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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Best Buy…WTF?


Best Buy…WTF?


A couple of weeks ago I gave Wells Fargo an atta-boy for catching a scam charge on my credit card from Best Buy.  Wells Fargo saw something fishy and sent me an email request to confirm the charge. I denied it and Wells Fargo removed the charge, stopped my card and issued a new card.

The other day I checked my account and the same Best Buy charge hit again.  It hit on my new card number.  WTF?

I called Wells Fargo, and they contacted Best Buy for me.  Guess what, the charge was legit.  Except it sort of was not legit.

What?

So here is what happened.  A few years ago Best Buy repaired a computer problem, and I also bought a new, cheap PC.  The cheap one was for my music stuff and was downstairs with my guitars.  The repaired one is for all other computer stuff.  Anyway, when I paid for the repair which was like $140, the Geek Squad Geek asked if I wanted the Best Buy purchase insurance.  The insurance cost $213.65.  When he told  me it would also cover the $140 I figured it was a pretty good deal.
 
That was two years ago.

Turns out when I agreed to that contract, I also agreed to it for every year as an automatic charge against my card.  I missed it last year, I don’t always check my card that carefully, or I just accepted it I don’t really remember…I’m old OK.

When the charge was explained to me I told the person that I don’t know what service I purchased EVERY YEAR, but I don’t want it any more.  They agreed to refund the charge and I have an email confirming they will.

Yes, I will look for it.

My complaint is,

Number one: (My best Joe Biden Imitation) The Best Buy Geek, who must get a piece of the action when he sells a contract, should make it clear that the contract renews automatically every year.

Number B: When the charge comes due, Best Buy should send an email asking for confirmation that the service is still wanted.  This charge is $213.  If Someone is not aware it is going to go through, then that charge may cause an overdraft or an embarrassing card denial.  This is a world of high technology, send me an email or a text message for crispy sake!

Number Thirdly: When Wells Fargo turned down the charge and changed my card number, Best Buy went to Visa, and Visa gave them my new card number to bill me.  WTF?  Shouldn’t Visa just tell Best Buy that the old card has been replaced and they should contact their customer (me).  Yes they should, no they didn’t.

So what did that contract get me?  It only cost me $70 for the first year, then $213 that I did not see last year and almost another $213 this year.

Nearly $500 to guarantee repairs on two computers, one two years old the other four years old.  One computer only cost $340.  I also had some internet protection, which I already have through both my cable company and Microsoft.

There are lots of these kinds of scams, just most are for smaller dollar amounts.  A few years ago, Mrs. C went through her VISA bill and discovered around 6 different charges she had agreed to that she did not realize were recurring every month.  Each was for around $5, an amount that is easy to overlook.

Anyway all is straightened out, I hope, but just a warning, when you buy with a card check your bills and beware of automatic recurring charges for services that you may not want.

As they said every week on "NYPD Blue", “Be careful out there!”

12 comments:

  1. I like your Number B idea about sending out an email to see if the service is still wanted. Then again, Best Buy couldn't make nearly as much money off of unsuspecting customers, which is the reason they don't do Number B.

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  2. Sadly lots of companies bank on people forgetting things like that. That is why so many companies do that 30 day free trial. They hope people will forget to cancel it if they realize they don't want the service anymore. I heard Chase Bank has some way to stop this and notify people to see if they want to cancel free trials before charges occur but I don't bank there. Good reminder to check one's bank statements. Glad you are getting your issue resolved.

    Betty

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  3. I agree with you on Number One - the shopkeeper should have explained that it renews automatically each year.

    On Number B - here in the UK the shopkeeper or trader HAS to write to you a month in advance every year warning you that an automatic payment will be due and will be taken from your Credit Card. This gives you the opportunity to cancel the deal if you wish.

    On Number Thirdly - I am astounded that your bank gave the details to the retailer of your new card. If it happened to me I would have changed banks immediately.

    And another thing - here in the UK there's a system allowing you to change banks automatically. You go to your new preferred bank. You give them your details. They contact your old bank and transfer everything over. All your standing orders to various payees like electric company, landlord or whatever, and all money coming in to your account are transferred automatically from one bank to another.

    God bless.

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  4. I've always thought those purchase insurance things were a scam. What surprises me is that Visa would give them your new number? I've never heard of that. Whenever I've had a cc number get canceled for fraud, they always remind me to give the new number to recurring charges.

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  5. Too many of us have been victims of these “guarantees”.

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  6. Bad Best Buy. Magazine subscriptions, even AAA always send out notifications that the renewal is coming up giving me time to cancel. That was a lot of money to charge for a service contract. Glad you got out of it.

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  7. It's a vicious circle at times. I check every charge on my card every single month. Rarely do I find something that isn't mine. I'm happy about that.

    Have a fabulous day, Joe. 😎

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  8. Yeah. There are a lot of slick renewals like that. I too have gotten caught with the five dollar auto renewal plan and I totally forget about them until of course I find them... Ugh.

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  9. Betty is so right, boy does this tick me off--Joe, you shouldn't HAVE to remember! Like Patti said, I was a member of AAA for 25 years and they sent that "Hey we're going to automatically charge you in November..." notice every year. Anyway, thank you for this BestBuy heads-up. I've been looking at a new tv on their site just this past week, glad I'm armed with this info now.

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  10. Just today I saw a $59.95 charge on my pay pal for a car decoration place. I don't buy decorations for my van. So I contested it. They will let me know. You have to really watch out these days. What happened to you has happened to me several times, on warranties and my anti-virus for the computer. They used to send out emails; now they don't. It is fishy! <><

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  11. Yes, they need to warn you in advance. Since i pay Apple for a bit of icloud storage, it's not much per year, they send me an email about two weeks ahead letting me know i will be charged.

    That needs to become standard practice, especially as a big charge like that would indeed cause us to overdraft.

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  12. they should include the note that if consumer wants to continue it or not

    doesn't sound fair to me

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