This is one reason why I refuse to use store brand charge cards. I would have bought this on a major credit card (visa, mc, etc) instead. Then it'd be a simple case of just calling up and demanding a chargeback.

small claims court?

wow, i guess i'll forgo my previous plan to buy a full craftsman tool kit for my garage and just call the MAC distributor.

after all of the complaints as of late about Sears, this one takes the cake, and based on the info provided, seems legit. that was the final straw for me... time to boycott and ensure their days on their last leg don't last long.

You need to send a lettter, "Certified Mail", "Return Receipt Requested", stating that you wish to dispute the charge because the merchandise was never delivered.

I would have filed in small claims by now.

Isn't Sears' card division now part of one of the major card companies?

Call your state Attorney General. Their phone number will be on the state's website. Every state has a consumer protection office, not necessarily with that name. Small claims court may also be a good approach.

Truly sickening - what's wrong with them? Agreed - sue in small claims.

Sue in small claims court and send the papers to some podunk Sears catalog office just for fun.

@me:

Sears Cards are through Citibank... perhaps try direct Citibank customer service?

Yep, the sad thing is that this happens every day in Sears. Heck I worked at a 'B' store in a smaller city and issues like this probably came up daily there alone.

There is no communication between any level of Sears anymore. People on the floor can't get to people in the back. People in the back can't ever get anyone on the floor. The whole 'MOD' (Manager on Duty) system is ridiculusly flawed and the hardware they relied on was hopelessly out dated so you can't get a hold of a manger, ever.

Thats just within the store. You try and talk to some one at another store and they're doing everything so differently that its like pulling teeth to ever get the answer you want.

Don't even think about trying to get to one of the outside 'services', credit, repair, distribution, etc. Once the merge they sold all of that off and now the store staff has just as much pull, if not less, then the customer does when dealing with those places.

At one point they were trying to streamline our stock with K-Mart so that if we were out of something we could send them there but that ended up just being a way to get the customer to waste gas because, again, the communication at K-Mart was so bad that no one ever knew what was going on so they'd come back to Sears and yell and we'd call K-Mart, get everything set up, send the customer back, and he'd still end up back in our store because they'd still screw it up.

The customers know that Sears is circling the drain, they tell the associates every day how bad its gotten.

Contact the Sears store and ask them for the National Customer Service number. I don't know it off the top of my head. Whenever you call them, they are good at resolving the problem.

I work for Sears, it is unreal to see how business is conducted by such a large corporation.

+1 for small claims.

There are 3 levels of service provided by Citicards to Sears Card members. They are referred to as "gates". You generally have to pass through one gate to get to the next one. The first gate is the main gate, it is where all calls to 800-917-7700 are directed. If a Sales/Customer Service agent who answers the main gate is unable to offer you a resolution and you ask to be transferred to a supervisor you are then passed onto the assist gate. The assist gate is staffed by employees who have worked the main gate with Citicards for sometime (supervisor requests are sent to assist agents not a supervisor). The agents working this gate are usually very knowledgeable and have wide latitude to make adjustments and corrections to accounts. (however since you have a protracted dispute I suggest you go one step further) The next level is the presidential gate and you probably wont be able to speak with someone via transfer from the 1st two gates but you can try. In most cases it requires written correspondence in order for the presidential gate to assist you. Call customer service and ask for presidential or the address. Make sure you save copies of any correspondence, use certified mail, and gather the names and id numbers of the people you speak with. Good luck!

If Sears cards are through Citibank now, this OP is screwed. My experience with Citiscrew was AWFUL. They don't do chargebacks with companies they are in cahoots with. WATCH OUT CITICARD HOLDERS!!!

I tried to buy a saw at Sears. They had one on the floor, a picture of one in the catalogue, but none in stock. No, they couldn't order one, some sort of lock in the system. So I could see the Sears saw on sale, but they couldn't sell me a saw. It's a Sears tongue twister of failure.

I really wish that Consumerist would sometimes suggest the very effective and very simple method of: writing a short and polite letter to the CEO of the company and mailing it.

This still works wonders, especially when the company is clearly and 100 percent wrong.

