How bout just sending them the $5? You know, the $5 that they're owed? I love the idea that this woman is a victim because they tried to collect a debt from her.

"Bullying"? Really? It's completely bizarre that we demonize thieves but treat people who blow off their credit cards as victims.

wait...so I have to pay what I owe now? That's it...I'm moving to Canada.

Hmmm.. First you say:

Two days ago, I received a notice from Bloomingdale's (the first and, apparently, last notice I was to receive) saying I would be sent to collections for failing to pay this $5.00

Then you say:

I was not aware that I owed $5.00, and if Bloomingdale's had taken the time to notify me of this small error I would have happily paid it.

It kinda sounds to me like you were notified you owed them a 5 spot.

While I agree that it's somewhat silly to incur the collection agency expense to chase down $5, you did owe the money, and could have easily gone back online and paid it when you received the letter from Bloomingdale's.

@The Count of Monte Fisto: Yeah, but either we don't have the whole story, or they jumped the gun and immediately sold off the debt before the next statement even hit. Normally one would think the next statement would call attention to her shortage and charge late fees and THEN if it went unpaid it would go to collections.

Of course who knows what the store does with it's own credit card. Another reason to avoid store credit!

This person isn't a "victim." They had a relationship with a business where they spent $2000. The customer made a mistake over a very small amount of money and then was hit with a collection agency.

Is Bloomingdale's entitled to collect this $5 via a collection agency or a lawsuit? Of course. But it would be far wiser to give the customer another chance to pay it.

At Sprint where I used to work, the threshold for Collections was $10. They really are willing to send you there for little, but you can avoid it by keeping tabs on your bill.

Well, he/she isn't so much of a victim but Bloomingdales sort of overreacted to send $5 to collections and probably spent more than $5 in the process. If this happened to me as a customer, I would probably be offended too.

It's completely unreasonable to send an account to collections without sending a normal bill to the customer first. I don't know why this is so difficult for you guys to understand.

Why wouldn't the online account list the balance on the card?

To add some additional clarity to this, MCCS is Macy's Credit and Customer Services , NOT a collection agency. MCCS services Bloomingdale's store cards.

The customer was not sent to a collections agency. The phone calls were from the original creditor.

I want my two dollars!!!!!!

Gawd I hate store charge cards. Let me have my Visa & Amex and I can get service virtually everywhere, and also be protected from hassles like this, the ability to do chargebacks if necessary, etc.

@Ben Popken: Ben : see my last comment. The customer was not sent to collections. They were contacted by the OC.

It sounds like Bloomingdales DID give her a warning by telling her she owed $5 and was going to be sent to collections. That would be the warning that something is still owed. But Bloomingdales was really stupid in not just sending an invoice or two first. Jumping to collections right out of the gate seems a bit excessive and damaging to a good customer/business relationship.

this is possibly also a problem with their online payment system. I have heard that alot of places still have a blank field in which you enter the amount you want to pay, instead of there being a selectable list of "Minimum payment, pay entire balance or pay specific amount". There should always be as summary of what is owed on this payment page. I do not have a bloomingdales card so I dont know first hand but it sounds like this was the problem to begin with.

@Skellbasher: They were sent to the collections department, not a collection agency. But it was still sent to collections. Of course, they did send the customer a normal bill, and she failed to pay it completely.

MOST people make this mistake at one time or another. I know I transpose 3s and 8s like it's goin' out of style. I once shorted a contractor a couple hundred bucks that way, and they just sent me a second invoice with something that said nicely (not threateningly) that I hadn't paid the full amount due. I was absolutely MORTIFIED and immediately mailed off the remainder due, with a "sorry about that!" on the invoice.

If they had immediately sent me to collections, I would have been super-pissed. It was an honest, if stupid, mistake that I was happy to rectify immediately on being made aware of it. The fact that they didn't charge me interest or a penalty just puts them higher in my book, and you KNOW which plumber I always call and who gets recommended on my blog. (Which means I can now never schedule him because EVERYONE calls him, but oh well. :D )

If they did charge me with fair interest or a penalty, I would have paid it, but I certainly would have groused.

