By far the worst experience I've ever had with GameStop.
On 01/02/25, I called this GameStop about my one-year-old PS5. I mentioned that I'd started hearing the fan for 1-2 minutes when turning it on. The girl who answered said that was "abnormal" and advised me to bring it in for a trade under warranty. Trusting her, I brought it in, unaware they'd mark my PS5 as "defective" without testing it or letting me know the replacement would be a used console. When I got home, I found the replacement PS5 wasn't factory reset, was clearly used, and the fan ran constantly during gameplay.
I called back, and they apologized, claiming it was a "mistake" and that "this never happens." I returned the following day (01/03/25) and spoke with an employee named Jose, who was incredibly rude and unprofessional. Over the phone, he laughed at me, and when I called him out on it, he said it was "just his personality" and I "should've known better" because the fan noise was normal and likely just needed dusting. He told me to "Google it next time." When I asked for my original PS5 back, he said I couldn't have it because it was already marked as "defective."
When I went to the store, Jose laughed in my face multiple times and repeated the same dismissive comments. I asked to speak to the manager, and he claimed he was the manager. When I asked for his boss, he rolled his eyes, went to the back to call the director, and eventually came out holding my PS5 with a sticky note saying, "Don't ship." He scanned it in front of me and said he still couldn't return it to me because it was marked "defective". I started crying at this point, but Jose ignored me, doing other tasks. To make matters worse, his girlfriend came into the store, brought him food, and wandered around watching me while I was stuck there for an hour.
Jose finally offered me another used PS5 or suggested I buy a new one. I asked for GameStop corporate's number, and he flipped through a binder, said he "couldn't find it," and told me to "Google it," adding that "they never respond anyway." Exhausted, I accepted another used PS5, which was stained, scratched, and dirty. I had to ask him to clean it, and he begrudgingly did so while laughing at me again. He also couldn't tell me how old the replacement console was. On top of this, I had been charged $80 for a warranty the day before, and they refused to refund it since the trade-in had already gone through.
The whole experience left me feeling humiliated and frustrated. On 01/04/25, I spoke with another employee, Chris, who confirmed that the fan noise on my original PS5 was normal and likely just needed a quick dusting. He apologized for the situation and said I should speak to Beth, the store boss, on Monday (01/06/25). He also mentioned that all employees are "managers" when working alone and that marking items as defective is "how the store makes money." He even called Jose "laughing pants," which made me feel mocked all over again.
On 01/06/25, I returned to the store and spoke with Beth. She apologized but defended Jose, saying he "always gets good reviews" and that she was surprised by how he treated me. I explained that just because he's nice to other customers doesn't excuse his unprofessional behavior toward me. Laughing at someone over the phone and in their face multiple times, telling them to Google things, and saying they "should've known better" is not acceptable. Beth apologized again and finally gave me my original PS5 back, but she only refunded $46.04 of the $80 warranty charge. I was so exhausted I didn't fight for the full amount, though I regret not doing so. I also asked if I could put in a formal complaint about him but all she said was she would "speak with him".
When I got home, I discovered an email showing I'd been signed up for a GameStop Pro membership without my consent. When I called the store, a different employee dismissed it as a mistake and said I wouldn't be charged. However, the next few days (01/09/25), I saw in my bank account that I was only refunded $26.46, and I had been charged for the membership. GameStop Customer Service said they couldn't help because the store was responsible for these issues since it happened there and not online through them.
Now, I have to wait until 12 PM today (when the store opens) to speak with them again. I expect my full $80 warranty refund, especially since Beth, the boss, was the one who charged me for a Pro Membership I never agreed to in the first place. This store has been nothing but disrespectful and unprofessional throughout this entire ordeal. This whole experience has been incredibly frustrating. I later went to CPR across the street, where they checked my PS5 and said it was in perfect condition and only needed a quick dusting, which they did for free. They also shared that they've heard many similar complaints about GameStop and to never return to them, highly recommend avoiding it/only purchasing consoles or games on PS5 site. read more