Interim CEO and President of Sears Holding Corporation :

W. Bruce Johnson

Sears Holding Corporation
3333 Beverly Rd
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Phone: (847) 286-2500

@Seth_Went_to_the_Bank: Without contact info, they can't.

Can the OP go back to Chesterfield and complain in person? You're harder to ignore when you're standing right there.

@Pro-Pain: Who shall I avoid, or use a different card with?

like others said - small claims.

filing in small claims is easier than you think!

@ Buran? Capital One maybe? j/k. My post was simply a warning as a lot of people are chargeback crazy on here. Citi won't do chargebacks with companies they do cross business with. Ex: Best Buy. I DARE you to receive a succesful chargeback with Best Buy using your Citicard. They will give you a runaround like you wouldn't believe...

[finance.yahoo.com]

i've been screwed by sears before. i typically follow this method:
1. BBB Complaint
2. Letter by certified mail
3. EECB
4. Small claims filing (if 1-3 don't work).

They screwed me on a $12000 home improvement, as well as refusing to honor an advertised price. Both times, I was able to get the situation fixed before filing a claim.

@Pro-Pain: Nah, what I meant was "what companies do they do business with?" Looks like Best Buy is one; yet another reason to not go there.

I only do chargebacks when I'm being defrauded, but I'd rather not have to worry about it.

Fortunately, I've got three credit cards (all paid off monthly, before anyone gets after me for that!) and if I do need to shop at such a place, I can use someone else's card...

Anyway, thanks!

[disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about]

File in small claims court. Serve the papers AT YOUR LOCAL SEARS store. It is likely that whatever $9/hour manager you serve the papers to will do nothing, and Sears won't show up in court. The judge will listen sympathetically, will examine all your documentation, and then grant what I think they call a default judgment in your favor, for the full amount, plus late fees and interest. And if you can document how much time you've wasted on this, they'll even grant you some reasonable compensation for your time (like maybe $15/hour).

You don't need a lawyer (in a lot of small claims courts you're not allowed to bring one).

Now that you have the judgment, hope that they're stupid and don't settle.

Why? Because after 30 days, you can get a writ of execution from the court, with which you can create all manner of merriment involving the seizure of their assets.

Example: Some states allow a "till tap," which means that you and the Sheriff march down to Sears and simply seize cash from the register to satisfy the judgment.

Google "collecting on a small claims judgment" for more fun ideas.

Small claims all the way. Ask for the price of the TV, any interest or charges, or fees. You might be okay with just that, but I'd include the "time" you put in trying to get your money without going to court. Pay yourself whatever your job pays you. If you make $10 per hour and spent 10 hours trying to fight for your tv/money back. Ask for an extra $100. It isn't the $100, it is the principle that you had to waste your time.

@Hawkins: Ohhh, that "Till Tap" thing would be soo much fun!!!

I had a somewhat similar problem with Sears. I went in before BF on one of their special pre-BF sales, and ordered a TV, which they immediately charged to my Sears-branded Citibank credit card. I didn't have the card with me, but they were able to look me up in the "system" and charged it to the card. Of course, they didn't have the TV in stock, so I would have to return later. BF rolled around and I found a better deal at Fry's, so I bought that one. I called the Sears store to cancel the order. They told me that they couldn't do that over the phone because they couldn't prove that I was the person that I said I was, and therefore they can't process the return to the credit card. Mind you, "proving I was who I said I was" at the time of purchase was answering a few questions about address and phone number, not showing ID. Telling them this got me nowhere. So yes, I had to go down to the store, give them my receipt, which they scanned, punched a few buttons, and *voila* sale voided. Why they couldn't do this over the phone, I will never know. Reading the comments from the former and current Sears inmates... errr... employees leads me now to believe that it is the jacked up system and rules in place and not so much that the store is staffed by incompetent employees. To those employees at the Sears store where I returned the TV, I apologize for my bad mood that day.

Forget suing, file a criminal complaint for fraud with your state's AG. Also contact your state's bureau of consumer and regulatory affairs, and your local TV station's consumer help desk (not all have one but many do and they often enjoy showing up with a camera and causing ripoff artists to soil themselves).