I actually JUST has something similar happen in yesterday's mail; we ordered from a nursery a set of plants that came in three shipments, all paid at once, and they somehow managed to flub charging our card for the last shipment. Today, I get notice that my "account" is 60 days past due for $5.35 of stuff *I* paid for back in February. They've appended a penalty that's more than the $5.35 charge, and this is allegedly my "second notice."

I was so flaming pissed to get a snippy "second notice" invoice letter with a penalty attached for something that is THEIR error that I actually haven't called yet because I was too angry yesterday.

(This is a reputable company with good customer service, so I'm pretty sure they'll fix the problem without too much trouble, but I was just mad about the whole tone of the thing.)

I will think twice before ordering from them again in the future, though.

Yea, If I were Bloomies I'd slap an additional $7.50 late charge on the account, and of course charge interest on the 5 bucks.

"To my error I had underpaid the minimum amount by $5.00."

OP, they should not treat you this way ... you seem to be the kind of credit card customer to be loved ... those who do not pay the full balance each month and are happy to pay outrageous fees and interest charges!

I want to know how she managed to pay online in a manner in which she didn't see the balance owed?

Careful, if you don't pay them the $5 they might auction off your house.

such faith in billing centers to get everything right. i can completely see them being that stupid over $5. i got a bill once from a lab that had said it was my fourth notice and that i would be reported to collections. problem was it was only 2 weeks after the lab work and paperwork submittal and it was the first piece of paper i had gotten from them notifying me of what was due. instead of just sending me the bill they sent me a "fourth" warning that i was past due.

@Ben Popken: They did send her a bill. She didn't pay the whole thing, so they turned it over to their collections department (different from a collections agency, fyi).

@B: Exactly my point.

Let's say I owe $105 on my AMEX. I go to the online system, and pay $100.

Once that goes past due, I WILL get a call from AMEX about it. Sure, it might be the AMEX collections department, but it's still AMEX. The debt hasn't been sold to an outside agency, it's just a 'Hey, you're late' call.

What happened to this person was no different. This should no be a Consumerist worthy story.

This isn't really uncommon. It sucks, but if she pays it there shouldn't be a problem.

Just another reminder that you must keep on top of your bills and credit reports, as so many stupid mistakes occur.

Good Lord, people. They notified her that she'd made an error in paying her bill and IMMEDIATELY sent her to collections. They didn't give her a chance to RECTIFY the situation. That's the rub here.

i've been sent to a collection agency for an on-campus at&t phone bill that totaled less than a dollar.

It makes me feel really good about the state of our country that no one who comments on Consumerist has ever made a mistake. Next stop, world domination!

@MissPeacock: Incorrect.

The in-house collections department for the Bloomingdale's credit card called her on the $5 balance.

This is standard practice for, I don't know, EVERY credit account in the country!!

I treat my credit cards like contracts. I have to pay my bill every month, or else the company can take action against me.

I understand people make mistakes, but people play the victim too often in terms of credit cards. You sign up for it, make sue you are capable to fulfill your side of the bargain.

Bloomingdale's was within their rights to send it to collections.

However...

Right doesn't mean prudent.

As I tell people, sure, you have a right to drive 65 in the fast lane on the freeway, but it's not prudent.

Sure, you have a right to cut off one of your fingers, but it's not prudent.

Sure, Bloomingdale's has a right to send a $5 debt to collections in the blink of an eye, but it's not prudent.

Consumers make mistakes, and it seems that this consumer's mistake was unintentional. If you're going to stiff a company for money owed, why do it for only $5?

My guess is that Bloomie's system just went "a little funny in the head" and sent it without any sort of human oversight.

I would have been bothered by it too.

It all depends on your credit history. Hers may suck because of other, much larger-than-$5 issues. I once missed my car insurance payment by a week due to a massive brain fart, and got a letter. It was within their rights to totally drop me. I called, explained the fart (using, um, other words), paid up, and everything was fine. I have a feeling my A++ credit history and sky-high FICO score had a LOT to do with their amiability in the matter.

Pay your phone bill 10 days late for 5 years? Then, m'dear, that $5 is going to fuck you up.

Addendum...

