After the price of Francis Clark’s Bosch dishwasher falls, Best Buy agrees to refund him $150. But now it won’t pay. What’s going on?
Question
I bought a Bosch dishwasher for $1,100 from Best Buy recently. A week later, Best Buy lowered the price of the dishwasher by $100 and a week later by another $50.
I contacted Best Buy by chat and asked for a price match. It agreed to issue a refund during a chat session. Best Buy said it could take up to two credit card billing cycles, but after my second billing cycle, I still didn’t see the refund.
I contacted Best Buy again, and this time, a representative said they would not issue a refund because it was outside the return and exchange window. But the reason it was outside the window was because of Best Buy’s delay. Can you help me get the $150 that Best Buy promised me? — Francis Clark, Hudson, Mass.
Answer
If Best Buy promised you a refund, it should have followed through. Normally, businesses will price-match a product at the time you buy it, but not afterward. But at the time you had already purchased your appliance, Best Buy’s policy was to price match before your purchase and during your return window.
How does price matching work at Best Buy?
Here’s a quick rundown of how price matching works at Best Buy.
The product you want to price match must be identical to the one at a qualified competitor
In other words, it has to be from another local retail store or a qualifying online retailer. Best Buy typically won’t price match a discount online site based in another state or country, but you can always ask. (Related: My refrigerator is cursed – can you lift the spell?)
It should be the same brand and model number
Retailers like Best Buy sometimes get cute and claim they won’t price-match because it’s a different color. If they do that, they’re playing games. Walk away.
It should be available
Usually, the product must be immediately available at the competitor. (Related: Oh no! I bought the laptop from hell at Best Buy.)
Some restrictions apply. Special sales such as special sales may be excluded. For example, I would not try to walk in the day after Thanksgiving asking for a price match a competitor’s Black Friday sale. (That is, if you can find someone to help you.)
How to ask for a price match at Best Buy
You use the Best Buy chat feature on its site to request the price match. Or call 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289) for assistance. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way: Go to a store and negotiate with an associate.
What’s going on with your Best Buy refund?
It’s not clear why Best Buy didn’t honor its agreement. You had the promise in writing. You did a nice job of keeping a paper trail. (You should always keep a record of your correspondence with a company, especially when it comes to a refund.)
You asked for a refund twice — the first time when the price fell by $100 and then again when it fell by another $50. That may have confused Best Buy’s system, which had already authorized one refund. It looks like they may have canceled each other out. (Related: Will Best Buy send me a new refrigerator?)
But that wasn’t the problem. Best Buy then treated your case as if it was brand new. You waited patiently for your two credit card cycles to end and then asked again, and that’s when Best Buy told you it was too late.
This seems like a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, which happens often at big companies. An email to one of the executive contacts at Best Buy might have cleared things up. I list the names, numbers and emails of the customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. (Here’s our guide to resolving your consumer problem.)
You reached out to my consumer advocacy organization, and I contacted Best Buy on your behalf.
Best Buy responded to you the next day. A representative contacted you and promised to fix the problem. “Today, I see the correct credit on my card,” you reported. “Thank you!”
About this story
Our advocacy team usually doesn’t get involved in price-match cases like this one. (We don’t think anyone should be negotiating a price after the purchase — even customers.) But Best Buy had promised Clark a refund, and a promise is a promise. I could tell that even after saying it would help, Best Buy really didn’t want to give a refund. Many thanks to the whole crew for helping us bring this case to a successful conclusion.
