‘Now I’m out the computer and the money’: Best Buy customer orders $1,500 computer for pickup. Then the store gives it away to another customer
Ever since COVID, curbside pickup has become a standard method of ordering goods for many retail stores.
How the system is supposed to work is simple. You place your order and are given a time to arrive. Then, when that time comes, you park in a designated spot to have your items brought to you.
While this may be the way that the system was designed, it isn’t how it always looks in practice. Some curbside customers have reported that they had to wait hours before receiving their orders. Others have shared similar warnings that drive-up service is not always faster than going inside.
Now, a user on Reddit says he ordered a computer for curbside pickup from Best Buy, only to have it stolen.
What happened to this shopper’s computer?
In a post on the subreddit r/BestBuy, user u/dfire28 explains that he “recently placed an online order for a $1500 computer at Best Buy” to be picked up at his local store.
After he was informed that it was ready for pickup, he went to the store to retrieve it. There, an employee told him that someone had already picked up the computer in his place.
“They even showed me video footage of a car at curbside that I have never seen in my life and said this was the car that picked the computer up,” he writes.
U/dfire28 expressed surprise that this could happen in the first place, as most pickups require both an ID and a code to verify before Best Buy can drop off an item with a customer.
“Currently, I have filed a police report with my local police station, I have called Best Buy customer service to get a fraud claim, and I have placed a notice on my credit card for a chargeback,” he states. “My question is what else can I do at this time. I plan on going full Karen mode to get this [expletive] resolved and at the very least get a refund.”
Has this happened before?
Other internet posters have shared similar stories of Best Buy pickups gone awry. For example, one user said that his laptop was given away to the wrong person due to a “mixup,” and another shared a story comparable to u/dfire28’s.
In the comments of the latter post, one user said he was able to resolve the issue by going into the store.
“I had this happen a few years ago. It was completely employee error. They didn't check the persons ID that came and picked up the order because they were picking up the same item,” explained the commenter.
“Once I arrived to dispute the issue I showed them my ID and email verifying the order and they went in the back to review the security video,” the commenter continued. “The employee that made the mistake apologized and they essentially pulled another of the product off the shelf and let me walk out. I visit that BB very often that employee was never to be seen again.”
What should OP do in this situation?
Best Buy’s website notes that a specific pickup code is required before handing over an item. So commenters suspected that someone may have hacked u/dfire28’s Best Buy account using a known password and used that information to steal the goods.
“Any time I have done curbside at Best Buy, they required me to give the employee a 4 digit code before the order would complete (not ID) and they would hand me the product,” said a commenter. “Sounds like someone has your Best Buy account information and went and picked it up.”
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Others responding to the post said that IDs are occasionally checked as well. Further users stated that OP should check whether it shows as picked up in his Best Buy account. If it doesn’t, that could indicate a mixup at the store.
For the time being, however, it appears that OP is doing all that can be done.
“I don’t believe there is anything else you can do, especially since you initiated the chargeback on your card. If memory serves, Best Buy won’t help you anymore until that gets resolved,” detailed a user. “It’s now between Best Buy and your CC company.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Best Buy via email and u/dfire28 via Reddit chat.
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