Re: 18 Month Financing (deferred interest) is deceptive.

Glad to join and hear from people with similar issues.
Best Buy set up my account in their store for deferred payments, then never sent an invoice. Ever.
Their bank kept calling an old number at a former address about the account. Finally someone there was nice enought to let me know. When I finally caught up with it all, Best Buy had charged interest on amounts they never invoiced!
Immediately I paid their bill in full, except for the interest which they can't claim, never having sent a bill on whcih to collect a payment.
I called my local store and also spoke with the bank's customer service, rep, who promised to remove the interest charge but didn't. I've called since, reps say sorry we'll handle, but don't.
Does anyone know if Best Buy has a workable avenue to take care of this, or just BBB and Attorney General?

Hello Patricialee,
If you received interest charges on a purchase you had never received an invoice for, it would be very shocking and infuriating. I can imagine you were quite confused to receive such phone calls, and apologize for any disappointment this experience may have caused you.
Best Buy’s branded credit cards are managed and serviced by a completely separate entity, Citibank. That being said, we would have no control, influence, or access to your account and would not be responsible for issuing any invoices or statements. We would also unfortunately be unable to make any reversals of deferred interest, and I am truly sorry if you were at any time provided such a promise.
That being said, we often attempt to partner with Citibank in cases such as yours in order to see what options we may present to you. I’m happy to hear that Citibank was able to assist in regards to your deferred interest when you contacted them directly. If you should have any further questions or concerns, please feel welcome to let me know.
Cheers,
Tasha|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Similar Messages

36 Month Financing (deferred interest)

Hello,
I bought a TV, I guesst 36 month ago and was making all my monthly payments ( > minmum). on 7/18/14 I had $2,153.86 on deferred interest on my statement. I only had $879.43 left to pay off. This interets seems to be very very hight. If I know this I would have borrowed money and paid the $879.43.
Do not best buy (or I guess 3rd party handing payments) consider that I paid ($1637) in the past 36 months.
Thanks

Hello there jkhader-
Having a credit card can be a great way to make those large purchases that you can afford to pay all at once and I’m glad to hear that you’ve been able to utilize the Best Buy credit card in this way. However, I can certainly understand your concerns about what your payoff amount might be.
While the Best Buy credit card does have our logo on it, the payments and financing are handled by Citibank, so I’m not able to see how your payments are disbursed among your purchases. Mbrguy did cover some of this in his post and if you do have other purchases on your Best Buy credit card, the payments go towards those different purchases.
As I understand it, any payments made to the account would first be applied to all minimum payments due for purchases on the account. Next, it would be applied to purchases that have interest charges due. Lastly, if funds remain from the payment, they will be applied to purchases with the financing promotions, in the order they are set to expire.
If you have any questions about how your payments are been distributed among your purchases, I would recommend contacting Citibank at the customer service number on the back of your card or on any of your statements.
If you need further assistance beyond that, please let us know and we can see if we can help!
Thanks,
Bill|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

18 month finance scam. Specifically asked for no finance promotion.

Here I am 18 mos later being charged 453.00 interest. There was no note of a finance promotion on my reciept! So I figured I was good and the sales associate did what I asked. Boy was I wrong!!!!I receive my bills electronically.... the deferred interest does not show til page 3. I am waiting for the staement to download the month after I purchased my computer.I called customer service absloutley no help! Unless I pay it off now.What a crock! I will never purchase anything at best buy on their credit card again. I'm so mad I will stay out of that store and purchase my needed items elsewhere. This is a scam especially if you recieve your statement electronically!And you can't depend on the sales people because the credit card company can always weasel out. Unless enough of us bring a class action lawsuit! Sounds like a good idea to me.

the financing options are often times found on the screens at our registers. The receipt doesn't always show the financing option that you clicked on, but that is what the statement is for. When you signed off on the credit card, you acknowledged the terms and conditions, which means you are to pay the balance due within the promotional period. If you do not your will be charged interest of the entire sale at the end of the promotion. I don't know where the scam is, or why you would think a class action is necessary? i have had an account with the company since 2007 and haven't run across this issue ever, but i guess im weird for checking on how much i owe the bank after i borrow money from them.

