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Quote:Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com.

Company spokesman Justin Barber, who in early February denied the existence of the internal website that could be accessed only by employees, says his company is "cooperating fully" with the state attorney general's investigation.

Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers...

Quote:Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers...

Quote:Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers...

Quote:The state of Connecticut is suing electronics retailer Best Buy, saying the company deceived customers by using in-store kiosks linked to an employee-only Web site to suggest that bargains posted on the company's public-facing site were no longer available. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal launched the investigation last month after reports surfaced in a Hartford newspaper that customers going to Best Buy stores to seek bargains advertised online were shown a different Web page on in-store Internet kiosks that had higher prices...

"Best Buy gave consumers the worst deal -- a bait-and-switch-plus scheme luring consumers into stores with promised online discounts, only to charge higher in-store prices," Blumenthal said. "Best Buy broke its promise to give the best price -- an Internet version of bait-and-switch."...

Quote:Best Buy can now add "faking two e-mails and a memo" to its list of legal problems. A lawyer working for the company confessed his indiscretion, potentially putting Best Buy on the hook for millions of dollars in damages in a class-action lawsuit that was filed back in 2003.

The plaintiffs claim that Best Buy routinely signed new computer owners up for MSN trials without permission. When the trial period expired, customer credit cards were charged. Microsoft is also a party to the case, as the plaintiffs allege that it failed to act after receiving numerous complaints...