Sears is attempting to collect money from you for merchandise that was never provided. You can make it a criminal matter not a civil one.

A Sear's store is not an appropriate venue to serve a summons. In fact serving a store would nullify the summons. Notification of a summons is delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an officer, a managing or general agent, or any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process. A store associate is not considered an agent of the company.

Knowing that Sears, I would strongly suggest that the OP head north to Northwest Plaza (or whatever it is called now) and shop there. I know it is a bit of a drive, but I have never gotten bad service there.

Was this an in-store purchase?It sounds like it could've been rang as a take with sale and prematurely closed out by merchandise pick-up.That's why credit might think the merchandise was picked up.The store manager probably remember the actual situation but credit probably didn't check with them.

Sears Holdings Public Relations, +1-847-286-8371

@jblake1: Then why did it work at a Dell kiosk?

@Sarge1985: Better idea: Lemcke Appliance in Webster Groves.

I'm sorry, but I have to blame the victim here because anyone who goes to Best Buy, Sears, Circuit city, CompUSA, Staples, or any store with "mart" in its name is looking for problems. The new business model for big box retailers is to screw the public because they know their time is limited. They will eventually loose money and go out of business. The management will start a new retail store and the cycle will begin again. The only question in their mind is how long they can pull this off.
Never pay for anything with cash or a cash equivalent. Always use a credit card. No exceptions.
Check the serial number on the box and make sure it matches the unit in the box before you check out.
Borrow or rent a van and pick up your item at the time of purchase.
Do not pay for an item that is not in stock. Why pay retail and then wait? Order it from Amazon and avoid the problem.
Never buy an extended warranty. It only warrants the stores makes a big profit.
Never allow a big box retail technician to install or fix anything (unless you personally know the person). Even a complimentary service will end up making you very sorry.
The only way a bog box retailer makes money is to rip you off. Is there anyone reading this who thinks otherwise?

Yea, I'd go down the small-claims route.

heck with till tapping, just let Tax Dog loose in the store

I would throw every grenade you have right now: CEO letters, BBB, attorney general, small claims, TV, everything. Now. Follow up every day. Become a problem that's cheaper for them to solve than to keep stringing along.

Let me introduce you to my friend "chargeback". He makes all your problems go away.

Could someone comment on how small claims court can help in this case. Assuming the Sears card charge has not been paid yet, what is the "claim?" The judge can not order $1070 paid back if the credit card bill has not been paid yet. It was also my understanding that a small claims judge can not order "actions" such as ordering Sears to remove the item from the credit card bill. Would this person have to first pay off his Sears credit card and then proceed to small claims?

@Mr. Gunn: Apparently not when the card is a Sears card:

So imagine my surprise when I received a letter on Friday, April 11 stating that Sears Card had rejected my dispute.

Small Claims court won't work, because there isn't any financial damage done. Yet.

It's just a charge on his Sears credit card. He hasn't actually paid it yet nor did he say that he's past due on the balance yet, so he can't sue for any financial damage.

I'm the OP. It had been removed from CC pending the resolution of my dispute. I haven't received a statement since it's been put back on my charge so I don't know what (if any fees/interest) have accrued because of it. Additionally, this amount puts me roughly $1,000 over my credit limit. Which means that store itself must have done some sort of an "override" to allow the purchase of the second TV. And, the only reason a worker would do that (short of fraud with a friend, I guess) would be because they knew that my balance was actually at zero and was able to accomodate the purchase of the new TV.

Also, to the poster that asked why I used a Sears card it was because they roped me in with no interest/no payments until 2010. I'm sucker for interest free loans.

@vastrightwing: Blaming the victim? Here? Really?

I've read this site for a while now, and I'm convinced that you can't buy anything, from anywhere.

My only question is why, after they hadn't delivered the original item, the OP went back to Sears and bought another item from them?

I'm so sick of people blaming the OP on this site. Sears stole $1,000 from this person, and all we can say is, "Well, shouldn't have bought it from Sears!" So, we forgive Sears for fraud just because the OP "should have known better?"

@vastrightwing: The purpose of this site isn't to throw our hands up and say "screw it, they suck, they'll always suck, and you're an idiot for giving them your money."