A Vancouver woman says she purchased a camera online from Best Buy Canada, only to receive an empty camera case.
“I opened it up and there was no camera in the box, just this camera bag,” said Tanya Chies.
Chies made the online purchase in January. When she received just a camera case, she contacted Best Buy customer service immediately and says she was reassured someone would contact her within 48 hours.
Chies says that didn’t happen, and after reaching out repeatedly to the company, she finally received an email from Best Buy.
“They asked if the box appeared to be tampered with and I said, ‘No, it doesn’t seem to be tampered with.’ They said that they would open a full investigation and it would take, like, seven to 10 business days,” said Chies.
Two days later, Chies says she received an email stating the investigation was complete. Her claim was denied.
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In a statement attributed to Best Buy Canada’s Customer Experience Team, the company sent Chies the following:
“After a full investigation with our warehouse, it was found that there was no inventory or weight discrepancy with your package when it left our facility. Due to this, the short shipment claim has been denied. If you believe that the package was tampered with after it left our facility, we encourage that you work with your local law enforcement.”
Chies says Best Buy’s response was unfair.
“I paid for this product and I expect to get it,” said Chies.
Chies says she reached out to Best Buy for weeks for a positive resolution but was repeatedly denied, including in this follow up message from Best Buy’s Customer Experience Team: “Unfortunately, I am unable to provide you with more information about our process, but our depot is highly secured and closely surveilled. If you believe that the package was tampered with after it left our facility, we encourage that you work with your local law enforcement.”
After almost four months and no closer to a resolution, Chies turned to Consumer Matters for help.
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Consumer Matters reached out to Best Buy Canada and included photos of the package.
Within 24 hours, Chies received notice from Best Buy she would receive a full refund of $560 for the cost of the camera.
“This purchase was made during one of our holiday sales in January. Due to the high volume of sales during this time, it took our team longer than usual to respond to customer inquiries. This caused a delay in reviewing Ms. Chies request,” said Best Buy Canada spokesperson Anjee Gill in a statement to Consumer Matters.
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“During our communication with Ms Chies, we did not receive the pictures attached to your email. The photos indicate the package could have been tampered with after being shipped from our facility. As a result of this new knowledge, we are offering Ms. Chies a full refund for the cost of the camera.”
Chies says no one at Best Buy Canada ever asked her for photographs of the package.
“I asked them if there was any information I could give them and if there was anything I could do to reopen the case and they never suggested anything else,” said Chies.
Consumer Matters requested an interview with Best Buy Canada, but we were told the company did not have a spokesperson to speak on-camera.
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