Best Buy Ripoff Has customer arrested for using $2 bills Calls Secret Service Lutherville Maryland

http://www.bestbuy.com/

http://www.bestbuy.com/

The bottom line here is that this whole sorry episode would never have happened if the OP hadn't been such a jerk and just paid his bill without trying be a smart a*s.

He bears 100% of the blame but I'm sure he's the type of person who would never admit it. Too bad!

I thought that it was printed or engraved "who really care" on currency. "This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts, Public And Private" that for the folks who say they can take $5.00 bill but refuse a $2.00 I cant believe this many stupid posts on the same subject aurguing on the name of printing techniques

Let us not forget that BB is a multi-million dollar national corporation. To call out BB on 'unfair practices' on a bill that represents less than 1% of all produced because it seems 'fake' is unfair. Any halfway smart employee of any company... whether it be Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, etc, would ask if the rare bill being presented to them is a fake.

"Many banks stocking $2 bills will not use them except upon specific request by the customer, and even then, may cause a delay with a trip to the vault. Another factor in the bill's rarity is the outright refusal of some commercial banks to reorder them at all."

Perhaps the refusal of the bills was a bit over the top, however completely understandable.

Please give it a rest..."Can't we all just get along"

We are missing the big picture. We all Hate Best Buy for what the do to the Customer as a whole, and their lousy business practices to ripoff the consumer.

So lets focus on how to stick it back to them, like they did to us.

of the total lack of knowledge of their employees.

Best Buy is notorious for lack of proper training of employees and the resultant poor customer service. I am not at all surprised that some of their workers are so ignorant of the denominations of US currency that they needlessly called the police and had the customer arrested. If I were this man, I would sue for false arrest. It is a sure thing that he'd win the case.

But not knowing what denominations of US currency are legal tender isn't the only problem at Best Buy. What's equally bad is that Best Buy does not honor any warranty and the employees have no idea where warranty repairs can be obtained. In order to get the information, the customer MUST pay extra for the extended warranty. Otherwise, you are SOL.

My story? I purchased a large microwave oven there. TWO WEEKS after installation in my kitchen, the oven failed. I reboxed the oven and took it back. Imagine my surprise when I appeared
at the Customer Service desk with a two-week-old microwave, only to be told that there was nothing they could do. They flatly refused to exchange the defective oven and they flatly refused to return my money. The manager was summoned, and she told me that they didn't accept exchanges and I had to "send it away for warranty repair." When I told them that I did not want to pay shipping and handling for repair of a two-week-old microwave, they actually shrugged and told me that that was my problem. When I asked if service was available locally, They shrugged again and said,
"we don't know." When I insisted that they find out, they threatened me with a police call and told me to take my stuff out of their store.
I was seething as I left the store with a busted
microwave. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Ombudsman's office at the State Attorney General's.

I found out that hundreds of complaints had already been filed by others.

I went home and used the internet to research warranty repairs, and found two local businesses.
I took the oven to one of them. Interestingly enough, the manager there told me that they get
lots of work from Best Buy, because Best Buy does not stand behind any of the products they sell unless the customer pays extra for the extended warranty. She said it would be just a matter of short time before poor customer service put Best Buy out of business just like the old SILO stores were put out of business. She also suggested that I not purchase any more electronics from Best Buy, and that a better store is ---. "Even ----- is better," she said, because they at least will accept the return of the defective item and give you your money back.

I shudder to think of all of the people spending thousands of dollars on electronics there. Can you imagine buying a High-Definition television for $4000 or $5000, having it turn out to be defective, trying to return it and being told that you need to "take it and get out of the store?" Can you imagine having to make monthly credit card payments for something that doesn't work, and having Best Buy employees shrug their shoulders at you and tell you that they have no idea where you should go for service and that "it's your problem?"

Best Buy does not stand behind any of the things they sell and their employees have no idea where customers may take defective items for repair. Since it also appears that they don't know what US currency looks like, I would strongly advise people NOT to buy anything there. I don't shop there any more, and neither do any of my friends.

sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number,

Many of the above comments are misinformed on the "ink smearing" ability of US currency. First, notice that a $2 note uses the old currency design that is still used for $1 notes. Most of the ink on this style currency will not smear. However, the ability of the ink in the Federal Reserve Bank seal to smear months or years after printing was in fact a security feature. From the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: "The special 'never-dry' ink that is used can be rubbed off. However, this isn't a fool-proof test since ink on some counterfeit bills also rubs off."

Source:

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/econed/curric/counter.cfm.

You should sue best buy and the police department for mental anguish.

Best buy should of had the manager verify the findings....

Check a fresh bill and see if it smears, and get a UV chromatographer...
It tests all the characteristic of the bill....
It tests the magnitic serial ink on the bill, it tests the color ink, it tests the weight of the bill and tests the metal content, fiber content.

If it passes through that machine, then a bank would take it no problem....if anyone went to enough trouble to got to all that detail into making those bills to make it pass through the machine then they deserve the money....[especially if it will cost them more than $10 to make each $2 bill].

Bottom line, the manager caused you mental anguish.
The police used excessive force.

That's the real point. He was wrong to leave without paying in the first place. He needed to just pay up, or otherwise work to resolve the situation, without making it into a big protest.

