SEARS Stole My Money! ripoff El Cajon & Escondido California
This is the brief version of how Sears stole my money.
I bought a rear projection TV at $999 on sale, plus tax and delivery, at the El Cajon, CA Sears. I paid for the TV with my bank debit card, a charge of over $1100.
After delivery, I found out the TV was too big for my living room. I called Sears and was told I could either pay another delivery charge to have it picked up and then yet another fee to get a smaller TV, or choose a different TV and have the old one picked up when the new one was delivered.
I chose option B and returned to the store to pick a new TV. Nothing was available in the rear projection, and, after more hassle involving trips to a Sears outlet store, searching the internet and calling around, I drove up to Escondido to get the only 42 rear projection TV available at Sears in the western hemisphere.
Again, the employees debited my account, this time for $899 plus tax and delivery.
Long story goes in here wherein I get lots and lots of runaround from Sears and Sears delivery warehouses about how and when I'm gonna get my money back for the 46 TV they picked up when the 42 TV was delivered.
Finally get fed up after Christmas and call Sears El Cajon electronics department yet again to find a national complaint number. I'm told there is no such thing. So I go online to find any national number at all, which of course, is the credit division!
I ask why there's no complaint line and am told, well, of course there is, whereupon I am connected with a rude expletive deleted who has the audacity to tell me I need to take responsibility for waiting so long to get my money back. She said she would have yelled and screamed, and never have let anyone tell her she would have to wait to get her money back. I said she and I are different people. Then she informed me there was nothing she could do to help me.
Now I know to call Sears National Customer DIS-Service if I want abuse.
This angered me enough to lose my renowned patience.
I drove to the El Cajon store where one man decided to listen to me and review my evidence and decided to try to help me. He got the runaround, too, which consists of the warehouse claiming they have no records after 3 months ever and needing the sales receipt. When my guy produced both sales receipts, and called the Escondido store, the employee on the other end of the line maligned my character, suggesting I was trying to pull some sort of criminal act, which, to this moment, I cannot fathom.
Seriously, I cannot figure out how the tables got turned on me wherein Sears, by virtue of expletive deleted representatives on the phonenever to my face, mind youassume that I am some criminal who has created a way to fabricate TV purchases for which I never received a refund on which I am trying to collect using verifiable information.
My only question to this offensive slander is: why oh why would I think so small as $1100 and change from Sears if I'm such a criminal genius? I should be in politics, at least a lobbyist if I'm that good.
Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Poor wonderful guy who tried to help me got no satisfaction either. He apologized profusely and I told him I was resigned to the fact that a huge company like that canand willdo whatever it wants. He and I agreed that some accountant will find the excess $1100 in the books but will just assign it to overage or some such thing that boils down to me never getting my money back because SEARS STOLE MY MONEY!
Marnie
San Diego, California
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
Radford,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Credit vs. debit
#5Consumer Suggestion
Thu, February 09, 2006
Frank's point was that the consumer has much stronger disputing rights with a "REAL credit card" compared to a debit card. This is because Federal law allows the consumer to refuse to pay improper charges on a credit card. The bank will then take their money back from the merchant rather than lose it. With a debit card, it was the consumer's money all along, thus the bank doesn't really care much whether Sears refunds it or not.
So if you qualify, get a credit card and use it whenever possible. Considering the other abuses that banks do with debit cards, these cards should be used only to operate the ATM.
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Frank
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, February 08, 2006
Where do you get off on this credit repair thing? What a moron. The OP NEVER said anything about credit... what gives you the right to pass judgement on someone for something you know NOTHING about? Get a life and stay off the internet you idiot.
Frank
Atlantic City,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Fix Your Credit
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, February 08, 2006
All the money you are blowing on Tv's, Should go towards repairing your credit so you can use a REAL Credit card. Banks can take up to 210 days to resolve a dispute. (Inside info): When you originally sent back your tv, a few days later a memo goes out to the salesperson to "save the sale" ie: calling you to resolve any issues. MOST of the times they do nothing because they LOSE commision if they cancel/refund a sale. NOW things have changed if a salesperson gets a "save the sale" no matter what the customer gets the refund automatically and they must start from scratch. Call Store manager, OR operations Mgr, they hate to be bothered by customers and will just satisfy you. You WILL get your refund.
Nick
Hollywood,California,
U.S.A.
Why not talk to your bank?
#5Consumer Suggestion
Sun, February 05, 2006
Marnie (aka Criminal Genius) :)
Why not explain the situation with your bank? You used your debit card, and certainly you have some recourse. When you returned the TV, you should have been issued some sort of receipt. Submit that to your bank, and see what happens. Let THEM deal with the headache, not you!
Sears does NOT keep that information updated for long unless you paid with a Sears Credit Card.
Don't give up! Get your money back!