Sears Mastercard Aka Citibank HELP I was decieved by customer service, harassed by collections, Shoddy management!!! The Lakes Nevada
This is how my battle began! Please help if anyone has good advice! This started with the birth of my son. Long story short, he almost died at birth had surgery at a month old and I was off work longer than anticipated. There was a month when I could not make a payment, so being the honest person I am I called and spoke with customer service to make some sort of arrangement. Was told by two different reps that there was nothing they could do and when I asked to speak to a supervisor I was not allowed. Advice I recieved was to let my account go to collections, they could help me. Not much choice in the matter and being too naive and trustworthy that's what I did.
In the meantime, I had decided that I was responsible for my debt(have always paid even though some have taken a while)and did not want to destroy my credit. Contacted Christian Debt Services. Set up $125.00 payment with them(however they have since contracted my debt out to Nationwide Consumer Credit). I have kept Sears aka Citibank advised of all this and the collection calls keep coming as expected. I also learned through Sears aka Citibank that they have recieved no proposal or payment as of today 9-28-05 (started process on 9-6-05 and pymt. cleared my bank). Tried numerous times via email and phone calls to Nationwide since 9-22 and only today was I able to get through only to speak to a voicemail. So not sure what the deal is there, however, I am not pleased to say the least.
Back to the issue at hand. I understand that these transactions take time and for the most part Sears aka Citibank collections has been patient. I have contacted them and have always spoken with them when they called me. Things were mostly civil until this afternoon. Recieved a call from a female rep regarding my delinquent account. Tried to explain the situation only to get a hostile reaction from her. I repeatedly asked her for her name, which she would not give me. I also repeatedly asked to speak to a supervisor or manager. Her response to me was "our managers don't take calls. all they do is walk the floor and do paperwork". The last time I asked her her name and to speak to a manager (before she hung up on me!) she then told me that she was a manager, which totally contradicted her first statement to me.
Needless to say, I was livid! I called back to the customer service number I had, spoke with a new rep, explained my account situation once again and informed her of the harrassing call I recieved and demanded to speak to a supervisor. This time I actually got to speak to one (they really exist!?). Although I doubt it did much good. Gave him the info and by his tone you could tell that he cared less and was just pacifying me to get me off the phone.
Please let it be known that I am a hard working individual who on more than on occasion has held down 2 sometimes 3 jobs to make the ends meet. I do not run from my debts and have tried to find a solution to this one, but have only found more stress and added fees. This situation was not a choice of going on a spending spree, this happened due to life circumstances that we not in my control. If this was the only debt I had it would be no problem to pay, however, I am sitting on a pile of medical bills. My measly budget is stretched to the max with only room for necessity and sometimes those aren't taken care of. I have been a loyal Sears customer for years and had at one time another credit card through them that was paid off with no problems. If this is how they treat loyal customers and people who DO make attempts to set things right, they certainly will not be recieving any more business from me nor my family.
Jen
Cedar, Kansas
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Holly
Chandler,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Ok, let me get this straight...
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 11, 2006
Sears has told you repeatedly that they have not received a payment proposal from the agency you were working with. (I believe you said it is now Nationwide Consumer Credit) You also said the payment you made to them has cleared your bank. That may be true, but have you checked with this agency to make sure they in turn forwarded your payment to the appropriate institutions? Since Sears received no payment proposal and no payment, I would think the problem was with Nationwide, and not Sears.
Forrest
Monroe,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Maybe, this will help
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 11, 2006
I had the same issue and also filed a rip-off report in May. 1st let me express my deepest regrets that you too were victimized by this "policy" of Citibank.
Fact: Sears has contracted with Citibank to underwrite and service their cards.
Fact: When calling Sears you find yourself in a viscous circle of representatives of which have no respect for the customer (E.g., you call Sears, they transfer you to Citi, you are still not satisfied, they transfer you again only to find you are talking to Sears again to no resolve or satisfaction).
Fact: No one you talk to in either customer service area is a decision maker, so asking for a supervisor does no good.
Fact: Policies help by both corporations hold no regard to credit risk. Even Washington Mutual provides 1 waiver of human error prior to sky rocketing interest rates. Not, that I am suggesting you made an error.
Fact: Sears corporate is based in FL and Citibank Corp is located in NY, so filing a report via the BBB is painful.
