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I signed up for a Sears credit card and everything was fine. I paid it every month on time and more than the minimum. Then I bought a house and ran up the card to the max of $5000 buying new appliances. I continued making payments above the minimum. My interest rate was around 15%. Then out of the blue I am told they have closed my account and my new interest rate is 29%. WTF?

I of couse called and went round and round trying to find out why it was closed. I kept getting told I must be behind or something. Nobody could find a reason why.

The only "guess" I got from Citi (who runs the Sears Card) was that in purchasing my house I put my debt to income ratio above their limit and it was automatically closed by the computers. So 2 years of being a good consumer and trying to establish credit by paying my card on time means NOTHING to these people.

I'm not the only one this has happened to. Sears will let you run it up and then raise your interest rates and close the account. This is a SCAM. Don't get a Sears Card unless you have no choice.

Monetary Loss: $5000.

Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii

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Guest

WOW! LITTLE DID I KNOW WHEN CHECKING INTERNET ON CITI/SEARS CREDIT CARD SCAM ACTIVITIES THAT I WOULD I FIND SO MANY PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR ISSUES WITH CITI/SEARS CREDIT CARDS.

NO NEED TO SHARE MY STORY, READ ALL THE OTHER REVIEWS--YOU CAN PUT LIPSTICK ON THE PIG BUT IT IS STILL A PIG. LOAN SHARKS OFFER BETTER DEALS THEN CITI/SEARS. I SUGGEST WE ALL FORCE THEM TO SEND OUR ACCOUNTS TO COLLECTIONS AND INCREASE THEIR COST TO COLLECT AND GO TO COURT AND REVEAL THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES.

THIS ONE BAD ACCOUNT WILL NOT IMPACT MOST PEOPLE'S CREDIT ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE BECOMES GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF CITI/SEARS BUSINESS PRACTICES. TOO BAD FOR AN OLD PREVIOUSLY RESPECTED AMERICAN COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS THIS WAY.

Gene G Rvr

I earned 73,293 miles/points using my Sears Citi card this year which pays one pt/mile for every dollar spent. Last month I spent over $13,000 on my card, and paid the balance off as usual so I do not accrue any interest, with the intention of requesting an iPad II next month which was approx.

90,000 pt. I wanted the iPad to use as a baby monitor because we our expecting our first child in September, a baby girl! Well, low & behold Sears & Citi bank cancelled my card two days ago for absolutely no reason other than to avoid paying me the miles/points I had accrued. Is this legal?

Do I have any recourse? Consumers please be leery of this shady practice. It irks me beyond disbelief that two reputable companies such as Sears & Citi bank would participate in such a wrongful practice; talk about blind-sided. Here is they're fine print which basically gives them the opportunity to *** if they want to by cancelling your account at anytime...

If your membership is terminated (including if your Account is closed), or if you decide to cancel your membership in Sears Choice Rewards, all accumulated Points will be forfeited. ---All I can say is Wow, & ouch!! This is terribly unethical, unjust, & wrong. And this is yet another case of big banks and big industry bending over the middle class.

I'm going to try to take this to my local news outlets and see if I can alert the rest of my community here in Austin, TX or better yet nationwide! I AM PISSED.

Guest

I too have been a loyal customer for years and pay more than the minimum payment each month and have never been late. I just went online to find out that they closed my account.

No reason. They said a letter was sent, right, whaveter.

They have definitely lost my business for sure. Pissed off here

Guest

I bought appliances with an interest free promo. I paid every month.

At the end of the cycle I called and asked what the closing balance was. I told them on the phone it would take a couple days for the electronic transfer. I called a couple days later and they received the payment. BUT...they charged me the full interest amount from the beginning of the purchase.

That is A TOTAL SCAM!!! Charge the interest from the end of the promo I could see, but to charge BACK INTEREST. You have got to be freakin' kidding me!!! Sears Credit is a scam.

I spoke to several managers on the phone and none of them would reverse this. I'm writing to them directly and copying the Better Business Bureau.

Guest

Happened to me, too, after paying more than the minimum every month for 2 years -- I had lousy credit when I was approved for a Sears credit card and nothing has changed (except now I'm clearing 6,000 a month), but they went by the credit report and not my payment history with them. I'm walking away from Sears/Citi, screw the balance. And if and when I file for bankruptcy, they'll be at the top of the list.

Guest

I was charged $2 a month for NOTHING! I do not know what this fee was for, I did not initiate it, and to make it worse, I had to pay 25.5% interest on it.

Sears claimed I "authorized" the fee. I had no idea that signing up for this credit card was a authorization for Sears to charge me for NO SERVICES PROVIDED!

When companies begin charging for bogus services, they go out of business.

Sears lost a customer, forever. I've been cheated by them for the last time.

Sears has been a valuable part of American history, and that is where SEARS belongs today - as history.

I will dance the day they go out of business and that day cannot be far off.

Guest

I have a Sears card but had not used it in a very long time. I found the card on Monday and saw it expired July 2010.

I called Sears because I had not received a new one and wanted to make sure it was not lost in the mail. I was informed that my account was closed by Sears (Citi Bank) in August 2009 because I had not used the card. What a shocked this was to me. I never received a letter from them telling me the account was going to be closed.

The customer service rep then proceeded to tell me I must have received the letter and did not understand it. I informed her that all my mail received was read by me and I would have called them to keep the account open. She said we could reapply for a new account. This account had been open for 23 years and paid in full each time used with no late payments.

