Best Buy: Shady Dealings and Deceptive Business Practices

Bettendorf, IAStephanie Kraft is not happy with Best Buy. "Two magazine subscriptions were charged to my credit card and I didn't even ask for a trial subscription," she says. What was the Best Buy cashier thinking—that no means yes?

In August, Kraft used her credit card to purchase a cellular phone at Best Buy, the electronics retailer. "When I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I wanted a trial subscription to Sports Illustrated," says Kraft. She declined the offer.

Fast forward three months later, to November. "My mum gave me my credit card bill when I got home (I'm a student at Iowa State and live on campus). I had two charges of $44.95, one for "Entertainment Weekly" and one for "Sports Illustrated".

Kraft cannot figure out how this happened. She definitely did not ask for a trial subscription to either magazine. "I expect that even though I said no, the cashier must have been instructed to ring this charge onto my account anyway," she says.

"I wasn't too happy when my mum showed me my statement," Kraft adds. "It's not like I have an extra $90 hanging around, burning a hole in my pocket. I certainly don't have a good opinion of Best Buy. My mum feels the same way and believes that we are being cheated.

I called the customer service numbers from my statement that related to these magazines—it was around 7pm last Friday. Both recordings said 'You have reached the offices of Sports Illustrated, Best Buy's preferred customers.' The offices were closed so I couldn't talk to anyone.

Next up, I went online and typed in these four words: "best buy sports illustrated'. I googled these words because of the customer service recording. That is how I found out that there was a link between the Sports Illustrated subscription and Best Buy. I had completely forgotten about the cashier's question several weeks ago.

The very first thing that came up was your [site]. I read your story about how Best Buy was deceiving their customers.

Now I am waiting to hear from a lawyer. I am going to call my credit card company and request that they remove these charges. I think they will reverse the charges because they probably have other customers with the same complaint. But more than that, Best Buy shouldn't get away with deceiving people, especially their customers."