receipt?
The ridiculous part is that aren’t all of the 80GB ps3s still under warranty? What possible difference does it make whether it matches up or not?
What does gamestop think the angle is here? He bought a ps3 that he knew was bad across town, just to force the evil gamestop to take the hit and give him a working one? Who the hell would do that?
@jtheletter: How do you know what a real scammer would do? Maybe a real scammer would write into a consumer-advocate website like this one hoping to generate enough good will that gamestop and sony would be shamed into taking back the PS3 he stole.
Not to say that this is the case here, but he’s going to have a really hard time proving otherwise.
I thought game systems had a window in the box so that you could scan the code that was on the actual system, rather than what the box said.