Did you know that if you request a repair under warranty for an appliance you bought at Best Buy, and the repair isn’t made, then Best Buy will charge you a fee?

We guess this is a non-repair fee, which is an impressive new way to make money.

Last fall, I purchased a Hoover steam carpet cleaner for $170.71 from Best Buy in Fort Collins, CO. It worked properly the first time, but the second and third times failed to suction up water. When I took it back to Best Buy, they refused an exchange because more than 30 days had past. A steam cleaner is hardly like a TV or computer that is used every day. It would have been impossible to know within 30 days that the steam cleaner was not functioning properly. However, several levels of managers culminating in store manager Brandon Pagani refused to consider an exchange.

My only option, according to the Best Buy managers I spoke with, was to have Best Buy send the steam cleaner out for repair. Since the machine was still under warranty, the repair would be free and I have a slip from Best Buy showing an estimate of $0.00 for repair.

However, the repair people (I do not know if they were Best Buy or Hoover people) could not duplicate the problem I had experienced—twice—so they shipped the steam cleaner back to Best Buy unrepaired.

Best Buy informed me that I would have to pay an additional $34.95 to retrieve my steam cleaner since there was no repair. Best Buy’s policy says it can resell the steam cleaner if I do not pay the retrieval fee within 30 days. I have lost $170.71, plus $34.95, for a steam cleaner that only worked once.

(Thanks to Cindy!)

(Photo: Getty)

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