Re: Deferred Interest Charge

I also got deferred interest added to my statement. Last time I went to best buy I asked about the interest rates and how it worked. The sales man said I pretty much have 12 months free finance and other things over a certain amount may qualify for 18 months. So I guess that he was wrong and I got charged over $100. Lesson learned to just try things out at best buy and buy it at amazon. Once I pay off the credit card it will be cut up and never used again. No thanks sales man at best buy!!!!!

Hello Jenn8o8,
Finding an unexpected charge on your billing statement would be an alarming sight, so I’m can imagine your confusion seeing a deferred interest charge appear your My Best Buy credit card account. While we do offer a few repayment options for select purchases, it seems like they were not fully explained to you by the store associates when you made your purchase. Please know Best Buy has nothing to gain when customers do not pay off their purchase within the promotional period, and I apologize for any frustration this may have caused.
As you may have learned, promotional financing plans require minimum monthly payments to be made and the full balance to be paid within the agreed timeframe; interest will be charged to accounts from the purchase date if these terms are not met. As it’s my hope you decide keep the card and use it towards any future purchases, please know any details surrounding these repayment terms can be found in our promotional financing information in-store, on BestBuy.com, in your credit card agreement and on your monthly statements.
Citibank, N.A. is the issuer of your My Best Buy credit card account, and as such, we do not have the ability to review your account in detail. I’d be glad to share your case with our Citibank contacts for further review though, so I’ve sent you a private message to gather some additional information from you. You may view it by logging into the forum and clicking on the envelope icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Thank you for posting,

Deferred Interest

I just opened up my statement in the mail and saw that I had been charged over $861.55 in interest. At first I thought my credit account had been hacked, only to find out that it was deferred interest from my 0% interest for 18 months on a laptop that I had purchased.
The situation is very alarming to me, as I am currently in a financial crunch as I am helping out a sick relative. Had I known that I would have been charged such a high amount of interest, I would have paid it all off last month. I have ALWAYS paid well above the minimum payment and have never had a late payment.
I've seen that moderators or customer service representatives have been able to talk to Citibank on behalf of the consumer to see what could be done. If given the opportunity to, I will pay off my balance in full this month if it means not having to pay this interest. My financial stress levels are at an all-time high right now, and this really does not help. Please help!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hello bmagsam,
Welcome to the forum. It definitely would be alarming to discover you have been charged with deferred interest fees. It is very generous of you to be helping your sick relative, and I can imagine the strain any unforeseen financing charges would put on your budget during this time.
I am very glad to read that Citibank was able to defer the interest for one more month! They are a valued partner, and always willing to assist our customers whenever possible. As the other users here have mentioned, and for future reference, please note that the promotion expiration will not be the same as the payment due date. The expiration is determined from the date of the purchase. Also, the expiration date is clearly listed on all billing statements.
Thank you for posting on the forum, and if you ever have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know!
Maria|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Question on Deferred Interest

Hello! Just tried to post this a second ago and my computer freaked out and posted it before I could type my message.
Anyway, I just had a question about a deferred interest issue. I was under the impression that I had another month to pay off my balance, but was shocked to discover this morning that I had been charged almost $400 on a $140 charge. Naturally I was distraught because I was planning on paying the whole rest of the balance off in full this month. I have been extremely stressed lately (family health problems, having to move, work issues, etc.) and probably miscalculated on the time I had left, and since I have paperless billing and just log in and pay off some of the balance each month (more than the minimum required), I may have missed it.
I've seen here before that moderators or customer service representatives have been able to talk to Citibank on behalf of the consumer to see what could be done. I've been trying to send this as a message to Citibank's customer service for the past 30 minutes and keep getting an error message, so I thought maybe someone could help reach out to them for me. I don't have access to a phone right now as I'm at work. My stress levels are through the roof right now and if someone could help put me in contact with someone about this, I would be super grateful. Thanks for any help.

Hello Comsnyde,
Discovering a $400 charge on my credit card account would be alarming, particularly so if it wasn’t a charge I was expecting, so I can imagine your shock in finding such a startling amount on your monthly billing statement. As it sounds like you believed you had one more month to pay off your purchase, I’m sure this is an incredibly frustrating situation, and I’m sorry to hear of the roadblocks you’ve run into while trying to figure this out on your own. While Best Buy has nothing to gain when customers don’t pay off their purchase within the promotional period, I’m glad you reached out to us for further assistance.
As Citibank, N.A. is the issuer of your My Best Buy credit card account, I would be glad to share your inquiry with our Citibank contacts for further review, especially if you’re unable to reach out to them directly for whatever reason. I need some more information from you to do so though, so please be on the lookout for a private message from me within the next couple of minutes. You may view it by logging into the forum clicking on the envelope icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Thanks for posting,
Alex|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Deferred Interest Charge

