Best Buy Sells 9-Year-Old Discontinued Hard Drive As Brand New Western Digital, Refuses Refund
Jon spent $250 on a Western Digital VelociRaptor but what he received from Best Buy was a Quantum Fireball, a discontinued hard drive that hasn't been sold for nine years. Best Buy, of course, took no responsibility for the odd swap, and said that Western Digital must have accidentally sold a competitor's discontinued drive. Western Digital, of course, said that a Best Buy employee stole Jon's hard drive. We've seen this happen before with Best Buy, and Jon has made it clear that he knows how to bite back...
Jon writes:
Last week, I purchased a Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive on bestbuy.com for in-store pickup. After receiving the confirmation email, I drove approximately 1 hour to the store I had selected (the closest store to me), picked up my drive, and returned home. When I opened the package (it was sealed), I was shocked and dismayed to find that instead of the VelociRaptor, there was a 9 year old 30GB Quantum Fireball (a drive not even made anymore). I immediately called the store and spoke to someone in customer service, explained what happened, and was told 'no problem, just bring it back and we'll exchange it'.Feeling a little better, I made another hour-long trip to the store, where I presented the bogus drive to the Customer Service desk. I explained what had happened to the girl working at the counter. She took the drive, and disappeared for nearly ten minutes. Finally, the Customer Service Manager ("John") came out to tell me that they could not exchange the drive, and that I would need to take the issue up with Western Digital. He explained that since the drive was sealed when I purchased it, that 'means that it came like that directly from Western Digital', and Best Buy had no obligation to make it right. I told him that there was no way Western Digital could have sent this drive, as it was not even one of theirs (Quantum is owned by Maxtor, and this drive hasn't been manufactured for over 8 years). He maintained that there was nothing he could do, instead he put a sticky note with Western Digital's phone number on the box and handed it back to me.
While I knew Western Digital would take no responsibility for this, I decided to play along, and asked if I could call them on his phone in the store so he could talk to them. I spent the next half hour speaking with various representatives at Western Digital, all of whom told me the same thing: this was Best Buy's responsibility, and they would not replace the drive. I then asked to speak to John's supervisor, however he told me that there was 'no one higher than him' in the store, and if I had a complaint I would have to call their corporate number. Again, I picked up his phone and called. I spent another 45 minutes speaking to a number of people at Best Buy (all the while ensuring he stayed there with me to tell his side of the story). Finally, I spoke to a third-level Customer Service rep, who told me nothing could be done since 'it is Western Digital's responsibility', however the best he could do would be to offer me a gift card for half the value of the drive (the total purchase price was $225). I told him this was unacceptable, and that all I wanted was either the actual drive I had (tried) to purchase, or a refund so I could buy it elsewhere. He told me that was 'not going to happen'. I told him that Best Buy was, in effect, stealing my money, to which he replied 'yep, that's basically right'. I told "John" that I would be filing a police report and pursuing help from my credit card company, and left.
Since then I have been working with MasterCard to get the issue resolved. I am waiting to hear back from them, however I wanted to let you know that this is still going on (I remember a similar story several years ago about a couple who purchased a hard drive and instead received a box full of bathroom tiles). I am outraged that this company is allowed to continue to sell counterfeit products to customers, and then refused to help them out. They have stolen $225 from me, and their attitude is that they couldn't possibly care less.
I realize that there are steps you can take as a consumer to help mitigate these risks-open the box at the store before you leave, etc., but this is not always convenient (and not easy to remember), plus I should not have to go out of my way to protect myself from being scammed by a company of this size.
I am hoping that my credit card company will reverse the charge. Otherwise, I will be forced to take Best Buy to Small Claims Court.
Opening the box inside the store is the only the way to guarantee that you have the right product. If you take your the box home and discover an unwanted surprise, file a police report in case you end up in small claims court, and immediately file a chargeback with your credit card company.
PREVIOUSLY: Best Buy Sells You A Box Of Bathroom Tiles Instead Of Hard Drive, Won't Issue Refund
UPDATE: Amex Slaps Best Buy, Obtains Refund For Reader's Box Of Tile Hard Drive
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Comments:
@RudeandRude: Don't feel bad, at first glance, I thought Best Buy sold a nine year old. This is a helpful reminder to open products before leaving.
This situation is very improbable so I can see why BB is giving John a hard time.
