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Bill-Me-Later.com

Bill-Me-Later.com review: Terrible customer service 21

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12:00 am EST
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I purchased jewelry at overstock.com using the 90 day same as cash option with billmelater.com. I paid $285 on the account, the amount of my purchase. They sent me a bill for $4.80. I called, they credited the account for $4.00, but left an 80 cent balance. Four months later it's $30 and they turned it over to collections. Then, when I call them, they TRANSFER me to a disconnected number. Chris, employee # 2515 explained "That's just our policy".

Great policy. Great employee.

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Bill-Me-Later.com - Billing & account error! 28
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21 comments
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disgruntled in NC
, US
Jun 26, 2011 3:26 am EDT

I have an account with BML and last month missed my payment due to the fact that I am moving (across the state) and had to put every cent I had toward rental deposits & keeping my power & water on at my current residence. I have missed a payment in the past and simply caught up the next month without any issue. My payment isn't even 30 days past due at this point & I received a phone call from BML this morning (he actually called 6 times consecutively before I finally answered it). The guy on the other end of the line (whose name I did not get but with I did because I plan to take legal action against him) began telling me that my account was past due & was trying to collect payment. I explained my situation & that I missed last months payment because we are moving & I had to take care of my priorities (sorry, but BML is not a priority because they don't keep a roof over my head or lights on in my house), but that I fully intended on catching things up once I get my last paycheck. He said "well, we have your bank information & we could just go ahead & take that payment if you'd like." I said "no, there is no money in that account and my since I work for the state of North Carolina, I only get paid once a month. In the past, my paychecks have been direct deposited, but they will be having to mail out my final paycheck to my new address." I went on to explain that the bank that I have been using (that BML has info for) only provides services to people who "live, work or worship in Buncombe county", and since I will be moving out of the county, I will have to take my final paycheck, open a new bank account, then order check, get debit cards, etc. because I will no longer be able to bank where I have been. The BML guy actually suggested that I drive four and a half hours (I explained that this was how far I was moving) to deposit $84 into the account that they have my information for! His exact words were, "well how would they know that you don't live in that county anymore?" Not only is this and incredibly unreasonable request, but it is ILLEGAL! I recently left a job with the Department of Correction and for him to even suggest that I participate in illegal activity like this, could have cost me that job! I told him that I could make a promise to pay by July 15th, but he continued to be arrogant, rude, unprofessional and several other words that are inappropriate. I finally hung up on him because I was so upset. I called back to try to find out the name of the guy that I had spoken with (to file a formal complaint against him) & they told me that they did not have access to that information. I sent an email to the BML customer service center that was available on their website, but I'm not sure how far that will get me. I have followed up my complaint with the Better Business Bureau & will also be following up with the Department of Labor (as suggested by the BBB). I feel that due to the emotional distress that this person put me through, my account should be zeroed out (a balance of just over $700) & plan to follow up with legal council regarding this. For someone in BML's customer service to suggest that their clients participate in illegal activity in order to get an $84 payment is abhorrent and I will do what ever I must in order to ensure that this does not happen again.

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brad1343
, US
Apr 23, 2011 2:16 am EDT

Also for others - you always should call the companies like US airways, drugstore etc for any refunds - regardless of visa, master or bill me later..
You should never ever contact credit card companies(unless its bad company). The reptuted merchants are more keen to refund you as they dont want to loose you.
The credit card companies hope to avoid in the clash between customer and merchant as both are important to them and hence will delay it.

For the last person - shouldnt you get statement in postal mail anyway ? But of course if you dont like customer service you should tell them to cancel your account(but you may know that applying or cancelling any credit card can reduce credit score ) or tell them that you wont ever use their service.

