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#DarkPatterns Background: @BestBuy has had a rewards program where customers earn points on purchases and can exchange those for rewards certificates that get them money off their purchases.Permalink On twitter.com
AaronGustafson
❤️ 2 Favorites Mood +4 🙂
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A few years ago, they added a “feature” to auto-issue certificates at a certain point count. The certificates expired quickly and no email notification was sent to inform the user they had been issued. People needed to constantly log in to the site to see them.Permalink On twitter.com
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They gave users the option of changing the auto-issuance threshold (in $5 increments) and also let users disable the feature, but they were opted into the scheme by default.Permalink On twitter.com
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The thing is, at some point in the last few years, if someone turned that feature off, @BestBuy re-enrolled them in the auto-issuance scheme again, without notification, and kicked off the whole process again.Permalink On twitter.com
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I ran into the original issue back in 2016/2017 and lost probably $25 worth of points. Today I learned they'd issued a $40 certificate back in October (without permission or notice). It expired in the interim and Customer Service is “unable” (I think unwilling) to reissue it.Permalink On twitter.com
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Now losing $40 isn't going to break the bank for me, but I know I'm not the only one this has happened to. For some people it is a big deal. Some people, I'm sure, purchased from @BestBuy over other retailers because of the program.Permalink On twitter.com
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I imagine the money @BestBuy had saved by cheating people out of their rewards points like this is pretty substantial. In the millions at least.Permalink On twitter.com
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Cheating people is always wrong. Seems like someone with class may want to take some action.On twitter.com