Retailer Pays Up for Damage Caused During Installation

A Tolland woman turned to NBC Connecticut Responds for help after waiting more than six months for her complaint to be resolved.

Denise Vannoy bought a new washing machine from Best Buy in March. She paid for a Best Buy to deliver and install it and haul away the old machine.

The new washer was actually delivered and installed by a third party contractor. Vannoy said they hooked it up and started a wash cycle before leaving.

"So they had some quick cycle going and five minutes after they left I started hearing all these alarms going off. And basically the hot water wasn't coming out," she said.

Vannoy said she discovered the hot water valve was broken. She called Best Buy right away and a team from the store’s Geek Squad came to take a look at the damage.

Vannoy said the technicians were able to hook the hot water line up to the sink in her laundry room so she would be able to use the washing machine until the valve was fixed. For that, they said she would have to hire a plumber to fix the valve. They estimated it would cost around $250 and assured her Best Buy would reimburse her.

Vannoy said the fix was more complicated than she expected. The plumber’s bill came to $500.

“So they had to cut into the wall and cut the pipes, replace the pipes, replace the box and valves," she said.

Vannoy was contacted by an insurance company representing Best Buy about her claim.

“They were just like, ‘oh fill out this paperwork, do this, do that, do this.’ And I’m like, you know, I purchased this through Best Buy. I don’t feel like as a consumer that I should be doing all that. I feel like Best Buy should handle it,” she said.

Vannoy said she was asked for the same information each time she spoke to someone about her claim.

“It’s like telling the same story over and over again and I’m just done with that,” she said.

So Vannoy decided to see if NBC Connecticut Responds would have better luck than she did.

After we contacted Best Buy, Vannoy received another call from the insurance company, asking for the same information. So we circled back to the retailer.

A few weeks later, Vannoy received a check for $500 along with a $100 Best Buy gift card.

A Best Buy spokesperson told NBC Connecticut, “The bottom line is that we didn't take care of this customer the way we should have and we are very sorry."

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