I called back and asked to speak to a manager and he said we could reapply for the account. NO WAY. I informed him that Sears and KMart has lost my business.

If I need appliances I will take my business elsewhere. As a result of this my parents have also said they will not shop there either.

Guest

you people need to chill out pay your bills on time and dont use credit unless you have money in your pocket to pay your bill of 100% if they do happen to mess you over. MAIN POINT SHYYT happens its sorta not your fault but you missed a line of the rules and did not have the money to pay it back right away if something went wrong.

They charge you for the risk they take and its based on the a's b's and c's of your income and how you spend.

Excample i give you a 50 dollar loan and you go and get a loan form another guy for 500 bucks. I think to myself the risk of me being paid back are lowered because you went and asked someone for 10X's more then i just loaned you.

Guest

The latest on this is that when they cancled my account I was supposed to "pay it in full immediatly" though noone told me that and I couldn't have anyway. So I tried to refi my house under the VA program and was told my credit was bad due to Sears.

I went and looked and sure enough. From the time they closed my account to the time they so nicely reopened it, I was listed as LATE on my payments, which I was not. My bills even said what the minimum was every month and I was paying more than that to get rid of them. The credit counselor with the mortgage company told me this is very common with Citi credit cards and they recommend steering a wide course around them.

The other one they said is really messed up (as I found out the hard way) is SAMS Club. They keep freezing my account for no good reason. One time it was because I overpaid my bill.

The next time they said I made too many payments in a billing cycle (2 payments 1 at the beginning and 1 at the end ... just the way my paydays worked out).

Credit counselor very nicely wrote to Sears and told them to remove the bad credit listings, and they agreed no problem.

Guest

They just recently terminated my line of credit. After being a loyal customer for many years.

NOT ANY MORE!!!!

It's funny how us consumers stood by Sears when they were in economic despair. How ever when times get tough for thier customers they turn thier backs on the ones who stood by them.

Guest

They hhave beencuttin my credit limit 3 times since 2008 I am so furiousthat I even wrote to OCC.

I havebeen making poayments one time and making more than the minimum. but all they would do is to protect their interest.

They wait until the payment build up some avaiability on your credit limit then without any prior notice slice off a chunk out of your Credit Line POutting you dangerously close to go over the limit.

Just like adevilWaitinforamoter to give birth.....

Guest

BOYCOTT SEARS and Kmart and stop using the CITI card like i did!!! They SOB'S cancelled my card only after lowering the credit line from 16,000 to zero and now no card!!!!!!!!!

DonH

R, but this happened BEFORE Citi was in trouble.

BReich, you sound plain ignorant. IF my debt to income was too high, I would never have gotten the mortgage. Not the other way around. And even if Citi decided my D-I was now to high, and are concerned about it, why jack interest rate up to double what it was? That makes no sense at all.

Anyway, Citi called me and said it was all a big mistake and they want me back. Hmmmmm. I said yes just because they agreed to a much lower interest rate and (in writing) not to jack it up again unless I am actually in default and they can prove it.

Guest

I agree with R... and I was recently trying to buy a house as well, and YES you can only have as much debt as you can pay off with your income while applying for a home, and if you have more debt, they are forced to do something about it.

So in reality, it was your fault.

Yea, it sux that you didn't get notice or you just didn't read it but, this is our economy today. All you can do is be more careful and stop blaming everyone else for your frustration.

Guest

I am being haunted by a collection agency for a Sears debt that I paid off 5 years ago when I refinanced. For at least 5 years, I have not heard from Sears and have bought anything on credit - I don't even have the card anymore!

The problem is I cannot locate the loan documents and when I contacted the bank, they said they cannot help me with my request. The original bank I had my loan with was bought out by Bank of America. I don't know where to turn and they have been calling me every day. When I called Sears, they gave me another number to call to get more information but I have not been able to get through!!!

I don't know what to do next! HELP!

Guest

We had gotten a sears card and used it to reestablish credit. After paying on time and making a $100 payment permonth instead of the $27 dollar required payment.

I got a bill for $662 for interest! WTF That is around 35% interest WTF. The customer service rep got their manager on the phone we got the $662 cut in half. Why would a company treat thier good customers like this!

This is just plain customer abuse. I will no longer do busness with this soon to be out of busness companey.

It is sad I can remember the old days when Sears was the elete department store I guess those days are over ! :(

Guest

was happy with sears credit card until this past year when they took it upon themselves to jack my rates to unbearable rates without warning .kickum while your down

Guest

Of course it is a scam. They promise one thing and then do something else and jack you for tons of money. That is a scam.

Guest

Citi might have problems but this guy is not delinquent so how can he be considered bad or risky debt .

He becomes riskyER when you make him pay a higher interest rate or give him more to pay .This is a ploy to raise rates and gouge the customer .I believe in 2007 Citi made 32 BILLION dollars in interest and fees off US customers alone .

If this is how they want to play the game I want to see the classification of this ' converted ' customer debt in Citi's SEC filings .I also want it in writing from Citi's money suppliers that they demand the elimination of this so called risky debt in order to borrow from them .

I believe there's a legislator from the north east that just passed a credit card reform bill and has been conducting hearings on credit card abuses .I think you should contact her .Just Google credit card reform bill or credit card holders bill of rights and you'll get information on the new bill and pending legislation & hearings .

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