I am absolutely livid about the deferred interest charges. I set up auto-pay as soon as I purchased a Samsung television after taking advantage of the 36-month, 0% interest promotion. I set the monthly amount at well over what would be required to pay off the balance prior to the expiration of the promotion. However, because of the way my payments were allocated, there was a balance left at the end of the promotion. Because I had set up auto-pay and did not receive paper statements, I didn't realize there was a balance until I decided to take a look at what I owed back in January. I was floored when I saw a $2,500 interest payment on the statement. I called to discuss this issue and offered to pay the balance in full minus the interest charge. I felt that this was reasonable as the promotion had expired only a month prior to my phone call to Best Buy. The lady I spoke with said she could not take the interest charge off. I told her that I was perfectly capable of paying the entire balance (minus the interest charge) right there on the phone with her and that, if she wasn't able/willing to work with me at all, I would have no reason to keep my Best Buy credit card active. Why would I want to do business with a company that doesn't care to work with me, especially considering the amount of money I had spent on that card (even without the interest charge!)? She was still unwilling to work with me, so I ended up canceling my card. This was quite a poor decision on Best Buy's part as I had made a number of purchases on the card and planned to do so in the future. I studied each of the statements from the prior year carefully and could not figure out how in the world the payments were being allocated. Even though my monthly payment stayed the same, the amount allocated to the television changed every month. This is without my making any additional charges to the card. Some months, the amount allocated was more than sufficient to cover what would have been necessary to pay the balance in time. Other months, almost nothing was allocated toward the television. It made no sense. I spoke with Citibank and they were not cooperative either. I'm hoping that Best Buy will work with me on this issue before the expiration of my next promotion that I took advantage of on another large purchase. If Best Buy is not able to work with me, I will be forced to transfer the balance to another card so I don't incur even more deferred interest charges. There is no way I could make sufficient monthly payments to cover the interest that was put on the card plus the balance of the purchase I made on the other promotion before that promotion expires in July. If this issue gets resolved, I would gladly re-open an account with Best Buy. However, at this time, I have no reason to do business with a company that doesn't want to take care of its customers. Yes, I understand that there are certain terms and conditions with which the credit card holder is to comply, but this is also a situation that could be remedied while maintaining customer satisfaction. We shall see.

I would suggest to ALLWAYS look at your statements, whether you get one by mail or whether they are electronic.
Also, Best Buy doesn't make any decisions as to whether they'll remove interest charges. Citibank owns your card and only they have the power and authority to do this. Best Buy moderators on here may be able to talk to Citibank on your behalf to see whether they'll remove it, but since Best Buy doesn't own your credit card account, they have no legal authority to do anything else.
As to how payments are allocated. After the minimum payment has been paid each month, any additional payments will be allocated to the purchase with the highest amount of interest accruing and then once that is paid down, additional payments to the next highest interest purchase. Deferred interest is seen as 0 accrues interest since it will cost you zero interest if paid off according to the terms so additional payments don't get added to it until other interest bearing purchases have been paid off.
This sounds really bad and malicious, but in reality, the Federal Government decided that this is how payments will be allocated via the CARD Acr of 2009. Citibank is merely following federal law on how they allocate payments. You can change this by contacting the bank during your deferred interest period and telling them how you want it allocated, but per the law, you must initiate that contact.
Hope this helps explain how the payments are allocated. It makes it harder for deferred interest plans, especially when you make other purchases with the card that bear interest. But that's the way the federal government decided banks had to allocate payments.

12 months or 6 months financing

Hello, I want to purchase tickets on http://tickets.tomorrowworld.com/ website will it qualify for 12 months financing if i have paypal credit ? I think they use "PayLogic" system for payment and they have paypal option .Thank you

i have the same question

Question, the 18 months financing with order total $429 and above. Is it before or after tax?

Question, the 18 months financing with order total $429 and above. Is it before or after tax?

Hi Hoan,
Kst8no1 is spot-on here: your purchase would need to total $429 before sales tax is applied to qualify for 18-month financing. Full details on this particular financing plan can also be found here.
Aaron|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

No longer offering 18 month financing???

