In the summer of 2007, I realized that my Sears card had expired, so I called to have a new one sent. Weeks and months went by, so I called back, and they said there was an error, and it was accidentally not sent out. They said they were submitting the request correctly, and I would receive my card in 7 to 10 business days.

It became a bit of a routine: I would patiently wait, and call back after a couple of months when it never arrived. Last month, I was finally fed up beyond believe, and demanded to speak to a manager. She put me on hold for about 25 minutes, and finally told me that my account was not activated, and she would need to reactivate it. When I asked her how I was able to make purchases at Sears and K-Mart using my account (without the card), she got defensive, and avoided giving an explanation. She had no sympathy whatsoever for the fact that it's taken them over 1 year (more than an entire year!!!) to get me a replacement card, and simply said she would submit a request for a new card, and I should receive it in 7 to 10 business days.

Somehow, it finally worked this time, but I won't be using the card any longer. I intend to pay it off, cancel the account, and never return to a Sears or K-Mart again. I've worked in customer service, and have experience some poor customer service as a consumer, but this is by far the WORST customer service I have ever dealt with. I think that they can't even get a replacement card sent out correctly, I don't want to fathom what would happen if something I bought there broke, and I tried to enforce the warranty to get a replacement. With places like Target, Wal-Mart, and the many other department stores to choose from, there's no reason to put yourself through the nightmare of Sears.

I purchased an item at Sears.
Here is the SALESCHECK # 023085416850.

The cashier offered me a $15 discount, if I applied for a Sears Card. I asked if there were any fees for the card, and she said no. So I signed up.

Later that night, I looked over my receipt and it says that there is an annual fee of $59.00! So I went back to the Sears cashier the next day to ask what happened. A different person was there, and they couldn't explain why, so they gave me a number to call 800-917-7700. I called this number and they directed me to Sears Solutions Master Card 800-567-1196.
I called them, and they told me to take it up with National Customer Relations 800-549-4505. They couldn't help, so they directed me to Sears Credit Card Department 888-620-2309. They said that I had to take it up with HSBC Bank, which is the same place as Sears Solutions Master Card. 800-567-1196. So, I was back in full circle.

The operator at HSBC was getting really annoyed with me, saying it was my fault for signing the little electronic box, that says I agreed to paying the $59 annual fee. However, the cashier did not indicate to me that I was signing a credit card fee approval. I thought I was signing for the purchase!

Anyhow, I requested cancellation of the card and filed a complaint over the phone, at HSBC.

I'm sending this message as a record of complaint, that if Sears customer service personnel makes credit card offers, that they MUST make it clear to the customer that the card is affiliated with a bank, and that there may be fees applied by the bank, through credit approval. Customers MUST also be made aware of when they sign the electronic box, that it is for credit approval, and not item purchase.

Hopefully, this will save a lot of future hassle for Sears, there customers, and the credit card companies.