As far as "legal tender," this situation is a "debt" because the work had already been done. In the usual retail practice where the consumer pays in advance for something, that is not a "debt."

For example, when you take a loaf of bread to the checkout at a grocery store, you don't own the bread until after the store accepts your payment. (As Todd from SC found out, you don't have the right to eat it before you pay for it either.) The store can refuse to make the sale if they don't like how you want to pay for it.

Legal tender is defined as legally valid currency that may be offered to pay a debt and which the creditor must accept.

Making a purchase, from a private business, is not paying a creditor. There is no federal statute which requires a private business to accept currency as payment. Private businesses are allowed to establish any requirement for payment they find efficient (i.e. credit card only, check only etc.)

I think ALL of you are missing a very important factor. Whether or not his bills were legit is a totally understandable arguement for the Best Buy cashier. Most of you are right. A lot of Best Buy cashier's don't have what I would call an abundance of brains.

However, this person is lucky he wasn't arrested in the first place. It sounds to me like Best Buy did everything they could to give this gentleman a comparable product and even waived fees when they found that they were going to have to change things up to give him what he wanted. And then he took off in his car without PAYING?!?

I would have had him arrested just for that! However, Best Buy gave him the opportunity to come back into the store and rectify the situation rather than just having him prosecuted for theft. So, yeah...I would be a little leary of his payment method at that point.

I think if you actually start thinking about the fact in this, you'll realize that Best Buy is not at fault. Any business would have done the same thing. If you don't want this to happen to you, then don't be a dishonest person. Pay for the services you asked for. A furthermore, quit being a baby. Speaking as someone who has had to work on the lower end of the totem pole before, it's jerks like you that make jobs like their's a living hell. Grow up and get over it!

All this talk about those " pens" that supposedly detect phoney bills are nothing more than a gimmicky item sold to ignorant retailers. James Randi of the James Randi Educational Foundation debunked that little junk item by demonstrating that it only detects starch on a bill or piece of paper. Thats how they hoodwink these retailers. Show them one real bill that is clean and the pen shows nothing. Then show a obviously phoney bill (thats also been sprayed with starch that they cannot detect) and the pen changes color. He, for fun, took out $3000 in genuine 50.00's from a bank and sprayed them with a can of spray starch you can buy at any store. He then redeposited them in the bank and watched for the fun to start. He did take one to a store to watch the clerks bumble around. Real counterfeiters would know that and stay away from any starch in their bills.

Ok,

My first remark is on this "pen" that seems to have been talked about. At every register in Best Buy (and pretty much any register at ANY store) there is a pen that is used to mark bills. When used the ink will be yellow (or the original colour of the ink inside) or turn a brown or black colour. If the cashier used the pen and the bills made the ink brown or black; than the cashier had every right to inform management or call police.

Secondly,
While yes a $2.00 bill is legal tender we don't have to accept it. Just like credit cards or traveller's checks. Not all stores will accept every major credit card out there. And many resturaunts won't take traveller's checks any longer as well. Yet, these are all "legal" or "legitamate" forms of payment.

As for what should have or should not have been said on the Best Buy employee's or ex-employee's part. They all went into way too much detail. G, you should not have mentioned the exact going ons; and Danielle, you should not have mentioned actions that the company may or may not take against their associates for the non-authorized release of that information.

At my store in Tucson, we have seen our share of counterfeit denominations, and have taken the proper actions. That is all I will say here about my store.

As for what happened to the gentelman with the $2.00 bills, it sounds a bit overexaggerated to me; but that is all on the police; not best buy.

Ok,

My first remark is on this "pen" that seems to have been talked about. At every register in Best Buy (and pretty much any register at ANY store) there is a pen that is used to mark bills. When used the ink will be yellow (or the original colour of the ink inside) or turn a brown or black colour. If the cashier used the pen and the bills made the ink brown or black; than the cashier had every right to inform management or call police.

Secondly,
While yes a $2.00 bill is legal tender we don't have to accept it. Just like credit cards or traveller's checks. Not all stores will accept every major credit card out there. And many resturaunts won't take traveller's checks any longer as well. Yet, these are all "legal" or "legitamate" forms of payment.

As for what should have or should not have been said on the Best Buy employee's or ex-employee's part. They all went into way too much detail. G, you should not have mentioned the exact going ons; and Danielle, you should not have mentioned actions that the company may or may not take against their associates for the non-authorized release of that information.

At my store in Tucson, we have seen our share of counterfeit denominations, and have taken the proper actions. That is all I will say here about my store.

As for what happened to the gentelman with the $2.00 bills, it sounds a bit overexaggerated to me; but that is all on the police; not best buy.

Ok,

My first remark is on this "pen" that seems to have been talked about. At every register in Best Buy (and pretty much any register at ANY store) there is a pen that is used to mark bills. When used the ink will be yellow (or the original colour of the ink inside) or turn a brown or black colour. If the cashier used the pen and the bills made the ink brown or black; than the cashier had every right to inform management or call police.

Secondly,
While yes a $2.00 bill is legal tender we don't have to accept it. Just like credit cards or traveller's checks. Not all stores will accept every major credit card out there. And many resturaunts won't take traveller's checks any longer as well. Yet, these are all "legal" or "legitamate" forms of payment.

