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Best Buy Sells Egregiously Crappy, 9-Year-Old Hard Drive As New, Then Refuses Refund [Customer Service]

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Best Buy customer Jon bought a brand-new Western Digital hard drive for store pickup, but when he opened the (sealed) package at home, he found a 30GB, near-decade-ancient product instead. Best Buy’s reaction? “Tough luck.”

Instead of the nice, new Western Digital VelociRaptor he prearranged, Jon received an ancient 30GB Quantum Fireball, a product discontinued by Maxtor nine years ago. Best Buy told Jon that WD must have packaged the oddball drive, and he must take it up with them. He stayed in the store and was shunted back and forth between Western Digital’s and Best Buy’s customer benefit lines, with nobody willing to refund his $225. Said Jon:

Finally, I spoke to a third-level Customer Benefit rep, who told me nothing could be done in view of the fact that ‘it is Western Digital’s responsibility’, but the best he could do would be to offer me a gift card for half the value of the drive (the total hold price was $225). I told him this was unacceptable, and that all I sought after was either the actual drive I had (tried) to hold, or a refund so I could buy it elsewhere. He told me that was ‘not vacant to take place’. I told him that Best Buy was, in effect, stealing my money, to which he answered ‘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.

He’s currently working through his credit card company to get his money back, but it’s looking like he might have to take Best Buy to small claims court (!).

Best Buy has been known in the past to package clearly used, out of the ordinary items as new, but this is taking it to a whole new level of abhorrent customer benefit. [Consumerist]