Best Buy Reward Zone - Beware - Big Scam

Best Buy Reward Zone - Beware - Big Scam

Several fineprints that the cashier did not mention when he sold us our Best Buy Reward Zone membership.

1. Certificates have a short life after they are issued even though the membership is one year. In fact, the cashier made it sound like we'd get credit on the reward zone card and could apply that credit anytime during the year. He did not mention anything about certificates. He could have been ignorant of the program.

2. Certificates seem to default to delivery via email which we never wanted anything via email.

3. Certificates are valid for in-store purchases only.

4. According the the website " Certificates will be delivered 6–8 weeks after in-store purchase, delivery or order fulfillment. " and " Each Certificate expires and must be redeemed within 90 days from the date it is issued. "

We did not receive the certificates after 9 weeks so I checked the website, saw where it said they were issued, and called customer service. They opened a case and promised to reissue the certificates. I also asked to receive paper certificates. Three weeks later, still no certificates. We may have to wait a few more weeks though I do not believe that their promise will be kept.

Also, the back of the package says we will receive a welcome pack. We never got that either.

So here's what I learned...

After speaking with customer service, I understand that certificates are ISSUED 30 days after the transaction is completed. You are supposed to RECEIVE them in 6-8 weeks after the transaction is completed. So that means that if you receive it in 8 weeks, you only have about 60 days left to use them.

I'm calling this a scam because of it's intentional vagueness, short expirations, and limitations.

Bottomline is that Best Buy is making it difficult so that consumers lose out. They are betting on people forgeting they have the membership. Not much different from rebates. If you snooze you lose and they make $10. Actually worst than rebates. At least with rebates, you can spend the cash anywhere (if you remember to cash the check).

If you still decide to or have already bought the membership, I strongly recommend visiting the website regularly to keep up with your account.

rewardzoneonline.bestbuy.com

H. Le

Alabama

Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer

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We spent $5000 on a tv and playstation 3 games and other peripherals in Nov. got huge runaround. still do not have points. They'r e still making promises. We bought other small items in dec. and jan. points for small stuff show up instantly. My husband and I went together to buy tv but they said he needed to open an account and wouldn't talk to me. He went by himself without me,to buy the other small items and the small stuff showed up on my account. It is a big scam. or they have a gigantic traing issue and no one knows what the heck they're doing. If this thing is too big for them to handle why don't they just give rebates or or discounts at the store, better than having a bunch of pissed off people who won't come back. I never shopped at best buy for the past 30 years. I really don't think I'll be going back again for the next 30. I can get stuff cheaper elsewhere.

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I have a best buy complaint bt its not about the reward program, well actually i will complain bout the reward program to. just to follow suit. ;)

maybe im in the minority because i have no real complaint about the rewards program and only have great things to say about it. maybe thats because im smarter than most people and dont always assume because i dont understand something its jus a big business trying to scam poor little old me. i have been a silver member since silver beace possible and i have been a rewards member since the day they launched it in my location. this is where i complain. back then you had to pay $10 to join and the program was MUUUUCH better back then. it cost $10 a year and you had to spend $125 before getting back $5, now its free and you have to spend $250 to get back the same $5. so my complaint is i wish it werent free anymore, i guess. but im silver so that means i spend more than 10x that in a year anyways. also i have my best buy master card the very same master card that was complained about by the other guy. i very seamlessly linked my two accounts together and have never had any problems in that way. neither nor nor then when the program was new did i ever have a problem recieving my coupons (i call them best buy bucks). the day i signed up at the store i came home and created an account online and chose the option to receive my coupons in the mail, and it was never a problem. and yes sometimes they coupon would go stale and you have to throw it away. yeah it sucks but i didnt have anything to buy so w/e. its the same thing as promised money then taking it away, its a coupon that expires just as any other coupon for any other store youve ever seen in your life, just the same! sometimes you just cant use it. if you got a dollar off toothpaste, the very kind you use. and you dont redeem the coupon in time, crest didnt rip you off...you lost out...thats all. wipe your tears and grow up! or in the case of most of these people(well call them the 99%ers), they just cant figure it out so it must be someone elses fault. "Waaah theyre trying to scam me. lets occupy best buy! their program doesnt make sense to me, although i think it does, im very clearly missing something very very simple or perhaps i just dont deserve what i think i do."

other than the first year, the rewards program is free to join. even when you had to pay $10, it has always been and will always be EXTREMELY SIMPLE.