If the box was actually sealed then something very strange is going on. I would speculate that this item was once before sold and returned. The previous customer scammed BB and it was returned to inventory as "sealed"
BB's history has shown they have no problem selling any merchandise as new, never mind a sealed box.
A BB Employee also could very well have made the switch. A shrink wrap machine creates a factory looking seal in seconds!
Either way this is what credit cards are for and he should win a chargeback and not even bother wasting hundreds of hours callin BB.
I believe in the path of least resistance.
Here is the issue: This feels like a scam. I would say that it seems a bit far fetch that best buy (employee or company) would do this. And if it was sealed (factory) then it is Western Digital issue, best buy is not the MFG. Yes, best buy can help but they are not obligated. This is a Western Digital issue.
The truth is that this feels like a scam and even if it is not it needs to be look at and not a instant refund. You do not think scams happen that much - see you at the next atm skimmer!
I believe the OP, but these are very difficult situations for the store, the customer, the police...
Everyone.
It could be that an employee stole the item and repackaged it. It could be that another customer bought the item and repackaged it. It could be that the customer made up the story.
Consumerist's advice is on the mark: if you buy an expensive item, open the box immediately.
That being said, BestBuy's response is absurd. Of all the scenarios, an employee of the manufacturer did not steal the drive, replace it with a competitor drive and then ship it to your store. This response clearly shows that BestBuy is trying to waste the customer's time.
I should share a couple of good stories regarding this issue. About 6 months ago I bought a PC game from a Gamestop (Peekskill, NY). When I got home, there were 2 CD-R (blank) inserted where the game should have been. I called the Gamestop and they said to come in for a full refund. No questions asked.
Just 2 weeks ago I went into Walmart (Union, NJ) to buy a PS3 game (MLB: The Show). When I got home, there was no CD in the game case. All the manuals were there, but no game. I called WalMart and the assistant manager was very apologetic. I felt that there was some disbelief on her end (probably righfully so) and I asked her to open up another game from the shelves. She opened the only 4 games that were remaining and none of them had the game inside. She said to come in for a refund, and I got my money back.
>>When I opened the package (it was sealed)
This is an odd statement. In my experience, retail drives are packaged in a box covered by shrink wrap (usually containing the manufacturer's logo). If this drive was surrounded by shrink wrap, I hope the OP saved all of it because if it matched Worst Buy's backend shrinkwrapper then there's some serious fraud happening here on their part. If the shrinkwrap was indeed Western Digital's then they would be the ones to pursue.
Something does seem odd about this story, though it's mitigated by the fact it happened at Worst Buy....
Jake: [fakes accent] How much for the little girl? How much for the women?
Father: What?
Jake: Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children.
This is why I buy my big ticket purchases with a credit card. This is fraud and the OP should file both a police report and a charge back. I might be wrong but is Best Buy on the hook even if the manufacture screwed up the shipment?
I'll never buy a thing at Best Buy. I may stop in now and then to look around if I'm bored, but that's it.
@Michael Stanley: Bull crap. The Best Buy employees have access to a shrink wrap machine and regularly use it to re-seal opened merchandise.
I used to work there.
Check the drive for data from the prior owner. If there is anything on it, perhaps it can be used to trace it back to the nefarious Best Buy employee that may have put it in there.
@Michael Stanley: Because of course Best Buy doesn't have shrink-wrap machines in the back, so they can re-seal something that's been opened and tampered with.
Oh, wait. They do.
Just like most retailers. Whether they admit it or not, or whether there's anyone there who knows how to work it or not, most medium to big box retailers have a roll of shrink wrap and a sealer and a heat gun somewhere on site. Even if they don't they're not hard to come by.
But, I'll go along and say that maybe this was a manufacturer error, and maybe someone at Western Digital managed to smuggle in a 9 year old Maxtor hard drive and swap it with a new drive somewhere along the assembly line. We'll assume that there are no bag checks going into or out of the hard drive factory. We'll even assume that there are humans doing any part of this process, even though odds are there aren't.
Even going out this far on a ledge, Best Buy still sold him the product, still warrants the product on the shelf as saleable and as the product advertised. Not only that, but they have mechanisms in place to return damaged/defective merchandise to the manufacturer that consumers do not.
So even if all of the above were true, and it were a manufacturer error/mistake/fraud, BB would still be the responsible party here.
They owe the customer his money back, or the product he intended to buy.
I think this a Western Digital Issue, I had the same issue with a "SEALED" new box, the drive was even in a Sealed Anti-Static bag. Western Digital needs better quality control.
