Banana Republic reviews and complaints 1
View all 87 complaintsBanana Republic - terrible company!
This all started with a sales person offering a 10% savings on my purchase. My questions about the card having any membership fees and cancellation fees were met with an emphatic 'no' and I was assured it was easy. I was going to be living abroad in a few weeks and wanted to save some money on tax on the purchase, pay the full amount and then cancel the card. After my purchase, I went home to make sure the clothes fit. To ensure the APR fees did not take effect, I decided to pay the entire balance online. Which I did. After making my payment, I then called the card company on my application form and canceled the card.
One year later, having returned home, I am now receiving a collection notice from NCO Financial Systems for $317.09. So the company that manages the online payment (a 3rd party company) did not register and process my payment) and/or the company that manages the BR account did not properly cancel my membership. This is a huge company that seems to have 'farmed out' its financial responsibilities to horribly managed companies. We are left to pay for their mistakes. The threat of my credit is real, and the process to fix these charges (with 3 companies) is daunting.
I am now locked in a huge uphill battle with people on the phone who just don't seem to care or believe that their company can make such mistakes. Based on my research, they indeed to make these mistakes and possibly intentionally take such actions in order to make more money on late fees and charges. I am the first one to admit a mistake and pay for them, but I refuse to give in to such blatant incompetence.
NEVER sign up for a store card (no matter how good the savings seems). If you do, and then cancel, record the cancellation number (like emailing it to yourself). Make sure the payments go through from your bank, not the payment company. Never trust a salesperson's word on your name on a credit card.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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Hello,
After one wash (on delicate) of my merino wool banana republic sweater lost a button, got full of pellets and tore some small holes. I have bought many banana republic products throughout my life and never had a problem with any of them. I am assuming this is a fluke.
I am a Marketing Manager who worked part-time as a Sales Associate with Banana Republic and was the Top Seller in the Women's Department (Mississauga, ON, Canada). I was selling $1,500 within the first two hours of every 5 hour shift.
Chantilly Arden Queano
[protected]
3175 Kiriwn Avenue Unit 47
Mississauga, ON
L5A3M4
I totally agree with all of the complaints here. I was living overseas for 3 years. Just came back to the US permanently, and two months before moving back, I visited for my brother's wedding. I reluctantly agreed to re-open up a BR credit card. Should have known better. I used my temporary account number and made sure to pay any balance online as soon as the charges hit. However, I got my new card and supposedly any outstanding balances on the temporary account were linked to the new card. My online account information showed that I actually had a negative balance due of $29.12. I thought that made sense since I had returned an item before going back to Australia. When I get back to the US two months later, I get an email from BR saying that I owed $30+. I have a perfect credit score so I call the 800 # straight away. They tell me to ignore the email after confirming I don't owe anything and confirming the negative balance. December rolls around, and I get two BR emails. One telling me that I still have the negative balance, and another saying I now owe $100+. I call back. Same thing. Then I compare the two emails. The email showing the $100+ amount references an account # ending in 4 digits that I have no clue are. I check online to see if that account is anywhere in my profile. It's not. I call back, and am told 'M'am you have no balance due.' I'm so frustrated that I ask them to please go back and find out what this email. After almost an hour, they find the account and tell me that it's for a $30+ purchase I made right before I flew back to Australia. However, they are unable to explain why I never received any emails or notifications (i.e., paper statements) on this account and amount owed. All I ever got were paper statements related to the negative amount due back to me! On top of that, I've now incurred two months' interest and late payments. I demand that they remove any notes that would negatively impact my credit rating and all late fees and interest as I was told I had no balance due and to disregard the emails saying that I owed money. They refuse to until after another 15 minutes of talking in circles, the customer service rep agrees to remove only one month's worth of interest and late fees. But that is it. I then have to call back during Mon-Fri during normal working hours if this isn't satisfactory. Obviously I'm not satisfied. I spend another 1.5 hrs reiterating my ordeal and then am asked by a supervisor to explain why I am NOT at fault for any of this. She begrudgingly removes all charges and agrees to send me a letter in writing to confirm any notes related to delinquencies on my account are removed. Ridiculous! I then send a very detailed email to BR Customer Service on this, and I get a flimsy response saying that they are sorry that I was unhappy and that they've deferred it to GE, who oversees their credit card services. Awful, awful, awful. I will never shop at BR or any of their stores again.