I would have been bothered by Bloomingdale's actions, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't have made a big deal out of it, as companies make mistakes too.

It could be her credit rating sucks. If you have an excellent rating and a FICO score through the roof, they tend to let this stuff go. Especially if you CALL. AND. EXPLAIN.

NICELY.

@amyschiff: My electric company uses some company called BillMatrix to process payments. If I choose to make a payment, I have to log back in to my electric account to get my account number and amount owed to enter manually, because the BillMatrix system doesn't know it.

Her bill closed after her shopping period, therefore she was allowed to shop.

It's an automated system. We're not going to write off $5 because everyone would want to do it. It kind of amazes me that customers think that every single account gets a personal touch. You do realize there are millions of accounts right?

Also your account is not send to a CA unless you're two months late. Call in, get the late fee removed and if you get a really generous rep, they may even adjust the $5 off your account.

Another poor story by the consumerist for the day

Paying your bill without your bill in front of you, and then being outraged when you didn't pay enough is idiotic. Also... claiming to be a valued customer because you've spent over $2000? You can buy one item and spend that much, easily!

@Skellbasher: So you think it's proper business practice to phone a customer over a $5 debt? If I were the customer, I would expect them to carry over the $5 to the next bill and charge me a fee for not making a minimum payment. I'm really surprised that most people are siding with Bloomingdale's. If this had happened to me, I would stop doing business with them as well.

@ObtuseGoose: Yes.

The consumer agrees that when they use their credit account, they'll pay the minimum payment by the prescribed date. She shorted the minimum payment by $5, accidentally I'm sure, but it was still short.

I would much rather get a phone call, and allow me to pay the $5 shortage right away than wait until the next billing cycle and get nailed with a $35 late fee.

Accounting departments don't work in 'close enoughs'.

@Chongo: Yah I acutally have a bloomingdales card and the online system is totally terrible and archaic. I tried to pay a bill online, but the online statement was so misleading that I ended up just waiting for the paper bill.

@MissPeacock: Actually, there was no notice about the underpayment, only the immediate sending to collections, according to the story. The notice ("two days ago") probably says that it will be sent to collections, since she very soon afterwards ("yesterday") received calls.

When exactly did the underpayment occur? Last month? Five months ago? Were there any notices, paper or electronic, sent in the meantime? I mean, objectively, Bloomingdale's was in the right to do this, but really they need to make a good faith attempt, at least once, to receive the $5 themselves. And regardless of the right, Bloomingdale's needs to update their system to allow a little bit of leeway, since it'll cost them more in the long run to be so callous with customers over $5.

@jesmcb: I gave up my Macy's card (both are owned by Federated) because the online system sucked. It just wasn't worth it.

People, come on. Nobody's saying she doesn't owe the five bucks. It is patently unreasonable, however, for Bloomingdale's to take action against her that has an adverse effect on her credit rating over the $5 instead of just, you know, pointing out the error and asking for the five bucks first.

Again,

She was not reported to a CA. Unless she neglected TWO bills for $5 and late fees, there is no way she is going to a CA.

[www.macysinc.com]

@uncle_fluffy: Please show me where Bloomingdale's did anything that would have an adverse effect on her credit rating.

You asked that Bloomingdale's point out the error and asked for the five bucks first.

THEY DID. And that's what she was so pissed about.

@amyschiff: Lots of retailers have outdated systems that do not reflect the full amount due. One of my cards is often several days behind in reflecting (though not assessing) payments and bills via their online database. Sad but true.

Bloomindales did something similar to me as well. During the holiday season, they offered to give 15% off if I apply for the card. I was a little hesitant but went ahead and got the discount and charged teh item on the newly opened card. I also do all my bills on line and totally forgot that I opened a new card. Their first bill was lost in the middle of all the holiday catalogues and they called me to announce that I would be reported to the credit bureau for late payment. I payed the card on the spot and closed the account. Needless to say I do not fall for any "open the account and get 15% off" anymore.

B: "I want my two dollars!!!!!!"

My little brother got his arm stuck in the microwave. So my mom had to take him to the hospital. My grandma dropped acid this morning, and she freaked out. She hijacked a busload of penguins. So it's sort of a family crisis.