Best Buy Lawyer Altered Documents In Suit Over Illegal MSN Subscriptions

from the whoops dept

Wed, Jun 6th 2007 11:22pm — Mike Masnick

You may have heard recently about the racketeering case against Microsoft and Best Buy, where Best Buy would sign up customers for an MSN subscription without letting the subscriber know. A former Best Buy employee has explained how the whole scam worked. However, the case just got a lot more interesting, as a lawyer for Best Buy has admitted that he altered a few of the documents he handed over in the case, which certainly could end up costing the company millions more in fines. Combined with their other recent lawsuit over different versions of their website inside stores, and you have to wonder why anyone shops at Best Buy at all any more.

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26 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2007 @ 11:46pm

best buy rocks!
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charlie potatoes, 6 Jun 2007 @ 11:56pm

you can fool some of the people all of the time. and that's enough to make obscene profit...
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jim e, 7 Jun 2007 @ 2:51am

best = bust
been callin' 'em " bust " buy for years...
now, maybe folks will inderstand why.......
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2007 @ 3:39am

Re: best = bust
because you can't spell?
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Hyrulio, 7 Jun 2007 @ 4:07am

LOL!!
WHY would you tell everyone what you did!?!
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Team Tutorials, 7 Jun 2007 @ 4:51am

Shady
It seems like Best Buy is always getting bad press. We don't have one locally so I don't shop their, but I would think twice before stopping at one.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2007 @ 5:13am

I worked for Best Buy for years, and in many stores and in the computer dept, this is not a standard practice for all Best Buys, Sure they all have their little scams so you have to watch what they're telling you or signing you up for but what the ex-employee in the article is talking about is over the top, and as usual a few "bad apple" stores ruining the whole companies image.
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gregg, 7 Jun 2007 @ 5:27am

Been scammed by them twice and will never shop there again.
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Ajax 4Hire, 7 Jun 2007 @ 5:28am

one bad apple DOES spoil the whole bunch.
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haywood, 7 Jun 2007 @ 5:32am

I shop there as a last resort
I know going in that they are planning to relieve me of as much money as possible, while delivering as little product and service as possible. They were the first ones ever to sting me with rebates. There is really nothing they sell that I can't get somewhere else, cheaper (Newegg, Amazon, Fry's), I've been forced to add them to the list of people who can kiss my ass.
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Overcast, 7 Jun 2007 @ 6:14am

This is news?

A lawyers going something unethical really isn't news, lol.
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Charlie Bucket, 7 Jun 2007 @ 6:15am

2 Words
Worst Buy
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Verno, 7 Jun 2007 @ 6:16am

Better than Walmart
Yeah, but how would you like to have to buy your electronics at Walmart? :(
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randy, 7 Jun 2007 @ 6:48am

Re: I shop there as a last resort
Agreed. You can get the same or better stuff for cheaper in other places.
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your mother, 7 Jun 2007 @ 6:49am

Re: Better than Walmart
It's not better than walmart. Both places suck.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2007 @ 8:20am

Re: I shop there as a last resort
I know going in that they are planning to relieve me of as much money as possible, while delivering as little product and service as possible. They were the first ones ever to sting me with rebates. There is really nothing they sell that I can't get somewhere else, cheaper (Newegg, Amazon, Fry's), I've been forced to add them to the list of people who can kiss my ass.

Fry's is no better and over 50% of the products they carry are defective (based on a large volume of products we purchased in the past from them). They just keep restocking it back on their shelves until someone buys it and doesn't bring it back. Newegg is a good choice (never had a problem with them) and Amazon is OK if I really need something.
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John, 7 Jun 2007 @ 8:21am

No wonder
I can't figure how everyone did not see this coming.
Best Buy was ok, then it went down real fast......

Buying online saves everyone money. Including Gas money.
Figure every time something changes hands, they have to pay sales tax.
Sure we don't get to walk into a store and get hounded by sales people.

How often do you go to car dealership to talk to a sales man.
Not many working at Best Buy is a good tech.
Best buy does not want good techs. They don't know how to lie. Even seen a mechanic that went it to sales.

