Best Buy Palms Off Used Laptop As New, Denies Allegations

A San Francisco Bay Area resident received an unwelcome surprise when she unboxed her new laptop purchased from Best Buy only to find that it had been used, and full of someone else’s files.

It was Nancy Hole’s first laptop. Her niece, Maureen O’ Rourke took her to Best Buy and helped with the purchase. However, when they unboxed the laptop, things such as documentation, discs and were missing. When they booted the system, they noticed photos and other things on the laptop dated Aug. 9th, a month before Hole’s her purchase.

When trying to return the laptop, Best Buy merely offered them a $50 gift card for her “inconvenience.” Hole had to go to a local consumer action service via her local TV station to get what she should have gotten in the first place: a new laptop.

With the help of consumer watchdog, Hole was was able to refund charged made by Geek Squad to setup the laptop and receive another $130 for her inconvenience.

According to the consumer watchdog, what was surprising was the fact that Best Buy had to be “convinced” to give Hole a new laptop. So as a warning: don’t assume what you buy as new is really new.