Hi all, thanks to everyone for confirming what I had suspected all along. Though I was finally able to get the $149 refund (back to my credit card), here's the unexpected hassle I had to go thru to get my money back.

When I (earlier today) called the Best Buy store I originally purchased my Sony LCD display monitor & extended warranty from, the customer services associate told me that I could save myself a drive and simply call their toll free customer support number (888) BEST-BUY , and easily get my refund that way. Well guess what, I called that number, and the telephone rep told me that the store had given me incorrect information, and that I actually need to go into a Best Buy store (ANY Best Buy store) to obtain the refund. Though I was a bit irritated at the sudden change of (official?) company policy given to me, but realized if I had any chance to get my refund, I'd better go into a Best Buy store myself to resolve this. Considering the fact that both the original sales person I bought my monitor from, as well as the rep I spoke on the phone assured me that I could get a refund by going into ANY Best Buy store, I decided to drive to my local closest Best Buy (4 miles away), instead of the store I originally purchased it from, which is over 25 miles away.

Guess what? After having to wait in the RETURN merchandise line for 15-20 minutes, the clerk tells me that I can only obtain a credit from the ORIGINAL store I bought it from. I tried to explain what was told to me earlier by both another Best Buy employee & the Best Buy telephone rep, but she said that I would have to wait to speak with a store manager. After waiting 10 more minutess for a manager to show up, the manager went on and on about how stupid I would be to not accept the extended warranty, stating how long it would take from Sony (30 days+, as well as having to pay shipping both ways) if I ever experienced problems with the monitor. I said no thank you, and only then did he finally approve the refund, telling me that I had to wait back in line again, because the RETURNS clerk was already helping another customer. After another 10 minute wait, I finally received a $149 credit back to my card. Following this experience, I have doubts that I will be shopping at Best Buy again very soon.

Thank you all for letting me get this off my chest.


Scott