Can you file chargeback on store card?

[BachChaconne]

Recently got a Best Buy store card and used it to purchase a MacBook Pro.  The MBP was shipped via UPS signature required and I requested that the package be held at the customer center for pickup.  I went to pick up the package and she brought out a box that had obviously been opened, had the computer removed, and taped back up using clear tape.  I did not sign for the package (even though BB required signature).  I refused delivery but took a picture of said box before I left.  Filed a police report.

Have tried to get ahold of BB but their customer service is having "technical difficulties" (maybe they should get the Geek Squad to help!)

I've been reading online about several "open box" situations and the claims are often denied by BB and they refuse to refund or replace.  If that is the case, can I file a chargeback with Citi against the BB store card that I used to pay for the computer with?

[FinStar]

You would need to reach out to their c/s department to determine what steps are necessary to file for an investigation or claim given your specific scenario.

Their published (2021) CCA - specific to the store card (non-Visa/non-Visa Gold) states:

Your Rights If You Are Dissatisfied With Your Credit Card Purchases
If you are dissatisfied with the goods or services that you have purchased with your credit card, and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you may have the right not to pay the remaining amount due on the purchase. To use this right, all of the following must be true:
1.The purchase must have been made in your home state or within 100 miles of your current mailing address, and the purchase price must have been more than $50. (Note: Neither of these are necessary if your purchase was based on an advertisement we mailed to you, or if we own the company that sold you the goods or services.)
2.You must have used your credit card for the purchase. Purchases made with cash advances from an ATM or with a check that accesses your credit card account do not qualify.

3.You must not yet have fully paid for the purchase.
If all of the criteria above are met and you are still dissatisfied with the purchase, contact us in writing at the address for billing inquiries and correspondence shown on the front of your statement.
While we investigate, the same rules apply to the disputed amount as discussed above. After we finish our investigation, we will tell you our decision. At that point, if we think you owe an amount and you do not pay, we may report you as delinquent.

[K-in-Boston]

Sounds like you did the right thing by refusing delivery.  You have the tracking number.  I would wait until you can verify that the package has been returned to the shipping center and then contact customer service to explain that you refused delivery because the item had obviously been previously opened.  Hopefully that should resolve the issue, you can get a replacement shipped out to you, and then Best Buy themselves can determine whether this is a claim with UPS or if their warehouse accidentally shipped you an open box item.

But yes, if you are unable to resolve things with Best Buy, you can file a chargeback directly with Citi Retail Services:

Use the links on the Manage Account or Help & Contact pages to submit a report. Or contact Customer Service at 1-888-574-1301.

[CreditCuriosity]

Be suprised if can't settle it with bb..  they usually have excellent CS.  bb has a 14 day return policy as well no questions asked i thought as myself have returned a few MB pros for other models and no issues....

[BachChaconne]

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@FinStar wrote:

You would need to reach out to their c/s department to determine what steps are necessary to file for an investigation or claim given your specific scenario.

Their published (2021) CCA - specific to the store card (non-Visa/non-Visa Gold) states:

Your Rights If You Are Dissatisfied With Your Credit Card Purchases
If you are dissatisfied with the goods or services that you have purchased with your credit card, and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you may have the right not to pay the remaining amount due on the purchase. To use this right, all of the following must be true:
1.The purchase must have been made in your home state or within 100 miles of your current mailing address, and the purchase price must have been more than $50. (Note: Neither of these are necessary if your purchase was based on an advertisement we mailed to you, or if we own the company that sold you the goods or services.)
2.You must have used your credit card for the purchase. Purchases made with cash advances from an ATM or with a check that accesses your credit card account do not qualify.

3.You must not yet have fully paid for the purchase.
If all of the criteria above are met and you are still dissatisfied with the purchase, contact us in writing at the address for billing inquiries and correspondence shown on the front of your statement.
While we investigate, the same rules apply to the disputed amount as discussed above. After we finish our investigation, we will tell you our decision. At that point, if we think you owe an amount and you do not pay, we may report you as delinquent.

