[oreopug]

I made a post under the Successful Best Buy SE thread and felt that I should make another thread documenting the progress of my DNA.

I have an aged account with one order. The item that I am SEing is $450 racing wheel which was ordered during the holiday season.

1st interaction with best buy was through the customer service chat after 2 days of the package being delivered.

I told them that when I checked my door that the package was not there (On fedex tracking a photo of the package is shown in front of my door).
They asked if I checked around the house and asked neighbors and I said that I have and there was no package.

They offered to reship the item and I declined and requested a refund since I needed the money to buy another present quickly since Christmas is tomorrow.
They said ok and escalated the case with the refund department.

2nd interaction after 3 days, I contacted them to update me on the refund through the chat.
They said that there is a refund and that it is being processed through the original payment method and "it will be reflected in my account in the next billing cycle"

3rd interaction still no refund and this was more than a week after the 2nd interaction (wanted to be patient and not spam for updates).
Through chat again I asked for an update and they said the refund is processing and once confirmed they will update me in the next 24 - 48 hours. They also provided me with a case ID.

After 48 hours I received an email saying that the investigation was completed and they cannot issue a refund.
Since the deadline for returns was getting closer I checked the forum and found the thread Successful Best Buy SE and saw that someone received the same email and that calling directly worked for them.

4th interaction I called bestbuy and talked to an overseas representative. I did not mention the email (idk if this was a mistake?) but asked for an update regarding my refund since I did not receive it after 24 - 48 hours. I also gave them the case number and they said they will escalate the situation and update me again in 24 - 48 hours.

However, the date to return the item is in 2 days so I decided to call again the next day and mention the email.

5th interaction I called bestbuy in the morning (cant tell if the rep was from my country), mentioned the email and asked why the investigation did not go through. They said that fedex denied the claim and said the package was delivered. The next step is to re-escalate the case, directly talk to fedex and contact local authorities. They will update me max 72 hours.

Now I am waiting again.

Should I take the risk and wait for an update or return the item?

[kyungchul]

I made a post under the Successful Best Buy SE thread and felt that I should make another thread documenting the progress of my DNA.

I have an aged account with one order. The item that I am SEing is $450 racing wheel which was ordered during the holiday season.

1st interaction with best buy was through the customer service chat after 2 days of the package being delivered.

I told them that when I checked my door that the package was not there (On fedex tracking a photo of the package is shown in front of my door).
They asked if I checked around the house and asked neighbors and I said that I have and there was no package.

They offered to reship the item and I declined and requested a refund since I needed the money to buy another present quickly since Christmas is tomorrow.
They said ok and escalated the case with the refund department.

2nd interaction after 3 days, I contacted them to update me on the refund through the chat.
They said that there is a refund and that it is being processed through the original payment method and "it will be reflected in my account in the next billing cycle"

3rd interaction still no refund and this was more than a week after the 2nd interaction (wanted to be patient and not spam for updates).
Through chat again I asked for an update and they said the refund is processing and once confirmed they will update me in the next 24 - 48 hours. They also provided me with a case ID.

After 48 hours I received an email saying that the investigation was completed and they cannot issue a refund.
Since the deadline for returns was getting closer I checked the forum and found the thread Successful Best Buy SE and saw that someone received the same email and that calling directly worked for them.

4th interaction I called bestbuy and talked to an overseas representative. I did not mention the email (idk if this was a mistake?) but asked for an update regarding my refund since I did not receive it after 24 - 48 hours. I also gave them the case number and they said they will escalate the situation and update me again in 24 - 48 hours.

However, the date to return the item is in 2 days so I decided to call again the next day and mention the email.

5th interaction I called bestbuy in the morning (cant tell if the rep was from my country), mentioned the email and asked why the investigation did not go through. They said that fedex denied the claim and said the package was delivered. The next step is to re-escalate the case, directly talk to fedex and contact local authorities. They will update me max 72 hours.

Now I am waiting again.

Should I take the risk and wait for an update or return the item?

Only you can decide if the risk is worth it or not. No one can know if you will fail or receive your refund at this point - you'll have to wait for that response from Best Buy.

If you cannot afford to be stuck with the item out of pocket, your option is to return the item and try again later - either with Best Buy using all fresh info, or with another company that offers the same/similar merchandise - or file a chargeback and provide proof that Best Buy promised you a refund on numerous occasions only to later go back on their word, and hope that you win. (In my experience, you have a good chance of successfully winning a chargeback, but you have to be willing to take that chance, and go through the effort to do that.)

If you can afford to potentially pay out of pocket, and don't want to return the item, then by all means wait and see what they say. Continue to reach out via chat and phone, escalate further, perhaps push them on social media and through a BBB complaint - these things may do nothing, but sometimes help when coupled with continuous attempts at contact and escalation.

I have had refunds from Best Buy succeed even after similar events to what you're experiencing here - promised a refund a few times, then later denied, eventually did receive it after continued pressure - but I've also had failures with them along these same lines. Really depends on your own finances and what you're willing to have spent here.

[mothered]

Should I take the risk and wait for an update or return the item?

There's no risk Involved.

You've got nothing to lose by waiting for their reply, so do exactly that.

[oreopug]

Contacted Bestbuy today asking for an update on the investigation. They did not mention it but said that I will receive an email confirmation for the refund and it will be processed in the next billing cycle. Return period has already ended but I will continue to pressure them.

