Best Buy Allows Unvetted Home Security Installations, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

Best Buy and its subsidiary, Geek Squad, face legal action for allegedly using unvetted technicians for home security installations. 

Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit say the electronics retailer fails to deliver on its promise to use Geek Squad during these home installations, violating California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

In 2019, plaintiff Kambiz Adibzadeh says he went into a Best Buy store in Pleasant Hill, California, to purchase a home security system. 

A sales representative eventually sold him a Google Nest product. After getting information from the plaintiff, a time was set up for a Geek Squad technician to come by the plaintiff’s home and gather details about installing, according to the class action lawsuit. 

The next day, an “in-home representative, as well as the sales representative, inspected the entire property, redrew a new sketch of the property, and promised Plaintiff that they would be able to install and activate the Google Nest System,” according to the class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff says he paid $1,100 as a down payment on the $4,400 home security installation cost and asked for a copy of the documents created. 

“Plaintiff’s repeated requests and demands to Defendants for copies of the sales record, receipt, drawings, sketches and a list” of needed home security installation components “were futile,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

“Plaintiff went as far as requested the records from the installer’s supervisor, and their superiors, and all the way up the chain to the corporate level, however, all requests to receive the records were ignored and Plaintiff never did receive a copy of the in-home notes and agreement which was drawn up at Plaintiff’s home visit wherein Best Buy’s in-home representative had expressed the complexities of installing the system at the time of the visit.”

Despite not getting copies, the plaintiff moved forward with the home security installation by attempting to schedule a time with what he thought would be a Geek Squad technician.

Instead, “the third party installation company” plaintiff claims showed up “was not licensed to perform the installation.”

The home security installation required plaintiff to turn over passwords to private networks, and the technician “used Plaintiff’s personal phone for hours to figure out how to install the door lock and thermostat which prevented Plaintiff from answering office related calls and exposed Plaintiff’s private information on his phone to the installers.”

What’s more, the home security installation took longer than a day, the class action lawsuit claims, further exposing the plaintiff’s private information.

The plaintiff eventually cancelled the job and requested Best Buy schedule different installers. 

A month later, a Best Buy employee reportedly notified the plaintiff the store “does not have the proper licensure to install security monitoring systems and that Best Buy will not go to Plaintiff’s property to install the Google Nest System, as originally promised.” 

“Plaintiff patiently waited nearly a month with the belief that the installation was going to be completed properly, however, Best Buy never did follow through with its promise,” plaintiff said.

The plaintiff was then given two options: wait “indefinitely” for a technician to be licensed or allow a non-licensed third party to do the home security installation. 

“Based on Best Buy’s representations, Plaintiff was under the impression that any company used through Best Buy would hold proper licensure to perform the installation,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

California’s Bureau of Security and Investigative Services regulates and licenses professionals in the home security installation business.

Among the provisions in the law is a requirement technicians who do this kind of work undergo a criminal background check. 

“Regardless of whether Best Buy ultimately acquired the proper license later, at all relevant times herein, Best Buy and their agents violated California law and thus are liable,” according to the class action lawsuit.

“Plaintiff was expecting and had relied on Defendants’ representations, experience, expertise, and the contract between Plaintiff and Defendants to do the work. Plaintiff relied on Defendants to properly install the alarm system within the bounds of legal requirements.”

The class action lawsuit claims “thousands” of Best Buy customers found themselves in similar situations with their home security installation. 

“Best Buy either negligently or intentionally contracted with the unlicensed companies to provide installation services for its customers across the United States,” plaintiff said. 

Furthermore, the class action lawsuit claims, plaintiffs were harmed when Best Buy “knowingly” used unlicensed installation companies. 

The plaintiff “was harmed by Defendants’ actions when Defendants knowingly sold and used unlicensed installation companies to install a home security system in his residence,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

Have you purchased a home security system from Best Buy? Let us know in the comments below.

Counsel representing the plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit are Daryoosh Khashayar and Taylor Marks of Khashayar Law Group.

The Best Buy Geek Squad Class Action Lawsuit is Adibzadeh, et al. v. Best Buy Co. Inc., et al., Case No. 4:20-cv-06257-DMR, in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California.

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