@carthis:
While it's obvious that someone switched the drive, it's just as likely that someone bought the drive, switched them out, resealed it, and returned it.
And it is not impossible for someone to buy something and then claim that they opened it and found something else. I'm not accusing the OP in this case of doing that, but I can understand why the store isn't eager to give every customer the benefit of the doubt.
ive had a 25 dollar gift card for best buy for about a year. Ive made several purchases of items they are selling but yet ive never once felt i should go in there and buy something. Its not worth it. Id much rather buy online.
Western digital boxes use a clear circle tape on the box and then there is a plastic statis bag the drive comes in. That static bag takes fingerprints like a champ.
@madanthony: I understand what you're saying about maybe the OP is trying to pull a fast one on Best Buy, but seriously, why would you go through all this trouble and send it to Consumerist and make such a big deal about it if you're trying to scam a corporate giant for like $250? It just doesn't make sense.
@Carey:
"Opening the box inside the store is the only the way to guarantee that you have the right product."
Agreed this is a good idea, but if Best Buy will not even honor their own in store warranty, what are the chances they would still tell you to call WD using your suggestion?
Should have purchased from NewEgg.
Now for the Best Buy perspective, we have people try this all the time. People will bring in older products in boxes of new product trying to pull a fast one on us.
Thing is, we don't always catch everything, and believe it or not, some customers can get a hold of a shrink wrap machine.
BB should make this right, but at first glance, this could easily come across as just another person trying to pull a fast one.
FYI, Best Buy employee here.
Old hard-drive without a buckets o' cum DVD? Man, Best Buy isn't even giving out consolation prizes anymore.
@twophrasebark: No, they're trying to cover their ass and, if the quotes are accurate, are doing it with textbook customer-service dickishness: e.g. there's "no one higher than [me, the customer service manager]" and "yep, [we're basically stealing your money]"*. Wasting the customer's time is just a side effect.
* Quibble: I have a hard time believing that third-level support would be that poorly versed in how to deal with an aggrieved customer.
@rubyfrog: Who knows what kind of depravity is contained on that hard drive? Seriously, it could be anything...
Articles like this are why a local Best Buy cashier got to watch me cut open the box of a DVD player I bought on tuesday. Once I verified that there was in fact the correct model of player in there, and that it was in fact a DVD player at all, I thanked her politely and left with my purchase. And yes, this was after she handed me back change, so it was mine at that moment. She was not inclined to believe that anyone could re-seal a box.
A Toshiba XDE-500, for those interested.
I am Best Buy. Do I want to anger a good customer and garner bad publicity because I might be right OR do I want to make the customer happy, not get bad publicity because I know refunding is the right thing to do for my valued customer?
Nope, I am a big company and I can do any damn thing I like, especially since Circuit City shut down. Screw the customer. Only if you make it more expensive for me to NOT do the right thing will my tough mask crack.
@randygbk: This was my first thought too. Best Buy employee scammers are not known for being the brightest bulbs in the pack: Best Buy Sells Busted Cam As New, Blames You. Oops! Employee Pix!
No way could the OP have scammed Best Buy.
It clearly says, "purchased a Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive on bestbuy.com for in-store pickup". The theory that someone within the best buy warehouse could have stolen the real drive and re-sealed with the fake one is plausible. And of course there would be a shrink wrap machine in the warehouse just in case of any tears while shipping.
Best Buy has the 300Gb VelociRaptor for $257.99 on their website.
Newegg has the same drive for $229.00 with a $20 rebate.
Please don't buy things from Best Buy. It only encourages them.
@savdavid:
totally agree with you.
Becuase of best buys stupidity/stubborness
there are good companies out there like
newegg and tigerdirect.
imo newegg > tiger
@MyPetFly: Amen. I honestly have to question the intelligence of shoppers who even visit these places, and, moreover, why Best Buy is somehow recession proof while stores like Circuit City and CompUSA weren't.
There have been, what, 4 or 5 stories in the past 2 months about Best Buy employees literally stealing things and then selling them as new?
Best Buy? More like Best Lie.
