Best Buy joins my boycott list

So, it seems Best Buy isn’t truly the best buy after all.

The nation’s largest big box electronics retailer has been accused of fraudulent business practices after the Connecticut attorney general’s office received complaints about irregularities between what its external Website states to consumers, and what the company’s Website states in the store. One particular customer was denied a $150 discount on a laptop computer that he saw online. When Best Buy’s “Website” was punched up in the store, said discount was nowhere to be found.

No so fast, says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. His office began an investigation into Best Buy’s business practices on February 9, and earlier this month, the company acknowledged the existence of an internal Website that differs from its external Website, but Best Buy has been less than cooperative with explanations.

“Their responses seem to raise as many questions as they answer,” Blumenthal said in an interview with the Hartford Courant. “Their answers are less than crystal clear.”

What is crystal clear is that the company has a less-than-stellar track record with being honest and straightforward with its most valuable asset – its customers.

Attorneys general in New Jersey and Ohio have filed suit against Best Buy for deceptive business practices, including the repackaging of used products and covertly selling them as new, and failing to pay rebates and refunds.

Most troubling of all, according the Blumenthal, is that Best Buy customers must mention any cheaper price on the company’s Website by name to get the discount. If customers fail to mention the cheaper price, they do not get a discount.

Accusations against the company aren’t merely rumors, either; according to the Hartford Courant, the company paid $135,000 to settle the New Jersey case, and the Ohio case is still ongoing.

For these reasons, my days as a Best Buy shopper are over. Why should I spend my hard-earned money at their store if they are out to deceive me? Another wonderful thing about the Internet – I’ll simply shop around for the best price.

Best Buy has already lost money from me since the story came to my attention; I bought an extra battery for my laptop that I’m using as we speak on an airplane. There goes at least a $125 ring though the register.

As long as the company keeps lyin’, I ain’t buyin’.

So, to my boycott list Best Buy goes, pending the outcome of these ugly consumer incidents, and contrition.