Banana Repulic is the worst ever. They apologized for not sending us statements, even after double confirming the correct address adn within 10days of a $16.95 purchased, our account got flagged as late payment and 60 points were deducted from our credit score - just like that! We had aI similar problem like this 3 months ago and Customer Service apologised and reversed the odd $30 late payment fee due to their accoutning error on $8 and yet, they still reported us to the credit bureau which caused another 60points to be deducted which is impossible to rectify...Thank you Banana Republic for reducing our credit score with 120 points wihich has a dollar value of $25.!
Wow, you people really need to READ THE FINE PRINT! You are offered a booklet with all the information when you opened a card! Maybe if you took the time to read it you would not be in this situation. And by the way, if you got a visa instead of the brand card, it actually means you have good credit. If you only want the store card, simply request one, or here is a thought, ONLY USE THE CARD AT GAP STORES. Wow was that too hard for you to do?
Rather than retype my whole story- I will include the letter I sent to Banana Republic.
To whom it may concern,
My name is _______. While I would have once classified myself as a loyal Banana Republic customer, my recent experience with your account services department has caused a dramatic change in my relationship with your company.
In June, I visited a Banana Republic store, eventually purchasing several hundred dollars worth of merchandise. Upon checkout, I was solicited by the clerk to open a Banana Republic card- an offer which came with the incentive of a 20% discount to be applied to my total purchase price. This seemed like a satisfactory deal. After verbally verifying with the clerk that I would be opening a “store card, ” I filled out the paperwork and completed my purchase.
Three weeks later, I received a letter in the mail containing not a store card, but rather a Visa credit card designed to be spent anywhere credit cards are accepted. Immediately, I contacted Banana Republic account services to rectify the situation. The customer service representative guaranteed that my account would be converted from a Visa card to a store card. Appeased, I thanked the representative and hung up the phone.
Several weeks later, after not receiving a store card in the mail, I followed up with a phone call to Banana Republic card services. The customer service representative with whom I spoke could not explain to me why my account had not been converted to a store account, however, he assured me that the change would occur. A little taken aback, but overall trusting in Banana Republic’s core values, I believed the representative.
Again, after a couple weeks, I still had not received a store card, so I followed up with card services again. To my surprise at the time, my request had still not been processed. I was assured, for the third time, that my account would be downgraded to a store card.
Finally, today, September 15th, 2010, three long months after opening an account with Banana Republic, I again contacted card services. This time, the customer service representative told me that because the request to convert my account to a store card was submitted more than 60 days after I opened the initial account, the request was denied. I told him this was completely ridiculous because I had been trying to have my conversion request processed for the last 3 months- essentially from the day I had received the card.
I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. This is where the plot thickens. Whereas before, perhaps, I was a victim of poor customer service, now I began to become aware that, truly, I am a victim of fraud. The supervisor informed me that because I opened the card before my 21st birthday, Banana Republic is unable to downgrade my account to a store card.
Needless to say, I have been swindled and lied to. I have now contacted Banana Republic card services at least 4 times. Each time, up until today, I have been assured that Banana Republic would take care of my request. Today, however, your supervisor told me that there was nothing he could do and allowed me to close my account as a very dissatisfied customer.
I find your company’s lack of concern for its relationship with a loyal, paying customer appalling. Currently, I hold no balance with Banana Republic. Over my lifetime, I have spent several thousand dollars through a combination of store and online shopping. However, after today, I can say with unwavering confidence that I will never again shop with your company or any of its sister companies. An organization that ignores requests, lies, swindles its customers, and shows disregard for the production of a poor corporate image is not somewhere where I can deign to spend even one dollar.
