Another Credit Card Debacle

[Bemused]

Roy Berry wrote:

I attempted to purchase a dryer from sears on my sears card. Not only did I not end up with the dryer, I got charged for it and citi refused to remove it through the dispute process.
I think I'd remember getting a dryer guys.
Off to the New York State Attorney General's office to get it fixed.
I've had my card since 1998, and never disputed a charge up until this point.

Always remember to: Get a receipt, or a confirmation no., tracking no. if available. And realize that solving the issue through the store is much quicker than allowing the credit card co. due it. CitiGroup does not handle merchandise, so we have to start from scratch every time a dispute is issued.

[Bemused]

BGB wrote:

I have a Sears Godl MasterCard that was used to finance a purchase of almost $10,000 for several months. Regular monthly payments were made. The final payment in full was made in March 3 weeks prior to due date. The payment was for the account balance as shown on bill. This month I received a bill for $63.00 for interest. When I called Customer Rep., I was told it was interest that accumulated during the 10 days or so after bill cycle closed and receipt of payment in full.
What a SCAM!!!!!!

Ahhh, the infamous 'joint' account. And it is what it is: JOINT. Like siamese twins. This is the whole reason why Citi does not offer the joint account any longer. What I'd suggest, since it's all over the phone, is to call up Citi Cust. Service with a good female friend and say, "My wife and wish to cancel this card." The CSR(Cust Service Rep) says, "Do you agree to this ma'am?" [Female voice] "Yes." And it's closed. Then you can deal with the fireworks after, but the account's closed. And if she wants a credit card so damn much, she can apply herself!

[Terka]

Get good service wrote:

If you want good customer service then do not give the customer service number any personal information after all they ask you for your card number when you call. If they do not know who you are they are not located in the USA. Ask what country they are in and then ask for USA representative because the information laws are not the same in all countries. I have never failed in getting good service because I refuse to deal with individuals outside the USA, mainly because it is their job to make a resolution in your favor difficult. Try it you will definitely notice the difference.

Thank you very much for a great advice. I had no idea.

[Terka]

Thank you so much for your advice. It is great.

[Sears worker]

Don't blame the employees in Sears retail stores for your mishaps in the Sears credit service. We ask about applying for the Sears Card because it is in our job description. I know each of yall have little details in your jobs that you would rather not do, but inorder to pay your bills you have to keep that job. And inorder to keep your job, you have to abide by company policies. It is in our policy that we ask every customer about the Sears card, so we will not be discriminating. I'm sorry about any problems that have occured with your Sears card, but again we have no control over the credit department.

[Sears worker]

Also in my experiences at working at Sears, I have heard many motivating stories of customers who have applied for a Sears card and built up their credit enabling them to move forward in their lives by being about to have a credit score high enough to buy a house or a car. Every customer experience is different and you can not base a company on one persons opinions. For every complain there is also a praise; and as easy as it is to dwell on the negative parts of a situation, inorder to get the full picture, you must look past the criticisms.

[Felicia Texas]

I have had a Sears card since 1992. I pay my card on time and usually more than the balance. I used the card for emergency auto repairs, electronics, furniture ect. I even use to work for Sears. I only had a balance of about 690.00. I recieved a bill for $22.43 due 3/12/07. I paid $50.00 on 2/26. My next bill was for $20.62 due 4/10. I paid $50.00 on 3/9. I got a late charge of 29.00 on 4/11. When I called to ask why I recieved the late charge I was advised because I missed the payment due 4/10. I advised I did not miss the payment I paid it on 3/9. They advised me that I paid it too early. My account did not have and I quote "early pay" option. Since I paid it too early I was assed a late charge because the payment made in March has credited for march and not april. I said but the payment due in March was paid on 2/26. They said well we have no pay of crediting that to the previous month beacause my account did not have early pay. I said well how do I get "early pay". I was informed that Sears does not offer it. I explained that it did not appear fair that I am penelized for being a good trustworthy customer for 15 years and assesed a late payment. If we could not adjust or correct this then I no longer wanted the account. The girls said ok and closed the account offering no solution. I asked for a supervisor who told me that I could pay the 76.43 today and then call back to see if I "qualify" for the adjustment. I said let me get this right...I pay 76.43 today which is for the late charge for a payment that I didn't pay late and then call back tomorow and see if I qualify for an adjustment..so at that time you can still tell me no I don't qualify..he said that is how it worked and sent me over to make the payment. I paid the 76.43 and John the only person who really helped said that he would definitly credit me the late charge has I had been a loyal responsible customer. When I thanked him and confirmed that the account would remain open he said not its closed. He could not correct that and refered me back to customer service who advised me after 15 years I would have to reapply. I will never reapply for this account and I will never shop in Sears again. My family and I had a relationship with Sears that went back over 50 years. You can bet that all our accounts and that's over 20 will be shortly closed down as well.

