Recently I had the misfortune of buying a computer from Circuit City. I signed up for their 12-months-same-as-cash deal. They issued me a credit card from First North American National Bank. My first payment was due on May 21st. I sent my payment on May 14th. Actually, my bank sent it. It went from Harrisburg PA to Baltimore MD. Less than 100 miles. They claim that they did not receive it until May 26th and they charged me $35.00. I wrote to complain and to let them know that if they did not refund my money, they would lose a customer and Circuit City would lose a customer. They have taken no action, and so I will terminate my credit card account with them and I will notify Circuit City that they have lost a customer. And I will warn you good folks that 12-months-same-as-cash at Circuit City does not seem to be the deal they want you to think it is.
Be sure to pay the fee, even if it’s bullshit, and be sure to make them mark that the account was closed at your request when they update the credit bureaus–either of those will be even worse for your credit rating then applying for and accepting instant credit. Check your report in a few months to make sure that it reflects what actually happened.
Also, note that used computers are a buyers market–if you can’t afford a new machine, you can get a very serviceable machine for a fraction the cost of a new one.
I thought the whole point of a “same as cash” financing deal was that there were no monthly payments – if you paid off the balance by the time the finance period ended, everyone was happy.
At least, that’s what I did with my 18-month-same-as-cash financing for my new TV. No payments for four months, one big payment, no payments for five months, another big payment…
Considering how long it apparently took for your payment to be delivered to them, why would you mail them a follow-up demand? Here’s a wacky thought, use the telephone. That way you get to talk to, you know, people and know that you’ve talked to them and can get their names and speak to their supervisors.
Fly back onto your handle.
I sent the letter via certified mail. The letter got there. Why did I send it certified? So that I can show that it was received when I let Circuit City know why they are losing a customer. Otherwise, it is my word against theirs. I always send complaints via certified mail. I also am always polite, list my complaint, explain the action I am asking them to take to make it right and explain the results of refusing said action. A letter via certified mail lets the company know that it is not a random complaint or idle threat.
If you knew me at all, you would understand that I am usually planted fairly firmly on my handle.
I was scammed by a Circuit City clerk with the no interest thing. He led me to believe that it was a ‘Circuit City’ card…just like a Sears card or a Walmart card…exclusive to that store. It wasn’t. It was a regular credit card that I neither needed or wanted…19% interest, to boot. Pissed me off to no end. Anyhow, the TV I bought was interest free if I paid it off in 12 months. The TV was $1200, so I started sending them $100.00 per month. I paid close attention to the bill that came every month, and I discovered the following. The next bill was always due a couple or three days different than the last one. By calculating, I discovered that the final $100.00, that I would owe would put me in that area where the check wouldn’t get there on time, thus, costing me the interest for the whole 12 months. Well, fuck them, my 11th payment was for $200.00, and sayonara to them. Waited a month for everything to clear, and gleefully cancelled the card. Sometimes you win.
I think that this bears repeating.
Those “no interest for xxx months” deals are usually honest, but they all have a clause in the contract that says you get to pay all of the interest for 12 months if you haven’t payed off the whole thing by then.
The last time I bought a computer on one of those, I explained this very clearly to my wife, telling her how important it was that the final payment make it there plenty early, and that one day late was going to cost a couple hundred bucks.
She, like yourself, made the last payment far in advance to avoid such an unpleasant event.
I put this shady tactic in the same category as the never-ending rebates that all electronics stores use to falsely lower their prices. “OUR TOP OF THE LINE SYSTEM FOR ONLY 499.99 if you jump through all of our hoops, don’t make a single mistake, don’t accidentally throw out our check (that is carefully camoflagued as junk mail), and a zillion other things, you might get back a portion of the hard cash you had to front for this purchase. sorry about the tax you payed on the rebate amount – nothing we can do about that.”
Am I missing something?
Is the computer charged to the Bank credit card?
If it is, wont you still have to pay off the computer, canceled account or not.
This leads me to believe you do on-line banking. If this is true, simply call the on-line customer service folks at your bank, 'splain to them that Circuit City is denying receiving payment on time, and they will handle it from there. I had a similar thing happen a few years back except it was the final payment and they were trying to screw me out of a few hundred bucks in interest. Using on-line banking actually worked in my favor because: a) the bank fought the case for me; and b) I had proof, as in print-outs showing that the pay date was 5 days prior to the due date.
What probably happened is that since it wasn’t a traditional payment, in that there was a personal check and that slip of paper with your account number, etc., it was sent for special processing. This takes a much longer time to process because a clerk has to find the account number and customer name off a generic bank check. That explains why your payment wasn’t processed by them until 26 May. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t RECEIVED on time and they still owe you the $35 back.
Heh-heh.
We buy tons of stuff this way. We did the Circuit City thing this year, and the only hard-on we had with them is that their system is a little screwy and we ended up with a separate account for each item purchased (3 of 'em). The key to making this work is to always pay a couple weeks in advance, and plan on paying it off completely at least two or three months earlier than necessary, just in case someone is asleep at the wheel and doesn’t post your payment on time.
We paid off everything last month. WaHOO!
Thanks to all for the advice for paying in advance. I am aware of the clause and find it acceptable and would have easily paid it off before the 12 months. That is not my complaint. My complaint is, they have charged me a 35 dollars late fee for a check I sent in early.
Metacom, I appreciate the advice on the used computer, but I can afford a new one when I want one. I could have bought that computer and others outright, but I just saw no reason to not take advantage of interest free for 12 months.
PunditLisa, you may be on to something. You are right, I bank online and yes they do send a generic bank check. I think I will follow through with your advice and call my customer service account. But I will still not shop at Circuit City again. Thanks for the good advice.
kevja - yes, one of is missing something. What are you trying to ask? Yes, it is charged to the card, yes, I will pay it off. I can do nothing about the past, it is the FUTURE that I can control. I have said that I will cancel the card and no longer do FUTURE business with either that bank or Circuit City. I have not said that I won’t pay off my debts…
That’s cool–if you can afford it, and know what you’re getting into (and it sounds like you are) the “interest free” deals aren’t that bad. The only thing to keep in mind is that these kinds of deals will hurt your credit score, so be careful with them if you need to take out a loan in the near future.
I was a CC employee up until the end of '99 (worked in service). Call the store and ask them for their “cool line” number. This is the hotline to corporate office for customers to call when they feel the store isn’t addressing their complaints properly. Usually, all the store manager has to hear is that some unhappy customer is asking for their cool line number and problems get magically resolved.
If a store gets more than (I forget how many, 3-5 I think) cool line calls per month, managers start losing their bonuses. According to their customer support page the number is 1-800-251-2665.
When I was in service, it was one of the worst sounds a manager could hear on the PA system. “Cool line on line 3”. It was always followed by a round of “ooooooooooooooohhhhh!!!” just like when a guest on Jerry Springer makes a snippy insult about their cheating x-husband and the whole audience goes “ooooooooooooooohhhhh!!!”
Good luck.
Attrayant that is interesting advice, I will give it a try. Thanks.
I just had an “incident” with the MSN.com people. They were in desperate need of a “Crazy Enraged Psychopathic Customer” number, but toofuckinbad…their regular customer service person got me instead.
I’ll bet SHE’S lookin’ for a new gig this week.