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bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
Joliet, US
Nov 30, 2010 6:24 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I got an account with Billmelater just a month or so ago. I made one small purchase. ALREADY I have a problem with them. When I log into my account I can't view my statement. I have the latest Adobe reader, allow cookies, pop-ups, etc. and cleared my cache. Nothing solved the problem. So, I emailed them about the issue. After a week with absolutely no reply, I called customer service. The woman I spoke with has to be the worst customer service representative I've had the displeasure of speaking with. I explained the situation to her, she suggested that I try to turn off my pop up blocker, etc. I told her I have and that it didn't help. She said, "I don't know what to tell you." :| Seriously?!?! From the lips of a CUSTOMER SERVICE REP?!?! I almost laughed out loud. Thanks for nothing. I will be canceling my account because I have never been so appalled by a business.

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squall
Teaneck, US
Oct 26, 2010 7:40 am EDT

I understand many people (on this site that is) have had problems with bill me later. I spent almost $1, 500 with them in one day from drugstore.com when I was in a crisis and had no other option. That was about a year ago. What I did was took the total amount I spent and divided it by the amount of months I had to pay the full amount by before they started charging me interest. I then paid that amount each month instead of the minimum payment due so that I would finish paying before the interest charges kicked in. I just finished paying and everything worked great for me.
I don't think everyone looks at how high the interest charges are and then they complain about them once they realize how high they are. However, they can charge as much as they want because THEY ARE LAYING OUT THE MONEY FOR YOU! They are doing you a service, not to be nice, but to make money.
I did have two problems though and figured out how to resolve them. First of all, if you don't receive your product or there is a problem with it, don't call bill me later. Think of it like this, bill me later gave you a loan, but they didn't actually sell you the product. I needed to return one item from drugstore.com. I called them and then mailed them (drugstore.com that is) back the product. When a later looked at my bill me later statement I saw that I was refunded ten less dollars than I should have been. This was not bill me later's fault! They just refunded me what drugstore.com refunded them. So I called drugstore.com and told them they still owed me $10. Drugstore.com then told me they would correct the problem. They refunded the remaining ten and sure enough, within a few days, my bill me later statement showed the additional ten dollar refund. If amazon.com shorted you money or double charged you, would you call your bank or credit card company? No! You would call amazon.com!
They other problem I encountered was that one month I did not see my payment reflected on my bill me later account. I called but hard a hard time reaching anyone. I did not just give up though and then freak out when they charged my a late fee. Instead I emailed them and sent them a letter. I never got a response to my phone call but I did receive responses to both my email and letter. If your just giving up after trying one option, then whose fault is it when things go wrong.
For most of the complaints you people listed, I see easy solutions or other options. What do you expect to happen when you just give up? Also, some of you people are complaining about products or clicking on the wrong thing on a website and so on. These things have nothing to do with bill me later, call the actual company!

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JasmineT.
Los Angeles, US
Jul 21, 2010 12:23 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Stay away from Bill Me Later. They do not honor their promotional terms and are deliberately misleading and confusing. My last purchase was made from adorama.com indicating No Payments for 6 Months on purchases over $500. Bill Me Later put my charge through as a standard purchase and I did not get the promotional financing offered. They contend I checked out incorrectly using Bill Me Later through Paypal but I used the only Bill Me Later option available on the website from which I ordered. The uncaring staff at the customer service call center did nothing to help and would not even allow me to speak to a supervisor. I had to cancel my account and balance transfer over to a reputable credit card company. This company seems to be nothing more than a scam and there is a class action suit pending.

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don miles
, US
Mar 04, 2009 2:58 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

i tried to use bill me later on a purchasse with wall mart but would only except pal pal. whats goingon?