[BasilHerb]

The entire credit card industry is a mess. Their policies and practices really need to be looked into.

I am working with an organization to get visa and mastercard to operate with more transparency and disclosure, especially with regard to the interchange fees that we all pay in the form of higher prices. It really is the biggest credit card fee you've never heard of. More info is available at http://www.unfaircreditcardfees.com
or http://creditcardsvsmerchants.blogspot.com/

[sears sucks]

Sears cards may be Citibank now;however, they at one time were sears and were a rip off then too. Their finance charges and fees should be deemed illegal. They get by with more than the criminals do!

[LCC]

Well, thanks! I'll make sure I don't get a card and I won't waste time shopping at Sears.

[Credit Services]

It just so happens that I work for Citi, which handles the portfolio to the Sears card. In a typical day, we deal with about 300 calls in an 8 hour span from customers that I would never in my life consider to be "intelligent" individuals. I could understand this if maybe I worked for GE Moneybank and I was dealing with a half-stoned 18 year old American Eagle cardholder, but in any given day I get a grip of people who couldn't have possibly read their terms and conditions. Once the card is activated, you have agreed to that contract. Instead of reading this contract, we get a little charge happy and just call the number, then bitch about it when the statement arrives. When the statement does not arrive because people steal your mail, you call and blame it on us and then assume that it was our fault and that there was no way in hell that you would have known that payment was due. The thing is... you get a bill every month, and the one month you don't find it, it doesn't mean your bill isn't due. Go online or call the IVR.

Oh, and every time you call customer service to have a late fee removed, that is still reported to the credit reporting agencies. There is no grace period, had you read your terms and conditions, this would have not been an issue. The only reason why people say it is "fine print" is because half of these people need bi-focals to see the screen on their 60 inch plasma tv that they bought at Sears that the morons who can't operate their computers sold to them at 0% but never actually entered it into the computer so credit services can deal with the EXTREMELY irate customers paying interest at 25.4%. Trust me, there is no fine print. Type the word "fine print" in 14 point Times New Roman font in word and print it out then compare it to the print on your terms and conditions. That is a challenge to everyone who says it's "fine print"

We get blamed for a lot of things, like when the application is done in the store and their address is entered wrong by the associate and they never receive statements on something that was supposed to be no int. no pymnts. for a year and so they go into universal default and FLIP OUT. Or when they rush them through the application itself and tell them to check "here, here and here" for "optional services" which were not fully explained at the time of application and bitch at me for it because they "never signed up for it" and got charged a grip for those things. I could go on and on for days about how irate customers think that because we are taking their calls that we are life counselors, personal bankers, punching bags or that the things they say will have some effect on us as representatives.

So here comes the advice: READ YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY! There is a period in which if you do not agree that you can cancel. Everything I do is in accordance with the contract you agreed to. Yelling at me is not going to solve your problem. I didn't ruin your credit score, you did. Be an educated consumer and ask questions about things you don't understand, don't be too proud or think you know everything. Understand that this is not a bank issued credit card, it is a store card. If you want a bank issued card, go to a bank's website or visit a branch. Don't complain about the card's APR if you're going to make purchases not on promotions. Don't lose it because you think it's cute to buy Starbucks with a gold mc with a 25.4% APR... and then call customer service and whine for 11 minutes about something you did yourself. Take responsibility for your actions and get educated about your finances, don't blame someone else for your wrongdoing.

