Best Buy not able to activate Google Nexus S lines, making people pay full retail?

I work at a Best Buy Monile stand alone store and have had no trouble activating Nexus S devices regardless of if it is am upgrade or new line.

They are only selling the Nexus S at $199.99 price with 2 yr activation at certain Best Buy locations…. i was told only the major stores there is even a list on the website…. any other best buy store is selling the phone outright

As an employee of Best Buy Mobile I can say there is no problem, check to make sure the employees at your store are not dumbasses or call 18777022211

My best buy has the nexus S but shows only one price of full retail. no option for the lower with new contract price. I’m in Palmdale, CA

I tried activating a new line in Atlanta last week at a best buy store in cumberland and they said the same thing. You can buy the phone at full prize but not with the contract

It is absolutely right. Best buy, there T Mobile activation system sucks. I went to add a line and they told me that I have to deposit $500. I was shocked. I called T Mobile and guess what? They said my account is in very good standing and I don’t need any deposit. Honestly, I don’t think Best Buy knows how to treat their customers right. Very rude and impolite and very unprofessional. Very disappointed.

It depends on what store you go to. Every Best Buy Mobile store is allowed 3 carriers. Some store DON’T have T-Mobile. None the less, since Best Buy is currently the exclusive US retailer of the Nexus S, ALL store received stock of the phone. However, only stores w/T-Mobile are able to activate those handsets with a contract. Other stores are only able to sell the phone at regular price. It has to do with contractual agreements with Best Buy Mobile and the carriers.

To reinforce what many commentators have already stated… All Best Buys have Nexus S inventory. Only the stores that are authorized and licensed to perform T-Mobile activations can sell you a subsidized phone IN STORE. The stores that DO NOT carry T-Mobile can sell you a phone outright at full price(currently 529.99), OR activate new contract/extend existing contract and sell you a Nexus S at 2 year subsidized pricing BUT the phone hardware must be instant shipped to you. 2 year contract renewal price is $199.99, 2 year new contract price is $249.99.

Here’s my experience, a letter I wrote to Best Buy:

I have been on the phone with your company since 9:00am this morning attempting to purchase a Nexus S phone. It is now 2:04pm and I am still on the phone.

I have been passed around like a stepchild. No one has taken accountability for my experience. As I am typing this, the customer service supervisor just told me they cannot help.

At 9:00am this morning I went onto your website and tried to purchase the Nexus S phone. After my first attempt, I encountered an error it says to retry. After 3 more errors I decide to call and also get help online via chat. Chat was no help whatsoever. After waiting for at least 40 mins I get live help. I explained to the rep I would like to make a purchase and she takes me through the process. At one point she tells me T-Mobile needs to check my credit so I give my authorization. After waiting I was advised I wouldn’t qualify of the 2yr contract but rather a flex pay account because I am not credit worthy. I tried to plead my case; I’ve had at least 4 car loans within the last 2 yrs. which are either paid off or in good standing, an American Express card which I pay off at the end of each month and been an outstanding customer of At&t wireless for 5 yrs.

I decided to call T-Mobile directly and spoke with the credit department because I know there’s an error. They advised me the ssn provided was off by one number, as to why no one bothered to ask me to confirmed my ssn while I was on the phone is beyond me. She corrects my ssn and tells me I qualify for 4 lines, no deposit needed. At this point I thought everything was going to be alright so I decided to call Best Buy again to make the purchase.

I am a dumbass for believing it was going to be this easy, afterall I’ve been on the phone for only 3hrs. Two more 2hrs on the phone and I still cannot buy this stupid phone. T-Mobile tells me they approved me for a contract and everything is up to date on their end but Best Buy cannot access this information so I am out of luck. The message is clear: F off Mr. Customer, we don’t need your business there are thousands of other customers waiting.

I am in sales myself, I sell BMWs for a living. I would never ever put any of my clients through this much less think they would ever give me a second chance to make a first impression. After my clients purchase a BMW from me they get a survey which asks them to rate their experience, anything less than a 10 or a yes is considered a failure on my part. Imagine what I would give your company after 5 hrs on the phone and no resolution. Best Buy tells me it’s a systems limitations, T-Mobile tells me they have done their part but I am the one left standing in the cold. Imagine how much frustration I am feeling right now in order for me to sit at my desk for another hour and write this letter. So it’s now 3pm and it’s close to 6 hrs. Let’s see, I make $120k annually so that is basically $60 an hour, I just wasted $360 worth of my time.

I would like someone from your Executive Office to call me and explain where I failed. Did I not beg or plead hard enough for you guys to sell me a phone? Or is it just you have too much business and losing a dumbass like me makes no dent on your bottom numbers?

Hello Mr. Dunn-

I have been on the phone with your company since 9:00am this morning attempting to purchase a Nexus S phone. It is now 2:04pm and I am still on the phone.

