I've had it with Macy's
 

A little rant:

If you have a credit card with actual monetary credit on it (as in, you've paid more than you've charged, so there's a positive balance in your account), how would you expect the credit card company to deal with it? If for months and months, the monthly statement indicates a positive balance and you don't request any refund check, and you then make a purchase (for greater than the credit balance), you'd think you'd just have to pay the difference and all would be even, right? Do credit card companies do it any other way?

Well, apparently Macy's does.

My wife has/had a Macy's credit card. We had about a $40 credit/balance on it from some sort of returned item. That showed up on the monthly statement for several months. She then purchased a purse for $60. The next statement showed that we now owed $20. Just pay $20, right? So that's what we did. Paid the balance on time.

6 days later, Macy's sent us a check for $40. And the next statement indicated we owed them $40...plus whatever late penalties/finance charges they drummed up. WTF? (BTW, we never cashed that check.)

A call to their credit division claimed that their policy is that we were to have paid the $60 for the purse, and then they would credit us the $40 they owed us. Funny, that wasn't what the statement said. It said: pay $20. Nevertheless, the customer service agent said we could tear up the $40 check (which we never cashed), and that everything would be made square. We also confirmed with him that we wished to close the account. He said he'd do that, too.

Well, not exactly, as this month's statement (WTF?) is exactly the same as last month's, plus additional late fees/penalties. Double WTF! :mad: (Obviously we haven't been using the card, as in our mind it's been canceled.)

Regardless of what the bible of fine print says in any credit card agreement, who else does it that way? Certainly none of the other credit cards I've used in the past 20 years.

What kind of logic is represented in: I owe you $40, so you pay me $60 and I'll reimburse you the $40. But not until you pay me $60 first. ???

It's threads like this that teach me things but also set off my paranoia antenae. I hate having credit on a card, it always leads to a screw up. It seems that big companies like Macy's and Sears like to screw with people, any way they can. The way they do it is ti use illogical thinking and BINGO, you are screwed because you are thinking logically.

I made the mistake of going to Sears to get tires a couple months ago, had to drive an hour to get there and had told them what I wanted beforehand. Got there and it took a half hour to get checked in (so I'm already fuming). Once they find out I'm there they tell me it will be THREE hours before they can get the car in, I say forget it. They say well that will be a 15% restocking fee. You can see where this is going. Good thing I charged them on the AMEX card, credit was issued but only after damn near coming to blows.

I feel your pain.

You should have gone to the store and paid your bill in person. Not saying that Macy's doesn't suck, but I think most retailers have a hard time with credit balances and subsequent purchases.

Now, you have to check your credit reports. The bastards may have reported a late.

you shop at Macy's?

For personal, I use a United Visa that gets me miles. Yeah I have to pay $50/year, but about every 3 years, between those charges and my actual miles, I have two RT tickets to anywhere in the world.

All the more reason to never fall for those store charge sucker accounts that they all try to push. I have two debit cards that I live on for about 90% of expenses, an Amex and a MasterCard for emergencies. I'd NEVER get some "off brand" store charge account - a college roommate had a best buy one and it turned into a giant CF for him. That was enough to convince that such cards were trouble - and the more I keep hearing about them the more I believe I'm right about it.

I definitely shop at Macy's. They have the good stuff, and I wait until a huge sale.

But I pay cash for everything, and learned a long time ago to not ever get a store credit card.

Too expensive for me; I only drive a 928. I have to shop at thrift stores-

Out of the Closet Thrift Stores - Home

N!

I've done that, too, in the past. Would not have made any difference. Store salespeople have nothing to do with the credit dept. Their only ability is to take a payment.

Part of me wonders what's happened to my credit report. Part of me doesn't give a ***** because I don't plan on borrowing any more money in the next decade.

Hey, had you read the thread, you'd have noticed it was my wife that did the shopping! Through I have to confess, we bought our dining room table from them as well as some nice kitchen knives. Oh, and Hello Kitty shirts. You know, for our little girl, of course.

Actually, my wife (who's a Bostonian) never thought much of Macy's. However, from my west coast perspective, I've noticed that it's a little bit more upscale here. Not necessarily Bloomingdale's quality, but you can get Boss/Armani/Canali suits here in the west coast stores--something that's not readily available in the New England stores.

