Purchase at Retail from Best Buy. Return Policy?

[Codeworks]

Hello, all.

I am a premiere Best Buy reward zone member which entitles me to 45 days of return protection on all items. However, I was informed this does NOT include contract phones purchased without a contract.

Not sure why that would be; however, before I purchase, I just wanted to check and see if anyone has had any experience with this and if this is a true statement or just a mis-informed employee?

Thanks!

 

[nuprotocol]

i was told that contract phones were included. i would call the same best buy and ask the manager just to be sure.

 

[aokusman1]

Hello, all.

I am a premiere Best Buy reward zone member which entitles me to 45 days of return protection on all items. However, I was informed this does NOT include contract phones purchased without a contract.

Not sure why that would be; however, before I purchase, I just wanted to check and see if anyone has had any experience with this and if this is a true statement or just a mis-informed employee?

Thanks!

Why not ask when you go to make the purchase.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Android Central Forums

 

[live4nyy]

Hello, all.

I am a premiere Best Buy reward zone member which entitles me to 45 days of return protection on all items. However, I was informed this does NOT include contract phones purchased without a contract.

Not sure why that would be; however, before I purchase, I just wanted to check and see if anyone has had any experience with this and if this is a true statement or just a mis-informed employee?

Thanks!

That's not true. You have 45 days to return the phone whether or not you bought it with a contract.

 

[oldmanjenkins]

That's correct. The only difference is the discount price will not be honored if the price was based upon renewal.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

 

[fernandez21]

Non contract phones have the standard return window, contract phones only have 14 or 30 days, depending on what carrier you signed up for.

 

[live4nyy]

Non contract phones have the standard return window, contract phones only have 14 or 30 days, depending on what carrier you signed up for.

It doesn't matter if it's "contract / non-contract" or "subsidized / full retail price". The only thing that matters is whether or not he is a Premier Silver member. Since he is, then he has 45 days to return the phone rather than 30 days.

Return & Exchange Policy - BestBuy

It clearly states:
"45 days for all products for Reward Zone? Program Premier Silver members"

Then they list "Non-returnable items":

• Labor, delivery and/or completed Geek Squad? installation services
• Some pre-paid cards, digital subscriptions or services
• Digital content (e.g., game and movie downloads)
• Consumable items such as food, drinks and batteries
• Items that are damaged or abused
• Items that are missing accessories such as remote controls, cords and cables
• Etched or otherwise personalized items
• Opened computer software, movies, music and video games can be exchanged for the identical item but cannot be returned for a refund

Plain and simple. The only thing I have heard about being different is that they might charge a restocking fee for iPhones, but since he's a Silver Member then he shouldn't have to worry about that either. I'm a Silver member as well and I have returned phones at 44 days numerous times, whether it was with a contract or not.

 

[live4nyy]

That's correct. The only difference is the discount price will not be honored if the price was based upon renewal.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to say but I just know that when you return the phone you get back what you paid. Also, Silver members are not subject to "restocking fees".

Reward Zone Overview - Best Buy

 

[Codeworks]

Thanks everyone. I ended up talking to a different sales guy and he did confirm for me that as a silver member it is 45 days. The other salesman was mis-informed.

In any case, I will be purchasing from BB in order to take advantage of the reward points and the return flexibility.

Thanks again.

 

[fernandez21]

It doesn't matter if it's "contract / non-contract" or "subsidized / full retail price". The only thing that matters is whether or not he is a Premier Silver member. Since he is, then he has 45 days to return the phone rather than 30 days.

Return & Exchange Policy - BestBuy

It clearly states:
"45 days for all products for Reward Zone? Program Premier Silver members"

Then they list "Non-returnable items":

• Labor, delivery and/or completed Geek Squad? installation services
• Some pre-paid cards, digital subscriptions or services
• Digital content (e.g., game and movie downloads)
• Consumable items such as food, drinks and batteries
• Items that are damaged or abused
• Items that are missing accessories such as remote controls, cords and cables
• Etched or otherwise personalized items
• Opened computer software, movies, music and video games can be exchanged for the identical item but cannot be returned for a refund

Plain and simple. The only thing I have heard about being different is that they might charge a restocking fee for iPhones, but since he's a Silver Member then he shouldn't have to worry about that either. I'm a Silver member as well and I have returned phones at 44 days numerous times, whether it was with a contract or not.