Just noticed today that there are only options for 6 and 12 month financing. I've been making purchases from Best Buy for years and using the 18 month financing, sometimes even 24 months or more. Is this a permanent change or temporary?

Hi bangerbass87,
Good question! Citibank no longer offers a standard 18-month financing option on My Best Buy credit cards. Cardholders can, however, still take advantage of 6-month financing on purchases $149 or more or 12-month financing on purchases of $399 or more. Additional options may be offered from time to time on select product categories, but you'll need to keep an eye on BestBuy.com and our weekly ad for details on these promotions.
BestBuy.com > Other Product Categories > Financing
http://bbyurl.us/Financing
I hope this helps.
Aaron|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Changing Plan Mid-month "pro-rated" unclear and deceptive practice. C.S. offers no help

I recently found myself having to up my plan minutes for a family emergency. I went online and checked my usage I was at 394 minutes out of a 450 minute plan, so I elected to switch to the 900 plan minute for the month, ancipating I would go over in the next week. I was given options to back date it or start on that day, as I had clearly not gone over my alloted minutes, I chose to start it as of that day.
My Bill came and I received 69 dollars in minute overages. How was this explained, that by prorating the bill, they divide the cylcel in half, not only by "dollars" which seemed to be the explantion I received online, but by minutes. SO my minute alotment of 450 was reduced to 240 for those two weeks I oriignally had 450 minutes in. They billed as if that was my allowance therefore saying I now went over my plan by 154 minute which I was billed to the tune of 69.00 dollars, plus the addition of the monthly increase in plan.
My question to any logical rational intelligent person would be, why would someone choose to up there minute plan, before they went over, just to then be charged for minutes they would not have been had they not upped there plan to the next level. This defies common sense and any explanation would as well.
Customer service sadly would not even hear or understand this, only to say this is a valid "cost" and I should have read the "disclosure" statement or called if I had questions and not use online services. I asked both the operator and a supervisor for the terms of the disclosure agrement and neither could tell me what it said. However in reading billing question answers they respond "For example, if you changed rate plans during the middle of your billing cycle, your statement should contain a charge for the old rate plan (according to the number of days in your cycle that you were on the old rate plan) and the new rate plan. " yes that makes sense but no where does it say your minutes may be reduced up until this point and you may occur additional charges not already used. by ironically "increasing your minute plan".
I am waiting for a manager to return my call, As a long time customer of verizon whom have promoted them and the new iphone all over facebook and such to my friends I am very discouraged by this practice, and the lack of resolve.

Mike I appreciate that at least you are familiar with what the disclosure statement says, despite othert reps not being able to recite it. However the term "may" be in inself is Misleading, if "airtime" is prorated the statement should read "YOUR airtime MINUTES will be prorated and reduced to this point, possibly resulting in overages and additional charges" The wording is intentionally misleading. If it weren't MIke, why would anyone KNowingly select an option that would then cause them to owe an additional 69.00 dollars they didnt owe at the time, when UPPING their PLAN?
The fact that Customer Service Can't see that as a very real possiblity and just is dissmisive saying You should have read the disclosure statement., and it is a valid charge tells, me they run into this frequently and they have a script to read from to cover themselves, leaving the HUman Element out of the equation. It is sad enough I had to Up my plan only temporarily while dealing with a tragic family situation, to add insult to injury. To me the term "may" be prorated and "may" result in additional overages meant, that if I had gone over my minutes prior to the change I would be charged, because MIKE that is COMMON SENSE. and a REASONABLE person May think that. Cutomer Service Reps could at least acknowledge that as a very real Understanding of how that line could be interupted, and that a reasonable person would not otherwise increase their plan only to be charge for something they would not have otherwise been charged.
I am almost positive in the Future this wording will be Changed after the continued Myriad of complaints. From what I already understand the new "changing minutes and not plan" option already has changed it. SO why not make things right for long time loyal customers now. I actually want to reduce my plan back down now as it was a temporary emergency however I DONT dare do it mid month again, SO I will wait another 2 weeks and pay even more.
This is NOT ME and my misunderstanding, just googling the topic comes up with tons and tons of complaints, articles written on the topic and so fourth. I have been waiting days for someone as promised to call me back as well and that hasnt happened. I have talked to so many friends about this many verizon customers and all say this can't be right, because it DOESNT MAKE SENSE, despite it being "valid" as you say.