[RideEmCowboy]

Robert Childers wrote:

I have had sears credit cards for over 30 years. Last year they talked me into the "wonderfull sears gold mastercard" i have never been late on a paymentin the 30 years untell now. They changed my due date without any mention. I was one day late in 30 years and was charged 39.00 late fee.It will never happen again. I paid off and cancelled that account. We will not be buying anything from anymore.

I had a very similar problem. I, too, had a Sears card for decades, and had ever been late before. Well, until I left for a rare vacation, and my statement arrived the day after I left. By the time I cam home, it was already late.

I call Sears, and they very happily waved the late fee. No problem. All I had to do was be polite and respectful.

[debbie harmison]

I charged $2300 in 2002 and have paid on it every month and yet I still owe $1900!! Citi cards refuses to lower inerest. I placed it with a credit managment company, did not lower interest. Makes payments on time every month, refused to lower interest. I have written to everyone with no relief. I had to quit my job because I am unable to work.

[kristen]

I opened a Sears Gold MC in 2005 because I was going to get some sort of discount on something I was buying. I got the first bill, and paid it in full. That was 11/2005.
My dad called me recently to let me know a collections agency was calling for me. So I contacted them, and it was for deliquent payments on my card! The lady was really nice, and she said that the card was paid off, but they were charging me inactivity fees. I told her this was the first time I had heard of the charges, since I wasn't getting any statements.(Granted, I hadn't updated them with my current address, but I had been at the address Sears had on file for me for a good 6-7 months with no monthly statements and I didn't stress about it at the time because I had paid off the card). Anyway, she told me that Sears would not talk to me since they had sold my account to the collections agency. So I gave her my banking info over the phone to pay off the debt, so that I could talk to Sears about it. Now, I see an amount taken out of my bank account, but it doesn't exactly match what Sears is displaying as my amount due to them (it's off by less than $5). I intend on calling Sears to talk about why I never received statements to my old address with the inactivity fees and to close my account. I've been trying to find their terms and conditions for that particular card on the internet so that I can see what the inactivity fees should be and how often they should be charged, but I can't find that information anywhere. Has anyone else experienced this and have any advice as to what I should do to make sure this is all resolved?

[kaeacia]

kristen wrote:

I opened a Sears Gold MC in 2005 because I was going to get some sort of discount on something I was buying. I got the first bill, and paid it in full. That was 11/2005.
My dad called me recently to let me know a collections agency was calling for me. So I contacted them, and it was for deliquent payments on my card! The lady was really nice, and she said that the card was paid off, but they were charging me inactivity fees. I told her this was the first time I had heard of the charges, since I wasn't getting any statements.(Granted, I hadn't updated them with my current address, but I had been at the address Sears had on file for me for a good 6-7 months with no monthly statements and I didn't stress about it at the time because I had paid off the card). Anyway, she told me that Sears would not talk to me since they had sold my account to the collections agency. So I gave her my banking info over the phone to pay off the debt, so that I could talk to Sears about it. Now, I see an amount taken out of my bank account, but it doesn't exactly match what Sears is displaying as my amount due to them (it's off by less than $5). I intend on calling Sears to talk about why I never received statements to my old address with the inactivity fees and to close my account. I've been trying to find their terms and conditions for that particular card on the internet so that I can see what the inactivity fees should be and how often they should be charged, but I can't find that information anywhere. Has anyone else experienced this and have any advice as to what I should do to make sure this is all resolved?

Go into a Sears store and ask to see the terms and conditions for the Gold Mastercard. They usually have them on the counter of the cash wraps. The employees won't have a problem with you reading it over. Also there are usually fliers near the registers that have the information on them. I only have a regular Sears card and we have never gotten charged an inactivity fee.