Here is what I found to work. Sears disputes are redirected to Citi corporate in NY. So, get every name and employee IDs of representatives you have talked to each time you have called and submit a dispute via online customer service with both companies. Then upon response, file a BBB report with the FL BBB and the NY BBB utilizing facts as they are consistently degrading to customers such as us. Pay-off the balance as quick as possible and stay abreast of the "residual interest" they charge.
After all of the above actions I did receive satisfactory results; however, you must be willing to stand your ground even if it impacts your credit report (E.g., late payments). For this reason, keep all documentation as they will not report the outcome to the Credit Bureaus (happened to me last month).
Last, as a follow-up I wrote the CEO of Sears and Citi, and seeing what I have today there has been no resolve of behavior or policy. As long as consumers lie down and take that type of behavior and practice, they will continue to feed on the weak. Stand-up for your rights and best of luck to you!
Denton
North Carolina
Forrest
Monroe,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Maybe, this will help
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 11, 2006
I had the same issue and also filed a rip-off report in May. 1st let me express my deepest regrets that you too were victimized by this "policy" of Citibank.
Fact: Sears has contracted with Citibank to underwrite and service their cards.
Fact: When calling Sears you find yourself in a viscous circle of representatives of which have no respect for the customer (E.g., you call Sears, they transfer you to Citi, you are still not satisfied, they transfer you again only to find you are talking to Sears again to no resolve or satisfaction).
Fact: No one you talk to in either customer service area is a decision maker, so asking for a supervisor does no good.
Fact: Policies help by both corporations hold no regard to credit risk. Even Washington Mutual provides 1 waiver of human error prior to sky rocketing interest rates. Not, that I am suggesting you made an error.
Fact: Sears corporate is based in FL and Citibank Corp is located in NY, so filing a report via the BBB is painful.
Here is what I found to work. Sears disputes are redirected to Citi corporate in NY. So, get every name and employee IDs of representatives you have talked to each time you have called and submit a dispute via online customer service with both companies. Then upon response, file a BBB report with the FL BBB and the NY BBB utilizing facts as they are consistently degrading to customers such as us. Pay-off the balance as quick as possible and stay abreast of the "residual interest" they charge.
After all of the above actions I did receive satisfactory results; however, you must be willing to stand your ground even if it impacts your credit report (E.g., late payments). For this reason, keep all documentation as they will not report the outcome to the Credit Bureaus (happened to me last month).
Last, as a follow-up I wrote the CEO of Sears and Citi, and seeing what I have today there has been no resolve of behavior or policy. As long as consumers lie down and take that type of behavior and practice, they will continue to feed on the weak. Stand-up for your rights and best of luck to you!
Denton
North Carolina
Forrest
Monroe,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Maybe, this will help
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 11, 2006
I had the same issue and also filed a rip-off report in May. 1st let me express my deepest regrets that you too were victimized by this "policy" of Citibank.
Fact: Sears has contracted with Citibank to underwrite and service their cards.
Fact: When calling Sears you find yourself in a viscous circle of representatives of which have no respect for the customer (E.g., you call Sears, they transfer you to Citi, you are still not satisfied, they transfer you again only to find you are talking to Sears again to no resolve or satisfaction).
Fact: No one you talk to in either customer service area is a decision maker, so asking for a supervisor does no good.
Fact: Policies help by both corporations hold no regard to credit risk. Even Washington Mutual provides 1 waiver of human error prior to sky rocketing interest rates. Not, that I am suggesting you made an error.
Fact: Sears corporate is based in FL and Citibank Corp is located in NY, so filing a report via the BBB is painful.
Here is what I found to work. Sears disputes are redirected to Citi corporate in NY. So, get every name and employee IDs of representatives you have talked to each time you have called and submit a dispute via online customer service with both companies. Then upon response, file a BBB report with the FL BBB and the NY BBB utilizing facts as they are consistently degrading to customers such as us. Pay-off the balance as quick as possible and stay abreast of the "residual interest" they charge.
After all of the above actions I did receive satisfactory results; however, you must be willing to stand your ground even if it impacts your credit report (E.g., late payments). For this reason, keep all documentation as they will not report the outcome to the Credit Bureaus (happened to me last month).
Last, as a follow-up I wrote the CEO of Sears and Citi, and seeing what I have today there has been no resolve of behavior or policy. As long as consumers lie down and take that type of behavior and practice, they will continue to feed on the weak. Stand-up for your rights and best of luck to you!