As for what should have or should not have been said on the Best Buy employee's or ex-employee's part. They all went into way too much detail. G, you should not have mentioned the exact going ons; and Danielle, you should not have mentioned actions that the company may or may not take against their associates for the non-authorized release of that information.

At my store in Tucson, we have seen our share of counterfeit denominations, and have taken the proper actions. That is all I will say here about my store.

As for what happened to the gentelman with the $2.00 bills, it sounds a bit overexaggerated to me; but that is all on the police; not best buy.

Ok,

My first remark is on this "pen" that seems to have been talked about. At every register in Best Buy (and pretty much any register at ANY store) there is a pen that is used to mark bills. When used the ink will be yellow (or the original colour of the ink inside) or turn a brown or black colour. If the cashier used the pen and the bills made the ink brown or black; than the cashier had every right to inform management or call police.

Secondly,
While yes a $2.00 bill is legal tender we don't have to accept it. Just like credit cards or traveller's checks. Not all stores will accept every major credit card out there. And many resturaunts won't take traveller's checks any longer as well. Yet, these are all "legal" or "legitamate" forms of payment.

As for what should have or should not have been said on the Best Buy employee's or ex-employee's part. They all went into way too much detail. G, you should not have mentioned the exact going ons; and Danielle, you should not have mentioned actions that the company may or may not take against their associates for the non-authorized release of that information.

At my store in Tucson, we have seen our share of counterfeit denominations, and have taken the proper actions. That is all I will say here about my store.

As for what happened to the gentelman with the $2.00 bills, it sounds a bit overexaggerated to me; but that is all on the police; not best buy.

Good Points.

I agree that as a teller,you are required to report attempted use because you become involved. And because you have a professional obligation.

I agree that you cannot give the bill back.

And,they do not destroy the bill.They keep it on file as evidence and as a reference sample.

I believe that you should try to help by detaining the person but you are under no legal obligation to do so. Unless, you are a security guard or a Police officer.

And it is not a moot point because we are discussing how to handle the situation in general or the next time it comes up.

I did not attack Danielle,this is a discussion and a debate.

My "15 minutes" comment was unfair and I withdraw it.

I apologize to Danielle if I was rude.

I did not have to correct my statement on how money is made.The correction was related to nomenclature.It was related to the definition of "engraving".

I corrected it as soon as I realized that I had made the mistake in terminology.No one had to point it out to me.

And the patents are not related to printing.

I did not say I was "in the business of creating patents for currency".I am working on the patents in addition to many other things.

And,I had already stated that I thought that Best Buy and the Police were within their legal rights to do what they did IF they had "reasonable" suspicion that the bills were counterfeit.

Neither one of us knows if that is true.

And because the bills WERE legal US currency,it's quite possible that their suspicion was not reasonable.

And,I agree that we all do have a legal and moral duty to protect this great country.

That also means that we all have to try our best to understand the laws,the Government and the Constitution.

Thanks for the information.

Good Points.

I agree that as a teller,you are required to report attempted use because you become involved. And because you have a professional obligation.

I agree that you cannot give the bill back.

And,they do not destroy the bill.They keep it on file as evidence and as a reference sample.

I believe that you should try to help by detaining the person but you are under no legal obligation to do so. Unless, you are a security guard or a Police officer.

And it is not a moot point because we are discussing how to handle the situation in general or the next time it comes up.

I did not attack Danielle,this is a discussion and a debate.

My "15 minutes" comment was unfair and I withdraw it.

I apologize to Danielle if I was rude.

I did not have to correct my statement on how money is made.The correction was related to nomenclature.It was related to the definition of "engraving".

I corrected it as soon as I realized that I had made the mistake in terminology.No one had to point it out to me.

And the patents are not related to printing.

I did not say I was "in the business of creating patents for currency".I am working on the patents in addition to many other things.

And,I had already stated that I thought that Best Buy and the Police were within their legal rights to do what they did IF they had "reasonable" suspicion that the bills were counterfeit.

Neither one of us knows if that is true.

And because the bills WERE legal US currency,it's quite possible that their suspicion was not reasonable.

And,I agree that we all do have a legal and moral duty to protect this great country.

That also means that we all have to try our best to understand the laws,the Government and the Constitution.

Thanks for the information.

Good Points.

I agree that as a teller,you are required to report attempted use because you become involved. And because you have a professional obligation.

I agree that you cannot give the bill back.

And,they do not destroy the bill.They keep it on file as evidence and as a reference sample.

I believe that you should try to help by detaining the person but you are under no legal obligation to do so. Unless, you are a security guard or a Police officer.

And it is not a moot point because we are discussing how to handle the situation in general or the next time it comes up.

I did not attack Danielle,this is a discussion and a debate.

My "15 minutes" comment was unfair and I withdraw it.

I apologize to Danielle if I was rude.

I did not have to correct my statement on how money is made.The correction was related to nomenclature.It was related to the definition of "engraving".

I corrected it as soon as I realized that I had made the mistake in terminology.No one had to point it out to me.

And the patents are not related to printing.

I did not say I was "in the business of creating patents for currency".I am working on the patents in addition to many other things.

