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SuperC182
May 4, 2010
Reimbursement
I am having a major problem with Best Buy, specifically Heidi from their Claims Department(612-291-4486) and manager Dave Costa(203-857-4543) from the store in Norwalk, CT. Long story short, they cause major electrical damage to my car and are refusing to reimburse me for the cost to myself for having it in the shop for three days, about $700. I was recommended to you from an old boss of mine. The issue is detailed below;
In mid-December, my wife bought and had installed a new radio deck/satellite radio system into my car for a Christmas present. Everyone was friendly and helpful, and I could not have been happier.
However, less than a month later, I was driving on a parkway at night and ALL of my lights went out in the car. Everything electronic, EXCEPT the radio ceased working. The radio was functioning properly. You can imagine how scary/dangerous having no lights on a parkway can be.
I took the car to a mechanic to have it checked out and diagnosed. After 3 days without a car and missing a day of work, they figured out that the problem was faulty wiring of the radio unit, by BEST BUY. According to the mechanic, they left old wiring uncapped/untaped hanging behing the radio deck. These live wires touched another wire in the car, shorting out most of the electrical system. Therefore, I feel I am entitled to the $700 worth of labor it took to figure out the problem. I filed a claim with BEST BUY in Norwalk, and was told by Manager Dave Costa that I would be contacted within 3-5 days, that his store accepted full responsibility, and I would receive the check in the mail in 2-3 weeks.
It has been almost 4 months now, and still no reimbursement. I finally tracked down Dave Costa and was told by him that the insurance company has a problem with my claim. According to Dave Costa, they think my claim "is a bit ridiculous", and want to know why I did not go straight back to Best Buy, and why it was for so much money. Strange since he had just accepted full responsibility 3 weeks earlier.
First of all, I understand that Best Buy's insurance company is a separate entity than Best Buy itself(so they say), but they, along with Dave Costa are putting me in defense-mode, when I am the victim. Yes, I did not go to Best Buy initially, but why would I? The radio was working perfectly. The problem could have been a number of things from faulty wiring somewhere else in the car, faulty battery, a short-out, burnt fuses, etc. It just happened to be Best Buy's poor workmanship that caused the loss of power, putting my life at risk. They left two live wires loose and uncovered that caused the problem.
The problem took a while to figure out, and of course I was charged the labor. Initially it was thought the problem was the turn signal switch. But it turned out that the short in the radio caused that switch to be faulty. Not only did the poor workmanship cost me $800, but they also put me at risk, driving with NO LIGHTS at night time in the dark, which is also illegal. This is all combined with the inconvenience and monetary loss of having to miss work and go 3 days without a car! As far and I am concerned, Best Buy is lucky I am only asking for the labor cost, and not for my loss in income as well.
The bottom line is that this is Best Buy's(Norwalk Car-Fi specifically) fault. As a former employee and loyal customer who has spent tens of thousands of dollars at Best Buy, I understand that people make mistakes and accidents do happen. However, what I do NOT appreciate is the lack of responsibility being taken by Best Buy in this issue, basically denying accountability. Also, I am very disgusted with the snotty coarse attitude of Dave Costa, though I do appreciate his help. I have since contacted Heidi and Dave from Best Buy, never receiving a response except once, in which Heidi said; " Look, this is not our problem. The radio worked fine. There is no way a radio would work fine and the rest of the car not. You are not getting reimbursed." This is all after the fact that I submitted ALL Best Buy receipts(proving purchase and installation) and a letter from the mechanic detailing exactly how this happened. Also, Heidi from Best Buy claims first admitted to speaking with the mechanic, then denied it weeks later. She then said "In the past 2 months we have called twice and no one got back to us". Strange considering she had already told me they had spoke about it.(NOT TO MENTION SHE HAS THE DETAILED LETTER). Two calls in 2 months? Really? Even if this was true that is a poor job at customer service. She then went on to tell me "Look, you gotta get this mechanic to talk to us". Excuse me, that is NOT MY JOB, not to mention he did already speak to you.
If there is anything you can do to help, I would greatly appreciate it. I am about to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and may even go as far as small claims court. 700 plus dollars is a lot of money to let get away. I am frustrated and tired of being put on the defense when they dont have a case. What more do they need. They have a letter, spoke to mechanic, claimed responsibility, and still wont pay up? This is down right criminal.
UPDATE: Better Business Bureau contacted, problem will not be resolved. I received this letter below from Brian Nash at Best Buy Headquaters in response to my claim:
Contact Name and Title: Brian Nash
Contact Phone: 612 292 0153
I am Brian with the Executive Resolution Team at Best Buy corporate headquarters.
Dave at our Norwalk store states that Mr. Dobransky came into the store and gave him an invoice from an independent car repair shop for $874.50; of that, $25 was for "shop supplies" and the rest was for labor.
Dave at our store called the owner of the independent shop, who stated that the installation he examined was not a professional install at all, and that wires were exposed and were not capped off.
Best Buy's installation was performed by a senior, experienced installer; Dave doubts that this sounds like work that the store would have done. Dave also says that the shop owner did not say Best Buy's work was necessarily faulty--only that WHOMEVER touched the radio last did faulty work, which may not be Best Buy.
Dave says that he later tried calling the shop owner again to inquire on further information, but the shop owner has not called Dave back.
Dave did submit a damage claim on Mr. Dobransky's request. Our claims department reports that the independent shop has not returned calls from our claims department's 3 attempts to reach them.
Mr. Dobransky, I apologize for your experience, as we value your business and satisfaction. However, while Best Buy stands behind our installation services, our store and our claims department are not currently convinced that the faulty work described was performed by our store. The lack of responses from the independent shop, the fact that the allegedly faulty installation was not presented to the store for examination, and the large amount being claimed are further reasons that your claim has not been approved.
Thank you again for making Best Buy aware of this situation. I hope you will let me know if you have any future questions or concerns.
I sent this letter back in response to him:
Good Morning Brian,
I am writing to let you know that a customer of 10 plus years, who spent eight thousand dollars at your store in 2009 alone, will no longer be shopping at Best Buy ever again. Clearly Best Buy values poor customer service, and poor workmanship. This is the result of the claim below not being resolved properly. As a former employee and extremely loyal customer of Best Buy, this really sucks, but it is your fault.
For the record, the shop total was that high because the car was in the shop for 3 days. Three days of labor is quite expensive. It took them that long to figure out the problem. Also, I did not take the car to Best Buy because the radio seemed to be working OK, plus this happened after Best Buy operating hours. I wouldn't take my car to Best Buy for any automotive problem would I?
"Mr. Dobransky, I apologize for your experience, as we value your business and satisfaction". We both know this statement is bullshit, some retoric you are forced to tell all customers since we are just a number to you and not a person. If your statement above was true you would work something out with me. This is all especially disheartening since that inbred fool Dave Costa, assured me his CarFi dept. was at fault, and I would get reimbursed within three weeks. Also, I have left 5 messages with Dave with no respons. You call that valuing the customer? Over 5 months later and we are still here. Perhaps training employees to NOT talk out of their asses and brush customers off would help your cause. Eight hundred dollars is a lot of money to let go, especially in this economy. Thank you for making the past months so stressful and miserable.
What they are doing is down right criminal! They have this "customer is wrong, but we are always right" mentality. Whats with that? All this, AFTER I was told they were at fault and accepted full responsibility. I am fien with never shopping there again. 2o of my friends joined my cause, but 800 bucks is a lot of money to let go.
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