Recycler Jaco Environmental Owes Best Buy Hundreds of Thousands in Unpaid Rebates, Complaint Alleges

Best Buy’s longtime appliance recycler Jaco Environmental breached several agreements with the retailer by failing to pay Best Buy hundreds of thousands of dollars it owes in “rebates” for hauling away and recycling discarded refrigerators and freezers, Best Buy alleged in a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. By failing to make payments to Best Buy, despite the retailer’s “repeated willingness to provide financial concessions and accommodations” to its recycling partner, Jaco’s entire debt to Best Buy is immediately "due and owing,” the complaint said. Best Buy “has operated an appliance haul away and recycling program” for more than a decade, and Jaco has been its appliance recycling contractor since 2009, the complaint said. “For customers who make qualifying purchases of appliances from Best Buy, Best Buy will take the customers' old appliances away and recycle them responsibly at no charge” to the public, it said. Under its contract with Jaco, Best Buy would pick up appliances from customers and bring them to one of a dozen Best Buy distribution or warehousing sites throughout the country, it said. Jaco “would pick up the appliances from Best Buy's sites, recycle them responsibly, and pay Best Buy a contract price -- a rebate payment -- for the appliances,” it said. Depending on the site location and the contract terms, the per-unit fees owed to Best Buy ranged from a low of $3.75 to a high of $28, court papers showed. Over the past year, Jaco “has repeatedly come to Best Buy asking to delay payment or reduce contract prices to be paid to Best Buy,” the complaint said. “Best Buy has agreed to accept late payments or reduced pricing on a number of occasions,” including through a contract “addendum” Best Buy and Jaco signed May 1, it said. However, except for a $160,000 payment Jaco made July 13, Jaco has defaulted on all its financial obligations to Best Buy, it said. Jaco representatives didn’t comment on the complaint, and Best Buy representatives didn't respond to email queries asking whether Best Buy has replaced Jaco with another appliance recycling contractor.