I used to work in the tech bay at Best Buy. I remember customer service asking me to approve the return of a video card. I checked the box and it was sealed with shrink wrap. This was a high end card at the time (nVidia TI series). As soon as I picked up the sealed box, I felt that something was not right. The shrink wrap felt different. I opened the box there and noticed some else that was fishy, the Mylar bag that the card comes in was sealed. I know that nVidia & ATI never seal, they just fold the Mylar over and put a sticker. It looked like it was sealed with a potato chip bag sealer and was uneven. I opened the Mylar and checked the card... EVEN the TI info sticker was re-attached to that card (with glue). The circuits on the board clearly stated that the card was a Ge-Force 2!!! I told the guy that we could not accept this and he just quietly gathered everything and left the store.
Why is it that of the millions of transactions that take place in a best buy weekly we only see maybe one or two that is really bad on Best Buy's part? Could it be perhaps that they're not actually the big bad jerks they're made out to be? Could it be that humans make mistakes and there are a few stupid managers out there?
You never really hear when Best Buy or anybody else does something really awesome for the customer. If you did I can assure you that the good storys would probably outweigh the bad.
Not saying you shouldn't protect yourself as a consumer, but, c'mon..
i will say this is a big problem within the comany; I work for BBY and they harp on the idea of what they refer to as "rocks-in-box"; People go to great lengths to repackage items that are old or not a similar item at all in an attempt to return for the purchase price and keep the item; I personally see at least one attempt a day.
So the big bad empire may not be out to get you; It very well could be a pure mistake in that the person ripping of BBY did a good enough job that nobody noticed until the box was re-opened.
@Michael Stanley: Uh, no. Best Buy sold him a Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive. It doesn't matter if a customer swapped it, if an employee did, or if a WD employee did it. Best Buy sold him a VelociRaptor; they gave him some ridiculous Quantum Fireball. If Best Buy thinks WD did it, then they can take it up with them.
It is TOTALLY not the customer's problem here. Let BB take it up with Western Digital if they really think WD did it.
@TEW: Agreed. If they're going to be douches, then file a police report on their asses. It's theft. He paid for a VelociRaptor and got some 9-year-old Fireball.
@MyPetFly: Yeah, I only go there to look. And sometimes I'll go on the display computers and open a Consumerist story about them.
At least he didn't buy a Linksys router with a bag of dirt in the box and "puto" written on the bag with a Sharpie.
This is the 3rd story of the same kind I've read about Best Buy on here, and yet they're losing the WCIA battle against Walmart? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Is this easily remedied by having someone pull the data off the hard drive to see the most recent date on some of the files, as well as have information pulled on to who formerly owned the drive?
www.newegg.com
This is a redoux of the old "brick in the box" trick which - if BB kept halfway accurace records - could be traced through inventory, sales and security video records.
Someone (either a BB employee or a dishonest customer who had access to a shrink wrap machine) took out the new drive, replaced it with a clunker, rewrapped the box and it ended up back in stock.
The clue is the serial # printed on the box. BB should be scanning and recording it at the point of sale. If the drive had been previously sold and returned, BB's loss prevention staff needs to put the person who returned it on their watch list. If not, they'll pull the same scam at the same location as long as they can get away with it (technically, BB can't have them arrested; they'll claim they accidentally placed their old hard drive in the box instead of the new one).
If the serial # did not show the drive as being previously sold, BB should have at least one CCTV camera recording everything that happens around their shrink wrap machine. Loss prevention needs to review the video archive for this camera - if it's a dishonest employee there will be more old products showing up in new boxes at that store (I've seen this happen).
Finally, BB's return staff should be opening EVERY returned item and verifying the model and serial #s match the box. Speaking with 10+ years of retail experience, an old product that "accidentally" ends up in the new packaging happens more often than most people realize.
@Blinky987: I'm sorry that I type like a buffoon on here approximately twenty percent of the time. I'm a lazy commenter. =(
@randygbk: Dammit, I missed this post. I made a similar one. Just posting to re-affirm this idea. I think this is the best course of action right now.
@warf0x0r: I get all my hard drives at Newegg too. After reading that bathroom tile story I stopped making any major computer related purchases at Best Buy.
@Cocoa Vanilla: I can't tell you how many times I had customers come into CompUSA when I worked there with 10GB drives in a box and tried to return them as the 100+GB drive that the box was for.
Now, how do we know the OP wasn't the one who tried switching the drives, and when unsuccessful, hoped that some bad publicity for BB would get him a refund anyway. Sure, it's just as possible that someone before him returned the drive and BB resold it to him, but how can we tell who did it and who's the scammer?
Am I the only one that thought the hard drive was sold to a 9-year old kid by the look of the title?
:Feeling dumb:
Does anyone believe in keeping customers happy anymore?