Sorry. I spoke with my wife who used to work there and she told me that what I really should have said was to go upstairs and use customer service. Even ask for a manger.

Odd. That was never presented as an option to me. I once had another bill payment issue with them (some other weirdo way they applied my payment--which I had made in person) and went to a retail store to complain. They told me to use the red customer service phone in the basement (which didn't work--there was no dial tone). I was told there was no one in the store who could help me with my issue.

What happened next?

For all in tents (and porpoises), I've had that happen to me at least three times over the years and, like you, I went into WTF mode, called and got it straightened out. Right. Wrong, got another bill, went into double WTF Mode, called again, this time not polite like first time, Sorry, that was supposed to have been taken care of, it will be taken care of, sorry. Both of whom I spoke with were polite and apologetic so I calmed and said, Thank you very much.

Well it happens again, I went into TRIPLE WTF mode, called demanding to speak to honcho/honcha, REALLY vented my spleen ya da ya da and ultimately got things ironed out and done with.

There are a LOT of incompetent people out there, it'll probably happen to me again and I'll have to spend more time on the phone dealing with incompetents and I can only conclude, oh, WTF, I guess that's life.

What happened next? Did you get Macy's incompetence straightened out to your satisfaction?

It's probably because they read the OT threads and know it's you.

Store credit crads suck. Pay cash or use a VISA or Master Card.

Macys sucks. The only store that is such a ***** to deal with that I refuse to shop at.

Wife called again (card's in her name) and explained the situation. They (again) said they would re-set the balance back at zero.

I guess I'll find out in a month what really happened.

..

Pure and simple...I use my debit card, and if there's not enough cash to back it up. I don't buy it.

I hate credit cards and only have a VISA for general use and a Costco card which I pay off each month. I canceled a H.D. card years ago I made the mistake of getting - even cut up the card and sent the pieces back to them. They charged me their standard $25 late fee on a $10 balance I forgot to pay since I had misplaced the bill. Their rules, but like everything else, no logic.

I remember years ago, had to go to Sears customer service office to get a cash refund. I don't remember the details, but it was SEARS ERROR and I wasn't happy to have to take the escalator up to the 2nd floor to get back the money that THE SALES CLERK WHO SENT ME UPSTAIRS HAD JUST OVERCHARGED ME!! (this was before the world had become computerized).

The lady behind the counter takes the paperwork I brought up with me, looks at it, goes and gets cash then pushes a piece of paper at me and says sign here. I went into WTF mode (and this was before 'WTF' was even in Webster's) and said, Hey! This is SEARS FAULT! You don't need my signature, just give me my money!

I'm sorry sir. I can't give you your money until you sign the form. So I grabbed the form, signed it Warren G. Harding (don't ask me why that name popped into my head, but it did) and pushed it back at her, There! Now give me my money!

She looked at it, then at me as if about to say, I'm sorry sir, but that's not your name, then a look of terror filled her eyes and she shoved my money across the counter at me and I stomped off.

HAHAHA! When she looked up at me I must have had a look on my face like Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining'. :D

The most amazing part of the whole story is the part "my wife bought a purse for $60."!!!!! Can she take mine shopping sometime and show her where to find those?

Credit cards are useful tools, but they require maintenance. Normal business is done by machine or minimum wage short bus zombies but every company does have an office for problems and complaints. Skip the short bus zombies and go straight to complaints. Make sure you don't owe them for any purchases. Make copies of all your statements, explain what happened just as you did here and start sending letters. Every time you get a statement with a balance for late penalties and finance charges send the letter and the copies of all the recent statements and demand credit. It may take six months, but they will eventually give you a credit for all the BS charges. The problem here is they give you credit for the BS charges on your last statement, but while the credit is being processed the computers are adding more interest charges for it - it may be as little as 50 cents. So your next statement will show a credit for the BS charges that appeared on the last statement, plus interest accrued while the credit was being processed, plus a late fee. You just have to be persistent, keep sending the letter and the statements. Before you are finished, make sure you receive at least two statements with zero balances. Then formally close the account. You have to be patient. The whole process can take nearly a year. Been there, done it.

just a gentle rib. :)

note that, dollars to donuts, those labels are not the same quality as you'll find in Neiman's, Saks, Barneys... Macy's is famous for luring in high end names to produce "quality at a price." Still nice stuff, just not exactly the same, and for 99% of the public, it won't matter. The knives and manufactured goods are the same, maker agrees to lower profit for higher volume. If I have anything against Macy's, same as Target, Home Depot, Walmart, etc., is that they are Main Street killers.

