Best Buy hijacked my bank account and disposed my Best Buy points

Question

I placed an online order on 09/05/2014 (Order number: (removed per forum guidelines) around 4pm eastern, and about 3 hours later, I got another email stating "YOUR ITEM HAS BEEN CANCELED". It was for an in-store open box item, which I was able to pay for online and pick-up at the store, or so I thought. I used two $5.00 reward certificates, a gift card, and my credit card to finalize the transaction. The email titled, "YOUR ITEM HAS BEEN CANCELED" contained this information:
Be assured that if you paid by credit card, it has not been charged, and any other method of payment has been credited. If you used a Gift Card for this order and no longer have it, please call the number below and we'll send you a replacement.
If you have any questions about your order or need further assistance — or if you'd like help finding a similar item — please contact us at
1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289).
Once again, we're sorry for this inconvenience, and are working hard to serve you better in the future.
Sincerely,
Karalyn Sartor
Vice President Customer Care
Well, lets just start wih Karalyn did not answer my call or attempted to help.
My gift card was immeditely re-credited, however it has been a different story for the other method of payment. My certificates which were accumulated through purchases totaling over $500 dollars, never regenerated (i've called 3 separate times about when are they going back to my points bank and responses range from 24hr to 45days) it's now Wednesday this happen last Friday. The cancelation email stated my credit card would not be charged, but Best Buy did something worse they placed a hold on my card for this order that wasn't fulfilled and actually canceled by Best Buy employees at the store(553) due to not in stock (as stated in cancelation email).
The transaction was completed online because it indicated stock was available and the, "Thank you for your order" email implied that ownership was mine. I don't understand why Best Buy placed a hold on my card, if the transaction was manually checked and canceled? What makes it worse there was no attempt to contact me to substitute canceled order or give me a definitive reason why it was canceled. In fact, my reward certificates that I accumulated over some time were gone due to this cancelled order and no definitive answer has been given to when they will show back on my account. I was told Friday the hold would release in 3-5 days and it "should" drop, but it now Wednesday. I would understand if this was a return transaction and I have to wait for my funds to be available again, but I had no possession of item and it the transaction didn't go through why is Best BUy holding my money hostage? I'm not in the business of lending out money, and I needed those funds to actually acquire what I attempted to in my order. I shouldn't have to wait on my money, I feel like I'm being bullied and down right punished.
So, now it gets worse for me because. I called I-800 for Elite Plus reward members ( been a member since it was Premier Silver) to make sure stock was available on a similar item (at full price), and asked about the points, I lost and how I would be able to apply them to my purchase. The rep adjusted the price to accommodate my transaction and said that the points would be still go back on my account in 24 hrs. This new order was finalized on the same day as original order Friday 09/05/2014.
Well, I checked my bank account Monday , and was surprised to see the original cancelled order was still there, as well as two identical transaction that I'm assuming represented my new order. I was patient and waited till Tuesday to check again, and hoped that all mistaken holds would drop, but I was wrong. Instead, now a hold actually posted as a completely different amount (lower) with the new order number associated to it, and the other amount(what I expected) is also there plus the original transaction amount. Who gave Best By create a third order without my consent? Why did Best Buy assume I had money to lend their cooperation? Why did Best Buy assume that my funds were at their disposal and authorized their own transaction? How dos Best Buy not consider unapproved transactions could overdraft my account? I called and asked, but no answer could be given to why that happen except that the rep charged me twice, and thats why theres two holds, but then that doesn't explain why one of those holds post at a cheaper price with my new order number on it. This is crazy, there is no reason why a third order should have been created because I didn't approve it. This has been too many days without my money, and these holds total a little pass $300.00 dollars (not chump change).
Yesterday (09/09/14) I contacted my bank to find a solution to these unwarranted charges, and the only way to expedite and release my funds would be in a from of a letter from best buy on their letter head to be faxed to 18663097443 with the transaction amounts, card number, my name, date of transaction, signed by a manager, and a statement informing the bank that Best Buy would not collect on those charges. The other solution was to dispute the charge that posted because that amount was not contracted to be fulfilled under the agreement of the order form.
So, I called Best Buy again. Well, after over an hour on the phone and the rep spoke to her superiors which declined the request, so I asked for the case number, but the rep told me that after during the conversation her computer crashed and no number could be given. So, I asked for some type of compensation for this crazy ordeal and for the financial position it put me in by creating a new order and holding funds from a canceled order. Well, she said my situation didn't correspond to reasons that warranted compensation, not even a coupon. I thought what happen to customer service as being a reason? The Best Buy rep did seem to empathize with my situation, and asked again for that authorization letter, and she said she got it approved; this was around 5pm yesterday. She then even said she was able to generate a case number with this approval (case number 144087240).
Guess what Best Buy community its now Wednesday, and the holds are all there no communication was sent to the resolution department on the behalf of Best buy and I'm still out $300. plus dollars since Friday. Normally banks charge interest on loans, what will Best Buy do for me now that I have stolen my money? I never gave consent to create a third order, which now I will have to dispute and report to the Better Business Bureau. The most unbelieveble part of this mess is that the item in my original order that satrted all this is still up on the Best Buy page. An employee supoosley checked and made the determination that the item is out of stock, but its still on the webpage to trap another customer in lending Best Buy capital to fund their organization. I would clike to challenage any employee to attempt to but this item and see what happens to their funds. I mean, come on Best Buy if you don't pay the employee to trap people, then have them remove the item off the website where people are becoming victims to this money pit. Here is the link go for it and see what happens to you Karalyn Sartor, Vice President Customer Care. 
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-open-box-ipad-mini-with-wi-fi-16gb-white-silver/6208541.p?id=12187...
I shop at Best Buy so much I held the silver Premier status since it was introduced, and every year the amount of how much you spend gets raised as benefits get removed, I've been able to surpass that threshold to maintain Elite Plus status since it too has been created topping almost $5000.00 this year alone, and we haven't hit Christmas yet. This experience is something to consider next time I think about going to Best Buy.

Answer 1

Good afternoon robertocar78,
After reading through your detailed post, I can fully understand why you would be frustrated with this experience. First off, stores should ensure that their clearance and open-box items listed on BestBuy.com are up-to-date to prevent such experiences as yours. Secondly, to have such an amount of funds unavailable would be quite worrisome, and I hope that I can bring some light to your particular situation.
Using the email address you registered with the forum, I was able to locate your cancelled order as well as the replaced order. Typically when an order is placed, the funds are immediately authorized to ensure the funds are available. While this authorization may make the funds unavailable, the funds have not actually been collected.
Once an order ships, the funds will be collected at that time. Should there be more than one item on an order, if the items ship separately or at different times, you may be charged for the individual items. That being said, you could see multiple smaller charges for one order that together make up the order total. If an order is cancelled, the authorization should be dropped on our end. However, this may take 3-5 business days to reflect on your end, depending on your financial institution’s processing times.
I was able to see that you have been working extensively with Todd on our Consumer Relations team in regards to your situation. I spoke with him personally about your particular situation and let him know that you have also posted here in regards to your concerns. I’m happy to hear that he has been able to assist you in resolving most of your issues thus far.
Also, please know that I am reaching out to the Tropicaire store in Miami, FL store in regards to this iPad listing to ensure they have a chance to correct any inventory or listing issues they may have. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this experience may have caused you. I hope that this experience has not influenced your future shopping destinations.
If you should have any further concerns or questions, please feel welcome to reach out to me here on the thread or by sending me a private message via the link in my signature below.
Cheers!
Tasha|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
 Private Message