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Updated: February 10, 2012 8:39AM

Dear Fixer: I brought my Dell computer, which was under warranty, to the Best Buy Geek Squad for repair. When I returned to pick up the repaired computer, the case was badly scratched and gouged.

I had presented the computer to them in the original box, wrapped in towels, with no damage to the case.

After much back-and-forth about sending it out to be rebuilt — it was only nine months old — they agreed to replace it.

However, the original model was discontinued, so they gave me a different one with equal capacity.

Here’s the problem: My original computer’s software was installed by the Geek Squad at no cost to me. They promised to do the same with the new unit — until I accepted the replacement. Then, I was rudely told that no further action would be taken.

I called customer relations and was given the name of a person to speak with to try to get this resolved. I left messages six times and have not gotten a call back. Either this person does not exist or she is ignoring me.

I have a new computer sitting in a box, totally useless to me as I do not have the skills to set it up or transfer my old files. This has been the situation for the past three weeks.

At one point, I asked Best Buy for a refund so I could take my business where it is appreciated. I was told this was not possible as I had the equipment for more than 30 days.

I have invested about $1,500 in this adventure and still have no functioning computer. If they had not been careless, I would have a working computer. Can you help?

Mark Stubitsch, Chicago

Dear Mark: The Fixer didn’t want your new computer to turn into an expensive footstool, so we decided to vault over the person you tried to contact and go straight to Best Buy’s corporate offices in suburban Minneapolis. There, we found Jill Nezworski, senior executive resolution specialist, who chopped through this silly red tape in less than a day. A tech is scheduled to come to your home this week to set up your computer, and Nezworski also threw in a complimentary $50 gift card to try to make up for the hassle.

What’s on your bill?

A class-action lawsuit against Capital One claims that consumers who thought they were getting zero percent interest on balance transfers for one year were broadsided when the credit giant applied their normal monthly payments to the transferred balance and then applied surprise interest fees. If you took advantage of this zero-percent offer and were surprised by your subsequent bills, you might want to check out hbsslaw.com/capitalonetb for more info.

COSTLY LESSON: Consumer’s tale of woe

It’s the time of year when you can’t turn on your computer without getting bombarded by little ads for energy boosters and belly fat busters. But beware, dear readers — or you may wind up like today’s Costly Lesson, A.T. of Valparaiso, Ind.:

A.T. saw an ad for a free trial of “colon cleaner” pills and thought he’d give them a try. (Mind you, Team Fixer wouldn’t swallow these even if someone paid us, but we’ll continue)

As with all these supposedly free product samples, A.T. was asked to provide a credit card for shipping and handling.

“When I got my credit card statement, I saw that I was charged $89.31,” A.T. wrote The Fixer. Meanwhile, a bottle of 60 pills arrived in the mail.

When A.T. called the company to complain, he was told he hadn’t read the fine print. He had unknowingly signed up to receive a month’s supply.

The Fixer has heard from numerous readers who learned this same lesson. The fine print in these free offers typically states that you need to cancel your automatic enrollment within a very short period of time — sometimes before you’ve even received the sample. After you get your credit card bill and find the charges, if you call to complain, these companies will end your “subscription.” But by then they’ve already taken your money for a worthless product.

What is a Costly Lesson? It’s an UNFIXABLE problem that cost someone a lot of money but holds a valuable lesson for the rest of us. If you have something to warn the rest of us about, e-mail it to szimmermann@suntimes.com with Costly Lessons in the subject line. And don’t worry, for Costly Lessons, we leave out last names to prevent further embarrassment.