And,I had already stated that I thought that Best Buy and the Police were within their legal rights to do what they did IF they had "reasonable" suspicion that the bills were counterfeit.

Neither one of us knows if that is true.

And because the bills WERE legal US currency,it's quite possible that their suspicion was not reasonable.

And,I agree that we all do have a legal and moral duty to protect this great country.

That also means that we all have to try our best to understand the laws,the Government and the Constitution.

Thanks for the information.

Ashley:

My uncle is a United States Secret Service Agent and I have spoken with him regarding this situtation and yes, you ARE required to report counterfeit bills that are being presented for purchase. You ask for the specific law, but the law that covers these types of situations does not fall under just one law. There are several. I have listed the reasons for detaining an individual and the legal obligations below.

1. The police and Secret Service need to interview the individual presenting the bill. Not that the individual is guilty of counterfeiting money, but to find out where the bill may have been passed. The person presenting the bill could be a terrorist and yes, there is a legal obligation for reporting acts of terrorism.

2. The United States Secret Service needs to examine and then destroy the bill.

3. You can be prosecuted for knowingly allowing a counterfeit bill to pass into circulation. My uncle informs me that by giving an obvious counterfeit back to a customer is allowing it to recirculate.

This is a moot point, however, in this situation as the bills in question WERE legal United States tender. You seem to want to attack Danielle from Royal Oak though she has been perfectly correct in her statements. You state that her "15 minutes of training with the Secret Service must have been grueling."? If you are, in fact, in the business of creating patents for currency you would not have had to make the correction of how money is produced.

In fact, bank managers have an entire week long required training from the Secret Service and the FBI on bank protection from counterfeits, etc. Your 15 minutes researching money production on the Internet had to be grueling for you, though.

Bottom line, as United States citizens we have a legal and moral obligation to protect our country, regardless of what state we live in. Best Buy was within their legal right to contact the police over bills that they felt could have been counterfeit. The police were within their legal right to detain the individual in question to obtain further information on the bills.

"As an Operations Manager for Best Buy,";clearly implies a current situation.So,yes,you were negligent.

You are not employed by Best Buy.Therefore,you have absolutely no right to "fully guarantee" anything.

"you cannot let them or the bill go",certainly sounds like you are stating that the clerk has to detain or otherwise "arrest" the person.

Please cite the law that says that you have to report counterfeit bills.

I'm sure that your 15 minutes of training by the Secret Service was quite grueling and intensive.

As to the First Amendment,I am well aware of what it says and what it means.I clearly said that it doesn't always APPLY.However,its protections are never not in existance.We are probably quarreling over semantics.

I take the security of all financial instruments very seriously.I am developing patents to protect currency,credit cards and checks.Please specify what I said that indicated that I don't take it seriously.

I read posts carefully before posting.

And,I highly doubt that you will refrain from responding.

You are never obligated to arrest or detain someone,whom you suspect of committing a crime.

Only some States permit Citizen's Arrest. But, the circumstances are limited and would, probably, not apply in this case. And, you open yourself up to serious liability if you did not have a very good reason to do so. Generally, you have to know that a felony was committed and/or you have to be protecting a valuable interest.

In 46 States, failure to inform is not an offense.

In Massachusetts there are only 5 crimes enumerated that you have to report.

In Ohio you have to report felonies.

Certain professionals have to report certain crimes.

Ashley-

It is through no negligence of my own that you assumed that I am still employed by Best Buy. Secondly, no, I am not bound by Best Buy as the rules regarding specific court cases do not apply here. I am no longer employed by the company and am released from prosecution as there is nothing specifically stated in the Employee Handbook regarding statements made after termination of employment.

And yes, I can fully guarantee that the individual will be terminated as they have seriously compromised Best Buy through the statements made.

I never stated ANYWHERE that the clerk has a legal obligation to "arrest" a customer, though by law, they can make a citizens arrest.

Yes, you are under legal obligation to report counterfeit bills. Yes, you can ask for different currency if you feel uneasy about the bills being presented. However, if the counterfeit detection pen shows that the bill is counterfeit (after 1958, I believe) you must report it. Read up before rebutting my statement. It is outlined by the Secret Service.

I received training from the Secret Service and the FBI on this very subject. Argue all you want, but if you knowingly pass a counterfeit bill back to a customer who has been informed that it is counterfeit, you can be charged with aiding and abetting a crime. If someone wrote a check to you and you asked for identification and it obviously was not the person in the picture (i.e. a woman in the i.d. and a man standing in front of you) would you give the i.d. and check back or would you call the police? Same theory.

A common misconception is that the First Amendment guarantees you to say anything you want at any time. Wrong. If you signed a contract stating that you will be silent on certain matters and you violate that contract, you are NOT protected. Think about it...what would happen if someone boarded a plane and said "I have a bomb."? Would they not be arrested for making that statement, because after all, they are just practicing their First Amendment right to free speech. In Michael Jackson's settlement a few years ago, he was prohibited from speaking of the settlement. He was threatened with jail time after alluding to the settlement in an interview.

