The Latest Scams Circulating the Consumer World. Be warned. Be informed.
October 2007
Recovery Disk Rip-Offs
According to PC World, Best Buy and Circuit City have come up with a new way to rip off customers who are buying new computers -- and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with extended warranties this time.
The Pitch
“Would you like to buy a $30 backup recovery disk? You’ll need this in case your computer crashes, and you know how often that happens.”
The Scam
The backup discs are rarely needed, but these two, big-box, electronics retailers have found a way to sky-rocket profits by creating the "what if"  fear factor in consumers who may not know that much about computers.
It turns out that you can make these backup recovery discs yourself, or you can buy them from the computer manufacturer for half the price charged by the retailing giants.
PC World sent undercover shoppers to both stores and found that Circuit City pushed them hard to pay an extra $30 for the store-made, backup recovery discs. In three out of five Best Buy stores, salesmen told the undercover shoppers that it's not possible to make the backup recovery discs yourself. Meanwhile, several of the top computer manufacturers verified that their laptops come with instructions and software for creating the backup recovery discs.
Play it Safe
- Don’t buy any type of “extra protection” when you buy a new computer
Source: www.clarkhoward.com
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