SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gary Sawyer recently bought a new phone from Best Buy — something he says was a big headache and cost a pretty penny.
Sawyer says he went to the location near Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento where he purchased a $174 phone. He said he paid the cost and was told the phone wasn’t actually available in that store.
“They said ‘well, if you want it tonight you're going to have to drive up to the Sunrise store… the Sunrise Mall store.’ And I even asked them, I said ‘if I drive up there tonight, will I walk away with a functional phone for the same price that I paid you?’ And they assured me that I would," said Sawyer.
After a 17 mile drive to the Sunrise Mall Best Buy location, Sawyer was welcomed to another surprise.
"(They told me) ‘it's going to cost you 80 bucks more to transfer data,’ and I go ‘but nobody told me that,’" he said.
He ultimately said no to transferring the contacts and days later returned the phone only to be hit with another fee.
He said the employee told him it would cost another $45 for a “restocking charge” to return the phone.
That’s when Sawyer reached out to 10 On Your Side, calling to tell us about his problem.
ABC10 reached out to Best Buy about the situation and was not given a statement, but Sawyer says he was refunded for the phone — including the restocking fee.
“I appreciate the heck out of you guys for doing that,” he said. “I don't think I would have had much luck without you getting involved.”
Molly White, a spokesperson for tech care company Asurion, says every carrier operates a little differently.
Some carriers, like AT&T, don’t charge for content transfers specifically, though you might be charged a standard upgrade fee when you upgrade your device. Others, like Verizon, offer white-glove setup and data transfer for a fee — though it might be included free of charge if you're enrolled in their mobile protection plan.
"I thought everybody ought to know. What I know now is find out what it's going to cost you before you buy anything because charges keep adding on," said Sawyer.
People buying new phones could avoid possible transfer fees altogether by doing it themselves at home. Some carriers have step by step instructions on how to transfer data on their sites. Some customers can also directly go to their carriers for help.
If you have a problem and don't know where else to turn, email to onyourside@abc10.com.