[Sears Customer]

Credit Services wrote:

It just so happens that I work for Citi, which handles the portfolio to the Sears card. In a typical day, we deal with about 300 calls in an 8 hour span from customers that I would never in my life consider to be "intelligent" individuals. I could understand this if maybe I worked for GE Moneybank and I was dealing with a half-stoned 18 year old American Eagle cardholder, but in any given day I get a grip of people who couldn't have possibly read their terms and conditions. Once the card is activated, you have agreed to that contract. Instead of reading this contract, we get a little charge happy and just call the number, then bitch about it when the statement arrives. When the statement does not arrive because people steal your mail, you call and blame it on us and then assume that it was our fault and that there was no way in hell that you would have known that payment was due. The thing is... you get a bill every month, and the one month you don't find it, it doesn't mean your bill isn't due. Go online or call the IVR.
Oh, and every time you call customer service to have a late fee removed, that is still reported to the credit reporting agencies. There is no grace period, had you read your terms and conditions, this would have not been an issue. The only reason why people say it is "fine print" is because half of these people need bi-focals to see the screen on their 60 inch plasma tv that they bought at Sears that the morons who can't operate their computers sold to them at 0% but never actually entered it into the computer so credit services can deal with the EXTREMELY irate customers paying interest at 25.4%. Trust me, there is no fine print. Type the word "fine print" in 14 point Times New Roman font in word and print it out then compare it to the print on your terms and conditions. That is a challenge to everyone who says it's "fine print"
We get blamed for a lot of things, like when the application is done in the store and their address is entered wrong by the associate and they never receive statements on something that was supposed to be no int. no pymnts. for a year and so they go into universal default and FLIP OUT. Or when they rush them through the application itself and tell them to check "here, here and here" for "optional services" which were not fully explained at the time of application and bitch at me for it because they "never signed up for it" and got charged a grip for those things. I could go on and on for days about how irate customers think that because we are taking their calls that we are life counselors, personal bankers, punching bags or that the things they say will have some effect on us as representatives.
So here comes the advice: READ YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY! There is a period in which if you do not agree that you can cancel. Everything I do is in accordance with the contract you agreed to. Yelling at me is not going to solve your problem. I didn't ruin your credit score, you did. Be an educated consumer and ask questions about things you don't understand, don't be too proud or think you know everything. Understand that this is not a bank issued credit card, it is a store card. If you want a bank issued card, go to a bank's website or visit a branch. Don't complain about the card's APR if you're going to make purchases not on promotions. Don't lose it because you think it's cute to buy Starbucks with a gold mc with a 25.4% APR... and then call customer service and whine for 11 minutes about something you did yourself. Take responsibility for your actions and get educated about your finances, don't blame someone else for your wrongdoing.

Sucky, rude customer service reps like YOU are the reason everyone is complaining in the first place! But, hey, I'd be bitter too if the only job I could get was being a phone rep. Sucks to be you.

[Ben Dover]

Please be advised that Sears uses Certegy Check Services. If you dont know who they are, do a web search for 'Certegy information theft' and see what you come up with. When you finish do a search on 'JAM Marketing'; then do one on 'FTN Promotions'. Interesting reading.

[Joe]

Hello to all. I found out my mother erroneously placed my name on her credit application for a Sears credit card in 2002. She defaulted on the loan and filed for bankruptcy. I get a call last Friday (3 August) from a debt collector. Alarmed, I pulled my credit report and saw the fraudulent account. I did some research and found out about my mother's error. What can I do? Any help would be appreciated!

[DDennick]

Robert Mills wrote:

I am a class action lawyer investigating improper credit card billng practices. I would like to speak to anyone who has had a CITIUSA credit monitor bill attached to their monthly credit card bill. Contact information at millslawfirm.com .

I have a concern with an account with Sears through Citibank. Would like to discuss the issue privately. Please respond back using E-mail address [e-mail]

[Concerned and wondering]

Joe wrote:

Hello to all. I found out my mother erroneously placed my name on her credit application for a Sears credit card in 2002. She defaulted on the loan and filed for bankruptcy. I get a call last Friday (3 August) from a debt collector. Alarmed, I pulled my credit report and saw the fraudulent account. I did some research and found out about my mother's error. What can I do? Any help would be appreciated!

Are you sure she made the mistake and someone else didn't?