I have been passed around like a stepchild. No one has taken accountability for my experience. As I am typing this, the customer service supervisor just told me they cannot help.

At 9:00am this morning I went onto your website and tried to purchase the Nexus S phone. After my first attempt, I encountered an error it says to retry. After 3 more errors I decide to call and also get help online via chat. Chat was no help whatsoever. After waiting for at least 40 mins I get live help. I explained to the rep I would like to make a purchase and she takes me through the process. At one point she tells me T-Mobile needs to check my credit so I give my authorization. After waiting I was advised I wouldn’t qualify of the 2yr contract but rather a flex pay account because I am not credit worthy. I tried to plead my case; I’ve had at least 4 car loans within the last 2 yrs. which are either paid off or in good standing, an American Express card which I pay off at the end of each month and been an outstanding customer of At&t wireless for 5 yrs.

I decided to call T-Mobile directly and spoke with the credit department because I know there’s an error. They advised me the ssn provided was off by one number, as to why no one bothered to ask me to confirmed my ssn while I was on the phone is beyond me. She corrects my ssn and tells me I qualify for 4 lines, no deposit needed. At this point I thought everything was going to be alright so I decided to call Best Buy again to make the purchase.

I am a dumbass for believing it was going to be this easy, afterall I’ve been on the phone for only 3hrs. Two more 2hrs on the phone and I still cannot buy this stupid phone. T-Mobile tells me they approved me for a contract and everything is up to date on their end but Best Buy cannot access this information so I am out of luck. The message is clear: F off Mr. Customer, we don’t need your business there are thousands of other customers waiting.

I am in sales myself, I sell BMWs for a living. I would never ever put any of my clients through this much less think they would ever give me a second chance to make a first impression. After my clients purchase a BMW from me they get a survey which asks them to rate their experience, anything less than a 10 or a yes is considered a failure on my part. Imagine what I would give your company after 5 hrs on the phone and no resolution. Best Buy tells me it’s a systems limitations, T-Mobile tells me they have done their part but I am the one left standing in the cold. Imagine how much frustration I am feeling right now in order for me to sit at my desk for another hour and write this letter. So it’s now 3pm and it’s close to 6 hrs. Let’s see, I make $120k annually so that is basically $60 an hour, I just wasted $360 worth of my time.

I would like someone from your Executive Office to call me and explain where I failed. Did I not beg or plead hard enough for you guys to sell me a phone? Or is it just you have too much business and losing a dumbass like me makes no dent on your bottom numbers?

I had this problem except I was able to get the phone for 199. It arrived with no contract. I am now with T-Mobile on a month to month…all because of Best Buys screw up.

That is the very answer I got here in Saint Louis, They did not give a reason, just said they could not activate on T-mobile lines.

no problems for me here on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Although due to best buy contracts with verizon my particular store could not let me have the phone on site. It was drop shipped and I received it in two days.
I was even able to keep my existing Unlimited plan with no additional monthly charges.

I added a third line and picked up a Nexus S for $249 (the $199 price only applies to new 2-year contracts). The Best Buy Mobile folks had trouble adding the line and had to call T-Mobile Customer Service to add the line and authorize the discount on the phone. It was a pain, but the Best Buy guy and the T-Mo folks worked it out. After all that I’m not so sure I want to keep this phone. The battery life is worse than that on my nexus ones, if you can believe that, and it takes 1.5 to 2x as long to charge, even on a beefier charger.

***CONSUMER WARNING*** Best Buy is a crook to consumers. They are not a consumer friendly retailer, and more often than not, provide a great deservice to consumers by causing shoppers to return multiple times for “fixes or exchanges” due to unreliable products, programs and/or services.

This is just the latest example of “disconnected” products and services that Best Buy sells. I purchased an HP (Has Problems) Laptop and 4-months later, the fan went out. Best Buy quoted 4-6 weeks for the repair, and the Roseville, CA Best Buy Store Manager said, “If you don’t want to be without a laptop, you can always buy another one!”

When I purchased my HP (Has Problems) laptop, I also purchased Microsoft Office, which was a card that all you had to do was simply activate online. Well, CONSUMERS, that took three different cards and three trips to Best Buy before I got a valid card that worked.

***CONSUMER WARNING*** Best Buy is a crook to consumers, and Best Buy is not a consumer friendly retailer!!!

I certainly had issues with a store that does not regularly sells T-mobile and also online. Although the error ne not visibly to BB workers, the problem ended up being that T-Mobile credit only approved me for a “Flex” account, their remedial credit level. Since then I have confirmed through a credit report (what I knew all all along) that my credit score is great and there is has no problems.

I have read a few posts of T-Mobile declining credit to perfectly qualified customers, so this could be part of the issue as well.