A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that multiple Best Buy employees lied to her and made her pay for a new MacBook after assuring her it would be covered by a refund.
In a now-deleted video with over 174,000 views, TikTok user Libby (@lib_claire) explains her story, which involves multiple incidents of alleged lying on the part of her local Best Buy. Libby has since shared an update noting that the issue has been resolved by both Apple and Best Buy.
@lib_claire @bestbuy ♬ original sound – Libby
First, Libby says that her local Best Buy location is in Denver, CO on Mexico Ave.
At this location, she says, she purchased a MacBook 5 months ago after asking them for the “cheapest MacBook that they had.” She discovered after purchasing that it was amongst the highest price MacBooks available at $2,500.
“This is my fault,” she says in the video. “I didn’t check to, like, look at prices. I kind of just trusted the guy.”
As Libby was buying the laptop, the Best Buy employee allegedly asked her if she wanted AppleCare, Apple’s extended warranty service. Libby said yes, recounting a story about a previous product she had that required repairs.
Months later, Libby says she finished her workday and closed her computer, which she claims does not leave her desk. Upon opening the computer again the following morning, she discovered that her computer was “stuck in reset mode.”
She brought the laptop to Best Buy, where the Geek Squad tried and failed to fix it for an hour and a half. They then sent the laptop in for repairs.
Eventually, the Geek Squad contacted Libby to tell her that her laptop required a $1,500 repair. Libby instructed them to simply apply her AppleCare—only to be told that her computer did not, in fact, have AppleCare.
“I’m like, ‘excuse me?’” Libby recalls. “I have AppleCare on every single one of my devices. What do you mean that I don’t have AppleCare on this one? I know that I asked for it. I remember the conversation.”
The Geek Squad continued to deny that Libby had AppleCare. Frustrated, Libby went back to Best Buy where she met the manager.
The manager told her they would simply process a full return on the MacBook once it arrived the following day. Libby then bought another computer (also with AppleCare) under the impression that the return would be processed as stated.
As a freelancer, Libby notes that her job entirely relies on her use of a laptop, so she had no choice but to purchase the new laptop.
However, when the computer arrived, Best Buy not only told her that she could not receive a refund on the initial device, but the device had impact damage—a claim Libby denies given that it never left her desk. As such, they could not process her refund, leaving Libby stuck fielding the cost of two laptops.
In the comments section, many users advised against buying from secondary retailers like Best Buy.
“Always buy your MacBooks and apple products from the Apple Store,” wrote one user.
“Bring it in to an Apple Store,” suggested another. “Usually if you have the item less then 1 year they replace it if they can’t fix it.”
A few users encouraged Libby to go further.
“Almost the same thing happened to me like a decade ago..I filed a complaint with the better business bureau and they made it right,” alleged a commenter.
“Do a charge back on your card,” advised a second. “your cardholder agreement should have protection against faulty products for this type of situation.”
“Nope ask them to show you the damage noted when you dropped it off. if not they damaged it,” stated a third.
However, Libby shared a happy update on the situation in a follow-up video. She says Apple reached out to her after seeing her video and told her to send her broken laptop to the company to fix, free of charge. They also instructed her to return the new products she had purchased from Best Buy.
@lib_claire WE LOVE THE POWER OF TIKTOK
♬ original sound – Libby
“After I talked to Apple… Best Buy actually reached out to me,” Libby explains. “They called me directly, and this lady was like, ‘Girl, come back over here. They fucked up.’ I appreciate that she took full ownership. She even said, ‘I don’t even care about the video. You can keep that up. I really don’t care, I just want to take care of you.'”
Libby says she returned to the “scene of the crime,” received a full refund from Best Buy, and the company even gave her a new MacBook that she says was a better model than the one she initially had.
“The only money I have to pay on it is the money I already owed on the original, which is still kind of a good deal because it’s a nicer MacBook,” she explains. “They gave me that AppleCare for free, and yes, I checked all my receipts.”
The TikToker showed appreciation for Best Buy’s attempts to make it right, she says she’s done with the company’s tech support for good.
“I never want to step foot in this place again,” Libby says. “I don’t want your tech support. I am never coming here again. And while I appreciate that they made it right and gave me a new computer—which is what they should’ve done from the first place because AppleCare even told me that it should’ve been covered by the warranty. They just rejected that warranty because they were lazy.”
Even without the AppleCare that Libby had purchased, Apple told her Best Buy should have fixed the computer regardless as it was under a year old.
Thanking viewers for their support, Libby notes that she doesn’t want to extend hate to the manager at that particular location, because as she puts it, “he fought for me til the bitter end.”
In summary, as Libby states earlier in the clip, “They underestimated the power of TikTok.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Libby via contact form, as well as to Best Buy and the specific location via email.
