Complaint Review: Wal-Mart/MCCBG

Hi Sara! I'm wondering about the part where you say your sister was called back because she failed to sign something on the form. Maybe it was the part about having an authorized user on the account? Yes, they should get you a copy, and a copy of your sister's application too. Sounds to me like she ended up being an authorized user on your account since her purchases showed on your statements and when you called they said she didn't have an account. Just a thought.

Sara, one of the problems in resolving your situation is the failure to follow the proper dispute procedures. You mentioned that you called them for months. Very little resolution ever comes that way. If you read the back of your statement or do a Google search for "Fair Credit Billing Act" you can read the entire law as it relates to creditors, which clearly states your rights and obligations of the credtior to resolve disputes. It must be in writing.

This is not to say that they will follow these laws either. Doing a lot of business on cards because the advantage in record keeping, I have had a great number of situations that needed resolution, bothe their error and mine. Banks are not always cooperative.

If you were listed as the primary account holder, they should have mailed you both cards, and you sister would not receive a seperate statement. I agree with you that they made an error in issuing a card for you sister on your account without permission and for that error you were not liable for unauthorized issuance of her card. It always ends up bad on credit reports.

As for the copy of your application you requested, you will never see it. According to the Federal Reserve Bank publication, "The Two Faces of Debt" banks take your application as a promise to pay and monetize it. That means that they convert it into liquid asset at ten times the amount of your credit line. Reserve Laws require them to take 10%, or an amount equal to your credit line, and hold in reserves. The other 90% they are free to use to make loans or whatever. So they are no longer in possession of your application and you will never see it. If you did get a true copy you would see the allonge, payable to your bank, attached to it. You will not see that because the allonge constitutes an unauthorized endorsed and exposes one of many fraudlent practices utlilized by banks.

Phone calls don't work. Protect your rights by knowing the laws. BTW If you are dealing with a debt collector the law to look up is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Good luck!

Let's do this in the order it happened.
1.Me and my sister went to Wal-Mart, together.
A lady asked us if we wanted to apply for a credit card. We both said yes. We filled out the applications and went on our way. The lady called my sister back because she had not signed something. We applied in June.

2.We both recieved our cards in the mail, at the same address in the beginning of August.

3.I went away to school in Aiken at the Middle of August. My sister stayed in Beaufort.

4. I only used my card in Aiken and only a few times. All my statements were mailed to me at Aiken because I had put in a change of Address.

5.When I sent in my November payment, I had finished paying the entire amount due on my account.

6. When my December Statement came in, it had purchases on it that I had not made.

7. I called Wal-Mart to notify them of this fact and they basically told me to shove it, because these purchases were on my account, so therefore it falls to reason that I had made them.

8. I called my sister to ask her what I should do and some how or other during our conversation it came to light that she had used her card for the first time in November (so we had never had reason to compare the number on our cards and she had never had a statement before. Which, now that I think about it, should have made her wonder, but she had never had a credit card before and neither did I) and the amount just happened to coincide with the amount of purchases that were applied to my account. I then looked on my statement to see where the purchases were made. They were made in Beaufort, at a time I was not there, but in Aiken.

9. I called Wal-Mart to tell them of this discovery and that they needed to take the charges off my account and apply them to hers. At this time I was told that she did not have an account with Wal-Mart, that they had not approved of her receiving one.

10. So, I then wanted to know what they were going to do about this because they had issued two cards for one account that should have only been issued one. They wouldn't do anything.

11. I closed my account and told them that it was not my responsiblity to pay the balance, as the charges were not made by me. I now know that I was not legally responsible for the amount of money. Unfortunately, I didn't know this and a whole line of bad stuff preceded to happen from that point, which I have already relayed in above narratives.

12. In the end, Wal-Mart refused to fix the problem, continued to hold me accountable for the purchases, and I had to pay them off. I was not in the position to put out money for something I was actually not responsible for, but as it was my credit that was being assaulted, as I haggled with Wal-Mart, I had to pay it off.

13. You say, "where was your sister?" She had experienced the same financial problem as I, when I lost my job.

14. The main thing is this. I would not have been put in this position if Wal-Mart had done a thorough job in authenticating all accounts, account cards, and account holders. Nothing would have happened in a negative fashion, as I had paid all the balances due on my account and I would have been like "Wal-Mart is the greatest," closed my account, and gone on with my life. Which is what I am going to do now. I have vented my frustration with this portion of my history and get on with my life. Ciao!

Now you had the same address to. Then how did they send her a card at a different address. Before you said you lived in 2 different cities now you have the same mailing address. Pick a story and stick with it.

If you have indeed paid Wal-mart for all the purchases that you in your sister made then there would never have been a malinging of your credit as you state and therefore the whole initial posting about crying wouldn't have been needed. There was nothing in your initial postings that were suggestions of remedies to a similiar problem. I see not one avenue to remedies in your report.

Why should Wal-mart or any other business admit to a mistake if none occured? Sorry Sara but the customer isn't always right. I am starting to think that maybe Wal-mart should have been the ones to report fraud instead of suggesting that you do.

Sara,

I am looking at the facts you stated but something is missing from the details you stated.

Quote - "it was discovered that our cards actually had the same number on them"

1. You and your sister applied for a Wal-Mart credit card (seperate applications) but later found out that both cards had the "same account #. My question is, if both cards had the same account #" and you used your card for purchases then why didn't your charges show up on your sisters statement and vise versa? If you made charges on your card then your charges would have shown up on your sisters statement and any charges your sister made would have shown up on your statement. You did not see this within the first 3 billing cycles?

Quote - "Wal-Mart had recieved the money for purchases on my account that I had made, long before this issue ever came up. So, have no fear, Brian. I, nor my sister, were trying to jip Wal-Mart. They were reimbursed for all purchases that were made on the account."

You state you paid Wal Mart in FULL but your credit rating was hurt by this, Quote - My credit was badly maligned because of a mistake that happened on their part which they refused to correct." How could this be if you paid Wal-Mart in full? Did you only pay your charges in full? Sounds like you only paid your charges and your sisters charges have not been paid resulting in your credit rating being affected.

Sounds like this issue is between you and your sister. It also sounds like an error on Wal-Mart's part as well but only on the part of issuing you both a card that had the same account #, which should have been caught by you and/or your sister on the first statement.

Brian,
you seem to be a well-informed person.
But you also seem to want to find fault and are suspicious of anything I say.

I don't really care. I know I have spoken the truth and have actually revealed more of my personal information in trying to prove myself than I had originally intended.

But, to answer your last rebuttal. I had opened my account with Wal-Mart because I needed it for when I went away to school because I would not have a job when I first got there. About a month after going to Aiken, I received my first paycheck and started to pay off my balance. About three months later, my account was paid off entirely.

I was going to close my account because I no longer needed the card. I was raised in such a manner that if you don't use it, you get rid off it. I wasn't using the card, why would I keep it? I received the next's month's statement before I could call Wal-Mart to cancel my account.

Just so you know, I have done this with other Store Credit Cards. I use them and then pay them off. I then end up not using them for a long while, so I just close the account. After all, they are not cards that can be used anywhere else.

Wal-Mart had recieved the money for purchases on my account that I had made, long before this issue ever came up. So, have no fear, Brian. I, nor my sister, were trying to jip Wal-Mart. They were reimbursed for all purchases that were made on the account.

The intial report I made, was only for other consumers to be aware that mistakes happen. And to make them aware that there are avenues out there to help them fix these mistakes, if it so happens that a company will not fix it themselves.

Wal-Mart being such a corporation that spans the entire US and abroad, I know that I am not the only one to face such a situation. It could be that there was a computer malfunction, a human error, or some such thing. After all, we had the same last name, the same bithdate, the same mailing address, and our ss#'s are almost the same. I understand that errors occur.

I do not understand why Wal-Mart would not research this when I told them that purchases had been made on my account that I did not make, but that I myself had to find out what was going on and continually call them to find out what they would do. They would not send me a copy of my application(though I had requested it), but sent me a letter saying that they "could not fulfill my request at this time."

I have actually said all this before and it has become redundant. So, Brian, I hope you have a wonderful day and that maybe you will understand that I am not asking anything from Wal-Mart, except recongnition that there was a mistake on their part and a profound lack of action in rectifying the situation.
Thanks,

Like I said previously, your story just doesn't add up. Wal-mart deserves to be paid be you or your sister and since I suspect that you were part of a plan to not pay the bill I am happy that you are not getting away with it.(getting a card and then closing it so fast)? how odd. Strange that your sister never used her card until after you paid off your balance and were going to close the account.
Your credit would never be badly malinged unless you didn't pay your bill during the time you were trying to straighten out the problem. There is such and thing as mitigating your damages.
I doubt that there was ever a mistake other then your attempt to get out of something you shouldn't have been a part of in the first place.

Brian & Juliet,

I agree that there may be more to the story than Sara is telling in either of her posts, and you are both certainly entitled to add your comments and opinions here, as is your right as an American citizen. However, I was not reading anything additional into the OP.

My observation was that Sara had a legitimate reason to be upset with the card issuer. If indeed she and her sister were both issued cards with their individual names on them, there was no reason for them to believe that they were issued under the same account number. Would either of you have thought to check the account number on the cards to see if they were the same?

Everything else is moot. The card issuer should realize they made a mistake. I would be interested in seeing the original applications.

Previously, I had said that Wal-Mart gave me a credit card and gave my sister one. In two different places, Beaufort and Aiken, SC, we used our cards. Me in Aiken, her in Beaufort. I finished paying off all my purchases, with the intent of closing my account, when the next statement had purchases on it that I did not make.

All this I stated before. Again, I also said that I called Wal-Mart to ask them about the purchases and through all the phones calls with Wal-Mart and my sister, it was discovered that our cards actually had the same number on them, thereby giving them us same account. I had never authorized a secondary user, she had never signed as a secondary user. She recieved a card in the mail, I recieved a card in the mail.

I have paid the full balance, after much struggling with Wal-Mart to get them to take the purchases off my account and to apply them to her, which they refused to do.
My credit was badly maligned because of a mistake that happened on their part which they refused to correct.

I don't know how the credit couseling agency did what they did for my sister, but they did it. And part of the problem lies with my sister, yet this would never have occured if Wal-Mart had not made the mistake it did.

Other then saying she shouldn't cry I launched no personal attack what-so-ever. And YES I did read the original post in fact I read it several time to get it straight becuase it was quite a difficult read. And yes I do understand your finacial responsibilty. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean that they didn't read your STORY.
I do question your " My sister had need to use a credit counciling company and had to put the wal-mart company on it." If it is your account how could she include it?

Since Wal-mart cards generally have a low credit limit I doubt very much that the minimum monthly payment would be very hig and if it were my credit in jeopardy I would have made the payment. Making the minimum payment would not stop you from continuing to try and clear it up and if you were proven right you most likely would recieve a refund of the money you could prove you paid personally.

That being said I think you have proven my point of there being more to the story. There is probably even more to the story then you have posted in either of your postings.

This sounds like some of the stories and excuses you hear in bankruptcy court. Maybe you should blame your sister as much as you blame Wal-mart. I doubt that her credit only got bad after she got her card. Maybe she shouldn't have applied for a card in the first place. I would venture to bet that this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

BTW are you a records department or customer service, I suppose you will claim the are the same,.....see I do read.

Brian from Everett, WA seemed to be right on target actually. He said something didn't sound right and it ISN'T. The sister couldn't make her payments to WalMart and now the cardholder wants WalMart to say she doesn't owe any money because a mistake was made and her sister now refuses to be responsible for the charges SHE made.

Brian wasn't launching a personal attack, he was RIGHT.

Brian from Everett, WA seemed to be right on target actually. He said something didn't sound right and it ISN'T. The sister couldn't make her payments to WalMart and now the cardholder wants WalMart to say she doesn't owe any money because a mistake was made and her sister now refuses to be responsible for the charges SHE made.

Brian wasn't launching a personal attack, he was RIGHT.

Brian from Everett, WA seemed to be right on target actually. He said something didn't sound right and it ISN'T. The sister couldn't make her payments to WalMart and now the cardholder wants WalMart to say she doesn't owe any money because a mistake was made and her sister now refuses to be responsible for the charges SHE made.

Brian wasn't launching a personal attack, he was RIGHT.

Brian from Everett, WA seemed to be right on target actually. He said something didn't sound right and it ISN'T. The sister couldn't make her payments to WalMart and now the cardholder wants WalMart to say she doesn't owe any money because a mistake was made and her sister now refuses to be responsible for the charges SHE made.

Brian wasn't launching a personal attack, he was RIGHT.

Brian,

Go back and read the OP (original post) again. Where did Sara ever say that her sister refused to pay the balance owed? Maybe she made a large purchase and, like most Americans who are on a tight budget, simply couldn't pay off the balance all at once.

Seems to me like Sara has a legitimate gripe. Yes, it may have been an honest mistake on the part of the card issuer, but there is no need for the personal attack. I think that MCCBG needs to step up here and admit their mistake.

Please respect the intention of this website and post constructive comments, not personal attacks.

Some one said to close the account. I did. As soon as I found out what had happened. The problem is that Wal-Mart made a mistake and refused to correct it. They used intimidation to make me drop the issue.

The person who made the rebuttal seems to have no concept that the account was in my name and that I was the one held legally accountable for any and all monetary responsibilities. My sister had need to use a credit counciling company and had to put the wal-mart company on it. She then lost her job and could no longer make payments. Because of the screw up wal-mart made, I was held accoutable for the payments.

The fact remains that the original purchases were charged to my account with out permission, with the both of us under the assumption that we had seperate accounts. The end result is that it is my credit and my good name that recieved the blow.

I took all the necessary steps to try and rectify this. But Wal-Mart failed to step up to the plate and take the necessary steps to fix the mess that they had made.

So, I resent that someone would suggest that I am crying over spilled milk. I know from being in the customer service business that a company's reputation does not just rely upon its products. Its reputation is made up of its Customer Service.

Wal-Mart failed and to me its reputation is reprehensible and unreliable. Therefore, I will tell any and all who will listen. This is also a lesson anyone learns in customer service.

It appears to me that you are making a mountian out of a mole hill. Unless your sister is refusing to pay for the items that she purchased(which it appears that she is when you state that they told they could forward it to their legal department to report it as forgery), simply have her make the payment and when the balance on the account is zero close it.

If your sister is using the card and refuses to pay the bill I would cancel the card that they issued her(if it is your account you can) so that she can't use it again and then go to the police. You can always have her give the card back so you know she isn't able to use it again.

Mistakes can and do happen and sometimes you need to solve them yourself without crying about it.
Still, something just doesn't sound right with your story.