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Blueskylaw
October 18, 2009 3:30 PM
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A $300 credit limit and a $59 annual fee? It would probably be cheaper to borrow the money from
Tony Two Thumbs.


No wonder they kept pressing the card on him. They make a 19.66% percent pure profit on him if he doesn't even charge anything. I don't even want to know what the interest rate is.

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3 replies
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anithinks
October 18, 2009 7:25 PM
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@Blueskylaw: Isn't it an infinite profit IF he doesn't charge anything?

Your 19.67% math doesn't hold...

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JackHack
October 18, 2009 9:38 PM
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@anithinks: It would be closer to 100% profit, but still the math doesn't hold.

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Blueskylaw
October 19, 2009 1:53 AM
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@JackHack:


You are correct, it would be close to 100%. For some reason I took the $59 as a percentage of $300.


Sunday morning foggy brain.

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sonneillon
October 18, 2009 4:49 PM
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@Blueskylaw: And Tony Two Thumbs is more upfront about his collection practices.

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macinjosh
October 18, 2009 3:31 PM
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Hopefully you have the threat to reapply the bogus charge under probably false pretenses on tape. :)

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3 replies
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robodomo
October 18, 2009 9:51 PM
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@macinjosh: and this is why I record ALL my customer service calls

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Amish Undercover
October 18, 2009 3:55 PM
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@macinjosh: no kidding. send that to the state attorney general. does BBB also handle these sorts of experiences or only in the event you lose money? (getting your credit report drawn 3 times costs you money in future financial transactions by lowering your credit score...)

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eddieck
October 18, 2009 4:01 PM
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@statgrad: That would typically be a soft credit pull which does not affect your credit score. A hard credit pull (i.e. applying for credit) would cause a drop though.

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reidnez
October 18, 2009 3:37 PM
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Wow, those are some pretty lousy terms! I have no annual fee and a $2k limit on mine. I got the card about a year ago because they were offering 0% APR for 3 years on the initial purchase (I bought a new T.V.) I am all for financing when it's free. So, it was a great deal for me but I'm sorry to hear they have been so lousy to someone else. I hope I don't have to face the same odyssey when I decide to close mine out.

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4 replies
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KMan13 still wants a Pontiac G8
October 19, 2009 11:58 AM
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@reidnez: this is probably not the mastercard, but the store card. I have one of these also, through hsbc, and have been satisfied with it.

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h3llc4t, breaker of office dress codes
October 19, 2009 1:25 PM
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@KMan13 still wants a Pontiac G8: Yes, I have the store card as well and have been pretty pleased. Don't slack on paying off your balance before the promotional period is up and you have a nice means of getting major appliances (short of saving up the cash and paying for it outright, that is).

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chiieddy
October 18, 2009 6:12 PM
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@reidnez: I've had my card for years at $3k and no annual fee, although when I did initially sign up there was a checkbox I missed that signed me up for an additional card from HSBC with a $99 fee. You had to check the box to NOT get that. I canceled it as soon as it arrived and they refunded the $99. It was pretty sleazy. They only reason I keep the card is because I can get 0% financing on larger purchases for 12 - 18 months and 0% for 90 days on smaller purchases.

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punkrawka
October 18, 2009 3:57 PM
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@reidnez: Yeah, mine is 1K w/ no annual fee. Sounds like the card has really gone downhill.

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gladeye
October 18, 2009 3:41 PM
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What do the letters HSBC stand for?

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8 replies
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LastError
October 19, 2009 4:22 AM
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@gladeye: When HSBC got hit especially hard by the mortgage meltdown, even insiders began saying the letters stood for Holy Sh!t Bad Credit, but of course they actually stand for HongKong Shanghai Banking Corp, one of the few truly global banks.

They aren't well known in the US, but they do own many household US names (Household Finance for one) and are working on becoming better known under their own name here.

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Nemesis_Enforcer
October 19, 2009 11:13 PM
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@LastError: Yeah I had 2 car loans with them and then I get the letter that they are closing up shop on Auto Loans in the US. Oh well I never had a problem with them and they gave me good rates.

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bikeoid
October 18, 2009 6:25 PM
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@gladeye: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation : \"We Shanghai you into paying an annual fee, even if you do not use our card!\"

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Trick
October 18, 2009 4:07 PM
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@gladeye:

Household Suckered Best-buy Customer?