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Thanks very much for that.  I haven't even gotten the card yet so haven't even been able to register online access and when I went to the website, I couldn't find any information.

I'm just paranoid because if you go to the BB customer service forums, LOTS of people where this happened to and after BB investigated, they refused to refund or replace.  And since UPS has marked the package as "delivered", I'm afraid they won't get the empty box back.

[mxp114]

The official BBY forums are filled with horror stories about Best Buy blocking your online account if you claim non-receipt or missing packages. They give the run around regarding a refund or replacement and then eventually "investigate" with some nebulous backend team that determines without appeal or info that they cannot refund or replace and contact law enforcement. And the icing on the cake is that they will suspend your account from future online purchases and flag you for "lost package abuse," even if it's your first time. Citi My Best Buy card is terrible with disputes, and according to a few threads on Reddit, they almost always resolve in Best Buy's favor. 

If you refused delivery and UPS marked it, contact the UPS Executive Office and have them investigate. There could be some fraud on UPS' part concerning opened packages. I'm sure the customer counter has cameras to verify. The forums have many complaints about iPads, iPhones, Pixel phones, and other high-value items that go missing and get marked as delivered to customers. Best Buy only seems interested in a delivery scan, and then you're on your own. 

[Anonymous]

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@FinStar wrote:

You would need to reach out to their c/s department to determine what steps are necessary to file for an investigation or claim given

3.You must not yet have fully paid for the purchase.

---

I never understood the reason for this condition (which is on many/most ccs).   It seems an incentive to pay as late as possible (oh, and maybe pay interest, now I see!)   I don't see why this should really make a difference, it's not as if the issuers don't know how to refund the money they have received, whether it is all or partial payment.

[UncleB]

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@BachChaconne wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

You would need to reach out to their c/s department to determine what steps are necessary to file for an investigation or claim given your specific scenario.

Their published (2021) CCA - specific to the store card (non-Visa/non-Visa Gold) states:

Your Rights If You Are Dissatisfied With Your Credit Card Purchases
If you are dissatisfied with the goods or services that you have purchased with your credit card, and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you may have the right not to pay the remaining amount due on the purchase. To use this right, all of the following must be true:
1.The purchase must have been made in your home state or within 100 miles of your current mailing address, and the purchase price must have been more than $50. (Note: Neither of these are necessary if your purchase was based on an advertisement we mailed to you, or if we own the company that sold you the goods or services.)
2.You must have used your credit card for the purchase. Purchases made with cash advances from an ATM or with a check that accesses your credit card account do not qualify.

3.You must not yet have fully paid for the purchase.
If all of the criteria above are met and you are still dissatisfied with the purchase, contact us in writing at the address for billing inquiries and correspondence shown on the front of your statement.
While we investigate, the same rules apply to the disputed amount as discussed above. After we finish our investigation, we will tell you our decision. At that point, if we think you owe an amount and you do not pay, we may report you as delinquent.

---

Thanks very much for that.  I haven't even gotten the card yet so haven't even been able to register online access and when I went to the website, I couldn't find any information.

I'm just paranoid because if you go to the BB customer service forums, LOTS of people where this happened to and after BB investigated, they refused to refund or replace.  And since UPS has marked the package as "delivered", I'm afraid they won't get the empty box back.

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In your original post you mentioned 'customer center', I'm assuming you're referring to a UPS office and not a Best Buy store?  You also state you didn't accept the package, but refused it.  Did UPS still mark it as delivered?  Usually when a package is refused there's no 'delivered' scan, and the package remains in the sort stream until it makes its way back to where it started.

If you have the UPS tracking number you should be able to track the package's progress all the way back to the party who sent it.  This could be important if a chargeback is necessary. 