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Maria Cieslinski
Bay City, US
Jan 25, 2009 10:10 pm EST

I cannot get through to you on this situationl I would apprciate a call to clean up the account for Amazon dated to December, 2008. Maria, [protected]

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Maria Cieslinski
Bay City, US
Jan 25, 2009 10:08 pm EST

I have paid amazon bill wiath credit card and continue to gete billed. Help this situation SOONq

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Henderson
,
Sep 29, 2008 9:16 pm EDT

I had bad experience with this company. I made my last payment for the amount of the current balance (only about $14) on their website by making direct transfer from my checking account, and thought it's all taken care of. Guess what, in about half month I received another bill charging me both $5 late fees and $2 finance fee. Clearly, my payment didn't go through. Very confused, I logged in my account and see no record. I was pretty upset, because I knew I made the payment and I deal with all banking and credit card payment online and never had a problem. So I called the customer service, and tried to explain what had happened, but was told that she could do nothing about it. I was very angry. They can't give me the benefit of doubt for this small amount of money and it most probably is their fault. It's not about the money. It is about how I was treated. So I just calmly told her I want to pay off the current balance and close the account. Don't want to deal with them again. I recommend Paypal and Google checkout to make online purchase. Thank you.

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danielle
,
Sep 08, 2008 9:30 pm EDT

I have been using bill me later for a few years now and have never had a problem with them.

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Heather Fields
Timonium, US
Apr 25, 2008 1:02 pm EDT

Johnj,
I work for Bill Me Later and would be happy to help you with your situation. Please feel free to contact me at heather.fields@billmelater.com

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JohnJ
,
Apr 18, 2008 2:59 pm EDT

I have a currect crisis with Bill Me Later also. From Feb 27-2008 I ordered a couch and loveseat from walmart and options given to me was billmelater or walmart credit card. I used bill me later for couch and walmart credit card for the love seat. the love seat arrived damaged by walmart's delivery (bekins), which i declined. Subsequently, I cancelled the couch calling billmelater and walmart, was told it would be cancelled when delivery was returned. I went online to order some additional items and was denied by billmelater. reviewed my billmelater account and they still had me charged with a couch i never received. i am going to file a dispute with attorney general's office of consumer fraud and that is what i suggest to any consumer who has been affected by this company, it is the only way to hold them accountable for frauding consumers.

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Claire Dennis
,
Jan 16, 2008 12:51 pm EST

I want my my name removed from their data base forever. BML is a SCAM and have POOR customer service. I have no idea how they obtained my personal information - they started sending me bills and I never signed up for their service.

This nightmare started when I attempted to sign up on eharmany months ago. I never completed the questionnaire, in fact I didn't know the account was active (never used it and it eventually expired). Next thing I know I'm in collection for $450.00 for a service I never used.

I contacted eharmany they say contact BML and vice versa. I sent several emails and never received a response from BML. When I called customer service (big joke, total waste of time) all they wanted was more personal information which I refused to share. Long story short - to save my credit I settled and paid the fat rats for a service I never asked for and never used.

DON'T USE THEIR SERVICE EVER. The complaints on this site is a tiny fraction of the number of complaints against them. It's rediculous how these companies can mess up your credit, yet they are never liable. The only way to stop them in their tracks is to stop dealing with them - Hurt their pockets, they are making a killing on late fees alone.

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Val Cooke
,
Dec 31, 2007 5:44 pm EST

WHAT PART OF CANCEL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

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Val Cooke
,
Dec 31, 2007 5:43 pm EST

I want my account canceled! I am receiving charges for services I have not utilized! Please cancel my account privileges. I do not expect to receive any additional statements from you indicating I owe monies for eharmony.com; nutrisystem, or any other affiliate with BillMeLater.com. I will not honor these charges. I have repeatedly attempted to advise your clients named above I DO NOT WANT THERE SERVICES OR RECEIVED ANY SERVICE FOR SUCH FEES! PLEASE CANCEL MY ACCOUNT! Paeerhaps that will eliminate this confusion! Thank you and Happy New Year! Please forward confirmation of this cancellation to my email address! I will not be paying the recently received statement for $29.95

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Barbara King
,
Dec 28, 2007 6:55 pm EST

Bill Me Later is a scam! I tried to look online for a travel deal for my anniversary and couldn't get the price of the trip until I pressed the bill me later button. They immediately booked the trip and I couldn't hit any cancel buttons. I contacted the travel company immediately and they dropped the booking from 3 minutes ago and bill me later keeps on billing me $25.00 for nothing. This originated in Oct 2007 and now they call me two times a day, starting at 8:00 am wanting their $25.00 plus two months of $19.00 lates fees that they keep adding on each month. Please avoid using bill me later, there is nothing you could possibly want to purchase that could be worth the hassle.

