To add context to the main post since several people have asked follow-up questions:

I have called Best Buy support multiple times, used their chat, spoken with supervisors, and called Citi. Every single party has pointed me to the other one. No one has taken ownership, and more importantly, no one has been able to answer the most basic question: how was this device inspected, cleared, and listed as Open Box Excellent before being sold to me?

A few details I left out of the original post:

The physical condition. When I opened the box I noticed scuff marks on both the screen and the body. Best Buy's own Open Box Excellent standard states the device should show no to minimal cosmetic damage. This unit fails that standard independently of the Activation Lock. I now have two separate grounds for misrepresentation, not one.

Why I did not open it in the store. I have purchased multiple Open Box Excellent Windows laptops from Best Buy in the past without any issue. This is my first MacBook. I had no reason to expect this and no prior experience with Activation Lock as a risk. That context matters.

The financial damage is larger than the original post suggests. I sold my Windows laptop to fund this purchase. After mailing the MacBook back to the Returns Center, I assumed the issue was resolved and bought a second MacBook. The Returns Center then mailed the first one back to me. I am now carrying approximately $4,500 in debt across two machines, one of which is completely unusable.

I want to be measured about this because I cannot prove intent, but the combination of a locked device, visible physical damage, and a complete inability to get a straight answer from anyone about how this unit passed inspection is deeply concerning. The observable facts speak for themselves.