This is the last time I will comment on the subject. The reason counterfeit bills circulate is due to individuals such as yourself who do not take this crime seriously. Same thing for the Best Buy employee who is commenting on a subject that I am sure Best Buy legal counsel has instructed him not to. Not to mention the Employee Handbook that he himself signed.

You did not make it clear that you were a former Ops manager. You should have said "When I was a..." or used the word "former".It made it seem as though you were speaking for Best Buy as a current employee.

However,you are still not authorized to "guarantee" anyone anything.It is merely your opinion. Although,a very qualified one.

And doesn't Best Buy's policy apply even after you are no longer employed there?

A cashier can request different money if they feel uncertain about the money but they are not sure enough to say it's counterfeit. If the customer insists then they invite the extra scrutiny that follows. Including from the Police and the Secret Service if necessary.

First Amendment rights are always protected. Although they don't always apply.

You say that you cannot let them go or you could be arrested.

Under what authority can a clerk arrest someone?

Under what law can a clerk be arrested for not arresting someone, whom they suspect of passing counterfeit bills.

And,what law says that you have to call and report counterfeit money or its attempted use?

I don't know that you are legally obligated to report any crime. Although, I'm sure that there are exceptions.

I never said that I AM an Ops Manager for Best Buy, I WAS an Ops Manager for Best Buy. I managed in one of the oldest districts in the company where many of the current VP's had their start.

I witnessed many terminations during my tenure due to comments of this very nature. Best Buy has people working for them who search these sites. If they feel that an employee has compromised a legal case for them by speaking out against the rules, databases can be subpoenaed.

It is true-the police make the final call regarding an arrest. However, if anyone feels that they have been passed a counterfeit bill, they are under LEGAL obligation to contact the police. No matter how honest you think the person is who passed it to you or what their story is on how they came into possession of the bill, you cannot let them or the bill go. You yourself could be arrested.

Currency is printed using a process called Intaglio printing.

This type of printing may also be referred to as engraving.

So it would be correct to say that currency is "engraved".But it is still not correct to say that it is not "printed".

Intaglio uses engraved plates which causes the ink to be raised. This is part of what gives money its characteristic "feel".

And quality control is very good at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. So it is unlikely, although not impossible, that any money would be sent into circulation if it had ink that "smeared".

Most of the time that people get 2 dollar bills they request new ones. So it is quite common to have batches of 50 or 100 in sequential order.

You identify yourself as an operations manager at Best Buy.

Are you authorized to "guarantee" that anyone will be "out of a job" or possibly prosecuted?

Second,currency does not look smeared just because it's new.

And currency is not engraved,it is printed with engraved plates.

Ink on legitimate US currency does not smear.It is virtually impossible. Of course mistakes can happen.But it is so improbable that it would constitute reasonable suspicion.

Therefore,Best Buy was within its rights to call the Police. Once the Police arrive,Best Buy is no longer involved. And if the Police felt that there was a "reasonable" chance that the money was counterfeit,then they did the right thing in calling in the Secret Service.

And to the OP,your post would be more credible if you didn't try to plug your business.Especially when it is completely irrelevant to the story.

And you don't say if the ink actually smeared or not. As you are obviously familiar with two dollar bills;in your opinion,was there anything even slightly suspicious about the money?And have you had the money evaluated by a certified expert to testify about the "reasonableness" of the claims that the money was "suspicious"?(Besides the Secret Service Agent)

You really shouldn't have given out their name unless it was important to the story.

Also,they claim you were yelling and causing a comotion.Is this true?

Thanks for the URL. Very interesting site. Maybe all the know-it-alls who posted to this so-called rip-off should read it. Good luck to Bolesta in his suit against Best Buy--he's going to need it. Hope that particular store takes out a Tresspass Order against him. He SHOULD feel about 8" tall because that's about how high his brain power goes!

You identify yourself as an Operations Manager of Best Buy.(Although,you don't make it clear if this is current or past).

What gives you the authority to "guarantee" that anyone will be fired or possibly prosecuted?

Currency is not "engraved" it it printed with engraved plates.
_________________

As to ink "smearing",I have never seen ink on legitimate currency smear. And new currency does not look "smeared" just because it has not been used.

The key question is the reasonableness of Best Buy's actions and the actions of the police.

If the ink did smear then Best Buy was reasonable in calling the police.Sequentially ordered bills alone would not be a reasonable suspicion.

To the OP,your post would be more credible if you didn't try to plug your business.

The saying "Legal Tender" on currency does not mean that anyone legally has to accept it as payment. In theory a company can say they don't accept cash at all, or only nickels and $10 bills(albeit not a very customer friendly policy...)

Legal Tender basically means that the currency presented is a valid and legal offer of payment (unlike Monopoly money for instance,) not that anyone actually has to accept it.

For more information I suggest the following website (or jsut do a search on the US Treasury website if the link is deleted.):

ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

G- I hope that you have permission from Best Buy corporate to be posting here. Your 1st Amendment rights to free speech are NOT protected here. If Best Buy finds out that you have discussed the situation, I can guarantee you will be out of a job and possibly prosecuted.
Secondly, I managed a bank. When you have new bills they can appear to be "smeared", when in fact it is just a little fuzzy from not being used. Few people understand that money is not printed, it is engraved. And yes, I have received training from the Secret Service on counterfeit bill detection. As an Operations Manager for Best Buy, I found a counterfeit $10 bill in a stack of $2000 while verifying the deposit.