Denton
North Carolina
Forrest
Monroe,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Maybe, this will help
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 11, 2006
I had the same issue and also filed a rip-off report in May. 1st let me express my deepest regrets that you too were victimized by this "policy" of Citibank.
Fact: Sears has contracted with Citibank to underwrite and service their cards.
Fact: When calling Sears you find yourself in a viscous circle of representatives of which have no respect for the customer (E.g., you call Sears, they transfer you to Citi, you are still not satisfied, they transfer you again only to find you are talking to Sears again to no resolve or satisfaction).
Fact: No one you talk to in either customer service area is a decision maker, so asking for a supervisor does no good.
Fact: Policies help by both corporations hold no regard to credit risk. Even Washington Mutual provides 1 waiver of human error prior to sky rocketing interest rates. Not, that I am suggesting you made an error.
Fact: Sears corporate is based in FL and Citibank Corp is located in NY, so filing a report via the BBB is painful.
Here is what I found to work. Sears disputes are redirected to Citi corporate in NY. So, get every name and employee IDs of representatives you have talked to each time you have called and submit a dispute via online customer service with both companies. Then upon response, file a BBB report with the FL BBB and the NY BBB utilizing facts as they are consistently degrading to customers such as us. Pay-off the balance as quick as possible and stay abreast of the "residual interest" they charge.
After all of the above actions I did receive satisfactory results; however, you must be willing to stand your ground even if it impacts your credit report (E.g., late payments). For this reason, keep all documentation as they will not report the outcome to the Credit Bureaus (happened to me last month).
Last, as a follow-up I wrote the CEO of Sears and Citi, and seeing what I have today there has been no resolve of behavior or policy. As long as consumers lie down and take that type of behavior and practice, they will continue to feed on the weak. Stand-up for your rights and best of luck to you!
Denton
North Carolina
Marilyn
Brooklyn,New York,
U.S.A.
SEARS=CITIBANK=CRIMINALS
#8Consumer Suggestion
Wed, October 11, 2006
For many years, I tried to get a Sears mastercard, but it was always denied. Only xxxxx gave me the chance, but they both charge very high finance rates. When I finally got Sears card, I kept it only for 3 months and I cancelled. They always wanted to know a reason for cancelling, so I told I won't allow you to charge me high rates. I only charged 70 dollars which I paid it within 15 days, because all credit cards want to grab you and have you hooked up in debts. I used to receive numerous credit cars applications from Sears,weekly and they never approved me, so I DIDN'T like that, so went I gotb them, I DIDN'T want them either.
SHAME ON SEARS MASTERCARD FOR BEING SO GREETY ON CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE BEEN LOYAL TO THEM FOR MANY YEARS AND WHEN THEY NEED A BREAK ARE REFFERED TO DEBT COLLECTORS.
Adam
Royal Palm Beach,Florida,
U.S.A.
CHEAP REPS
#8Consumer Comment
Tue, August 15, 2006
SEARS, AND CITIBANK HIRE CHEAP CHEAP STAFF THAT HAVE NAMES LIKE YOU CANT EVEN PRONOUNCE, THEY ARE DISGUSTING, SEARS USE TO BE A MONSTER COMPANY IN THE MID TO LATE 80.S OKAY IN EARLY 90/S BUT THEN FELL BIG TIME AND THEY HAD CITIBANK BOUGHT THEM OUT.
SEARS IS A DISGUSTING COMPANY THAT PUTS CHARGES ON MY CREDIT CARD, THE STAFF IS TOLD TO TRICK YOU THE CONSUMER, BECAUSE IF YOUR BALANCE IS 80 DOLLARS AND YOU PAY 80 DOLLARS AND THEN AFTER ITS POSTED YOUR NEW BALANCE IS 69 DOLLARS, AND YOU ASK WHY THEY DONT GO BACK TO THE 80 DOLLARS THEY GO BACK TO WHEN YOUR SEARS CARD WAS HIGHER, AND THEN THEY SAY WELL ITS BECAUSE OF THIS WAS POSTED! THEY CAN JUSTIFY LYING AND STEALING 2 YOU, SEARS =CRIMINALS! THEY STEAL FROM YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY MORE,
THROW OUT YOUR CREDIT CARD NO MORE, NO MORE.
CRIMINALS!