my actual complaint was handled by customer service.

a price marked on the shelf was wrong. someone had somehow printed the wrong price for a 3d tv adapter. it was marked $179 but the actual price was $400. the manager on duty had mishandled the situation. i understand it was 1/4 of 10 on a saturday night. he was a 20 something kid and just wanted to get out of there.i get it. but with out explaining anythying to me he had just dismissed me and my complaint. i felt if the item was marked wrong he should have to honor that price. but best buys polocy is technology based items (whatever that means??? everything is based on some kind of technology) technology based items that are marked wrong are up to the manages discretion. where he was wrong is he didnt take the time to explain anything to me and (the best part) i am a silver rewards member. he has to take that into consideration and should have honored the price even though it was wrong because i am so valued by the company. since he did not act correctly i was granted by best buy customer service the difference in price in form of a credit back to my credit card. and i also received a $75 gift card too for the inconvenience.

my complaint is, what if i werent a silver member? what would they have done. if they let their managers run with this discretion to not handle things correctly if they dont feel like it because they just want to close the store. well anyways. whats the moral of the story? join the rewards program and become silver. then if you have a problem and handle your part correctly, you will get what you want and more. if youre stupid and dont know how to act or dont understand simple opt in free programs, i suppose you will always be miserable and might as well cash in now because it only gets harder from here. if youre all crossed up by a store giving you incentive to spend more money in their store and you cant figure out why and just assume its their attempt to scam you????theres no hope for you... at all. seriously, cash in now. youre done!

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This is in response to:

I don't understand why you are complaining. It is a Rewards Program. You don't pay anything to join into it. I have been with Best Buys Reward Zone since the beginning and I have received all of my certificates. It's free money why whine about it. If it expires it expires. Use it before that time not that difficult.

From: Message Author (click here to email author) (has asked not to receive email)

Date: Sunday, 11-Oct-09 22:52:06 CDT

_______________________________________

A lot of my purchases are big ticket items. They are not grocery product purchases. So, after spending over $1000.00 a couple of times and expecting a rewards certificate when you can afford to make another purchase then you want it to be available for a reasonable period of time. And no, 90 days is not reasonable because it takes the average Joe longer to pay down the preceding purchase. These fools, and your included, should get their actuaries recalculating the costs and benefits of the program taking into consideration the ill will customers experience when points and certificates expire.

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I too am angry at this program. I have lost a lot of points at years end because my accrued points were forfeited before the purchases made in November and December completed the "Pending" stage. I also lost a bag full of points when I joined Netflix. I saw the add on Best Buy's website for like 1000 points for joining and additional points each month of continued service with Netflix. I used the "More Information" link from Best Buy's website which took me to Netflix's website, but did not display "more information". I plugged around Netflix, Google and back to Best Buy, but never found any more information, nor when signing up was there anywhere to enter my Rewards number. I called Best Buy Rewards after my first month of service with Netflix to see about getting my points. Best Buy told me to call Netflix. I spoke to Netflix and they said there is nothing they can do after the fact. They said that if I had Logged into my Best Buy Rewards account, then linked to the Netflix sign-up page from Best Buy, then I would have earned the points. I suppose those are details that were supposed to be in the "More Information" page.

So from my experience, here are a couple of tips:

1) Don't make any purchases from Best Buy in the months of November or December. (You will forfeit any points from those purchases)

2) Keep a close eye on your Rewards account. (pretend it's Day Trading on the stock market)

3) Print a copy of your Points & Purchases EVERY time you login to your Rewards account. (What you see today may not be there tomorrow)

4) Call First before joining any programs of Best Buy's partners promising that you will earn points.

And for those of you saying "why are you angry about losing points, it's free money". You're telling me that if I gave you a million dollars right now, then came back tomorrow and said "you know what, I'm taking the million dollars back, you can't have it after all", you wouldn't be pissed off? Really? If not, you must be Ghandi and don't need to be shopping at Best Buy, actually, what are you doing on a computer, on the internet. You don't need any posessions, go back to India.