Another correction, G. You put the cashier at risk by saying in your post that she gave the customer an opportunity to use another form of payment. This could get her arrested. By LAW, if you feel that you have been presented with a counterfeit bill, YOU CANNOT RETURN IT TO THE PERSON WHO PRESENTED IT TO YOU. If you do, you can be charged with passing counterfeit bills yourself. The proper procedure would be to call a manager and have the manager contact the police. But you had better make sure that the bill is counterfeit before you do. Your store opened Best Buy up to some SERIOUS legal action that I hope Mr. Bolesta takes.

In the future I would take care before posting anything to this site. Best Buy monitors employee postings on all sites and you yourself signed paperwork during your new hire orientation saying that you would not disclose confidential company information. I just hope that Mr.Bolesta reads this and uses it in his suit against Best Buy. You just did him a huge favor...

G- I hope that you have permission from Best Buy corporate to be posting here. Your 1st Amendment rights to free speech are NOT protected here. If Best Buy finds out that you have discussed the situation, I can guarantee you will be out of a job and possibly prosecuted.
Secondly, I managed a bank. When you have new bills they can appear to be "smeared", when in fact it is just a little fuzzy from not being used. Few people understand that money is not printed, it is engraved. And yes, I have received training from the Secret Service on counterfeit bill detection. As an Operations Manager for Best Buy, I found a counterfeit $10 bill in a stack of $2000 while verifying the deposit.

Another correction, G. You put the cashier at risk by saying in your post that she gave the customer an opportunity to use another form of payment. This could get her arrested. By LAW, if you feel that you have been presented with a counterfeit bill, YOU CANNOT RETURN IT TO THE PERSON WHO PRESENTED IT TO YOU. If you do, you can be charged with passing counterfeit bills yourself. The proper procedure would be to call a manager and have the manager contact the police. But you had better make sure that the bill is counterfeit before you do. Your store opened Best Buy up to some SERIOUS legal action that I hope Mr. Bolesta takes.

In the future I would take care before posting anything to this site. Best Buy monitors employee postings on all sites and you yourself signed paperwork during your new hire orientation saying that you would not disclose confidential company information. I just hope that Mr.Bolesta reads this and uses it in his suit against Best Buy. You just did him a huge favor...

G- I hope that you have permission from Best Buy corporate to be posting here. Your 1st Amendment rights to free speech are NOT protected here. If Best Buy finds out that you have discussed the situation, I can guarantee you will be out of a job and possibly prosecuted.
Secondly, I managed a bank. When you have new bills they can appear to be "smeared", when in fact it is just a little fuzzy from not being used. Few people understand that money is not printed, it is engraved. And yes, I have received training from the Secret Service on counterfeit bill detection. As an Operations Manager for Best Buy, I found a counterfeit $10 bill in a stack of $2000 while verifying the deposit.

Another correction, G. You put the cashier at risk by saying in your post that she gave the customer an opportunity to use another form of payment. This could get her arrested. By LAW, if you feel that you have been presented with a counterfeit bill, YOU CANNOT RETURN IT TO THE PERSON WHO PRESENTED IT TO YOU. If you do, you can be charged with passing counterfeit bills yourself. The proper procedure would be to call a manager and have the manager contact the police. But you had better make sure that the bill is counterfeit before you do. Your store opened Best Buy up to some SERIOUS legal action that I hope Mr. Bolesta takes.

In the future I would take care before posting anything to this site. Best Buy monitors employee postings on all sites and you yourself signed paperwork during your new hire orientation saying that you would not disclose confidential company information. I just hope that Mr.Bolesta reads this and uses it in his suit against Best Buy. You just did him a huge favor...

G- I hope that you have permission from Best Buy corporate to be posting here. Your 1st Amendment rights to free speech are NOT protected here. If Best Buy finds out that you have discussed the situation, I can guarantee you will be out of a job and possibly prosecuted.
Secondly, I managed a bank. When you have new bills they can appear to be "smeared", when in fact it is just a little fuzzy from not being used. Few people understand that money is not printed, it is engraved. And yes, I have received training from the Secret Service on counterfeit bill detection. As an Operations Manager for Best Buy, I found a counterfeit $10 bill in a stack of $2000 while verifying the deposit.

Another correction, G. You put the cashier at risk by saying in your post that she gave the customer an opportunity to use another form of payment. This could get her arrested. By LAW, if you feel that you have been presented with a counterfeit bill, YOU CANNOT RETURN IT TO THE PERSON WHO PRESENTED IT TO YOU. If you do, you can be charged with passing counterfeit bills yourself. The proper procedure would be to call a manager and have the manager contact the police. But you had better make sure that the bill is counterfeit before you do. Your store opened Best Buy up to some SERIOUS legal action that I hope Mr. Bolesta takes.