Thank you for the advice will continue to provide updates.

[SteezyDubz]

I had this thought where reps are most likely to approve of a refund/reshipment depending where you live. So if you are in the city or high traffic area its a higher chance for you , and if you live in low traffic ghost town then its less likely. Unrelated to the post but just a random thought.

[mothered]

Contacted Bestbuy today asking for an update on the investigation. They did not mention it but said that I will receive an email confirmation for the refund and it will be processed in the next billing cycle.

^ This Is a prime example of why I keep suggesting to contact the company asking where your claim stands.

They've mentioned the refund email confirmation, which you now have to your advantage.

Thank you for the advice

You're most welcome.

[oreopug]

Update:

Contacted Bestbuy through chat again, looks like the representatives I talked with over telephone lied about the ref and the person who I talked to in chat said that I will need to contact the courier (FedEx) or contact local authorities. I don't really know who to believe now since they have been bringing me left and right.

If I contact FedEx what are the steps? Will the delivery guy get in trouble? Will they also ask for a p r ?

[GHnoob90210]

Update:

Contacted Bestbuy through chat again, looks like the representatives I talked with over telephone lied about the ref and the person who I talked to in chat said that I will need to contact the courier (FedEx) or contact local authorities. I don't really know who to believe now since they have been bringing me left and right.

If I contact FedEx what are the steps? Will the delivery guy get in trouble? Will they also ask for a p r ?

I wonder if you ask them politely if they will consider just shipping a replacement like they originally offered so you can avoid all this back and forth. It's a;ways a fall back option.

[kyungchul]

Update:

Contacted Bestbuy through chat again, looks like the representatives I talked with over telephone lied about the ref and the person who I talked to in chat said that I will need to contact the courier (FedEx) or contact local authorities. I don't really know who to believe now since they have been bringing me left and right.

If I contact FedEx what are the steps? Will the delivery guy get in trouble? Will they also ask for a p r ?

I have had similar happen in the past with Best Buy - though in my case, it was because I was attempting to double dip, on something that I really should've just taken the initial refund on and considered myself lucky, in fairness.

I was promised a refund, told it was being processed and to watch for it in my bank, given the line about billing cycles, etc.

A day passes and I still don't get any email verifying a refund was processed, and no refund had shown up yet, so I continued to check back in over the next few days, and was told numerous times that yes, a refund was absolutely approved/processed/being sent, just be patient.

More days pass, and I finally get an email... stating that they cannot process a refund, I received my order, etc.
Great.

Write in again, referencing exact times/dates of prior chats, the names of representatives, quoting where they promised a refund, etc. - they wouldn't budge. Couldn't get anyone to budge via chat/phone, and kept getting the "Well, what that representative told you was incorrect. I'm sorry that you received wrong information but we will not be processing a refund." (They don't care if they "lied" to you prior, it would seem.)

Soon after, the return period on the item had passed, and I was about to be stuck with an almost $800 item I did not want to pay for.
I filed a BBB complaint, pestered them on social media, sent them an online police report - at their request - and opened a claim with UPS, which I "won" - UPS determined "the package was lost or cannot be located" - and they still wouldn't budge.

I considered filing a chargeback but instead resold the item at cost locally, which was a bit of a hassle, but better than the alternatives.

This doesn't really "help" you at all, but figured I'd share my experience. Hopefully you get a better outcome.

Do not bother with a police report at this stage, in my opinion.
At least to me, it seems that right now they're not saying "contact the authorities, obtain a police report, and we will refund you."
They're saying, "We are not refunding you, so you can contact the carrier or local authorities to deal with the lost/stolen package. It's in your hands now."

I would attempt to get further clarification as to whether or not contacting FedEx or obtaining a police report would lead to a refund or not - but be prepared that they may lie to you again, and clearly have no qualms doing so.

If you were to contact FedEx, you would be attempting to open a claim for a lost/not delivered package. Whether you can open a claim or whether the business needs to do it will depend - sometimes the merchant has to do it, I've encountered both situations - and from there, an investigation would be opened. You can read about carrier investigations in the SE-ing blog, but I'm assuming you know how that all goes.
I have never been asked by a carrier to obtain a police report, but don't want to misspeak and assume that's always the case - do your research first, and decide how far you're willing to take this/how far you want it to potentially go.

It wouldn't hurt to continue to try to address this with Best Buy - ask to escalate, speak with supervisors/managers, continue to refer to prior conversations where a refund was promised, etc.
Be stern but appear cooperative and kill with kindness where you can, but continue to sternly remind the representative that you were promised a refund, you did not receive your order, and you will continue to escalate until this is resolved.

Good luck!

[noobcake89]

This doesn't really "help" you at all, but figured I'd share my experience. Hopefully you get a better outcome.

I know this thread is several months old but I thought I'd add my experience on as well.

Same as yours. For some reason, when your DNA fails their investigation, the representatives still tell you the refund will process. They continue this for weeks until your item is passed the return window, only then will they decide to tell you that the investigation team rejected the refund request.

That part annoyed me the most. I took the L and did plan to use the item either way. The also black listed my address.
To be fair, I did hit them quite a few times, I did not know about address jigging at the time. So my arrogance in thinking they wouldn't catch on was the down fall of me.

But they definitely are on some BS with their "delaying" method.

I can only imagine how much worse this would be for an actual consumer.. but hey, that's what credit cards are for!