Another Best Buy Complain, Beware

[flyin-lowe]

I didn't buy any camera gear at Best Buy but I recently became the victim of very corrupt and shady business practices. They said they are going to correct it but in my mind this is a blatant attempt to scam people. Here is what happened.

Last year I bought a TV with same as cash financing. Every month I made payments as I knew that if it was not paid off the interest would be charged to me. Well here is what they do. Right at the top of my statement it said "A payment amount of $xxx.xx is due to avoid paying deferred interest charges". I paid a few dollars over that amount as I still had a little bit of a balance on the card that was not part of the same as cash offer. Anyway when you make your last payment to pay of a same as cash promotion the amount of the promotion DOES NOT count toward your minimum payment for that month. My statement showed the minimum payment due for the month is $25.00. So what they did was take $25.00 of the amount I paid and apply it toward the minimum balance due and so I was $25.00 short of paying off my promotion. So I had almost $200.00 of interest added to my account. Of course I called and raised all kinds of hell and was told that if I send them another $25.00 they will take off the interest. The guy told me to go back and look at my statement and it does say below that the payment to pay off my promotion will not count toward my minimum payment. This is a total scam and there is only one reason they would do this, to confuse people. I wander how many people this happens to and they don't know it. It is stupid that top dead center of the statement says pay this amount in order to avoid paying finance charges, and you also have to pay the $25.00 minimum payment due. What a scam! I still can't believe that even though I paid almost $200.00 this month they are saying I didn't pay off my promotion because $25.00 of that has to go toward my minimum payment due!

 

[Geaux]

And why is this in the beginner's photography forum? PHOTOGRAPHY...not TV or credit.


On Topic: This is the reason I pay cash for stuff like that, if I can't afford it at the time, I don't buy. I bought my 46" cash from Best Buy, no issues here

 

[joealcantar]

Good to know information. There is a saying "Keep the customer informed and you will keep the customer" believe it is NCR that goes by that. They could have told you about it.
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Shoot well, Joe

 

[iNick]

i hate bestbuy too. Went to have a stereo put in my car, they sold me all the wrong parts then the installer broke my stock unit when he was trying to pull it out. and they actually tried to get out of it w/o paying for my broken stereo. Assholes.

 

[adversus]

Sorry to say, but this was your fault for not reading.

Pro tip: Anytime you buy anything on credit (using a credit card, or a retail credit at Best Buy, Sears, whatever), your monthly payment is applied to purchases in the order they were made. The bank isn't going to credit your payment to a purchase that was made in October when there's still a balance for a purchase made in March. This is standard A/R and debt collection practice. It gets more confusing when you have a grace period on the interest for one receivable (the promotion) than older balances.

So your $25 monthly payment was applied to the OLD balance prior to your promotion.

Does it suck for you? Yes, because the average person doesn't read what they agree to. This is why there's a lot new regulations hitting this year and in 2012 to simplify the financial disclosures on these types of cards.

 

[Vtec44]

I always pay off my Best Buy credit card early to avoid confusions. To be honest, I'm the type that would miss fine prints like that.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Rant threads rule!

 

[usayit]

LOL..... wasnt there a recent thread about this? Using deferred pyment credit cards to fund a hobby is not smart.

At least one smart member here listened... thats the silver lining.


Read the fine print. Better yet... be smart. Save and then buy. If there isnt enough patience to save, then the item is more than you can afford,

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Stop clogging the forum with crap. It was your fault. Read next time. Welcome to the real world. Nobody does anything for free. Stores give you that interest free credit because they EXPECT you to screw up. The average of that happening favors them making a profit off of the credit business, or else they would not do it. They don't just do it out of the goodness of their heart. They are a business that is out to make money. Credit has always been a shady business, and many stores and companies do the same thing that you are complaining about. If it was right at the top of the statement, then it should have been one of the first things that you read, had you actually taken the time to read it.

 

[usayit]

PS> Best Buy Is Not The only one who does this. Most companies with deferred interest cards do it.... In fact, Best Buy isnt the worst one.

 

[Kerbouchard]

All credit is a scam. It lets people who can't afford something buy something they can't afford.

In this case, it sounds like Best Buy put at the top of every bill you have recieved over the last year the terms and conditions of that credit. It sounds like you didn't read it and didn't meet them. If I were Best Buy, I would charge you the interest.

 

[flyin-lowe]

The promotion purchase I made was the oldest purchase on my card. I don't carry a bunch of credit card debt and am able to keep up. It used to be smart to take advantage of such promotions because I could leave my money in the bank for a year drawing interest and then pay off the purchase. These days you can't make a dime on interest.
I typed this late last night and thought I was in the general discussion forum, sorry for that mix up. Mods can move this to the appropriate forum.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Yeah man.. Credit card companies do everything to try to screw you. Another thing I see is this on my CC company. Lets say my FULL balance is $500 and due next month 8/17. I go to the website to pay it. First of all it is defaulted to minimum payment when you click pay because they dont want you to pay full so you carry a balance and have to pay interest. Also when you do pay it will default the date to LAST DAY which is 8/17. Which is totally fine BUT they are hoping you make a mistake with balancing your checking account so by the time it is next month they are hoping you have less than $500 and you have to pay PENALTY and INTEREST!. So I have to make sure to change the date the next day so $500 will be taken out right away.

 

[Kbarredo]

I'm already confused trying to read this. Vtec44 is that guy in your pic really hairy or are those tattoos.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Yeah man.. Credit card companies do everything to try to screw you. Another thing I see is this on my CC company. Lets say my FULL balance is $500 and due next month 8/17. I go to the website to pay it. First of all it is defaulted to minimum payment when you click pay because they dont want you to pay full so you carry a balance and have to pay interest. Also when you do pay it will default the date to LAST DAY which is 8/17. Which is totally fine BUT they are hoping you make a mistake with balancing your checking account so by the time it is next month they are hoping you have less than $500 and you have to pay PENALTY and INTEREST!. So I have to make sure to change the date the next day so $500 will be taken out right away.

The companies I deal with allow you to make the payment whenever you want, and it will post the next day. You can also schedule the payment. All CC companies are not created equal. CapitalOne actually has a 2 day grace period for your payment to post, which is nearly unheard of. The lesson is always to use credit wisely. I have a BestBuy card as well, and over the years have taken advantage of their Xmonths, same as cash deals many times. Never had a problem. But then, I pay it off well before the end of the term.






Don't wanna take the time to read the ToS? Then it's YOUR fault. Complain all you want about how stupid you are.