Screw the little guy

[Gunslinger]

I get calls all the time to come into work and take care of priorities (wich are usually a result poor planning on somone else)  

I will never shop at Sears AGAIN!  

I trasnfered my credit card balance from them to my capital one card because they offered me an interest rate I could not refuse.  I had a remaining balance of $10 on my sears card.

I called sears earlier this week to pay off the remaining balance on the account and CLOSE it.  

What I get as a result of it was Sears cashing a check for almost $1700 leaving me with a checking account balance of -$96.

I call sears and after talking to a low level call center person I get to talk to Tom, The low level call center manager.  Apparantly his departmen ONLY answers the phone.  The department that handles these types of transactions does not work weekends.

I ask for their direct number.  He tells me "they don't answer the phones we do"

Now I realize that this is probably a computer error caused by bad input information.....BUT if I or my company caused somone's checking account to get completly wiped out I would do a little more than say "call us back on monday"  Literally call the CALL CENTER on monday.  He actually said "call the number on the back of your card" Not a manager......I have to call and first interact with the computer that answers the phone.....enter in my account number....listen to my account balance and when i made my last payment and when the next payment is due. .....no....I could not get a managers number....nore could have anyone call me back.

I am sofa king mad right now my BP must be at 180/100.  How can you completly wipe out a familys bank account and then not at least appear to be jumping through hoops to take care of them.

I've allready called my bank but they say it could be upto 10 days before any money is returned to my account.  I guess fraud doesnt apply to Sears.


OK I'm calmer(ish) now.  I am a slight optimist and I have to tell myself that there is a bright side to this.  At first I thaught it was a Hacker or something because I do online banking and such.  But I think if that was the case I'd have my money back imediatly.

Thus starts my campaign against Sears.  First stop....the better business beuro.  Anyone else have any Ideas?

[Nash]

Sears wiped out your bank account?

Lol.... why does this stuff always seem to only happen to people whose blood pressure "must be at 180/100."

Dig deep somewhere's because I am telling you this 5hit has its roots in Karma somehow.

[Lizking]

First, don't get mad at the guy on the other end of the phone line.  He didn't do it, and if you work with him he can help.  Second, when you are doing the balance transfer dance, allow plenty of time for the transaction to take place.
Third, never, ever, allow any company direct access to your bank account.

Hope it works out OK for you, be sure and request a letter from Sears explaining the issue.  FYI, I gave up on Sears about 20 years ago over their crappy credit.

[Dago]

I have been having fun with Sears too.  Bought a couple new appliances and just charged them.  When the bill came, the wife paid in full, and for some reason she has yet to explain, she overpaid by $50.  So, instead of having a zero balance, we had a 50 dollar credit.  Not planning to buy anything there in the near future that we would care to charge, she called to have that money refunded.  

What a hassle that has been.  They try like heck to avoid refunding an overpayment it seems.  She has made two calls and I have made two calls.  Supposedly the "check will be sent out within 10 days"  Not the first time we have heard that.

Only $50, and not like it wiped out my checking account, but frustrating nonetheless.  Sometimes you have to wonder is it incompetance, indifferance, or what?

Good luck on getting your money back.

dago

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Lizking
First, don't get mad at the guy on the other end of the phone line.  He didn't do it, and if you work with him he can help.  Second, when you are doing the balance transfer dance, allow plenty of time for the transaction to take place.
Third, never, ever, allow any company direct access to your bank account.

Hope it works out OK for you, be sure and request a letter from Sears explaining the issue.  FYI, I gave up on Sears about 20 years ago over their crappy credit.

I'm not really doing the "dance" so to speak.  It's simple math. Sears charges 20%.  I stopped using the card and have been paying it off slowly but it's hard to put a dent in it with the interest rate so high.

Capital one, whom I have a pretty good credit card with, offered me a balance transfer at 3.9% for 1 year.  This way I can role my sears payment into my capital one card wich a just payed off but plan to keep and make both payments to pay down the balance twice as fast.  When I called to pay off the account and close it they told me over the phone what my balance was and I only authorized a certain amount but I KNOW it wasn't $1700.

The most disapointing thing, other than having to get a small loan from the AF aid society, is the fact that my finances are so much better this year than the last.  I'm no longer living paycheck to paycheck.  There's finally money left over after paying the bills.....then this.  I don't get paid again for 11 days.

I know what you mean about not blowing up on the guy cause he's just doing his job.  He was nice for the most part but the fact that this happend and there's nothing HE or anyone else as Sears can do till monday just bugs the crap out of me.  

I bet if their CEO happend to hear me talking about this on an AM talk show or something he'd be calling people in to take care of it.

To top it off companys like this usually don't admit they made a mistake and I am going to end up paying probably $300 in overdraft fees because of it.  
EDIT:

In addition My son's 3rd birthday is in two weeks.  Not sure if this is going to be resolved by then.

Originally posted by Nash
Sears wiped out your bank account?

Lol.... why does this stuff always seem to only happen to people whose blood pressure "must be at 180/100."

Dig deep somewhere's because I am telling you this 5hit has its roots in Karma somehow.

What's Karma?

[DieAz]

keep a record of what it costs for their mistake. then take them to court to pay for their mistake.

[culero]

Originally posted by DieAz
keep a record of what it costs for their mistake. then take them to court to pay for their mistake.

Yeap.

Also, learn a lesson here, don't let convenience drive you to give your credit card number over the phone. If you must use it remotely, do so online on a secure website and save the html of or print the image of what you did. People negotiate better when you hold a gun to their head.

culero

[bunch]

If you need to use a credit card, then you are poor & will never get any justice.  stick to cash; no spam, no junk mail, no telemarketers, no paper trail

[culero]

Originally posted by bunch
If you need to use a credit card, then you are poor & will never get any justice.  stick to cash; no spam, no junk mail, no telemarketers, no paper trail

Yeah, semantic error. I agree, but my Mastercard simply debits my checking account. That's cash, just a more convenient form.

culero (kinda hard to make the paper fit through the modem yanno)

[NUKE]

Originally posted by Gunslinger


What I get as a result of it was Sears cashing a check for almost $1700 leaving me with a checking account balance of -$96.

 

How did Sears get a check from you to cash?

sounds like a debit card and not a credit card.

[culero]

Dood, us rednecks call plastic money "credit card" whether it's using credit or accessing the bank account.

Well, us older rednecks, anyway

culero

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by NUKE
How did Sears get a check from you to cash?

sounds like a debit card and not a credit card.

I did a check by phone.  Somehow the $15 check turned into $1698.68.  I KNOW I did not authorize the latter amount though.

But of course that department does not work weekends nore do they answer their phones.

[NUKE]

Wow, that suks Gun.....but I'm sure it will be easy to get your money back.

[Vudak]

Ask for their manager.  When the manager can't help you ask for the number for their corporate headquarters.  Then ask for the VP in charge of Consumer Affairs.  As you get higher and higher up the ladder be more and more polite.  Make sure you take names.

Seriously, this is what the boss does all the time, for various situations.  Works like a charm, but takes hours.

[MrCoffee]

You know sears has a life time warranty on all its tools. Thats how long they last.