I have been pre-approved for a Barclaycard Rewards Mastercard, Can i buy an Imac with the 18 Month Financing with this card?

So i have been Pre-approved for a Barclaycard Rewards mastercard, if i sign up for this will i be able to buy an imac with the 18 moth financing option?

I don't see why not.
Apple is not picky where the money comes from.
Allan

Can I buy out my monthly finance contract for my Mac Book Pro?

I currently pay montly for my Mac Book. I have a year and a half left, is there a possibility of paying the rest of the money off immediatly?

You must contact Apple for an answer to your question. This forum is populated by Apple users, not by any Apple corporate representatives.
Ciao.

18 Month No Financing

I am very upset with Best Buy on its alliance with CitiBank and though I know there's nothing more than I could do, I thought I just post my feelings on this.
I've always done my electronic shopping at Best Buy and always excited to keep my Elite status for my reward zone for the past years. It's primarily because of that I make Best Buy my first go to place for electronics and do shopping for my customers. When I chose the option of purchase of 18 month no financing fee, I figured it was probably similar to what best buy had with chase in that there was 18 month no financing on large purchases and you start to pay interest if you go over. But my mistake was trusting Best Buy's decision for this merger. I chose this option, only to find out of deferred interest charges on that option of $773 in one swoop! Now, I've over exceeded my balance (yes I am aware there's no "cap"), my monthly payments are, or course, larger, and now it shows on my credit report that I've exceeded my balance which is critical for downgrade on my credit report. I'm stuck paying these fees now.
I blame myself for not reading it thoroughly but again, it's because of my loyalty to Best Buy that I felt it would be more of the same as before. I can't justify coming back and making large purchases anymore. I don't even care for buying any purchases at all. You may say this is a CitiBank issue and not Best Buy, but that's just deflecting the issue. Best Buy acquired Citibank (or vice versa). You are both the same now. They're policies are now Best Buy's policies. Just own it. I quit CitiBank years ago because the way they hold interest is ridiculous. I should've remember that. Anyway, that's my feelings for it and that's that. I plan to make a large payment soon and close my account.

Hello jramz52,
Welcome to the forum, and thank you for being a loyal Elite Plus customer. I'm sorry to hear you were caught by surprise when you saw the deferred charges on your My Best Buy credit card account. I can imagine how distressing it would be to realize you have to pay a lot more than you were originally expecting.
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that while Citibank, N.A. is the issuer of your My Best Buy credit card account, we did not merge with the company. If you made a purchase using one of our interest free financing offers, to avoid paying the deferred interest, you would need to ensure you were making the minimum monthly payments and paid the full balance by the end of the financing term. For future reference, the promotion expiration is not be the same as the payment due date. The expiration is determined from the date of the purchase; Therefore the interest was charged in full accordance with the terms of your contract with Citibank and as detailed in your monthly statements.
That being said, it is my goal to assist our valued customers as best as I can, so I will be sharing your concerns with Citibank, and they should be reaching out to you directly within the next 3-5 business days to discuss this further. Please let me know if you do not hear from them within this timeframe.
Thank you again for sharing your feedback here on the forum, and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Maria|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Apple Finance - "Pay nothing for 6 months"

Hey guys, not sure if this is the right forum to post in but I have a quick question about the "Pay nothing for 6 months" finance option on the Apple Store UK.
Basically I applied for it this morning and got accepted and ordered and iMac on the finance option. Now I will pay the full amount back within 3-4 months (you avoid paying interest if you pay the full amount back within 6 months). I just need to know how I go about paying them the money each month.
On the forms I printed off, there is a Direct Debit form I have to sign and send to them (Barclays Partner Finance) but I think that's for the 36 repayments after the 6 month period is over (so you have to pay back the £949 plus loads of interest).
Now does anyone know how I go about paying them the money within the 6 months? Do they send me a bill each month that I can fill in and pay at my bank? Or do I have to set up a standing order?
I'm sorry if this isn't making much sense but I'm all new to this! So if anyone can help me it would be much appreciated!

Bobster, i did the same thing but using "Juniper" here in the States...
The first thing I did was log on to their website and create an account with all my personal info, email, banking, yada yada....then I got the first bill in the mail, I logged on and changed my minimum payment. I should have my mac paid off in 4 months...

Re: 18 Month Financing (deferred interest) is deceptive.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for