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Goollly Mr. H le from Alabama, you sure sound like you got the big city runaround from those know it all suit wearing corporate crooks with their fancy college diplomas and outrageous rules on how to cash in on all those free reward dollars. But remember, it took a lot of chickens to pay for that VCR, and that's really why you and the mrs took the time to git all gussied up and take the wagon into town when that slick talkin salesman talked you into that deceitful rewards program. I'm just thankful myrtle wus able to connect yur phone call to that gal with the funny accent so best buy's executive team could look into why you dont have one of them computerized printing machines so that you could power up yur computer machine and print them coupons right there in the kitchen. I will mail you an advertising page from my latest copy of Milk and Plow so you can lern more. Tell Marybeth Sue howdy fer me. How are her youngins doin? Hard to bleeve she's almost old enough to drive. But it will be reel nice fer yaals to have a pick up truck so you can finally put ol Molly down. She's gonna make sum good glue you can bet. Hope bessie is well and still givin you and Darla Sue that creamy milk she was s famous fer. We miss her!

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I received an email that I had $55 worth of reward certificate on April 11. At the same time the e-mail told me the certificate will expire April 12. I agree there is something dishonest going on even if its not illegal.

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The same thing is happening to us we never got our reward points and then thye said it was to late. We are not going to buy from best buy again no matter what sales they have...

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Rewards are a ripoff they say 1 percent back on all dining and grocery purchases i have been getting .50 for a year about 20 different places i use4d it !!! they said its because the way the place that execpted it put it in , every purchase is that way !!!!

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I don't understand why you are complaining. It is a Rewards Program. You don't pay anything to join into it. I have been with Best Buys Reward Zone since the beginning and I have received all of my certificates. It's free money why whine about it. If it expires it expires. Use it before that time not that difficult.

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To the other responses people are posting about this complaint, I could be reading this wrong but it looks as if his complaint was posted in 2005. If that's true, then the Reward Zone program was a bit different back then, if I recall right.

On to MY complaint:

I've been a reward zone member for many many years (get my certificates in e-mail the way I want, it was nice to get something back everyone once in a while since i'm a casual buyer). Finally I made Premier Silver this year.

They let you bank your points and reserve them for higher certificates. The more you bank, the better the certificate you get.

I figured, what the hell, let's sign up for the MasterCard they're always promoting and get even MORE points to put in there!

WRONG!!!

If you have a Premier Silver account and sign up for the MasterCard, you are now the new owner of a second basic account! They cannot/willnot merge the two! Nor is there anyone you can speak to about this problem and false advertising.

And on that point, bring up the advertisement end of this and they tell you the ads are correct. If you spend using the MasterCard, you DO get more points than if you put it on your Premier Silver account.

What a crock of sh............

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I dont understand why youre saying they are valid only in store. You can use them online you just put in the number on the certificate. Also you are complaining about free money, personally i dont have a problem when a store is giving me money to use. Honesty get your facts straight then talk.

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Boo! I'm not sure what you are whining about. Look, in this day and age if you don't use the internet to continue to get the best deals you are a fool. I don't know what reward zone you joined, but I never had to buy anything to get my membership, it was free from day one. Now I don't buy everything at Best Buy because sometimes, they aren't the cheapest, but when they are I get the points. True, the service associated with the reward zone program does suck, but it's free money for you just for buying the stuff you wanted anyway. Track your points online. Get your I.D. and password and forget about the mail gift certificates, just go online and print them yourself. That is what I'm going to do right now. I've got $25 worth that is going to take the edge off a new PS3 game. Learn to work the system, it's not a rip off or a scam, they just aren't going to make it easy for you to get free money.

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Well, I had finally reached the Gold level and was happy to now get 2x points for the next 2 years. Now today with out any warning they dropped the Gold program and changed my status to the new Silver at 1.25 points per dollar.

The agreement stated reach gold and enjoy 2 years of 2x points.

So they took my money on the promise of what amounts to a 2% ongoing rebate then only will be giving 1.25%.

I feel a little screwed.

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This is the biggest scam I've ever encountered: no one at the store (I've shopped multiple) can help you; the online service is terrible; the "live" customer service drops your call as they transfer you to the RewardZone representative. I've spent over $12,000 in the past 18 months at various stores and have nothing to show for it. I'm surprised the Better Business suits let this type of charade persist at the national level.

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I totally agree.. Though I have been purchasing from Best buy only but after this experience no more....I have been trying to get my certificate never received it cannot log into my account. Customer service only gives you more promise and do not deliver anything else. Disgusting and frustrating experience with Best Buy.. do not fall into the trap.

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I disagree. I have had no negative experience with the rewards program. In fact, I'm a frequent Best Buy Customer and and it has saved me quite a bit of money over the years. If you only got to Best Buy every few months, I can see where there might be an issue. However, for those that go more frequently (When new movies/music come out, etc) it's actually quite good.