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Blueskylaw
October 18, 2009 3:46 PM
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@gladeye:


Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

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Skaperen
October 18, 2009 4:38 PM
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@Blueskylaw: Change \"Hong Kong\" to \"Hongkong\" and you have the correct way to get the acronym. This is the true origin of the name.

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Blueskylaw
October 18, 2009 6:34 PM
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@Skaperen:


That may be true, but the spelling just looks funny, kind of like UnitedStatesofAmerica.

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4phun
October 18, 2009 3:48 PM
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I am beginning to hate Best Buys and this only adds fuel to the fire. They can be a very dangerous to your financial well being. This is not a store to have dealings with any longer.

I thought the outrageous prices for simple HDMI cables was bad, then selling opened Laptops as new etc. but to hear they want $60 for a $300 credit card? This is intercity ghetto thinking!

If they have added any kind of fee to my free Best Buys credit card you can bet I am canceling it immediately.They need me aa a customer but I don't need them with Amazon.com, MicroCenter, and several local Frys stores.

What did they do, absorb Circuit City management?

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3 replies
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fs2k2isfun
October 18, 2009 5:25 PM
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@4phun:
It really isn't Best Buy, rather HSBC who is the culprit here. Best Buy has nothing to do with the Rewardzone MasterCard, other than co-branding.

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Difdi
October 18, 2009 7:10 PM
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@fs2k2isfun: But when the business practices get as sleazy as HSBC's did in the OP's description, co-branding is damning in and of itself.

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vastrightwing
October 18, 2009 4:47 PM
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@4phun: only now? Obviously you haven't experienced their warranties, fake sales, false discounts, bricks in boxes, pr0n0 cds in new DVD players, destroying your hard drive when you bring your computer in for service, high service charges for the Geek squid, the run around when trying to call the store and many more.

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wvFrugan
October 18, 2009 3:52 PM
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I too have enjoyed the secret word or identity question taken to the extreme of epic failure. Dell Financial/CIT once asked for my mother's maiden name to verify who I was to discuss my account (I wanted to verify that it was still active after not having been used in over a year). The customer no-service rep in India could not understand that my mother's last name was two words, \"St.\" Something, when I told her it and then tried to spell it out. I finally got her to understand and I explained that it could be on file as St.Something, SaintSomething, etc. (including with or without the space and period after the abbreviated St.). She had me guess how my mother's maiden name had been entered years prior by another customer rep. I guessed wrong and she refused to help me or to provide a way to confirm my identity. Needless to say, I didn't use the account and purchased the item from a different source.

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2 replies
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Difdi
October 18, 2009 7:16 PM
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@wvFrugan: I'm having a similar problem with PayPal at the moment. I can't remember what my email address or password was from when I signed up YEARS back, and I rarely do business through them. About the only thing I have left with PayPal is a recurring quarterly e-check payment. I just changed banks, and tried to update my billing data...

PayPal has a number of verification questions on file for me. Unfortunately, I never supplied any to them, and some I've encountered are for things I've never had (model of first car, for example...I've never even had a driver's license). My best guess is someone else's account verification questions have somehow been attached to my account. They have no problems billing my debit card, but when I tried using my full debit card number as a verifier (the option is on their site) I got an error saying the number I entered was wrong (it wasn't). None of the CSRs I've spoken with online and on the phone can help me without me verifying my identity...but all the answers they have on file are wrong (so when I give the correct answer, it \"proves\" I'm not me).

Right now, I'm hoping their e-check procedure works like a debit card transaction (deactivated account equals card decline) and not an actual check (which would cause a bounce). They won't let me give them my money anymore...

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kalaratri
October 18, 2009 7:30 PM
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@Difdi: My mom ran into this. They wanted her to input her telephone number, but wanted one that ended in digits that she nor anyone else in the family had.

We thought her account had been hijacked, but the reps swear up and down that there's no account under her e-mail address and no charges have shown up on her CC.

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Skaperen
October 18, 2009 4:27 PM
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This is an example of why you need to always record every telephone call with companies like HSBC. Unfortunately, in some states, it is required to obtain the consent of BOTH parties to a recording. We need to get a federal law to fix that.

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3 replies
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zacox
October 18, 2009 4:43 PM
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@Skaperen: Generally, when you call most larger companies, there will be a recorded message saying \"This call may be monitored for quality control purposes\" or similar. In every state in the US, this is consent by the company for YOU to also record. You do not need to notify them that you are recording.

