Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Sears Mastercard
Box 6936
The Lakes, Nevada
United States

I have automatic payments scheduled to Sears Mastercard to avoid late fees and hassles in general. Apparently, Sears is going directly after folks like me. My May bill was due 6-05-2008. My June bill was due on 6-29-2008! My July bill is due 8-10-2008! My account was credited with a payment on 7-03-2008, but I was charged a late fee of $39.00 and late charges on my balance. Of course I called and had the charges removed, which was done, but there are several issues here that just make me sick. The culprit, according to Sears, is a 20 billing cycle to adjust for accounting stuff. I was told by the account rep or whatever she was, that it was due to a 'walking' billing cycle and the way the days of the week were (she actually said this). She also told me I was free to go to their website to check on billing cycles and such. I told her I shouldn't have to worry about a company shifting their billing cycle and that their accounting adjustment was designed to charge late fees and penalties to those of us who pay on a schedule like online banking. This accomplishes a couple of important things for Sears. First, Sears gets late fees and penalties for those who don't look at their bills for whatever reason, thinking that automatic payments have them covered. Sears also charges penalties on the amount owed, so Sears gets an extra month or so in interest charges (but I think technically, they are not interest charges). Also, for those trusting souls who transferred balances at sweetheart deals when credit cards were begging to have you transfer them, they now have to pay the highest rates chargeable for the remaining balances! How's that for rewarding responsibility? Anyway, check your latest billing to see if this rotten company caught you in their trolling nets. I'm canceling my Sears Mastercard, but I think I should at least try and warn the world of responsible consumers that their credit card companies are out to get them.