Give me break...
Wake up every one.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2007 @ 8:43am

Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. This is not done. Wonder why this isn't getting more press. Could it be all the news outlets are trying to make sure they stay on Bust Buy's good side, even if they have to sacrifice their credibility to do so?
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haywood, 7 Jun 2007 @ 8:49am

Re: Re: I shop there as a last resort
Actually I added Fry's to my list around Christmas time. I included them because I thought it was just me. The final straw was a 20" LCD monitor that was on a pretty good sale, I ordered it they canceled the order saying out of stock. The very next day it was a leader on the new sale page at $50 more. So they were just out of stock on ones at that price. I've added them to the list of people who can kiss my ass.
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Ragaboo, 7 Jun 2007 @ 9:10am

Yeah, SURE this is widespread...
I worked at Best Buy for three years, 1.5 of which was in the computer department, and this NEVER happened and was never even suggested. It's stupid do think that this would be common practice for a successful business (which Best Buy undoubtedly is), because you're guaranteed to piss off a customer to make a quick buck.

Best Buy actually does have some business sense, and they're big on "customer loyalty" and "organic growth" (growing from within your existing customer base), so they would never advocate this -- even in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge sort of way -- on a corporate level. This is obviously an isolated incident (or maybe a few maverick stores with idiotic, rogue management).

Now the service plans ... that's another story.
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haywood, 7 Jun 2007 @ 11:07am

Re: Yeah, SURE this is widespread...
I think you drank the Koolaid. It is indeed amazing that management would value a quick buck over a loyal customer base, but it is unfortunately a fact of American corporate life. It is all about the bottom line profits in the quarter you are in, theoretically the future quarter will take care of itself. How do you explain a fake website, admittedly being used in all stores, being the work of a few rouge managers. They lost me after the first fake rebate. The brick and mortars, large and small, need to realize that even the stupid people are getting smarter. The internet empowers consumers.
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Jason, 7 Jun 2007 @ 2:33pm

rewardzone points...
the only reason i shop there is for the reward zone points you get and the coupons that come. the only stuff i buy there is the stuff that costs the same as other places (if i can get it cheaper some where else, i go there instead). at least this way i get points towards other items (helped me to get my X-FI for $70 when they were costing $130 a few months back).
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Jason, 7 Jun 2007 @ 2:36pm

DVDs...
oh, and i buy the big hit DVDs when they first come out. BB and CC both usually have really good prices on them the first week out.
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Charles Griswold, 7 Jun 2007 @ 3:57pm

Shopping at Best Buy
you have to wonder why anyone shops at Best Buy at all any more.
After the way I was treated at Best Buy, I don't shop there.
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Matt, 7 Jun 2007 @ 11:59pm

I hate the one bad apple employee
I hate it when there are some "bad apple" employees that ruin the whole thing for all of us. There are some people like this in every organization. So don't judge an entire COMPANY on one or two douche bags. I have been a Best Buy employee for five years, and I am part of several district, territory and even on a corporate council based on CUSTOMER CENTRICITY!!!
The whole point of this movement is to BETTER HELP AND SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS!! There is no scamming. The service plans are more than worth their metal (hence me having about 30 active PSPs and 15 more PRPs). And we DO NOT SIGN A CUSTOMER UP FOR ANYTHING THEY DO NOT WANT OR NEED! To do so is a COMPLETE dereliction from Best Buys company values. One of which is... "Show respect, integrity and humility."
Those people who do this, I will immediately find and take care of. Just as ANY business owner would. Would you own a retail shop, and then LET your employees lie to customers?
Now as stated on prior comments, there is money to be made. But I ask another question… If you were a business, are you out to NOT make money? Is the whole point of your business to break even and not grow? If that’s your frame of mind, then you DESERVE to be put out of business.
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Budman, 8 Jun 2007 @ 9:05am

@ 25 Matt
The "bad apple" analogy was used way back when I worked at Best Buy. The fact that it has been used so frequently by Best Buy defenders demonstrates that it's not a few - but instead is throughout the culture.

The fact of the matter is, Best Buy puts enormous pressure on its stores to hit both high sales numbers and low labor costs on a daily and weekly basis. The Geek Squad is designed to extend the sales, not to act as a service department. Anyone who is honest with himself knows that extended warranties are not only a poor bet, but it can actually put the customer in a weaker bargaining position when things go wrong.

Now, there's nothing preventing a company from using this strategy. However, a token "customer centricity program" is not going to change the strategy.

I would argue that the fact that it has been given a name, it is temporary and not intended to be a permanent part of the culture.
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