The law, put simply, is that since there is the presumption that the company is recording the phone call, there is already the potential for recording, and since both parties are on notice(by that message at the beginning) there is no other consent needed for you to record, also.

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Difdi
October 18, 2009 7:24 PM
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@zacox: I live in a two-party state. When I am on the phone to a company, and I hear that \"may be recorded\" warning, the first words I say to whatever CSR picks up, is that \"In regards to the recorded message your phone system played to me before you answered, I acknowledge that this call may be recorded, and give my explicit consent.\" I then chuckle, and say \"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, it's a felony here if you record without my permission.\"

This has several effects. First, it notifies the CSR in case they were unaware their company was recording, it notifies them that the call may be recorded (without saying by whom) and the little bit at the end makes me sound sympathetic to the CSR, which can often get me better service.

I then record the call without explicitly telling the CSR I am doing so. Both parties are aware the call \"may be\" recorded, so my state's law is (AFAIK) satisfied.

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dragonfire81
October 19, 2009 3:59 AM
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@Difdi: I have a question, I used to work in a Canadian call center for a U.S. based company. The law in the province was that a recording is legal so long as at least one party is aware it's being made.

There was a document in our knowledge base called \"customers who want to record calls\" that read something like:

\"Sometimes customers will state they want to record the call, possibly to build a case against . If a customer tells you they are recording a call you should:

- Tell the customer you cannot continue with the call unless they stop recording.

- If the customer refuses, transfer the call to a Supervisor.

- If the customer still refuses to stop recording, the Supervisor can terminate the call.\"

Am I to understand this particular corporate directive might have been illegal?

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treimel
October 19, 2009 4:24 PM
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@dragonfire81:
What on earth makes you think that corporate directive is illegal? A company can have a policy that it will hang up for any reason, or no reason--just because a given state may have one-party consent (i.e.,it is legal for a customer to record the call) in no way means that the other party can't simply hang up if they so choose.

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dragonfire81
October 19, 2009 6:53 PM
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@treimel: I suppose because the directive as written and what I was told direct from my supervisor was going on the assumption that customers should never have the right to record the calls they make to us.

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zacox
October 19, 2009 1:44 PM
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@dragonfire81: Firstly, the law in the United States would prevail, since not only was the company based in the US, but the customers it would speak to were also in the US. In the US, courts have held that when the caller and called are in states with conflicting recording laws, the state where the called party is located is whose laws are in force, but that the more restrictive law should be applied.

Now to your question. What your company was doing was not illegal. They have a right to terminate any call for any reason. They could terminate because a customer's recording cannot be destroyed, unlike the company's recording which can be lost or destroyed should the need arise. It's smart business, really.

Smart consumerism would dictate, however, that customers do record the phone calls, but do not tell the company that they are doing so. It's perfectly legal, if and only if your company notifies customers that the company may record. Otherwise, it's illegal!

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Esquire99
October 18, 2009 6:04 PM
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@zacox:
Unless you can cite a court case in each state holding that such a recording is consent for both parties to record, your statement here is overbroad. It seems, on its face, that you might be right, but I wouldn't proclaim that it is indeed \"consent\" in every state without some sort of authority.

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zacox
October 19, 2009 4:29 AM
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@Esquire99: Sure it's consent. I can use broad strokes here. It's not a matter of citing court cases or precedents; rather, it's a matter of the narrow definition of consent.

By continuing your call, you give your permission for a recording to be made or a third party to be monitoring the conversation. You have the option of withholding your permission for such recording, in which case you hang up.

Since the company you're calling requires your permission to continue the telephone call, they also by definition give you their permission to record the phone call for yourself. In fact, the law doesn't specify who can or may make the recording, just that one may be made.

A proper analogy would be two sides to a business transaction. Seller agrees to sell to buyer, and buyer agrees to buy from seller. They are two sides that can't happen without each other, yet they are two separate parties with regards to their discreet motives and expectations.

@Difdi: You don't need to inform the CSR that you're giving your explicit permission. Your implicit permission is legally sufficient as stated above.

In some two-party states, the company has a duty to disclose that they may be monitoring or recording the conversation. In one-party states, they do not. And in some two-party states, the company has a right to record their employees' conversations on the telephone without notifying the employees (though they must still notify the caller).

In all reality, if you are an employee of a company that *may* be recording conversations, you're an idiot if you don't know it going in. Most people might assume big brother is always watching and endeavor to be on best behaviour anyway.

This all reminds me of a court decision I read about several years ago. Man confesses to a crime on someone's voicemail. Police listen to voicemail and arrest the man. The defense moves to exclude the confession because of the expectation of privacy and the fact that police didn't obtain a warrant (the voicemail recipient allowed them to listen on request). The judge sided with the prosecution because the defendant presumed that he was being recorded when he left the voicemail and so then could not expect privacy or keep anyone from listening to it.

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vastrightwing
October 18, 2009 4:42 PM
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The latest scam for credit cards (OK, I mean Chase United Mileage Plus credit cards) is to not allow you to dispute a late fee. The CSR is powerless to do anything about late fees. OK, so he probably can't do anything other than try to placate people who call to dispute various charges. There is no person or telephone number to call. In order to dispute a late fee, you must write to them. Sure my payment arrived 4 days late, but $39?! This card has an $80 annual fee, they make a ton of money on each transaction I make plus any interest charges, now they've put a wall in front of me and you to discourage us from trying to get the fee waived. Before I'm flamed for being late, Yes, I was late, but $39 is way too high a fee and it's worth trying to get this waived. If I were chronically late, I'd understand, but of course this is Chases new business model: don't give value, but fine your customer for making a \"mistake\" and make the fine as big as legally possible.

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3 replies
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belsonc
October 18, 2009 7:37 PM
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@vastrightwing: So let me get this right. A company which you choose to do business with, knowing that there are options out there without an annual fee (I'm taking it on faith that, for whatever reason, you specifically chose a card with an annual fee - could be benefits/rewards, whatever - doesn't matter), is billing you an amount that you agreed to when you signed up for the card because you submitted a payment late. Yes, it's half the annual fee - but it's (likely) not their fault that you paid it late. If you call and ask them to remove it, specifically ask them to waive that fee as a courtesy, they may or may not do it. I don't know if you've tried that already - wasn't clear from what you said.

If you pay your credit card late, you get hit with a late fee. I've had a credit card for the past 10 years, and that policy has been in place for all 10. Likely longer, but I can only speak from my experience. If you don't like it, you have 3 options: 1) Pay your bill on time. 2) Call them and see if they'll work with you somehow, if you know full well that your payment will be late. 3) Take your business elsewhere.

I'm sorry, but I've worked in the credit card industry and have seen a lot of my friends get into credit trouble. You're complaining over something resulting, ultimately, from a choice you made. You erred, now you're paying the penalty for that error. *shrug*

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jacques
October 18, 2009 7:02 PM
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@vastrightwing: Experienced that myself. Screwed up on my billpay and sent in a payment for $2 less than the minimum. My first late fee, by the way. The first guy I spoke to told me there was nothing they were going to do, because \"due to the CARD Act, they are unable to make money the way they did before\". Ha.

Spoke to a supervisor, same thing. Asked them if they'd really want to lose me as a customer over $39, which was less than my monthly interest payment. He told me there was nothing he could do. So I cancelled.

Amazing, they received my payoff immediately after the new pay cycle, so I still had interest over the previous balance. Screw them. That's the last time I'm going to give them my business (which they had purchased from a different bank anyhow).

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wcnghj
October 18, 2009 5:28 PM
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@vastrightwing: I'd recommend paying online. You are lucky you APR isn't 29.99%(no, none of mine are).

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yentaleh
October 18, 2009 4:45 PM
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I had a similar case a few years ago with Future Shop here in Vancouver. My husband I went to go buy a Starchoice system (Canadian Sat system) and in all the chaos of that got finagled into applying for a credit card too. I received said credit card a couple of weeks later, and I was shocked. I didn't remember applying until I looked at all the Starchoice paperwork. I contacted Future Shop and asked them why they took the information from my dish purchase and plugged it into they're computers. They told me that they do it \"all the time\" and that if they meet a certain quota on credit card applications (approved or not) they get a bigger commission. I was incensed to say the least. I told them to cancel the card immediately and to fire said employee that violated my personal information. I was able to finally talk to the store's head manager and he seemed to be embarrassed and apologenic to what had happened. (Like a 5 yr old who gets his hand caught in the cookie jar.) However I was told to contact the bank that had issued the card and cancel through them. It took me several tries, including my threats to my local MP's and the RCMP fraud unit to have the account closed. The lesson I learned in all of this is don't give out any personal information to a business without knowing how that business will handle your information. I have stopped shopping at Future Shop and I now buy all my electronics on-line. (B&H is the best.)

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Julius Seizure
October 18, 2009 5:13 PM
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@yentaleh: I've been dealing with NCIX online (which I believe has a brick and mortar store in your city) for electronics and I'm yet to experience a problem. I'll have to check out B&H, I'd never heard of them until your post.

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yentaleh
October 18, 2009 5:48 PM
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@Julius Seizure - Canuck:

They're out of NY and they're run by a wonderful Jewish family. Just be aware of the fact that its easier to ship to an American address. (I have a mailbox in Bellingham that takes packages.) They do ship internationally, however because of shipping restrictions on some electronic items like I said before it maybe easier to have that American address handy. Also since this business is ran by a Jewish family, you won't be able to place orders after 3pm Friday (ET) through Saturday at sundown (I find that placing orders after 10pm ET is about when the site is up and running again.) Also the site closes down on all major Jewish holidays, but surprisingly its open on Christmas! (YAY!.....I'm Jewish btw.) They always post in advance when the site will be down and they're very courteous if you have any questions. They are also very knowledgable about the electronics they sell and they're also price competative. If you want to know more you can wiki them or call them directly at 212-444-6615. I haven't been NCIX yet. (Never heard of them until your post.....lol) I'm not very tech savvy, my husband is, I'll ask him when he gets back from taking our boys to hebrew school if he's been there.

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AgitatedDot
October 19, 2009 1:07 AM
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@yentaleh:

That's messed up. I'd be pissed to learn my stuff is going to be late because of some religious holiday. Only federal holidays should be days off for any store/company. But thanks for the info so I can avoid them.

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dragonfire81
October 19, 2009 4:01 AM
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@AgitatedDot: If you are of a certain religion and run your own business you should be allowed to take off any holidays you please.

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speedwell (!)
October 19, 2009 12:30 PM
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@dragonfire81: Make that, \"if you run your own business you should be allowed to take off any holidays you please.\"

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shepd
October 18, 2009 6:52 PM
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@yentaleh:

Before anyone in Canada orders large ticket electronics from the US, be aware that you can get excessively reamed if you are not careful, at no fault of the company you are doing business with.

Example:

Your do business with a company in the US. They ship a $200 stereo via UPS, which you've paid for upfront (shipping and all). UPS will arrive at your door and demand ~$80. FUN!

Partly for taxes, and the lion's share goes towards their brokerage scam.

Only order from companies in the USA that will ship via USPS, or (if you don't mind \"reasonable\" brokerage fees), Fedex. Or, have the item shipped via UPS overnight express on an airplane (can't remember the corporate name for it now). Notice the cost goes from $20 to $100? UPS includes these bullshit fees with that service.

It's not fun, but sellers in the USA (specifically, you will rarely have this problem with other countries) somehow get themselves locked into stupid agreements with UPS whereby they aren't allowed to ship any other way. Lord only knows why everyone else in every other countries is smarter than most businesses in the US, but hey, that's the way it goes.

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Julius Seizure
October 18, 2009 9:56 PM
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@shepd: Happened to me. I ordered a wedge pillow from Brooklyn (I have GERD and it does help.) The 'import fee' was a few cents more than the pillow and the shipping fee.

So a US$20 pillow ended up being close to Can$70.

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Gracegottcha
October 18, 2009 4:47 PM
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Any customer \"service\" I've received from outsourced India call centers has been abysmal! Sure, they seem to be overly polite with \"thank you\" or \"I'm sorry\" in every sentence, but they have never been able to help with any problem! All I get are very long-winded conversations peppered with \"I'm sorry\" and \"thank you for your patience,\" when I just want the problem solved!!! Sprint uses India, as does my electric company, my bank, et cetera. VERY FRUSTRATING!

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speedwell (!)
October 19, 2009 12:33 PM
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@Gracegottcha: Don't assume your call center reps are in India. My brother works for Accenture (the immense business-services company) and he frequently tells me about all of the imported (I use the word literally) call center reps they hired. He's not actually in that department, but the hiring and importation of expat workers was so widespread there that everyone knew about it.

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wvFrugan
October 18, 2009 5:21 PM
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@Gracegottcha: I really admire how hard working these Indian call center employees are. They work odd hours to fit our schedules, learn a foreign language fairly well, and are polite. I'm sure they'd be great neighbors and friends. HOWEVER, when I call a company to resolve a problem, I need someone who can actually understand the subtleties of the language the transaction was originated in and not force me to cut through a thick accent.

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Syncop8d1
October 19, 2009 7:42 AM
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@wvFrugan: Didn't citizens of India have to learn English back when they were part of the British Empire? Perhaps they still continue to teach English in the schools there. I'm not sure, but as someone who has been helping a friend study for her history masters comprehensives (to include history of the British Empire), it always amazes me how much of what we see today is influenced by what happened then. Britain controlled everything! Ok, off topic now. Please continue, nothing to see here :-)

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 19, 2009 12:59 AM
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@wvFrugan: their english is way better than my hindi... but not good enough for me to explain to the ones who staff my FMLA benefits administrator call center, that continuously saying 'i wish you a speedy recovery from your diabetes' is actually quite offensive

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dragonfire81
October 19, 2009 4:06 AM
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I've had similar experiences with foreign support. It's not that it's hard for me to understand the accents, it's just that often they seem to have such a difficult time handling a simple request.

When dealing an issue with my internet provider, I called and got a foreign sounding rep, I got nowhere so I hung up. I called back and got another foreign sounding rep and again got nowhere. I called a third time and got a very american sounding \"Nick\" and had my problem fixed in about three minutes.

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jaket
October 18, 2009 4:48 PM
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@Blueskylaw: Exactly right. I had no idea until I visited Hong Kong and saw this really big building ...

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bazzlevi
October 18, 2009 4:50 PM
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Don't ever try to cancel a card over the phone. You will get forwarded to the retention department and go round after round with multiple CSRs, and in the end they may end up not canceling the account anyway. In the service agreement that they mail you they give you their mailing address. Compose a professional-looking letter in which you clearly and firmly direct them to close your account, and send it certified mail. This protects you legally if they refuse to close it or try to charge you fees after the postmarked date of your letter.

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Difdi
October 18, 2009 7:35 PM
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@bazzlevi: I've found that a little advance research can do wonders when dealing with a retention department. Notably, being able to read off the full contact details for their corporation's Agent-for-service-of-process in your state. If it becomes clear to them that they will either cancel your account, or their supervisor will become aware they got the company sued, most will let you cancel.

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Walkallovaya
October 18, 2009 5:05 PM
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Bingo. Write a letter, and use the mail. That's that.

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fs2k2isfun
October 18, 2009 5:26 PM
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I had the opposite problem with HSBC. They closed my RZMC about a month ago due to lack of use.

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wcnghj
October 18, 2009 5:30 PM
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A Citi Cards indian call center once informed me they were open \"24 by 7,\" nice try buddy, but this isn't a measurement... well it is, but not that kind of measurement.

:)

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nstonep
October 19, 2009 6:26 AM
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@wcnghj: Well at least they try. I've worked with and gone to school with chinese folks who don't know a word of fucking english.

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speedwell (!)
October 19, 2009 12:39 PM
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@nstonep: I'm being asked to learn Spanish to support engineers in my company whose English isn't that great. I was going to learn it anyway because it's just useful here in Texas (I have nothing against immigrants or educating myself, unlike your average gringo). But my Hungarian-immigrant engineer father got his butt busy and learned English so he wasn't a burden on his employers or his new nation.


I'd gladly help anyone learn English who asked me. I was an English major in college (as opposed to the military type, lol) and I do corporate training anyway, and I have a real interest in ESL, so no sweat. Here in the oil business, where the average roughneck speaks about four languages, it would probably serve us all better anyway.

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feckingmorons
October 18, 2009 5:41 PM
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That is why I make my secret words 'screw you'.


Yes, use the USPS to cancel the card, and send it either return receipt or get proof of mailing.

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dialing_wand
October 18, 2009 5:49 PM
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I've cancelled a few cards over the phone. I always ask for a confirmation letter (they have a form letter they can send out easily.) If I don't get it in a few days (again they'll usually say how long it takes) I call back.

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henrygates
October 18, 2009 6:26 PM
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bazzlevi already said this, but I'll say it again I guess. Never cancel a credit card by phone. Send them a certified letter (you can get sample letters by Googling and just fill in your details), and mail it to them certified. Then call them, tell them you sent the letter, and you are notifying them by phone. Don't listen to BS, just tell them to cancel and record the request in the account notes. Then call 30 days later and confirm that the account is closed.

Don't bother with retention departments or being transferred. Tell them what you want, tell them to write it in the notes, and thank them for their time.

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DH405
October 18, 2009 9:09 PM
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He threatened you about recording the conversation? They always say \"This conversation may be recorded for quality assurance purposes..\"

Doesn't say \"This conversation may be recorded BUT ONLY BY US.\"

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Green Goth Brit Chick - AlternatEve
October 18, 2009 11:25 PM
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@DH405: When I worked in the (British) call centre, we were instructed to always hang up if the customer told us we were being recorded and refused to stop. The reason? We record the conversations, and the customer can \"request\" a copy for a \"minimal charge\".

Really, really pissed off our department heads when someone did ask for it though.

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Esquire99
October 18, 2009 9:28 PM
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@DH405:
True, but the asserted Quality Assurance purpose *may* have some meaning.

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Raziya
October 18, 2009 10:55 PM
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A lot of people seem confused here. This card he has is the RewardZone Mastercard, NOT the Best Buy store card, which is still 0% interest through out the store. The MC has three different credit tiers and depending on your credit, you are approved for a platinum, gold, or gold with an annual fee.

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haoshufu
October 19, 2009 1:58 AM
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This is funny how they give you bad customer service and when you tell them you are recording, they give you NO customer service by threating not to help you further. This is typical example of when you don't do anything, you won't do anything wrong.

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nygenxer
October 19, 2009 2:26 AM
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I bought a Fender Stratocaster and an amp online at Sam Ash by applying for an HSBC credit card. I never activated the card. I paid the debt off two months early and then canceled the account. Or so I thought.

I'm a regular Consumerist reader so I kept records of every phone call and letter, and even then it took me FOUR attempts before the account was canceled for good.

P.S. Between cancellation attempts #2 & #3, they sent me a *new* card.

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whs_consumer
October 19, 2009 2:58 AM
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I tried to cancel my HSBC Gateway card and the rep told me I would have to write a letter per the card holder agreement to ensure the account was REALLY closed. I complained to my state banking commission (HSBC does business here). I got a letter from the state, and a call and letter from HSBC stating the account was REALLY closed.

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war-muffin
October 19, 2009 5:36 AM
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I had a card with HSBC in college- one of the card-tables set up in the Union things- and after 3 years I tried to cancel it. They said I had to do it by letter, so I sent a letter and cut up the card. Fast forward a year- my parents got a bill with $1100 in charges (theirs was the address I'd used in my letter saying CANCEL- NOT the address I'd ever used as a billing address, which I find very telling). Someone had stolen/guessed the number and used it online, and when I called HSBC to complain, they admitted they'd never canceled the card. I sent them multiple copies of a letter saying \"cancel!!!\" and demanding written acknowledgment. FINALLY got a letter back from them \"confirming the card is canceled.\"
Fast forward another 5 years to me trying to get a mortgage: the HSBC card shows up on my credit as not only OPEN, but carrying a $1100 way-past-due balance.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

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nstonep
October 19, 2009 6:25 AM
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Wow...that's bad by DISCOVER standards. EEEK!

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wagnerism
October 19, 2009 11:41 AM
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I had a credit card increase my interest rate. I have good credit, so I called them to figure out why. I got treated horribly by the CSR, so I requested a written explanation regarding this.


Meanwhile, I got a new credit card with a lower rate, free balance transfer and a higher limit.


I called back to cancel and retentions department offered an interest rate lower than the original rate. Going from \"you delinquent scum\" to \"please stay and here's a lower interest rate\"? I'm sure some stupid corporate policy was behind all of this.


All they had to do was leave the card alone and they'd be getting a better-than-their-lowest interest rate instead of nothing and a former customer that will never do business with them again.


If you have good credit, there are too many card companies to have to deal with this. The OP is a college student - he will get better deals later.

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nycguy
October 19, 2009 1:11 PM
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Just write \"please Cancel this card\" on the bill. It always works.

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VagrantRadio
October 19, 2009 3:39 PM
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I live by the golden rule of \"not enough cash, no buy\". I learned at an early age that credit companies will only screw you no matter how good you are at keeping up your account.

Unless it's a house or car, and I've done extensive research, I pay cash.

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sean98125
October 19, 2009 5:06 PM
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College student + Best Buy card = bad idea

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PhiTauBill
October 20, 2009 12:53 AM
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*NOT Legal Advice*


Seems like the recording is ripe for a YouTube posting...

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