In the future I would take care before posting anything to this site. Best Buy monitors employee postings on all sites and you yourself signed paperwork during your new hire orientation saying that you would not disclose confidential company information. I just hope that Mr.Bolesta reads this and uses it in his suit against Best Buy. You just did him a huge favor...

something like this happened at my store where a customer wanted to pay a $3000 bill all with $100 bills.

retail stores would ideally like to outlaw cash outright.. you need a 2nd employee to count, you have to hire an armoured car to pickup etc. that is why a $250 max cash refund exists at most stores (over that amount a check from the corporate office - so paying a large sum with cash (or wanting to pay with $2 bills or $1 Gold U.S. dollar coins raises concerns)

when a cashier has a question about currency being legit. they contact a manager. if the $$ fails a pen test, or appears strange.. they call the local police.. there is nothing wrong with that.. you can be upset by the fact a store would do this.. but given the amount of fake bills running around..

the police screwed up here.. usually police are trained to identify fake currency.. in my store's case with the $100 bills.. being suspect. the person was moved to the side of the store while the officer called the secret service, which verified the currency over the phone.. (about 30mins) if they were unable then it would be reasonable to take the person down to the police station.. maybe wait in a "questioning" room while a secret service officer could verify currency.. locking the person up is a bit extreme

ROFLMAO! I love it....jeez, how many times have I wished for a way to keep my memory alive for a few minutes longer than normal because of some rude and insolent clerk, bureaucratic agency,or a retarded regulatory policy just to annoy people?

A bag of nickels, (or pennies might really give them a stir! teehee)is a fun way to get your own sense of "hell no I'm not putting up with this crap!" revenge.

I got sick and tired of the junk inserts that utility companies put in with your bill every month, so I began saving all of them...every single one for almost a year...then I put all of them in envelopes and returned them to each of the utility co's...yep it cost me a few dollars, but who cares...after a doing this twice to each of them, guess what does NOT come with my bills anymore?

I am an ex-employee, and yes, we do hate to take 2$ bills, but I personally like them and would buy them from the csr to put up, and a lot of employees do that. Not sure why they would have had a problem taking legal tender from you that they would express to your face, it's mostly just an inconvenience factor for the employees.

BTW-- Steve from Florida, I just love your postings!! You are like the Avenger!!

Store clerks often use a special marker to test bills that might be counterfeit. This is the ink that was running, not the ink used to print the currency.

Even so, if a cashier is so young, poorly trained or just plain stupid to be unaware that $2 bills are in fact legal tender, then too bad for Best Buy, not the customer. A competent manager should have been able to resolve the situation in moments, but their response was absolutely ridiculous.

Mike should sue Best Buy for as much as he can get - and publicize their idiotic antics for all to see.

Why do C notes when you can have stacks of 2 bills that in itself draws attention to the simple minded dolts. If that doesn't show the utter stupidity of police I don't know what does. I suppose they also towed his vehicle to an impound which costs him money regardless of wether he's wrongly imprisoned for hours before walking out. Probably a first for the secret service as well. Gotta chase down those 2 bill forgers! COUNTERFEITERS DON'T FAKE 2 BILLS. Second, all the cops have to do is take the I.D. from the buyer to know who it is and if it comes back from the bank, you know who's passing the bad money. Best buy could have done it as well. And they would also have the plate number of the vehicle as well. Sue the crap out of Best buy for refusing legal tender and slandering the guys good name.

Why do C notes when you can have stacks of 2 bills that in itself draws attention to the simple minded dolts. If that doesn't show the utter stupidity of police I don't know what does. I suppose they also towed his vehicle to an impound which costs him money regardless of wether he's wrongly imprisoned for hours before walking out. Probably a first for the secret service as well. Gotta chase down those 2 bill forgers! COUNTERFEITERS DON'T FAKE 2 BILLS. Second, all the cops have to do is take the I.D. from the buyer to know who it is and if it comes back from the bank, you know who's passing the bad money. Best buy could have done it as well. And they would also have the plate number of the vehicle as well. Sue the crap out of Best buy for refusing legal tender and slandering the guys good name.

Why do C notes when you can have stacks of 2 bills that in itself draws attention to the simple minded dolts. If that doesn't show the utter stupidity of police I don't know what does. I suppose they also towed his vehicle to an impound which costs him money regardless of wether he's wrongly imprisoned for hours before walking out. Probably a first for the secret service as well. Gotta chase down those 2 bill forgers! COUNTERFEITERS DON'T FAKE 2 BILLS. Second, all the cops have to do is take the I.D. from the buyer to know who it is and if it comes back from the bank, you know who's passing the bad money. Best buy could have done it as well. And they would also have the plate number of the vehicle as well. Sue the crap out of Best buy for refusing legal tender and slandering the guys good name.

Why do C notes when you can have stacks of 2 bills that in itself draws attention to the simple minded dolts. If that doesn't show the utter stupidity of police I don't know what does. I suppose they also towed his vehicle to an impound which costs him money regardless of wether he's wrongly imprisoned for hours before walking out. Probably a first for the secret service as well. Gotta chase down those 2 bill forgers! COUNTERFEITERS DON'T FAKE 2 BILLS. Second, all the cops have to do is take the I.D. from the buyer to know who it is and if it comes back from the bank, you know who's passing the bad money. Best buy could have done it as well. And they would also have the plate number of the vehicle as well. Sue the crap out of Best buy for refusing legal tender and slandering the guys good name.