Especially during financial times such as these, it seems that Banana Republic would hold the value of its promises in higher esteem. I am thoroughly disgusted with my experience with your company and I will be sure to circulate my disgust among my social circles, networking websites, and customer satisfaction forums. No one should be forced to endure the complete lack of concern and integrity that I have suffered at the hands of Banana Republic.
Sincerely,
completely agree with the above. Worst customer service ever and completely INEPT! They are on the verge of ruining my credit because of their ineptness. i once considered myself a loyal BR customer. for the last 5 years i bought all my clothes from there and used the card for everything. NEVER AGAIN
Santa Monica/ Promenade: Poor communication, unfriendly customer service, this girl barely speaking English with huge attitude would avoid helping me---makes me not want to shop there anymore.
Hahaha! You people are so funny. Why do you shop at overpriced stores? These mofo's sell shirts that they pay 2-3 dollars to get made for $59. No wonder the US can't save.
Another detail; if by offering 10% wont drive a big amount of customers to open the card, they will try to work it out in how to do the mark downs in a way that the price will be reduce so they will be able to give a fake illusion of maybe a 25% off by opening the card or 30% off, since in the end the 'savings " would be the same as the 10% if you didn't reduce the price and vice and versa.., it is all depends in how the stores account numbers performance ends..Since their big profit is on the credit card interest is more important that they open the cards stead of sale the clothes..so most of these retail company such gap.inc(banana republic, old navy)… target, home depot and who knows what else.. became some sort of laundry money scam or whatever they call..a type of ghost bank. that make money from the sky... what was odd for me is that 98% of the people was getting approve for a big credit line in less then 45 seconds(i actually measure the time that took me to process an application a couple of the time just to make sure it was real..).where did all that money came from..?.no wonder why EUA ran out of jobs…
well. it took me yeas to admit such case like yours was so real, I came from another country and my first job was at Banana republic, ironically I barely could speak english but I became the number one in less then one week of work in how to open credit card account with out even really know what was a store credit card(because where i came from there is no such a thing as credit)The only reason that drove me to insist people to open was for the fact that the managers told me it was essential to maintain my job… if i didn't had a certain amount of credit card accounts open wouldn't have hours for 5 years i was pressure daily to open credit cards with out getting much information about that what was exactly the reason, at one point i felt i was fooling the customers until i decided open a banana card my self to find out how it worked..I had the same exactly issue you had..well, after 5 years doing "great" at making people opening credit card, i stared to actually feeling stupid, because i was still getting minimum age and didn't became a full time employer like they promised..conclusion..i was very dedicated at my part time retail job, didn't ;t focus on find something else because this banana card was a big pressure for me..i had constantly to worry about it… more in how to help people… until i this whole economic Usa crises came, it is like a big sign.. now your article!.I asked questions for those people.. but none of the district managers or store managers seems to care in to explain or even try to to give details to help us in how exactly we were supposed to ope those account..So I figured it was so shady that they left the dirty work for the sales, ad the corporate just evaluate the numbers of the stores who has the highest numbers on the account in order to maintain their store open..I finally had with the retail soap opera credit card thing, because i feel guilty in fool people. .it was cool at the time that I didn't know what I was doing..The sales people are forced to convince people to open credit cards no matter what..The managers won't give much information about credit and how it really works, , maybe because on the purpose..This is more serious then people think. and there are people out there writing books about it, , because one thing leads to another . I am… still far to understand how things works, and I realized it takes too much time and stress, and doesn't worth it for me since I am not educate on the economic field …so I move on and I will do what you are doing by writing this, just try to tell others in not to go trough the same paint is just what makes more sense for me.. you are absolutely right.. .do never trust a sales person because they don't know what the heck they are doing.