Consumer complaint received 2017-05-20
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2017, I was told by the Best Buy store in XXXX XXXX, Arizona, that if I opened a Best Buy Credit Card I would receive reward vouchers for 10 % of the purchase 16 days after I paid off the balance. The reward amount was {$90.00}. I paid the balance on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I wanted to make a purchase, but was told in the store that the last voucher, for {$45.00} was not available. I called the help line XX/XX/XXXX and was told it would be available on XX/XX/XXXX, but on XX/XX/XXXX, having gone to the store again, it was not available. So I called XXXX again and was told the voucher would not be available until XX/XX/XXXX because of a computer problem ( in point of fact it was not available until XX/XX/XXXX. ) During the phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, when I pointed out that I had entered a contract with Best Buy with the understanding that I would be given {$90.00} by a certain date, the Reward Department acknowledged the discrepancy and transferred me to the Refund Department. A person called XXXX told me I would be given a {$99.00} reward to compensate me for my trouble. I was given the transaction number # XXXX On XXXX XXXX, 2017, I checked my balance, and there was no refund for {$99.00}. I again called XXXX. XXXX in the refund department acknowledged the existence of the transaction number regarding the purported refund, but said that his department could not provide a refund for in-store purchases. After a total of an hour and a half, on the phone, I spoke with XXXX, a supervisor, who told me that if I take the receipt back to the store, the transaction could be processed again, and I would receive the amount of the reward vouchers. This was not true. Throughout this entire problem, customer service kept insisting that it was the local store 's error. I was never given false or misleading information from the store, only from the customer service connected to the credit card. On XXXX XXXX, 2017, when I went to the store, the store manager lowered the price of the item so that I would be credited {$90.00}. In other words, the customer service department associated with the credit card made the local store pay for it 's false advertising and false promises. I believe Best Buy lured me into purchases twice with the promise of being able to provide me with rewards, first on XX/XX/XXXX, when I was told I would have vouchers, and then on XX/XX/XXXX, when I was offered a refund in lieu of those vouchers. My concern is that other consumers are being lured into making purchases at Best Buy with a confusing rewards program and a customer service department that can not adequately provide consumers with information or solutions. The store personnel and the customer service representatives are put on the front lines of bad corporate policies that make them the fall-guys when someone notices a discrepancy between the promised benefits and actual transactions.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation