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The Best Frauds, Scams, and Big Company Cons in America Today |
| November Special -- New Marketing Fraud Discovered |
| SEARS IS CONDUCTING SALES FRAUD, AND CLAIMS EVERYONE
ELSE IS DOING THE SAME THING -- IT'S JUST
"NORMAL PRACTICE." If so, we are all in trouble. |
FOR AN UPDATE, SEE READER SUBMISSION AT END, IN BLUE |
| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Fraud by Non-performance. Nature of Fraud: Charging Items to Customer's Credit Cards and Never Delivering the Goods. |
| Basis of Investigation: Here is the original complaint that came in to us: I just recently made a purchase with my Sears Card for some Sears Parts. Before Sears decided to start its own credit card business last year, they were good about parts orders. They would order your stuff, then only when it shipped, would they bill you. Most of the time, I got my parts before or within a few days of getting their printed bill, on their own printed forms. Now they have their Sears card, everything seems to have changed. They bill you for the parts on the credit card the same day you put the order in, then never bother to check if the parts ever shipped. In my last order, almost a month ago, nothing was shipped, but I got the bill immediately. Now I am facing paying the bill PLUS the late charges for a part they never shipped to me! Is this a great con, or what? Suck money out of the buyer, then wait so long to ship the part, that he also has to pay late charges! What a great way to rip the public off for TWICE what the part is worth! I have been a loyal Sears customer for years, but I must say this new credit card sham has strained my loyalty to the limit. I will seriously consider buying elsewhere before I buy from Sears again. If you can help anyway, fine, otherwise, I guess I'll just have to pay the charges. J.A., AZ. |
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Our Action and Verification: This complaint really got our attention, because of the principle involved -- namely, hit people up for charges immediately, without bothering to coordinate shipment of the goods. Then hit up the customer for late charges, due to their billing cycle, once again, without ever bothering to find out if anything ever shipped. Since we also had one of the new Sears cards they issued last year, we swung into action. We ordered a small part for a stove, then waited ... and waited ... and waited. Sure enough, just as J.A. said, the Sears Charge bill came in, with the part purchase of $34.33 shown. But the part never arrived, and there was no notice about any backorder or anything. We got busy and forgot about it, until the payment was due. Finally, on the payment due date, we called Sears and demanded to speak to the Manager of Customer Service. After struggling our way past 3 extremely rude women who more-or-less refused to transfer us to the Manager, we finally got a woman on the phone who claimed she was a "Supervisor". She did refuse to pass the call any higher, and said she would handle it. She was arrogant, and combative. When we explained the situation, she said it was "normal practice" throughout the industry to bill a credit card the same day as the purchase, and -- get this -- that it was our responsibility to check with the parts order center to make sure the part shipped -- it was not their responsibility!!!! Boy, that did it. We absolutely went through the roof -- knowing the law well, we knew that this arrogant bitch had just cooked Sears' goose. We warned that unless someone higher up called back to mitigate the complaint soon, they would be reported to the Federal Government for wholesale consumer fraud. Conclusion: No one ever called back, and so there you are -- an absolutely 100% verified, accurate, true complaint. Sure, once they realize they have blown it, then they will fall over backwards with apologies, and offer all kinds of remedies, but that's TOO LATE. They need to institute a fair business practice first, then this type of consumer rip off would not happen. The conclusion is, don't buy anything from Sears until they wake up and stop their consumer fraud. Applicable Statutes: The UCC and CPA definitions of sales fraud include charging purchases to credit cards and never delivering the goods. Internet merchants taking on-line credit card charges are required to sign an agreement that they will ship the items sold to the customer within a short time before or after the charge is actually processed through Merchant Visa central processing -- usually a day or two -- maybe as much as a week in extenuating circumstances. To not ship the goods within that time period after completing the credit card transaction, is evidence of fraudulent activity. Federal Government Involvement: If Internet companies -- especially smaller ones -- tried the ploy that Sears is getting away with, the Federal Government would come down on them like a ton of bricks. But because Sears is a typical, big brick-and-mortar company of long standing fame and repute, it's just fine for them to do it. Core Issue: The Federal Government is hypocritical in its application of the laws. Right now, because Internet sales are hot, they are on a big kick to punish Internet companies -- especially up and coming ones. But the big conventional companies can get away with flagrant abuse of the law, and go totally unscathed. You know what they say about hypocrisy -- it is never justifiable, and always comes back to bite you. |
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| Principles Involved: We found this Sears encounter to be absolutely typical of dealing with big businesses in America today. They have a whole string of "blockade bitches" -- always nasty women it seems -- whose sole job for the company seems to be to stop or block you from getting to anyone higher up the chain who is reasonable, and who can intelligently rectify a situation. You will see this same problem ramified throughout almost every major fraud issue on our site. These big companies employ so many incompetent people to interface with the public -- who are the company's sole bread and butter -- that all they end up doing is antagonizing their customers. This is because the people who do know the ropes, don't want to be bothered dealing with the public -- so important issues of consumer fraud never get resolved properly. Then, when you report the company for bad business practices, they get all bent out of shape. Only then does someone knowledgeable from the company call you back, full of apologies. It's sickening. If those people with authority in the company conducted business responsibly in the first place, the issues would never get out of hand. |
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| SUMMARY CONCLUSION: The basis of the Sears fraud is this: You cannot bill people on a credit card purchase -- which then accumulates late charges if not paid in time -- and not be responsible and responsive about making sure that the products ship in a timely manner -- specifically, no more than 1-2 days. If the item is back ordered and won't ship for weeks, it is 100% the responsibility of the charging company NOT to make the charge in the first place. In the case of Sears, we got the distinct impression, talking to this cocky "Supervisor" that they knew exactly what they were doing -- but this was a carefully crafted fraud, walking the border line between fair and dubious sales policy, that they could "get away with it" -- because they were a big company. Sorry Sears, what you are doing is wholesale consumer fraud, by anyone's definition, who knows the law. Moreover, by charging a person's card far enough in advance of actually shipping the product, they can craftily increase their revenue by getting extra late charges. We also got the impression that this strategy was "planned" but never admitted to. They know full well that a customer is not going to pay the charge bill until the merchandise is received, so if that date can be stretched out closer to the due date of the bill, then they've got a much better chance of sucking you in for late charges -- which in our case exceeds the cost of the part !!!! Nice little fraud scheme Sears! You readers judge for yourselves whether this one is better than the AT&T one that held top spot for half the year! We felt it was, because the intent with Sears seems well planned at a high corporate level, whereas the AT&T fraud may be just from big-company dumb ignorance, it's hard to tell. One thing for sure is this: by claiming that they are not responsible for making certain a customer's products actually ship before charging the customer, Sears totally blew it. That absolutely cooked their goose. There is no other logical consumer choice than to not buy from them, until they fix the great scam that they've recently contrived, using their new "credit card" billing scheme. |
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| Innovative Solution: Here is an interesting solution that will work for the time being, until Sears wakes up. It was submitted by one of our top reviwers -- a really great idea: If you want to buy from Sears, do NOT use the Sears Credit Card for the purchase. HERE IS A LETTER FROM ANOTHER PERSON WITH SEARS PROBLEMS. I also have had much trouble with Sears and
have cancelled my credit card
and ceased shopping there until management shapes up. I have been really offended after so many years of shopping there. Although I never experienced the troubles you have published, I can really see it happening. When they finally care to spell my name properly and offer credit in terms of the money I've already spent there instead of a paltry 600 bucks, I will think about shopping there again. Really, what can one do with a $600 sears card? After all, I have gold, platinum, visa, MasterCard, and discover cards that peak out in the thousands with lower apr's than sears and they don't even know me. I have done business with sears for decades and this is the best they can do? And they have the nerve to call me a "valued customer." The unfortunate truth is, it will that so long to effect the business at sears because they have such a good reputation; that, by the time it does, so many people will be deadset against them. Like me. This is only one complaint I have against them. I could go on and on about employees (kids) not knowing a wrench from a screwdriver, or tools being made so cheap I burn more gas returning them constantly than what the tool is worth. How a 5 buck hatchet I got at Biglots makes a better, more durable chisel than the powdered metal pricey one they "stand behind." How they will conveniently tell you water was found in an electronic component in an effort to get out of fixing it, when you pay so much for that "no questions asked repair policy." They got their head in the sand and one day they'll get kicked in the rear for it. I will enjoy watching their stock decline into the 30's where it belongs. R. R., OH Update: On July 20th, 2002 I sent a message complaining
about my troubles with Sears.
In the message I proclaimed the common stock of Sears belongs in the 30's. Well, turn on the news. I was in error, this stock belongs more in the $15 - $20 range. I hope this makes you smile, thanks for your time. Have a nice day. |
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MORE SEARS PROBLEMS -- ANOTHER READER EXPLAINS ... After my recent experiences with Sears, finding your website really touched a nerve. I've attached the letter I sent to Sears Consumer Relations regarding my two-year-old refrigerator. I recently received a call from them concerning my letter. What a joke! They have decided it is up to the store manager where I purchased the refrigerator whether I receive any recompense. I told her if my refrigerator were a car it would have been recalled by now. She said "not necessarily". She claims recalls are done based on statistical data. Well, the parts kit is on backorder with no available ship date, but my credit card was billed on 8/28/02 (a month earlier). Sounds to me like that kit is pretty popular. I have provided everyone I know with these documents and have encouraged them to stop shopping Sears. S. A. S. Ohio |
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CONTINUING SEARS PROBLEMS -- MUCH THE SAME AS ABOVE ... Hi. I have a similar problem with Sears. I ordered some parts from sears and the order was all wrong after it took weeks of them trickling in. I sent them back over a month ago and they still have not credited my credit card. I used my mastercard instead of their high interest card. I have done nothing but fight with rude customer reps. They say they never received the parts back and I returned them through a sears store. I am paying interest on parts that I have not had in over a month. I will never shop at sears again. T. S., Missouri |
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MORE SEARS PROBLEMS -- DON'T DEAL WITH THEIR "COLLECTION" DEPT. We were put into Sears collections and we made a deal for 3 months to take
$90 out and they would match $90. The first month they only matched $60.
Then the next month they have no record of us giving them permission to
keep taking $90 out for the next 2 months. We then make another agreement
and this time it is for $60 - they match the $60 and are once again supposed
to do the same for the next 2 months. We even got a letter in the mail
that $60 was supposed to come out of our account the next month, but it
didn't come out. And they refuse to do anything about their mistake in
not taking the money out. Now for some reason our account is current and
they can no longer offer any help. Our finance charges and late fees are
just adding up. Plus the card's original primary person was me and now
it is my husband. I feel sorry for all those sorry souls who are falling
victim to Sears Payment Games. I myself am at whit's end.
P.F. [no state given] |
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IF YOU STILL DON'T BELIEVE SEARS IS DOING FRAUD, READ THIS LATEST LETTER: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Back
in March of 2003 I received my monthly Sears statement. On the statement
was a charge of $39.95 for Fraud protection services for a 3 Year period.
This ticked me off immediately, because I had been receiving telemarketing
calls for these plans. When they would call I would say "NO Thank You, Please
do not call, say good-bye and hang up." The calls were coming in at about
2-3 a day for these plans.
I called "Customer service" and asked who put this on my card?, answer: "your wife", Oh really I said, who's name is on the account? They said my name. Who is authorized on the card? I asked, "Just You" Sears said. Then why would you allow someone that says they are my wife (who still is not authorized) give permission. "Well that is just our policy," they said. I began to make a connection to a hypocrisy that Sears was actually committing fraud by fraudulently charging a Fraud protection plan to my card without my permission. And here I am wasting my time to get the charge removed. I asked them, in theory, the person that gave permission could have been a neighbor, a house-sitter, plumber, passerby or a cat-burglar and in turn could have asked for a shipment of electronics sent to my address, waited for UPS to show up and walk off with the goods. After an exhausting explanation to a manager in Customer services, I was told that a letter of explanation would be sent out and an investigation of the matter would be handled. Well, I called after a few months of waiting for that letter, that never came, and ended up talking to a guy in fraud and asking if steps have been taken to correct the problem. He said, Sir your talking about a "dispute issue" I will transfer you back to "Customer Service." Woe I Said, this is a fraud issue committed by Sears itself and I would like an explanation and some sort of compensation for my time and effort. He took my information and gave me a phone number to call for the fraud process. I said is that it? He said they will call you if they plan to proceed with the issue, he snickered, and said but they probably wont even bother with it. I said, obviously you don't take this seriously I said good-bye and ended the call. I theorize about the above neighbor scenario because as a card holder, I would expect that when I obtain a credit card, that the issuer (Sears) would take basic steps to assure and insure the Cardholder of simple security without added costs i.e. $39.95 charge to do it. In this way because Sears so desperately wants to make money on these plans that they are willing to go beyond the steps of ethics or law for that matter. They would rather take the chance on me not seeing the charge and paying it or thinking "Hey if they don't want it, they can call on their time to get it removed." I not only do not want this to happen to me again, but others also. L. 4. J -- no state given Received November 17, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Last Updated November 26, 2003 |
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