Yes, but when you get a phone under contract you can't return after the contract takes hold, which for some carriers it's 14 days. On AT&T it's 30 days, so he would have 30 days to return if he gets it under contract, after the 30 days he can swap it out for another until he hits 45 days, but because the contract can't be cancelled after the 30th day you can't return it.

 

[live4nyy]

Yes, but when you get a phone under contract you can't return after the contract takes hold, which for some carriers it's 14 days. On AT&T it's 30 days, so he would have 30 days to return if he gets it under contract, after the 30 days he can swap it out for another until he hits 45 days, but because the contract can't be cancelled after the 30th day you can't return it.

First and foremost, this is just complicating the situation. The OP is asking about the return policy if he were to buy the phone without a contract, so the Best Buy return policy is the only thing he has to worry about.

Second, Best Buy and mobile providers use their own policies, they are separate of each other, Best Buy just acts as a hardware provider. The link I provided states that the customer is responsible for cancelling any cell service that was created by buying a phone on contract through Best Buy. What that means is, if you were to buy a phone through Best Buy on Verizon (since they have a 14 day policy for example) your contract would be locked in at 14 days with Verizon but the customer could still return the phone to Best Buy regardless and the user would either have to (1) cancel their line with Verizon and pay the ETF or (2) go back to their old phone and lose their upgrade. But most carriers usually can be negotiated with in some circumstances. So technically, since he bought the phone at Best Buy, he would either have the 30 or 45 days to return it, dealing with the actual contract with the cell provider is the customer's problem.

From the link:
Returning Mobile Phones & Devices with Plans
When returning a mobile phone or device with a plan, you are responsible for ensuring that your service is canceled with the carrier. If you don't cancel your service, you may incur additional charges from your carrier. All carrier charges are your responsibility.

But I do understand your point, who would want to pay an ETF or lose their upgrade? It's all very convoluted. This is another reason why I usually emphasize consumers to be more aware.

 

[rlb]

If I buy a phone at full retail(no contract), can I return it before 30 days even if I use it? Since I am buying full retail, will this in any way affect my current plan and features? I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan and older texting plan that I do no want to lose.

 

[live4nyy]

If I buy a phone at full retail(no contract), can I return it before 30 days even if I use it? Since I am buying full retail, will this in any way affect my current plan and features? I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan and older texting plan that I do no want to lose.

Yes, even if used you can return it. I'm not sure how Best Buy handles restocking fees anymore though since I haven't had to worry about for a few years now.

As far as I know, even if you use an upgrade, AT&T still honors "Grandfathered" unlimited data plans, including LTE, but will be throttled after 5GBs (throttled after 3GBs on a normal smartphone data plan) if you are grandfathered in.

Verizon recently issued a statement saying they will discontinue unlimited plans only if you buy a subsidized phone.

Verizon backtracks, will only kill grandfathered unlimited plans for subsidized devices

 

[rlb]

Thanks. I will probably just buy them full retail to make things easier and to be sure no changes are made to my account. Does anyone know if there are restocking fees? I'm not a Premier Silver member.

 

[kingsway8605]

I don't shop at best buy anymore. I bought a transformer prime from them, a product that has been plagued with qc issues. I had to return it twice to get one that works. After the second return they said I wouldn't be able to return anything I buy from them for 90 days. I told them to keep the prime and haven't set foot in their stores since. I used to spend thousands of dollars a year there. No wonder they are going bankrupt.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[aimetti]

I just pulled out my receipt and it says plain as day 45 days for me (premier silver)


I will be returning mine anyways if they wont match their current deals. They have a free $100 in rewardzone gift cards right now for any 24 mo contract cell phone purchase.