First of all, It is IMPOSSIBLE for the ink to run or smear on legitimate United States Currency. It may have been ink from another source or something else on the bill, but it was NOT the ink on the currency itself.

The real problem here is the ignorant Best Buy employee who did not want to accept the $2 bills, as there is no place in the register for them except under the drawer. This person is probably very young and does not even know that we do have $2 bills in our currency.

There is obviously much more to the story. This guy has a very good potential lawsuit against Best Buy, the individual employee, and the police department. This was handled wrong.

I protested a fine years ago, and went to the courthouse with a backpack full of nickels. The clerk told me she could not take my money, and I said take it or put the refusal in writing so I can tell the judge you refused my legal tender payment. Then I asked her where the sign was that said no loose change or no nickels. I held my ground, and she started counting out almost $150 in nickels.

First of all, It is IMPOSSIBLE for the ink to run or smear on legitimate United States Currency. It may have been ink from another source or something else on the bill, but it was NOT the ink on the currency itself.

The real problem here is the ignorant Best Buy employee who did not want to accept the $2 bills, as there is no place in the register for them except under the drawer. This person is probably very young and does not even know that we do have $2 bills in our currency.

There is obviously much more to the story. This guy has a very good potential lawsuit against Best Buy, the individual employee, and the police department. This was handled wrong.

I protested a fine years ago, and went to the courthouse with a backpack full of nickels. The clerk told me she could not take my money, and I said take it or put the refusal in writing so I can tell the judge you refused my legal tender payment. Then I asked her where the sign was that said no loose change or no nickels. I held my ground, and she started counting out almost $150 in nickels.

First of all, It is IMPOSSIBLE for the ink to run or smear on legitimate United States Currency. It may have been ink from another source or something else on the bill, but it was NOT the ink on the currency itself.

The real problem here is the ignorant Best Buy employee who did not want to accept the $2 bills, as there is no place in the register for them except under the drawer. This person is probably very young and does not even know that we do have $2 bills in our currency.

There is obviously much more to the story. This guy has a very good potential lawsuit against Best Buy, the individual employee, and the police department. This was handled wrong.

I protested a fine years ago, and went to the courthouse with a backpack full of nickels. The clerk told me she could not take my money, and I said take it or put the refusal in writing so I can tell the judge you refused my legal tender payment. Then I asked her where the sign was that said no loose change or no nickels. I held my ground, and she started counting out almost $150 in nickels.

First of all, It is IMPOSSIBLE for the ink to run or smear on legitimate United States Currency. It may have been ink from another source or something else on the bill, but it was NOT the ink on the currency itself.

The real problem here is the ignorant Best Buy employee who did not want to accept the $2 bills, as there is no place in the register for them except under the drawer. This person is probably very young and does not even know that we do have $2 bills in our currency.

There is obviously much more to the story. This guy has a very good potential lawsuit against Best Buy, the individual employee, and the police department. This was handled wrong.

I protested a fine years ago, and went to the courthouse with a backpack full of nickels. The clerk told me she could not take my money, and I said take it or put the refusal in writing so I can tell the judge you refused my legal tender payment. Then I asked her where the sign was that said no loose change or no nickels. I held my ground, and she started counting out almost $150 in nickels.

To start some of the comments made are inaccurate because they are actually out of an editorial from a local newspaper writer(who since has been banned from speaking with all gov't officials because he fabricates, exagerates and misrepresents the truth), i was present when this situation occured, in store, the day prior, and the day of the incident.

To start the radio was purchased and mr bolesta was informed that the radio required parts and labor to install the radio in his vehicle. The radio selected had a motorized faceplate feature which made the unit a little deeper than others. The original radio was 150-170 i think. His vehicle happened to need about 45$ in parts plus 56$ in labor.

As I remember it was a american car, the problem was that the radio was too deep for his vehicle( on occasion this happens, especially with older amercian cars), it's better to put in another radio than try to force the other one in, mr bolesta was called and informed of the situation, at that time bestbuy did inform him that he would get a refund due to the difference in prices of the radios and that we would not charge any LABOR due to the mixup, however, mr bolesta was still responsible for the parts that were used to installation of the radio.

Here is the actual qoute from the original article proving my point They said, 'No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our mistake, no charge.' Swell. we said installation charge!

The new radio was around 150 dollars, the exchange and returned labor would give him 67$ back

After the install was finished we asked mr bolesta to do an exchange on the radios at customer service and come back to pay for the parts used. Instead he did not come back and took his car with him, the next day we did call mr bolesta and he came in to the store to rectify the situation. Here is where the story has been really misrepresented, mr bolesta paid with 2$ bills and as the employee was counting the money the ink was running on some of the dollar bills.

Best buy has to protect itself from fraud, and the ink smearing on the bills is enough to raise some flags, the employee gave mr bolesta the opportunity to use another form of payment, to avoid processing the bills that she thought were fakes. mr bolesta refused and started yelling at which point the police were called to investigate.

Best buy did NOT arrest him NOR did we put him in shackles, the police arrested him, which they have the power to do(not bestbuy) and the police called in the secret service to further investigate. mr bolesta was handcuffed but was NOT in leg shackles, nor schackled to a pole as described.

that is the truth and it should be known.