Amazed at the Hello Kitty phenomenon. My host in China last week had HK license plate frames.

Yeah, our bank account's a bit lucky that way. She's got a New England modesty against showiness. She once received a high end designer purse for a gift (which wasn't flashy and actually quite elegant, except for the subtle yet strategically placed label which must have added $$$ to its price) and quietly confessed to me she didn't really care for it much.


That's what I plan on doing as a next step. As a guy who's has the diligence and fortune to pay off in full every statement I've ever received, I find any finance or late charge to be a slap in the face. And an insult to my inherent cheapness.


Sorry, shoulda added a smilie to the end of my comment, too. ;)

the US does not have an effective regulatory agency for consumer credit - tho the president who many people don't like on PARF is trying to create one

thus, the stores are free to do almost anything they want

state agencies cannot touch them b/c they are all in the Dakota territory (on the financial frontier) and they have lobbied (paid for) very favorable treatment there

I would never own a dept. store credit card.


Do you care about your credit score? IIRC, you likely have sufficient assets to not worry about it. If so, do not pay the charges, and write them a nice letter as to why. They will immediately zap your credit report w/o your knowledge. Wait 2 months and get a free copy, find the nasty and dispute it. This will not raise your score, but if a human takes the time to actually look at it, (and wants your credit) they may well give you a favorable loan anyway.

It will not have much effect on the score - might drop you 50 points or so. It will vanish in xx years. (3??)

Too busy? Too much work to take all the time? They they have won.

The best thing is to copy your post to your representatives in the Senate and House, and say you want a consumer credit agency formed. It will not help you directly, but it will help millions of people worse off, and help shift economic emphasis from "Financial Engineering" to something more worthwhile, improved medical devices, or better solar panels, as examples.

A lot of the consumer finance industry is based on screwing people by not quite enough for the screwed to take action. People are busy, they make it confusing and a hassle, and the dollar amount is just small enough that you just give up.

There is very little regulation of this, and the industry is blatant about evading what there is. Remember Congress imposed limits on raising credit card interest rates, and the companies rushed to jack up the rates on anyone with a balance, before the law took effect. They didn't care that they were doing it in the teeth of a deep recession, when people were struggling.

Edit: they put my neighbor in BK that way - his business was down badly in the recession and he'd had some major health problems, resulted in him being vulnerable with a bunch of credit card debt - the card companies rushed to jack his rates for zero reason, he was current - and that put him under. Tough for a 70+ guy to go BK. All has ended fine, the BK judge loved him (my neighbor presented a plan to pay all his debt), and he's recovering, as the economy does.


After the restrictions went into effect, the companies jacked up fees for everything, and are making their money that way. Similar with checking accounts. Fees for ATM withdrawals, balance inquiries, overdraft protection (and many banks sign you up for overdraft protection by default), are all high. The card companies also raised merchant fees, but that got them a legislative backlash, because they made the mistake of going after other businesses. Business is poltically organized, business gets what it wants in Washington. Consumers are not and usually do not. Business loves the "smaller government / less regulation" stuff, because then they get to go after individual consumers with no restrictions. Between, say, Bank of Anerica and Mrs. Joe, it isn't much of a contest.

By the way, does M even run it's own store card? These are often outsourced to GE Capital etc.

I too canceled my Macy's card after I began receiving 2 Macy's bills per month. 1 was for the items purchase at Macy's (Macy's portion of the card) and one for the items I purchased away from Macy's (Visa portion of the card). It took a few calls to customer service to figure out why I was getting late fees for full payments I thought I was making on time. Go figure -- The 2 bills had different due dates and were considered 2 separate statements.

Too confusing and not worth the headache.