[K-in-Boston]

Completely agree with UncleB on this one.  UPS tracking should have a clear entry stating "The receiver refused the delivery" and no "Delivered" line.  If that is not the case, I would contact the location where you refused the delivery immediately.  That is an extremely important factor in your case, as otherwise it would just appear that you accepted it, opened it, and then returned it freight collect (assuming it's even back in transit).

[BachChaconne]

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@UncleB wrote:

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In your original post you mentioned 'customer center', I'm assuming you're referring to a UPS office and not a Best Buy store?  You also state you didn't accept the package, but refused it.  Did UPS still mark it as delivered?  Usually when a package is refused there's no 'delivered' scan, and the package remains in the sort stream until it makes its way back to where it started.

If you have the UPS tracking number you should be able to track the package's progress all the way back to the party who sent it.  This could be important if a chargeback is necessary. 

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That's correct... it was an actual UPS center (not to be confused with UPS store franchise or access point) where I refused delivery.  The woman let me take pictures of the box.  After that, she was helping someone else and refused to talk to me and I walked out without the box.  After that, I got the "ding" notifying me that the package had been "delivered".  Even though signature was required, I did not sign so there again, I believe the employee just marked it as delivered after I left.  

If I had to dispute that it had been delivered, my pictures were taken from inside the customer center and the "delivery" took place AFTER I had taken my pictures AND they had no record of me signing for the package.

As an update:  This story (for now) has a happy ending.  

I posted to twitter about the incident and a representive from BB started communicating with me.  I filed a police report.  And called Apple for good measure to let them know there had been a new macbook pro stolen.  

The next day, the BB rep from twitter asked me to upload my pictures and asked for a copy of the police report.  Within a couple of hours, I was told that the investigation had been concluded and that they had authorized a refund or replacement.  I told them I would take a replacement IF and ONLY IF I could pick up directly from a Best Buy store.  So got notification that a replacement is on its way and I can pick up on the 21st.  

I had also seen the horror stories on Reddit and the BB customer forums so was really prepared for the worst!  I was also prepared for a lengthy protracted battle so was stunned when it was resolved so quickly!!!

It appears that "empty boxes" is a common thing for phones, TVs, Tablets, and (of course) computers.  So this is what I think helped me out and what you should do (Dog Forbid) you wind up receiving an "empty box":

• Take pictures of the box from all angles -- do not OPEN the empty box.  If you want to prove that it is empty, you can always set it on a scale to weigh it. 
• Reach out to the vendor via Twitter or social media immediately.  I found this to be the quickest at getting attention.  It also had the advantage that everything was in writing and I didn't have to deal with infinite hold times, being disconnected, and talking to a different person each and every time.  I had my own dedicated point of contact.
• File a police report immediately.  I was able to do this online and never had to talk to anyone.  I was also able to save a PDF of the police report immediately for documentation.  
• Best Buy will often put a serial number on the order tracking once it has shipped.  Contact the manufacturer to try to have the item marked as stolen.  In my case, there was a serial number.  I did contact Apple but unfortunately, the serial number that I had from BB was not a valid Apple serial number.  But by doing this, I had gotten a case number from Apple that I had filed a "Law Enforcement Inquiry"... 

I think the fact that I had all the documentation complete with pictures, police report, and an Apple Case number PLUS the fact there was no signature at the time of delivery (as required by Best Buy) made the investigation go quickly.  Since I was working with a single individual from Twitter, I was able to respond almost instantaneously which I think helped as well.  The fact that I could upload pictures and give a police report on demand shows that I wasn't "manufacturing" documentation.  And the fact that the pictures were taken (at least in my case) 5 minutes before the package was marked as "delivered", probably also helped.

I know this is long and not necessarily related to credit cards but this forum is about helping other people and if this can help others in the future, then hopefully the mods will be ok with it.

Thank you all for your suggestions and support!  I won't totally relax until I have the replacement in my possession... but at least for now, I can look at my order and see that it is on its way!