Best Buy sure doesn’t get open-loop gift cards. It is one thing to make a single horrendous mistake and have someone arrested when they are simply trying to use valid American Express gift cards.  But hearing another story like the following one makes me think that Best Buy simply isn’t the place to use any open-loop gift cards.

I bought a Wii Fit Plus and a Wii set using gift cards I received for my birthday.  These are American Express and Visa Gift Cards.  When the cashier took the gift cards, he never returned them to me.  I didn’t think that was not normal since I rarely use gift cards.

Well, I decided that the Wii and Wii Fit Plus set was not for me so I returned it (unopened, in mint condition – after only a few days).  This is what I got from the folks at customer service.

“We can only refund American Express Gift Cards directly to the Gift Card itself.  The sales person shouldn’t have taken it from you.  Since you don’t have the Gift Card anymore, we can only issue a BEST BUY Store Credit! And if you use Visa or Mastercard Gift Cards, you can only get a store credit regardless.“

Now, that was not my issue.  The issue that they cannot refund me the value in cash for gift cards is absurd, specially if their own salesperson took it from me.  I was very disappointed.