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Letter to the editor

ACTION

Billing mixup shows due dates' importance

By NANCY PARADIS
Published May 6, 2005

In May 2004, I bought $263.29 worth of merchandise at Dillard's. When the bill came, I went to the store and paid the bill in cash. That month, I went north for the summer. I didn't get my mail until I returned, at which time there were four bills and two nasty letters from Dillard's. When I called to explain what happened, no one wanted to hear anything, and I just got another bill with another late charge plus interest.

After another nasty letter telling me I had been reported to the credit bureau, I wrote a letter but never received a response. Finally I decided it was worth it to pay the charges of $168.42 for my peace of mind. A check was sent by the due date, and I thought that would be that.

Wrong! The following month I got a bill for $25 plus interest. The month after that, the total doubled. I expect this to go on and on.

I have now paid nearly double for that merchandise. I hope you can clear this up.

Randi Lemons, client affairs specialist with Dillard's Credit Services/GE Money Bank in Tempe, Ariz., apologized for the inconvenience and frustration you have experienced. After she looked over your account, she said the problem originated when you missed the due date of the original charge last May. Your payment was due by May 29; however, you did not make it until June 17. Therefore, the account was assessed late fees and finance charges.

In the interest of customer goodwill, Lemons said, credits have been issued for $205 for late fees and $20.42 for finance charges. This will leave a credit balance of $168.42, the amount you paid in your effort to try to clear up your account. You can either charge against the credit balance in the store, or a refund check will automatically be sent in 60 days. The delinquencies have been removed, the payment history corrected, the credit limit reinstated and the account reopened. In addition, a request has been sent to the major credit reporting agencies to delete all derogatory information pertaining to your account.

We doubt you remember when you received the statement reflecting the charges you made, but it is dated May 3, with a payment due date of May 29. The receipt for the cash payment you made is dated June 17, or well past the due date, as Lemons said.

Many credit card companies have become much stricter about payment due dates. We have even heard of cases in which late fees were assessed when a payment due in the morning was not received until the afternoon.

In other words, it's very important to make sure that payments are received by the due date, even if that means mailing them a week or 10 days in advance.

Reaction

You recently wrote about a "you have won" notification that a skeptical reader received. I agree with you these so-called giveaways are a scam. I too have received this opportunity, but I did not throw away the offer. In their postage-paid envelope I told them to take the $21.95 fee I was supposed to pay out of my $700,000 winnings. Can you imagine if everyone who receives these notices did the same?

Thanks for passing on your solution to this particular form of junk mail. Folks, if you feel you must respond to announcements that you have won a ton of money, may we suggest this method?

Disappointed in auction house

On Dec. 18, I took my Franklin Mint plates -- 10 of the Vietnam series, two Eagle plates and one Easy Rider Motorcycle plate - to EZ Auctions & Shipping in Palm Harbor. I was told pictures would be taken and a description written that would be posted on eBay for seven days. If sold, EZ Auctions would get a 30 percent commission and send me a check for the rest. If not sold, EZ Auctions was to call me to find out what to do with them. Tammy said to call in one week (after Christmas) to see if the plates sold.

On Dec. 27, I spoke with Tammy, who told me the Vietnam plates sold for $32.51. I told her that was not acceptable, and she offered $50. She also said one Eagle plate had sold for $15.49, the other for $9.99 and the Easy Rider Motorcycle plate didn't sell at all. I called Tammy on Jan. 11, 13, 21 and 28. The last thing she said was that she was waiting for some kind of answer before sending my check. She has never called back. As you can see from my notes, I have waited for three months for my check and all I get is the runaround. This is why I am contacting you.

-- Joann Ruff

Thanks for letting us know that you finally received your check and invoice papers from EZ Auction and Shipping. We too heard from the company and were sent a copy of the $73.30 check made out to you. It was not clear from the paperwork you sent whether you ever set a minimum bid at which the plates could be sold. Doing so would have prevented the sale of the Vietnam plates for a unacceptable sum. Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, e-mail action@sptimes.com or call your Action number, 727 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 14:05:46]