Best Buy's System Insists I Don't Know My Own Address, Ships TV To Wrong House

As someone who has previously lived on a street with a name that looks like an error, I understand some of the pain felt by Consumerist reader Drew, who had to correct the address on his Best Buy delivery several times — and still ended up having his new TV shipped to the wrong address.

On Monday, Drew visited a nearby Best Buy to purchase a TV. He was given two options for delivery — either pay for same-day delivery or save $70 and have it sent by UPS. Choosing to save the bucks, Drew opted for the latter.

“The guy at Best Buy who was writing up my order took down my address, but the Best Buy computer kept auto-correcting the street name (“Sansom” to “Salmon”) and zip code,” writes Drew. “He showed me the screen to make sure he was spelling it right.”

When the store rep finally appeared to have gotten the address entered correctly, he showed the screen to Drew, who approved it.

But…

“When I got home, I looked at the receipt and the incorrect address was listed as the fulfillment address for shipment,” says Drew. “I called Best Buy customer service immediately, but the woman on the other end swore that they only had the correct address in their system, and that the TV would be delivered there. I asked several times to make sure she wasn’t missing anything, but each time she said that the correct address was in the system.”

After the TV shipped, Drew received an e-mail with the UPS tracking info. But when he called UPS with the info, his worst suspicions were confirmed: His TV was being sent to the wrong address.

“I called Best Buy customer service again, and again they swore that it was going to the correct address,” Drew tells Consumerist. “I insisted that they call UPS themselves. They did, and finally they confirmed that it was going to the wrong address. But they also confirmed that they couldn’t do anything to change the delivery now that it was sent out. It made no difference that I had called about the exact same problem two days ago in order to pre-empt this!”

Best Buy told Drew his only option is to call UPS in the morning and hope they can get a call out to the driver to cancel the delivery.

“Best Buy won’t do this for me, and there is no guarantee the shipment can be redirected on time,” he says. “To make things worse, the Best Buy customer service agent told me that the TV would be left on the porch without requiring a signature. I specifically asked at the Best Buy store if a signature would be required, and the rep there told me that it would.”

He also checked to see if a house exists at the incorrect address and yes, one does. “So it’s very possible that someone there will be getting a free TV tomorrow, and Best Buy won’t do anything about it,” he says.

It gets better:

“They said the best they can do is file a stolen item report if the item is delivered to the wrong address. They offered me no other options, and the only reassurance they gave me is that I will be able to receive a replacement in about 4 weeks (after all claims have been filed). This is seriously frustrating, and I don’t think I’ll be buying anything I can’t take with my own hands from Best Buy again.”

A lot of Consumerist readers would probably suggest that you never buy anything from Best Buy ever again. But we would certainly tell you that if you’re going to get something delivered by UPS/FedEx anyway, definitely look into buying at an online retailer as these companies are usually much more adept at shipping — and are often less expensive.

As for Drew, we are recommending he attempt a chargeback with his credit card company, as Best Buy has admitted to making an error and is doing nothing to remedy the situation. He should not have to pay for a product that is knowingly being delivered to the wrong person.

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