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madea johnson
,
Dec 18, 2007 10:50 am EST

Bill me later makes people think that they can open an account and pay at a later date, But when you try to get an account on line then that hold your pass against you. some people have to file and get a bankruptcy action, so that they can start. The reason why I'm sending this is because I became sick and had to file for bankruptcy because I didn't know how long I was going to be off my job. And I'm trying to rebuild my credit and there is no one willing to give me a chance. It's not just me as well as other little people but some of you big people have file too. Even Movies Star have file but someone have to give us little people a chance to make it right what done is done.

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Linda Teal
,
Sep 03, 2007 1:37 pm EDT

I have call you on the 31st.wanted to know why you all refused me with nutria system order,The lady that I spoke with told me to call nutria system and have them to resend my order again and this time it should go through..Well I call Monday 3,Sept.and they told me my order still has not been sent out,that you all are still not letting it go through,may I ask why?

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George
,
Jun 29, 2007 9:21 am EDT

Customer Service and responsiveness of BillMeLater just plain sucks. I ordered an Dyson vacuum cleaner from homeannex.com in April and it was charged to billmelater. When the vacuum never arrived, I called homeannex.com and was told they did not carry Dyson vacuum cleaners and I should not have been charged. After numerous calls to homeannex with promises of removing, I contacted billmelater and they said I would need to send them a letter stating all the specifics (one cannot send an email to billmelater with a dispute). Today, 29 Jun 2007, homeannex promised an immediate credit against the billmelater account. I asked what about all the late fees, the woman I talked with was unsure and said she would have to get back to me. Bottom line, don't purchase from homeannex.com and don't use the service of billmelater.com.

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janet sofie
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Jun 14, 2007 6:02 pm EDT

Ever private.com debt out 49.99 from my acct i don't even know what this is how can i get it back.

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Lalit Dhadphale
,
Feb 08, 2007 12:30 am EST

I recently purchased an airline ticket for US Airways from Bill Me Later. I used their online system which is a bank transfer to complete my payment.

A few days later, I got an email from Bill Me Later saying that the transfer did not go through. I decided to login into my account online and check this. It said I had a ZERO balance.

This looked funny to me so I sent their customer service a message through the email form on their website, stating the above situation. I received no reply.

I then decided to call them and ended up leaving them a message as I could not reach a person. Again, no reply.

Finally, today I receive an email from them saying that I owe them the original amount plus a finance charge for late payment.

I called their customer service again and got to a person this time. I let them know the whole situation above. Their reply to me was borderline comedy (I thought he was kidding) and went like this:

ME: "I thought I had paid my bill because your statement previous to this one showed a ZERO balance."

Bill Me Later: "Even though it (previous statement) showed a ZERO balance you should have known that you owed money because your payment did not go through."

Long story short, they charged me the original amount + a finance charge + $5 for paying over the phone.

They did not acknowledge at all that they failed to do any sort of basic customer service (i.e. a call or email back). Also, no care in the world about making it right (i.e. dropping the finance charges or the $5 phone payment fee because of the lack of customer service).

In cases like this, I always like to let someone higher up know that there was a problem, in case the company actually cares about fixing things. In this case, I was not too optimistic that anything will change. It was the standard "thank you for your feedback" line.

There are plenty of better ways to pay for things on the Internet such as PayPal or just using your standard credit card. I would recommend based on my experience that Bill Me Later be an option that is avoided until they can fix their billing the customer service issues.