This is a case where the oven didn't work, but the warranty did, sort of. The retailer agreed to honor the warranty by replacing the broken oven and yet, even that didn't solve the problem.
Dinner time is a family affair in the Khalil household in San Francisco. Muftia Khalil says meals are especially important on the anniversary of her father's death, when everyone gathers to remember him.
"We have a very large dinner, we invite about 100 people, it lasts from morning till night, you're constantly feeding people," said Khalil.
And so it was a disaster when the oven went out a few days before the big dinner.
"It just completely stopped working. The door would not shut," said Khalil.
They did have a warranty from Best Buy, but a technician couldn't fix it. So, Best Buy said the Khalils could pick out a new oven. It was an ideal solution, but it led to a bunch of problems.
"It wasn't heating properly. It wasn't cooking," said Khalil.
She says the new oven barely reached 300 degrees. This time the family wanted a refund and Best Buy agreed. A few days later, a crew picked up that faulty oven and the family waited for the refund. However, it didn't come.
"They had said we did not return the oven and that we still had the oven in our possession," said Khalil.
Best Buy said it could not find that faulty oven anywhere in its warehouse, so the family must still have it.
"I let them know it was your people that came and picked it up, they said they were part of Best Buy," said Khalil.
Khalil admits she never got a receipt when the oven was carried away. However, Best Buy looked into their case and without saying why, it agreed to refund the money.
Then, there was another problem.
"Come Monday, no money, we wait again, no money..." said Khalil.
The refund went into the father's old account, which was now closed. The money was somewhere in limbo. Finally, the family contacted 7 On Your Side. We contacted Best Buy and bingo, it was solved.
"We received a check from Best Buy for $1,619, the original cost of the oven," said Khalil.
The retailer did not tell us how this all happened, but came through in a big way, saying only, "Best Buy has resolved the situation. The family has been provided a full refund."
Now the food is sizzling once again in the Khalil household.
"I honestly would just advertise you guys to everybody. If you have a problem, like you've honestly been wronged, go to 7 On Your Side," said Khalil.
There is one very important lesson here is if a store sends a truck to pick up a returned item, or even if you bring it in, make sure you get a receipt if you don't get the money. That way you can prove you gave it back and you're entitled to the full refund.
